Blue Men of Morocco

We just used them for our trip to Morocco last month and were extremely happy with them. Elena was great in planning all the details, we loved our driver Zaid, our guides as well as the places we stayed. I had already booked our place in Marakkech on our own, but used them for the drive from Marakkech to Ouzarzate, to Merzouga, our camel trip and night in the desert, and then to Fez. We travelled with our kids ages 11 and 14 and had a wonderful trip.

I am happy to answer any other questions, but here is the link to my trip report with ALL the details:
www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2&tid=34974589

My family used elana and blue men last June to plan our trip. We worked with Elena to plan a private, individualized tour. She answered all my many emails when planning the trip and our experience in Morocco was great. We also had Zaid for our driver and were very pleased. I had done a lot of research on sites and accomodations and Elena was happy to give me feedback. We did Marrakech, High Atlas, Ouzarzate, Merzouga, Fes and back to Marrakech.

I would recommend Blue Men without reservation.

we're checking out Blue Men--

JGG and KarinW
Did your driver also serve as something of a guide (I know they are legally prohibited from being "official" guides) or was he really just a method of transportation?

In Fez and Marakkech we had seperate guides and of course on the camel ride we had camelmen take us out into the desert. However, where ever we might stop along the way, Dades Gorge, our day in Merzouga he would take us there and show us around. He would have done the same for Ait Benhaddou and Ouzarzate if we hadn't have just wanted to rest.

My husband was a bit worried that we would be left spending 5 days with a guy who just drove us around, but Zaid was always happy to answer our many questions. So while he is not an official guide in the major cities, he was more than just our driver as we went from location to location.

Hi.
I am Elena of Blue men of Morocco Co. Just want to say thank you guys for your compliments. Also want to point out that our drivers act as over-all guides while they drive you around. Their job is to take care of you and keep all hassles away from you and make your trip a happy one. In the large cities, particiarly Fes and marrakech, official guides are required.

As someone pointed out, there are many "false" guides in Morocco- trying to make a living in their own way.

My drivers are paid to be driver/guides and are not there to take you shopping- unless you are in a small village and want to get something. They will escort you and translate for you. They are licensed to transport tourists so are legit.

I will be happy to answer questions but I usually do not visit this site. So contact me via other means.
Thanks

Blue Men of Morocco Ecotourism Phonies?
 
I've been looking at different tour companies in Morocco dreaming about a great visit someday and came across the Blue Men of Morocco tour company. Thought I'd like to share this. Reading through their tours descriptions , i was shocked to see they offer to tourists apples and raisins to feed the wild Barbary apes in the mountains!!.

In my part of the world - Canada - this is simply something one never does to a wild animal - for various and serious reasons. Then I went on to read that they actually call themselves an Ecotourism company... which to say the least is definitely not on when you feed wild animals to entertain your tourists.

OK so this company goes on to say they promote ecotourism because they bring money and jobs to the poor desert dwellers, etc, etc. but don't most tour companies in Morocco do this too? They built a hotel in the desert and it's run by one family and is just another regular desert hotel with no special considerations to it environment as far as I can tell. Big deal.

So I asked myself, what exactly gives the Blue Men tour company the right to say they promote Ecotourism and sell it on their website as something different from all the other tour companies out there?

Wikipedia defines Ecotourism as the following (edited)
Ideally, ecotourism should satisfy several criteria[2][3], such as:

conservation of biological diversity and cultural diversity through ecosystem protection

promotion of sustainable use of biodiversity, by providing jobs to local populations

sharing of socio-economic benefits with local communities and indigenous people by having their informed consent and participation in the management of ecotourism enterprises

bring tourism to unspoiled natural resources, with minimal impact on the environment being a primary concern.

sirmurph-- so what's your point? Marketing is marketing, no matter where in the world you are trying to sell a service. Most people on these boards are sophisticated and savvy enough to weigh the pros and cons and sort these things out themselves.

I think you answered your own question. Pretending to be something your not to sell your product is wrong - its everybodies business to know about it.

I was looking at this website for a bit before it dawned on me, so no it's not obvious. Ecotourism deserves respect, not exploitation. There are some tour companies out there that take great care to tread lightly on the planet janet.

I'm just wondering why they are called the "Blue Men". I assume this is a reference to the Tuareg. But as far as I know the Tuareg (those that are left) inhabit the Southern Sahara and have nothing at all to do with Morocco.

Yes, No?