The sun. We knew we wanted longer days, and that meant going south for the winter (it works for the birds). It also had to be within a few hours of flying, and not too expensive once we got there. We considered the Canary Islands, but they're very built up on the main islands, and the little ones take a ferry ride to get to, which didn't sound like a cunning plan in January. And Easyjet fly to Morocco, so it wasn't too expensive!

We booked the hotels and our first transfers through a travel company, and they gave us lots of help with cultural orientation, as did the Riad (guesthouse) owner. I was very, very nervous at first, but can honestly say that I felt safer there than I do sometimes in Oxford, and we had a brilliant time. It's an incredible culture-shock for about the first 48 hours, but once you settle into it, it's just wonderful. :)