Morocco

Agree the price before the transaction, every single time

Morocco is the most visited country in Africa and the easiest introduction to it, three hours from most of Europe with a tourism industry that has been running for a century. That also means the tourist-facing parts are well practised, and the difference between the agreed price and the first price quoted can be substantial.

Marrakech gets most of the traffic, with the Jemaa el-Fnaa square and a medina that is genuinely disorienting by design. Fes is older, bigger and less compromised, with a medieval medina that is the largest car-free urban area in the world. Chefchaouen is the blue town, Essaouira is the windy Atlantic one, and Tangier has finally shaken off its seedy reputation.

The landscape is the underrated part. The High Atlas has proper mountains, with Toubkal at 4,167 metres climbable in two days. The Sahara at Merzouga and M’hamid does the camel-and-dunes experience. And the Dades and Todra gorges on the way there are worth stopping for rather than driving through.

Annual events and festivals

• Ramadan (varies) — daytime eating is restricted and hours change, but evenings become extremely lively.
• Eid al-Fitr (varies) — a major holiday marking the end of Ramadan.
• Eid al-Adha (varies) — the larger Eid here, when much of the country returns home.
• Fes Festival of World Sacred Music (Jun) — an internationally respected festival in courtyards and gardens.
• Gnaoua World Music Festival, Essaouira (Jun) — trance music from the Gnaoua tradition, plus international acts. Largely free.
• Rose Festival, Kelaat M’Gouna (May) — the damask rose harvest in the Dades valley.
• Imilchil Marriage Festival (Sep) — a Berber betrothal gathering in the High Atlas.
• Mawazine, Rabat (Jun) — one of the largest music festivals in the world by attendance.
• Almond Blossom Festival, Tafraout (Feb) — marking the bloom in the Anti-Atlas.
• Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov-Dec) — a well-funded event drawing major international names.