Cheap Flights to Marrakech
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Winter 2009 Marrakech cheap flights price comparison guide
All Marrakech flight prices are correct at the time of writing (January 30), and rounded to the nearest pound. All prices on flights to Marrakech do not include any extra charges for luggage, specialist equipment, speedy boarding etc.
We searched for flights to Marrakech for a bit of early summer sun in May (on or around May 12, returning on or around May 21), based on the fact that cheap flights to Marrakech are operated by three different airlines - Easyjet, Ryanair and the Royal Air Maroc subsidiary Atlas Blue. Finding cheap flights to Marrakech is easy -- Ryanair advertise flights from London Luton from just £3 each way, whereas Atlas Blue offered flights from Gatwick for £19 return. The problem comes when you start adding on all the fees and charges. Regular travellers are well used to taxes and charges adding enormously to the final ticket price, but you really get stung on flights to Morocco because the government stings you for a whopping £40 in the form of the highly discredited air passenger duty.
Is this really fair? For a so-called environmental tax, we hardly think that flights to Marrakech in Morocco should be classified as long distance in the same way as flights to Melbourne in Australia. By the time all these extras have been added in, the Ryanair flights work out at £87, and Atlas blue weighs in at £127. By comparison, Easyjet, who include all taxes and charges in their advertised price, offer flights to Marrakech for £90 (also from London Gatwick).
With Ryanair and Easyjet closely matched in price, your decision will probably come down to whether you’d prefer to fly from Gatwick or Luton. One other consideration should be the fact that Ryanair have a nasty habit of hard-selling everything bar the kitchen sink over the PA system during flights. This is fine on a short-hop across the Irish Sea, but becomes virtually unbearable on a three-hour flight to North Africa.
Scheduled (legacy/traditional) airline flights to Marrakech
We can't really recommend looking for flights to Marrakech on traditional scheduled airlines -- British Airways don't even offer any flights to Morocco, whereas Royal Air Maroc will only take you there via their hub in Casablanca. The cheapest flights we could find on non-budget airlines for the dates required were £203 -- around twice the price of the no-frills airlines, who will take you there direct.
Mini Guide to Marrakech
This fortified destination in central Morocco goes under the nickname “the Red City”, a reference to the centuries-old yet still surprisingly sturdy brick walls constructed around these parts in a bid to keep out invaders. With its palaces, mosques, gardens and sultry weather conditions, Marrakech retains a certain exotic appeal for even the most world-weary of travellers, although its large ex-pat community of retired French and Swiss citizens means it nowadays ranks amongst the most European (and consequently most commercialised) cities in Africa.
The labyrinthine souk - a traditional marketplace in the Jemaa el Fnaa square that once provided common bargaining ground for local merchants – and to some extent its spin-off, the Medina of Marrakech, have of late become more obviously geared towards tourists. The goods on offer remain traditional - leather, woodwork, fabrics - but the square now divides roughly between vaguely tacky spectacle (snake charmers, fire-eaters, belly-dancers) and activity of a more authentic kind (beggars, traditional storytellers, the rustling up of potato cakes and orange juice).
Over it all stands the prominent (69m) tower of the Koutoubia Mosque, built in the 12th century and considered one of the masterpieces of Hispano-Moorish architecture. Loosely related is the Madrasa, a place of education and religious instruction preserved more or less intact, although the combination of its confined schoolrooms and the prevailing climate may send the claustrophobic running. Cool off by visiting either Les Bains de Marrakech, a luxury spa decked out in the very best Arabian Nights finery, or the Majorelle Garden, which boasts botany from all over the world. It gets crowded late in the day, so arrive early.
Marrakech Flight News
- BA Connect axe seven routes - 07/07/2006
- Thomsonfly launch new cheap flights to Morocco - 06/04/2006
- Easyjet launch new cheap flights outside Europe - 01/03/2006
Other flights and travel news stories:
- BA cabin crew announce strike dates - 12/03/2010
- Air Southwest boosts Guernsey flights - 12/03/2010
- Bmibaby to scrap flights between Birmingham and Edinburgh - 12/03/2010
Flights to Morocco - Other Cities
Can't find any good value flights to Marrakech? Read our general guide about finding flights to Morocco, or try one of the other cities in Morocco mentioned below:
- Flights to Agadir (AGA)
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Other useful Marrakech travel websites
- Marrakech (RAK) Airport Transfers - Find airport transfers with Transfers.net
Related terms: Flights to Marrakech from the UK, cheap Marrakech flights, direct flights to Marrakech, flights to Marrakech, Morocco |
