The Medina of Marrakech – a chaotic maze of ancient architectural treasures, delicious food and drink, and exciting shopping. It’s an opportunity to dive right into Moroccan culture. It’s also pretty hot during the mid-day sun and in the winding souks. These are our favorite Marrakech retreats for when you need a rest. Drop in for a few hours of pampering or just a chance to refresh while enjoying the views.
Traveling to Marrakech was a dream come true! It’s an exciting vacation for lovers of color, architecture, food, shopping, and a bit of chaos. You could easily get lost and lose track of time, spending your whole time in the city navigating the souks, but you don’t want to miss the Medina’s historic sites. If you are only in Marrakech for a short time, here are the 4 Must Visit Sites in the Historic Marrakech Medina.
We recently returned from Morocco, and while we loved the excitement of Marrakech, we can’t get the tranquility of the Atlas Mountains off our mind. Less than 2 hours from Marrakech, the Imlil Valley is home to the most unique lodge we have ever had the opportunity to visit. We stayed only 2 nights at the Kasbah du Toubkal, but now we’re dreaming of going back for more.
The Kasbah du Toubkal is truly a special place. After all, it has been chosen as a National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World. Its uniqueness is evident as soon as you arrive in Imlil. At the small office in town, you are met by your host and a mule that will carry your luggage up the path to the Kasbah. It’s a rambling fortress of a lodge perched on a hilltop overlooking the Imlil Valley while Jbel Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa, rises behind it at 13,671 feet.
If the view and the hike don’t take your breath away, the story of the Kasbah will! The land and a kasbah in ruin were purchased in 1989 by Discover Ltd, a family affair, and after years of traditional methods of construction by local laborers with local materials, the Kasbah du Toubkal opened in 1995. Since then, it has impacted the Imlil Valley through sustainable and responsible tourism.
A view of the gardens and lodging from the rooftop where we spent our afternoons lounging under Jbel Toubkal to the sound of birds and the waterfall.
Last year we introduced you to our lovely friend Alli with her guest post on family travel tips! She’s the founder of Lazarus Ministries, a non-profit that works with the homeless communities in Atlanta and Washington DC, where Alli lives with her husband Joe and adorable son Jack. Read on to hear about their recent amazing road trip and quest to visit all 50 states in the US. You will love her Midwest story!
Devotees of HBO’s Game of Thrones know that the show is truly an international production. Portugal, Iceland, Croatia, Northern Ireland, Morocco, and Malta, to name a few, have all portrayed locations in Westeros and Essos. Stephanie, Meagan, and their friend Audrey have all added Game of Thrones filming locations to their recent vacations. Now we’re sharing our GOT stories from Morocco, Northern Ireland and Iceland! The locations we visited include Yunkai (Aït Ben Haddou, Morocco), the Kingsroad north of King’s Landing (Dark Hedges, Northern Ireland), Winterfell (Castle Ward, Northern Ireland), Jon Snow and Ygritte’s “cave” (Grjótagjá near Lake Myvatn, Iceland), and Beyond the Wall (Skaftafell National Park, Iceland).
Despite this Berber village’s obvious resemblance to Yunkai, Meagan, excited to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site, added it to her itinerary based purely on its history and beauty. Once she realized that it had been transformed into the Slaver’s Bay city of Yunkai, her excitement doubled! Continue reading
Since arriving home, many people have asked why Iceland? Since it’s been on my radar for a while this question surprised me at first but then I realized it’s not a very common vacation destination for Americans. To answer, I explained how my husband and I have been hankering to go to New Zealand but it can be difficult to take 2-3 weeks off work to travel so far. So we tried to think of a closer destination with equally stunning natural beauty. Iceland met this requirement with its waterfalls, geysir, wildlife viewing opportunities, hikes, geothermal baths, unique landscapes, mountains, beaches and more! May was a great time for us to visit since it’s already summer but before the crowds arrive. In our first four days in Iceland, we focused on Reykjavik, the Golden Circle, Southwest Iceland and Southeast Iceland. The second half of our ultimate Iceland itinerary took us on the Ring Road to the Eastfjords, Northern Iceland and then a detour to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula to complete our 8 day adventure!
Iceland completely stole my heart while we were there last month. It really is one of the most naturally stunning places I’ve had the privilege of visiting. Here’s where we went during the first half of our 8-day Iceland itinerary! It’s also a great starting point for a 4-day itinerary if that’s what time you have. If you’re road tripping, don’t forget to download Iceland’s maps on Google maps ahead of time!
There’s so much to see and do in unique Iceland that it’s hard to choose between all of the options! Tours offered are numerous and it can be overwhelming to figure out which are the best ones. Here are the top five Iceland activities that you can’t miss on your Iceland adventure!
Going for a relaxing soak in a geothermal bath is a must do activity in Iceland! Of course the Blue Lagoon is the most famous one with its spa-like facilities and its easy access to the airport and Reykjavík. We went our first day in Iceland and it was the perfect way to start our travels and cure jet lag. Buy your timed tickets in advance, with prices starting at $55USD for standard tickets. It’s worth it to pay a bit more for towels unless you pack your own plus a drink from the bar is included in the comfort and above pricing. The minerals that make the water the beautiful shade of blue also make your skin feel so soft after bathing for a while.
In Northern Iceland, Myvatn Nature Baths is another geothermal bath option. The setting of the lagoon is beautiful with the mountains in the background and it tends to be less visited than the Blue Lagoon. The ticket prices for adults are a little over $30 with an additional fee for a towel.
We love hiking and did tons of it while in Iceland but the most unique hike was our first ever glacier hike! We went on the three and a half hour glacier walk for $88USD per person from Skaftafell with Glacier Guides and had a blast. We were with a small group and the tour guide was a lot of fun. In addition to enjoying the natural beauty of the glacier with sunshine and blue skies a plenty we learned a lot too! Beyond the mechanics of using our crampons, we heard all about crevasses, moulins, dirt cones, and glacier mice. One of my favorite moments was when we were all completely silent and listened to the sound of running water from glacier runoff. We also got to drink fresh glacial water!
One of the more memorable places we overnighted was on a working Icelandic farm through an Airbnb stay. While we stayed in many lovely guesthouses, this one gave us a taste of what life is like for the many farming families in the country. After dinner with the family, we accompanied them on their evening rounds to check on the newborn lambs and their mothers as well as the cows. Lamb season is Iceland is in May so it was the perfect time for our visit! And of course they had Icelandic ponies on the farm too! In addition to many options on Airbnb, there’s a whole website devoted to Icelandic Farm Holidays.
If you plan to visit Iceland during their summer from April to September, definitely go whale watching! You can go from the capital Reykjavík or the whale captial Husavik in the North. I did research about going on the carbon neutral Whales, Puffins and Sails tour with North Sailing but we decided to go from the Snæfellsnes Peninsula instead since we wanted to see orcas. Láki Tours offers a fantastic three hour, $75USD summer whale watching tour and we were lucky to see a pod of 15 killer whales! They are so beautiful and majestic to see in the wild and it was an experience we won’t soon forget. Other sighting possible include sperm, minke, and humpback whales as well as white-beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises!
Photo credit: Visit West Iceland STYKKISHÓLMUR SWIMMING POOL http://www.west.is/en/inspiration/services/stykkisholmur-swimming-pool
I read in several articles while planning our trip and heard on the xxwilltravel podcast episode about Iceland ahead of time that going to a town swimming pool is a great way to experience Iceland the way locals do. Plus it’s a lot cheaper than the geothermal spa or nature bath for a soak in the hot tub, swim in the warm pool or go down the slide. Watching this fun Inspired by Iceland video learn about hot tub etiquette before you go!
Which activity in Iceland would be first on your list? Let us hear from you in the comments below! If you’ve been to Iceland, feel free to share your favorite activities too!
While not the least visited region of Iceland since that distinction belongs to the West Fjords, East Iceland is also a less visited region of the country. Iceland is easily one of the most naturally stunning places I’ve been to and adding a stop in the Eastfjords to our Ring Road itinerary enhanced that beauty. Imagine snow-capped mountains, glistening fjords, colorful towns, the chance to see reindeer and puffins, and hiking opportunities a plenty. Not to mention one of my favorite places we stayed our entire trip: relaxing, peaceful and dreamy Skálanes! Read on to see why Eastjords is a must visit place in Iceland.
Seyðisfjörður (say-this-fjur-ther) is such a picturesque town! It is set right on a fjord with snow-capped mountains in the background. It’s architecture is unique in Iceland since it contains colorful 19th-century Norwegian kit timber buildings. The adorable blue church was one of my favorites and I kept picking out which house I wanted to live in. The town is full of artists, musicians and the crafty so there’s plenty to see while walking around! The cozy bistro Skaftfell is perfect for taking a break and getting a feel for the vibe of the town. You can take a ferry here that goes to Denmark via the Faroe Islands. Now that’s on my list of things to do…
O Skálanes! This “mountain lodge” is set on a private wildlife refuge 19km east of Seyðisfjörður and accommodation is in the former farmhouse set perfectly beside the fjord with stunning views of it and the mountains from your window if you’re lucky. The road to the guesthouse is gravel and accessible for 2WD vehicles until the last bit. Then there’s a place to park cars and then you can hike in the last 4km which is an adventurous and view filled experience. 4WD pickup is also available and can be arranged through the lodge.
The farmhouse is a cozy, charming place to stay with delicious food served, excellent hosts, two dogs to cuddle and lounge with, and an opportunity for community with fellow travelers in cozy shared sitting areas. There’s also plenty of outdoor seating for enjoying a book, conversation, the birds or just the view. The bedroom was simple but the bed was comfortable and the shared bathroom, common throughout Iceland, was tidy. There’s even a turf-roofed sauna! Talk about relaxation.
The highlight of our stay at Skálanes was walking up to the birding cliff and seeing puffins! While it’s not a nesting colony, puffins come here to fish so we saw about 7 of them and got to observe them fishing. Also while we were driving the Ring Road through the Eastfjords, there were reindeer signs every so often! We saw two separate herds on the side of the road while driving. You can’t beat seeing two new kinds of wildlife in one region. Thanks, Eastfjords!
Have you been to the Eastfjords in Iceland? Does this post inspire you to add it to your list? We love hearing from you in the comments below?
If you find yourself in the United Arab Emirates, I highly recommend a visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Even if you’re staying in Dubai, the capital Abu Dhabi can easily be visited as a day trip since it’s only an hour and a half away from the skyscraper-filled city.
This stunning view that greets you after going through security. Your eyes try to take in the purity of the white marble while at the same time noticing all the architectural details.
