This past April (2019), my family and I went on an amazing trip to many different parts of Europe and Africa. We spent a total of 12 days in all of these places (including travel) and I would really recommend doing some of the things we did on this trip. As a kid, I know that this trip that we went on would make all you kids out there wish you can go back again and again. This is my Europe/Africa trip itinerary.
Day 1 - Travel
We left our house very early in the morning, got in an Uber, and headed to JFK where we would relax in the American Airlines Lounge while we waited for our flight to Madrid. Luckily my dad upgraded all of us to business class so we had a very relaxing and refreshing start to our amazing trip.
Day 2 - Madrid
When we arrived at Madrid, where we would spend the next 2 days, we checked in at the Westin Palace, Madrid. When we got to our room, we napped... A lot! The time difference in Madrid is 6 hours ahead of eastern time. If you go to Madrid, I would recommend taking a day time flight on the way there. This will help jet lag because you can nap a bit, but not have to sleep overnight. When we got motivated, we woke ourselves up and met up with our family friends. We then walked around near our hotel, exploring some of Madrid. That night, we went to a restaurant called Entre Santos Cocktail bar and food. We had a delicious meal and then headed back to our hotel where we tried to sleep.
Day 3 - Madrid
When we woke up the next morning, we went to eat breakfast at a place called Pasadizo de San Ginés. We truly got to experience Spanish food here. Later that afternoon, we went on a very fun bike tour called Principe Pio. Our guide showed us around many cool bridges and parks to give us the real sense and culture of Madrid. For all of you kids and people who do not like tourism, this will still be great for you. It is more fun than it is boring. When we finished the bike tour, we walked around and explored more of Madrid. That night, we went to a restaurant called El Hortera where we had delicious food and got to enjoy our last moments in Madrid.
Day 4 - Travel
When we woke up, we checked out of our hotel and went to the airport. We flew from Madrid to Morocco on Iberia Air for a 2 hour flight. When we got to Morocco, we drove about an hour and a half to get to our hotel, Kasbah Bab Ourika. Here we spent one night, enjoying the beautiful mountain and our unique hotel. This was a very relaxing start to our Morocco experience.
Days 5/6 - Marrakech (Morocco)
The next morning, we checked out of our amazing and unique hotel and drove another hour and a half down the red mountain and into the busy city of Marrakech. Here we met up with our tour guide who we really did not like. Unfortunately his accent was really strong and he did not tell us much. We hiked up a very cool mountain to get to a waterfall where we really took in the fact that we were in Africa! Once we finished, our tour guide drove us to the incredibly busy markets where we looked around, got monkeys and snakes on our backs, and left. Later that day, we checked into our hotel. It was called Riad Snan 13. This was another very cool and unique hotel. When we first got there, we thought it was a tiny little building, but when we walked inside it was quite big and very nice. We first walked in and saw an indoor pool. Unfortunately we don't know if we were actually allowed to swim in it. We then walked up stairs and saw our very nice room that we would spend the next 2 nights. Luckily, this hotel had good Wi-Fi! That night, we had dinner at a place called Le Salama. Here we enjoyed Moroccan food and when we finished, belly dancers came out to preform. The next day, we walked around the square and enjoyed the city. In the afternoon, we waited on an hour line to go into a garden called the Majorelli Garden. I would definitely not recommend this, especially for kids. Not only was the line very long, but the garden itself was very boring. There was not a lot there and it was not a big area. If you go to Marrakech, try to avoid the Majorelli Garden. Later that night, we went to a restaurant called Comptoir Darna. This was probably my favorite restaurant in Morocco because not only was the food good, but there were no smokers! For you kids, there will be many smokers in restaurants in Morocco, so be prepared! I for one avoided as much of them as I can because I rather eat without smokers smoking in the same room. In this restaurant, there was 2 floors and the bottom floor was no smoking so I got lucky!
Day 7/8 - Travel/Dessert Luxury Camp
In the morning, we woke up really early at 4 am, to start a long travel day! We checked out of the Riad Snan 13 and drove 2 and a half hours to the Casa Blanca airport. We then took a 1 hour plane ride, arriving in Errachidia. Then, we took another 2 hour car ride until we finally arrived at the Dessert Luxury Camp (Merzouga). This was my favorite part of the trip, and I wish we got to spend more than 2 nights here. This was the most unique place I have ever been to, because we stayed in luxury tents in the middle of the desert! Here we went sand surfing for free, took a long 2 hour camel ride, drank tea in the middle of nowhere, and listened to cool drummers when it got dark around a campfire! The only problem that I had with this place was all of the bugs. But depending on what time of year you go, you can avoid this issue. Another thing that you would never expect from this place was that there was showers and bathrooms in the tents! You might say, "Well obviously there's showers, this is a hotel." But remember, we are in the middle of the desert! The next day, we went on a long camel ride, and enjoyed the desert. When we got back, we sat on hammocks and looked out into what seemed like endless amounts of sand dunes. Unfortunately, the indoor pool was not full yet so we didn't get to swim, but if you go it will probably be filled. When I woke up from a great nap in the hammock, I walked for 1 minute and went sand surfing. We all did it first try because of how easy it was! The rest of the day, we enjoyed our time in the middle of the desert.
Day 9 - Travel
The next morning, we left the Desert Luxury Camp to embark on our journey to Paris! We drove 2 hours to get back to the Errachidia airport. We then took a 1 hour flight to Casa Blanca and then a 2 hour layover to Orly airport. Once we arrived, we got in an Uber and drove to our hotel, the Marriott Opera Ambassador. We relaxed in our hotel, walked around, and went to a restaurant called Le Refuge des Fondus. Here we enjoyed delicious French food which tasted even better after eating chicken tagine for 5 days! We then went back to our fancy hotel and went to bed.
Day 10/11 - Paris
The next day, we woke up and had amazing crepes. If you go to Paris you definitely need to eat lots of crepes! A little later, we met up with a guide who take us on our second bike tour of the trip. In this tour, there was a lot more stopping and talking so I did not like it as much as the first bike tour, but it was still fun. We rode more on the highways, but saw very cool and historical monuments. Some of these were the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc D' Triomphe, and only a little of the Notre Dame. As you probably know, the Notre Dame was burned down so we were not able to get very close to it, but we saw a little. I would recommend this bike tour for you people that like to tour, but not as much for kids. It was called Blue Fox Travel. That night, we went to dinner at a place called Bistrot Vivienne. The next day, we walked around Paris, exploring and understanding French culture. In the afternoon, we did one of my favorite things on the trip, street art. Of course this was legal and took place by a skate park. Our guide gave us many cans of spray paint and told us ahead of time to come up with ideas for the activity. I got to draw Captain Americas shield and my name. I also drew a words saying NY to Paris and MARVEL. If you couldn't tell I am a big Marvel fan! That night, we went to a restaurant called La Mangerie which was our last dinner of our entire trip.
Day 12 - Goodbye Europe and Africa!
The next morning, we drove to CDG and took a 7 hour business class flight on American Airlines back to New York.
All I can say is that I would highly recommend going to some of the places that we went to on this amazing trip. This was one of my favorite trips of all time and it is perfect for kids, family, teens, and everyone else who loves to travel!
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