As you might have seen on my Instagram, I recently came back from a solo trip to Morocco. This was an unexpected trip due to a change in my professional life. Indeed, I just got offered a new job opportunity, and I had a 2-week gap before starting my new job. Considering that this was a pretty last minute decision, no one in my surroundings was available to come with me. If you've read my blog before, you probably know that this doesn't stop me from travelling. I highly believe that one shouldn't stop themselves from doing what they like just because they can't find a travel partner.

A road trip through Morocco had been on my radar for a while, and I had an itinerary planned already. I was expecting to travel there with someone, but considering I was going solo, I had to adapt my plan a little bit (I didn't think it was safe enough to drive around the country by myself). I then focussed on the main cities I wanted to visit, and rented a place in the heart of each medina (old town). Then I arranged excursions (private and shared tours) for the main attractions I wanted to visit outside from city centres.

One of my first stops while visiting the country was Ouzoud. You can easily book a day-trip to Ouzoud waterfalls from Marrakech. You have two options: private tour (€90) or shared tour (€35).  *Note that in Morocco, you can bargain for almost anything, including the price you pay for your excursions.

For Ouzoud, I decided to book a shared tour, and that's pretty easy. In Morocco, there's no need to plan everything in advance. In fact, you're likely going to pay much less if you book last minute via your hotel. Indeed, each hotel owner has their own connections, and they can arrange any excursion you like within a few minutes. So when I checked in at my riad (local houses) in Marrakech, I just asked the guy if he could arrange this day-trip, and this was done within seconds. 

The day-trip

For this excursion, you need to be up early, and you'll be leaving around 8AM. Moroccan shared tours are a bit hard to understand because drivers don't talk a lot (from my experience) - so you never really know what's going on. Tourists from many different hotels will gather together in a mini van (15 spots). Expect your driver to make many stops in Marrakech to pick up more people (not necessarily going to the same place as you), and to change car a few times. Once everyone (going to the same destination) has arrived, your van will likely depart from Marrakech around 9AM. 

The ride up to Ouzoud is quite long (almost 3 hours in total), and that's because you will make a few stops along the way. See, one thing I didn't like in Morocco for each excursion I did, is that drivers all stop at the same spots. Bathroom, restaurants, gift shops, argan oil shops, etc. So you basically just feel like a number, and you're solicited to buy stuff all the time - one of the major but only cons from my trip.

Once you get to Ouzoud, your driver will leave you in the hands of a local tour guide who will walk you around the waterfalls. The hike is actually really nice, there are tons of fantastic viewpoints to get those epic shots. I have seen many waterfalls before, but this one was so much different from everything I had seen. There is a ton of water falling down at the same time, and there are two different plateaux which makes it very pretty. Also the red-ish ground creates an interesting mix of colours.

Expect to cross the river at the bottom of the falls on a small wooden boat (a guy will actually be paddling against the current in order for you to get closer to the falls). Then you'll start the hike back up, and will stop for lunch mid-way. Chances are you'll see a rainbow from there :) Then at the top of the falls you will see some macaques before starting your way back to Marrakech. 

• Hike duration: 4 hours

• Car ride: 6 hours in total

• Cost: 350 dirhams for the day-trip, 30 dirhams for the tour guide, 20 dirhams for the boat,100 dirhams for lunch + personal expenses.

A few tips

If you are travelling with other people, I would actually recommend renting a car and driving to the falls by yourself. That way you get to stop whenever you want, and you can explore the falls by yourself - you won't have any time constraint. I would also suggest spending one night in a surrounding hotel and visiting Bin El Ouidane lake the next day. It's super close from Ouzoud, and you can do a bunch of different activities there.