NancyLA

Hello,
I am planning a 7-day trip to Morocco for the fall of 2020 (not counting travel days). I know this is a limited time, but we don't have much choice. The cities we are most interested in are Fez, Essaouria, possibly Rabat, maybe Marrakesh and an overnight in the desert. We would love a day hiking trip in the Atlas mountains and a cooking class. We are a group of 6 (3 couples) in our 60s, but quite fit.

We welcome advice about a possible itinerary and a custom operator that will supply driver and/or guide. We would also welcome recommendations on riads and restaurants in these cities.

I've seen in other posts that some recommend flying from Marrakesh to Fez as way of saving some time in a limited-time trip. It would be helpful to know if this is worth the extra cost.

Thanks so much in advance!

MmePerdu

With only a week I think you'll need to trim your plan, take in part of the north (Fez & Rabat) or part of the south (Marrakech & Essaouira). Consider it reconnaissance to see if you like the country enough to spend significantly more time to include the rest on another visit. I don't recommend flying within the country as the time you'll spend going from one place to another can be as gratifying an experience as any. Decide where you most want to visit without being on the move constantly and the rest is just details with which we can help. I afraid there's no practical help, though, for your visit as now conceived. Even with just a week you can get a nice glimpse of the country if you force yourself to slow down, advice for life as well as Morocco as I see it.

neckervd

So you ask for accommodation plus a car with driver and guide for a 1 week trip through Morocco and for 1 week in Andalucia.
I think that travel offices can much better offer this kind of packages than the individual travellers who usually give advice to other individual travellers in this forum.

NancyLA

Yes, for many previous trips I have found the personal recommendations on the travel forum to be much more helpful than working with travel agencies. This has been particularly true when looking for a local operator who can help us plan a trip that is geared to our interests. We had amazing trips to South America and New Zealand with local operators suggested by the Forum writers. We have then been able to fold in the individual suggestions on accommodations, restaurants and sights into our trip plans. I don't see this as a conflict with the forum's intentions.

laurie_ann

We worked with Wild Morocco https://wildmorocco.com/ They picked us up in Fez and dropped us in Marrakesh which included one night in a Berber desert camp two other nights on route (Chez Pierre in Les Gorges du Dadès and Riad Caravane in Ouarzazate. We were very well taken care of. If you can fly into one city and the other you could do in 7 days. We flew from the US into Fez through Paris and out of Marrakesh through Madrid. In Fez we stayed at Riad al Bartal. And in Marrakesh at Riad al Massarah. Would recommend both.

laurie_ann

Here is link to my trip report. Two great weeks in Morocco