Lonely Planet Morocco by Paula Hardy, Mara Vorhees, Heidi Edsall Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Lonely Planet Morocco
Book Review: Recommended with reservations.
Summary: 3 Stars
Recommended with reservations.
I recommend this book, but with reservations. I used it last month during a solo-trip to Morocco that took me through Casablanca, Marrakesh, Ourzazate, Agdz, Zagora, M'Hamid, into the Sahara on a camel, through the Dades Gorge, Er-Rashidia, Azrou, Meknes, Volubilis, and finally Fes.
In general it provided fairly accurate information on getting around, prices, and where things were. But nothing in the book prepared me for the constant hassles, harassment, scams, crime, and corruption that were a part of my everyday experience in country. If you end up using this book, know that it ignores some of the most important parts of what life is like for travelers. With that said, there were no MAJOR inaccuracies of the type that could have gotten me in serious trouble.
Pros:
Solid logistical information, food overview, and language guide. Interesting historical and background sections.
Also good maps (although I couldn't have survived without GPS or at least a compass because there are very few street signs).
Listings of restaurants were helpful even if LP seemed to give rave reviews to average places.
Cons:
Totally ignores the hassles of everyday life. (The book should have a section on how to act: Ignore anyone who tries to talk to you. Always count your change for the simplest of transactions and decide early on how much you're willing to argue over. Never stop on the side of the roads, even if kids are begging for water in the desert (they WILL rob you). Be prepared to bribe police in rural areas--a guide on how much would be nice. Don't accept invitations for tea even if you've done something nice because you'll either get robbed or pressured to buy something...the list goes on.)
Largely ignored the most important things about accommodations. The authors pay too much attention to "friendly staff" and the decorations in lobby at the expense of things like cleanliness, bed bugs, running/hot water, lighting in rooms, doors that lock, etc. As a general rule, independent "4*" hotels will be 2*'s or worse at five or ten times the price. Don't expect a/c or heating unless you're dealing with a major chain. Don't trust online ratings from orbitz, [...], etc, unless they're chains. I ended up in Ibis Mousaffir's at the end of my trip and wished I'd stayed there the whole time.
Doesn't do a good job of prioritizing places to see. Instead, the book rates every site pretty highly, which makes it tough when you're pressed for time. For instance, Casablanca is pretty much a waste of time but LP makes it sound interesting and exciting. The same goes for desert towns that have little to offer but get a couple of pages.
Bottom line: Use LP Morocco but make sure you know what it leaves out and what it gets wrong so you can plan accordingly.
Book Review: Wouldnt recommend...
Summary: 3 Stars
My bf and I recently went on a two week trip to Morocco and took along this book. I have to say, the maps were horrible, we got lost so many times trying to follow the maps and had to constantly ask locals to guide us. We also discovered that the book didnt mention that you need reservations in pretty much every riad and the majority of hotels you want to stay at. Also, make sure you get the most recent edition... a few places listed were closed and had been for some time.
All in all, we were disappointed with this book.
Book Review: authors worry about funcy stuff, very useless guide
Summary: 1 Stars
I use to use Lonely Planet guides to travel around, but in this case the election was very disappointing, I got even angry with myself! My staying in Morocco was quite short, only Tanger, Asilah, Fes, Marrakesh and Essauira. As I advanced in each step of my trip, as I got more and more angry about this book. I don't want to be missunderstood, Morocco is an AMAZING place to go, but as in every developing countries, you should have to care about some things.
The authors care too much about how fancy or well-decorated places are, and very little about what really matters: cleanliness, quality and security of places. For instance, I NEVER found in the book that you should be prepared to be cheated every time that you want to take a taxi, and subsequentely there is NO SUGGESTION about how to fight against. A very simple suggestion, for not french speakers, would help: always ask to run the counter, or simply ask 'avec counter'. They can still cheat you, but it restricts their possibilities. Another example, they never said that if you want to stay in medinas, you should be prepared to sleep with bugs in the bedroom, even in their 'funcy' hotels (I have never been there in a five star place). Some 'delightfully decorated places' that they recomended had bathroom really discusting!
I noticed the same sin in friends who have gone there before: they tell to you only the nice stuff, not the ugly part. BUT IN THIS CASE, AUTHORS ARE WRITING A SUPPOSED HELPFUL GUIDE! The last straw was to read their 'accomodation suggestion' in marrakesh. It was a 5-star hotel, for the same money that my whole budget for a week. This travel book really made me think if Lonely Planet is still a guide for budget travellers, and I have serious doubts if the authors really stayed sleeping in the floor, as they boast about in they presentation.
Another point is that they describe every place as fantastic. If you have a year to travel around is ok, but if you are time-restricted you need a criterion to select places to go. It is suppose that this is one of the reasons to buy a guide, and this one doesn't help at all, apart of the highlights that come in every lonely planet guide.
Book Review: itm
Summary: 2 Stars
Rather stereotyped cultural comments which are not particularly accurate. Having seen the DK Guide to Morocco since, wish I had bought that instead.Book Review: love to travel
Summary: 5 Stars
The book gives me very good information for my travels, sometimes not enough, but always accurate and reliable.
More Lonely Planet Morocco reviews:
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