The Rough Guide to Morocco (Paperback)

~ Mark Ellingham (Author), Daniel Jacobs (Author), Hamish Brown (Author), Shaun McVeigh (Author), Rough Guides (Author) "Geographically, the country divides into four basic zones: the coast, Mediterranean and Atlantic; the great cities of the plains; the Rif and Atlas mountains; and..." (more)
Key Phrases: ville nouvelle, new medina, old morocco, High Atlas, Avenue Mohammed, Middle Atlas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From the Meditteranean coast, through four mountain ranges, to the empty sand and scrub of the Sahara, explore this extraordinary country with The Rough Guide to Morrocco. This fully-revised 8th edition contains insider tips and colour sections on architecture, markets, shopping, festivals and music, plus expanded coverage of Marrakesh. The full- colour section introduces the best Morrocco has on offer from the blue-washed walls of Chefchaouen to the vibrant craft displays of the souks. You’ll find evocative accounts of all the main sights including Casablanca’s Art Deco architecture to the unique Djemaa El Fna in Marrakesh, and the ancient monuments of Fes as well as practical information on trekking in the High Atlas, surfing on the Atlantic coast and camel-riding in the desert. Be inspired by dozens of photos and explore every corner with the clearest maps of any guide.

The Rough Guide to Morrocco is like having a local friend plan your trip!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 816 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 8th edition (October 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184353861X
• ISBN-13: 978-1843538615
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #53,132 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #4 in	Books > History > Africa > Morocco
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Covers the whole country in a depth unmatched by other guidebooks, and up-to-date too, January 13, 2008

By	Christopher Culver - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

During a recent visit to Morocco, hitchhiking across the whole of the country from north to south, I used the 8th edition of THE ROUGH GUIDE TO MOROCCO (published October 2007) and its main competitor, the 2007 edition of Lonely Planet Morocco.

For the independent traveler who wants to explore Morocco in depth, the Rough Guide is clearly the best option among current guidebooks. It is much more detailed than the Lonely Planet, covering charming smaller towns left out of the LP and other guidebooks. If you are planning to go from Morocco to Mauritania overland, the Rough Guide is extremely helpful. While Lonely Planet didn't even update their Western Sahara cover in the latest edition, Rough Guide gives information on the new opportunities for those without their own vehicle. (Be aware, however, that the Mauritanian visa must now be requested in Rabat, not in Casablanca as RG advises.) Unlike Lonely Planet, which is now abandoning its traditional demographic of backpackers on a budget, the Rough Guide has as much guidance for shoestring travelers as for people with money to spend.

If you are curious about Morrocan history and culture, the Rough Guide makes other guidebooks look like they were meant for rude and insensitive package tourists. It contains a hundred-page supplement which not only explains the whole of Moroccan history and its prominent writers and artists, but it even gives some short pieces by Morrocan traditional storytellers. The Rough Guide does a good job throughout of trying to put tourists in contact with the locals. The hammams (Turkish-style baths) listed in the book are those frequented by ordinary Moroccans, not expensive spa-type locations as in other guidebooks. I was unhappy, however, with the Rough Guide's mention of hitchhiking. While it does mention it as an option, and doesn't try to scare people away from it, it suggests that it is difficult and requires payment. That's odd indeed, since hitchhikers consider Morroco one of the easiest countries on Earth, and my usual waiting type was just a couple of minutes, and I didn't have to pay a dime.

If you are an independent traveler, the Rough Guide is probably the only book you need. Lonely Planet does have a whole section dedicated to trekking, but even for those keen on trekking this may not be worth it. All in all it's funny how the Rough Guides, held in scorn for so long because they contain ads and are published by a major corporation (Penguin), now seem the best guidebooks for solo shoestring travelers.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The new edition is excellent, April 17, 2005

By	J. A. C. Linden "Neil" (Amsterdam) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Morocco 7 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)

I have no experience with the previous edition, and until now I only used the Lonely Planet on Morocco, but I did some tests on issues I had found missing in the Lonely Planet and the new Rough Guide passed the test excellently.
For instance the Lonely Planet had hardly anything on the nice road between Taroudant and Ouerzazate, in between two Atlasses, so almost fully skipping saffron paradise Taliouine and carpetters paradise Tazenaght, while the Rough Guide does not assume you will pass that road through Marrakch, which requires crossing the High Atlas twice.
And even on the road from West to East behind the Anti-Atlas through Tissint etc. the Rough Guide has a feature.
It is more weighty than the Lonely Planet, but that is because it has more information, and that is what one eventually needs.

Neil in Amsterdam

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unfulfilling, December 11, 2000

By	"pmichna" (Whitehorse, Yukon Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Morocco: The Rough Guide, Sixth Edition (Rough Guides) (Paperback)

As we loaded our backpacks hours before our jet departed Vancouver, my partner and I debated about whether to bring Lonely Planet's Morocco guidebook, or the Rough Guide. In the end, mostly due to weight considerations, we left the Rough Guide at home. I would advise any first-time traveller to Morocco to do the same. It's a tired, rambling, incomplete guide, full of inconsequential information and generic descriptions. Hotel prices, strangely, are not listed. There is scant reference to Morocco's massive social ills. And there are too many references to writer Paul Bowles, who, I admit, is the be-all-and-end-all of western Moroccan ex-pats. But enough about him, already. Lonely Planet gets all the promotion it needs from other reviewers, so I was hesitant in writing this review. But for those looking for a more concise, insider view of Morocco, LP's the way to go.