Advice on private tour Morocco
Nov 5th, 2017, 08:03 PM
#22
I hope you will report on your trip to Morocco. I see on other posts you are in Spain so assume you will be in Morocco soon as you mentioned that in another post. Appreciate any information you can share on Morocco.
Dec 5th, 2017, 06:07 AM
#24
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Yes travel -
The highlights of our trip were Chefchauen and hiking. We did a one day hike into the hills around Chefchauen which was lovely and interesting hearing the tap taping of the hashish being made. Another one day walk in the Dades Gorge which was a great experience seeing all the women washing their clothes in the river, and working on their farms. We loved our hiking experience near Imlil for 3 days, mostly because of the contact with the village people and seeing up close therapies day to day lives. We did not enjoy Casablanca or Essaouira but did enjoy seeing the goats in the Argan trees near the latter. Fes was very interesting, as was Marakesh. We loved our camel ride and overnight in the desert. We loved all our Riads. If you have specific questions I will try to answer. I am travelling again.
The highlights of our trip were Chefchauen and hiking. We did a one day hike into the hills around Chefchauen which was lovely and interesting hearing the tap taping of the hashish being made. Another one day walk in the Dades Gorge which was a great experience seeing all the women washing their clothes in the river, and working on their farms. We loved our hiking experience near Imlil for 3 days, mostly because of the contact with the village people and seeing up close therapies day to day lives. We did not enjoy Casablanca or Essaouira but did enjoy seeing the goats in the Argan trees near the latter. Fes was very interesting, as was Marakesh. We loved our camel ride and overnight in the desert. We loved all our Riads. If you have specific questions I will try to answer. I am travelling again.
Dec 5th, 2017, 06:23 AM
#25
hurrygirl,
Wonderful to hear back from you! I'd love to hear more! Now my turn to ask a lot of questions!
Did you find a guide or agency that you worked with? What was your itinerary and which riads did you like (or not)?
Did you have a guide in Chefchaouen or did you just wander on your own -- and how did you know that you were observing hashish being made?!! I won't ask if you partook, though
Where did you take hike near the Dades Gorge and Imlil? Did you have a guide there, too?
So interesting that you didn't care for Essaouria - so many folks say that this is one of their favorite places; would you mind sharing with us what it was that disappointed you?
As I did share so much of what I learned in my planning on this thread, I would love to know what you learned from the actual trip!
Wonderful to hear back from you! I'd love to hear more! Now my turn to ask a lot of questions!
Did you find a guide or agency that you worked with? What was your itinerary and which riads did you like (or not)?
Did you have a guide in Chefchaouen or did you just wander on your own -- and how did you know that you were observing hashish being made?!! I won't ask if you partook, though
Where did you take hike near the Dades Gorge and Imlil? Did you have a guide there, too?
So interesting that you didn't care for Essaouria - so many folks say that this is one of their favorite places; would you mind sharing with us what it was that disappointed you?
As I did share so much of what I learned in my planning on this thread, I would love to know what you learned from the actual trip!
Dec 7th, 2017, 03:35 PM
#26
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What are names of the riads you loved (i.e. all)? My other questions (e.g. did you use an agency?) are similar to those above. It's been decades since I was in Morocco, but the Fodors trip reports have me considering a return trip.
No pressure to "hurry" hurrygirl, but hoping you can spend a bit of time writing, either during or after your current travels. Thank you.
No pressure to "hurry" hurrygirl, but hoping you can spend a bit of time writing, either during or after your current travels. Thank you.
Dec 17th, 2017, 03:06 PM
#28
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Hi Yestravel and Calinurse and anyone else intersted,
My apologies for the delay in writing this.
We did a 21 day private tour of Morocco with Experience It Tours. We had a driver who was knowledgeable, with excellent English and private guided tours in various places as listed. We told them where we wanted to visit and they arranged everything. Being private we were also able to adapt on the fly when we saw things of interest. Here goes:
DAY 1 CASABLANCA
Hassan II mosque. – HOTEL CLUB VAL D’ANFA
DAY 2 – Drive Through RABAT to CHEFCHAOUEN
Mohammed V Masoleum, Tour Hassan, Kasbah Oudaya head to Chefchaouen,
DAR MEZIANA ( loved this charming Riad)
DAY 3 - CHEFCHAOUEN
Guided tour with Abdelsalam (76 yr. old with vast knowledge and great teacher)
DAY 4 - CHEFCHAOUEN
Hike up into the Rif Mountains surrounding Chefchoauen. – Tour guide was Boushta
( very interesting hearing the rhythmical tapping sounds of the cannibis being pounded into hashish in various sheds and barns in the mountain villages)
DAY 5:: CHEFCHAOUEN / VOLUBILIS / MEKNES / FES
RIAD MYRA( loved this Riad)
DAY 6:: FES
Guided tour with Azzadine of the Medina, The Kings Palace, the tanneries, and tile and ceramic making facility
RIAD MYRA
DAY 7:: FES- COOKING CLASS in the Medina ( interesting experience buying ingredients in the ancient Medina)
DAY 8:: ERFOUD
Drive across the Middle Atlas Mountains through the beautiful forests, jagged rock faces, and Berber villages and then descending towards the Sahara Desert.
KASBAH XALUCA( nice but a bit contrived)
DAY 9:: SAHARA DESERT Guided 4-wheel drive vehicle across the barren land to the majestic Sahara sand dunes. A camel ride to see the sunset over the dunes and spend the night in a tent Modern Deluxe Tent. (Dinner is included). A great experience. We missed seeing a sunset as it rained !
DAY 10:: TODRA GORGES / DADES GORGES/ SKOURA
Watched the sunrise over the desert - beautiful
Return to Erfoud and drive to the Todra Gorges. Overnight in Skoura at Kasbah.
L’MA LODGE ( loved this lodge - great room, fabulous dinners , set amongst palmeries)
DAY 11:: SKOURA - HIKE DADES GORGE (We loved this- more of a long walk. Saw the village life with farmers working their crops, women washing clothes in river, harvesting olives) Guide’s name was Youssef.
DAY 12:: MARRAKECH Drive to Marakesh and on the way visit Ait Ben Haddou which has been used for many films including, Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth, and recently The Gladiator. Really neat ! Then drive over the High Atlas Mountains to Marrakech. Visit the famous square Djamaa el Fna
RIAD Chergui ( nice but not our favorite )
DAY 13:: MARRAKECH Guided tour with Khalid - Palace of the Bahia, the Saadian Tombs, Koutoubia Mosque and the famous Djemaa el-Fna and shopping in the souk (market) of Marrakech.( great guide, haggelling in the market
DAY 14:: MARRAKECH Exploring the ancient medina and the gardens surrounding Marrakech. Hamman experience ( had to do it but didn’t love it)
DAY 15:: HIGH ATLAS (Drive through the High Atlas mountains to a roadside stop near Imilil and begin a private guided hike(guide’s name Hussein who was attentive but his English was limited), and two mules and 2 muleteers one of which is the cook named Youssef who was a great cook) up around the based of Mt. Toubkal. Hike through the lower altitudes through some of the local Berber villages.
GITE (MOUNTAIN LODGE)- very basic but the only thing available. Loved seeing the rural village life
DAY 16 :: HIGH ATLAS (B, D)
Continue to hike through Berber village and round the base of Toubkal. Dinner will be served in the tent.
GITE (MOUNTAIN LODGE)
DAY 17 :: HIGH ATLAS (B, D)
Hike to Imlil sleep in lodge at base of mountain .
DAR IMILIL( very nice Riad but a little more tired than the others)
DAY 18:: HIGH ATLAS / TAROUDANT Drive through the High Atlas mountains to Taroudant. We did not especially enjoy this area and it’s Medina. It seemed not as clean or lively)
HOTEL DAR ZITOUNE
( ok but a bit contrived)
DAY 19:: Drive along the coast through Agadir ( costed their large indoor farmers market which we loved. Quite different from the other markets ) and saw the goats climbing in the Argon trees. Visited a womens cooperative to see how Argon is processed. In the afternoon you will continue to Essaouira
DAR L’OUISSIA (very nice with lovely upstairs terrace overlooking the beach and great location)
DAY 20:: ESSAOUIRA (B, D)
Essaouira, a picturesque fishing town, with a lovely long beach , an interesting fishing port and nice , small souk( market)
DAY 21:: ESSAOIURA/ MARRAKECH Drive to the airport for departure.
My husband reminded me that we actually did like Essaouira in retrospect but we had an unfortunate experience and were getting tiired at the end of our trip so when first home felt like I had not liked it.
If you have specific questions, I will try to answer.
My apologies for the delay in writing this.
We did a 21 day private tour of Morocco with Experience It Tours. We had a driver who was knowledgeable, with excellent English and private guided tours in various places as listed. We told them where we wanted to visit and they arranged everything. Being private we were also able to adapt on the fly when we saw things of interest. Here goes:
DAY 1 CASABLANCA
Hassan II mosque. – HOTEL CLUB VAL D’ANFA
DAY 2 – Drive Through RABAT to CHEFCHAOUEN
Mohammed V Masoleum, Tour Hassan, Kasbah Oudaya head to Chefchaouen,
DAR MEZIANA ( loved this charming Riad)
DAY 3 - CHEFCHAOUEN
Guided tour with Abdelsalam (76 yr. old with vast knowledge and great teacher)
DAY 4 - CHEFCHAOUEN
Hike up into the Rif Mountains surrounding Chefchoauen. – Tour guide was Boushta
( very interesting hearing the rhythmical tapping sounds of the cannibis being pounded into hashish in various sheds and barns in the mountain villages)
DAY 5:: CHEFCHAOUEN / VOLUBILIS / MEKNES / FES
RIAD MYRA( loved this Riad)
DAY 6:: FES
Guided tour with Azzadine of the Medina, The Kings Palace, the tanneries, and tile and ceramic making facility
RIAD MYRA
DAY 7:: FES- COOKING CLASS in the Medina ( interesting experience buying ingredients in the ancient Medina)
DAY 8:: ERFOUD
Drive across the Middle Atlas Mountains through the beautiful forests, jagged rock faces, and Berber villages and then descending towards the Sahara Desert.
KASBAH XALUCA( nice but a bit contrived)
DAY 9:: SAHARA DESERT Guided 4-wheel drive vehicle across the barren land to the majestic Sahara sand dunes. A camel ride to see the sunset over the dunes and spend the night in a tent Modern Deluxe Tent. (Dinner is included). A great experience. We missed seeing a sunset as it rained !
DAY 10:: TODRA GORGES / DADES GORGES/ SKOURA
Watched the sunrise over the desert - beautiful
Return to Erfoud and drive to the Todra Gorges. Overnight in Skoura at Kasbah.
L’MA LODGE ( loved this lodge - great room, fabulous dinners , set amongst palmeries)
DAY 11:: SKOURA - HIKE DADES GORGE (We loved this- more of a long walk. Saw the village life with farmers working their crops, women washing clothes in river, harvesting olives) Guide’s name was Youssef.
DAY 12:: MARRAKECH Drive to Marakesh and on the way visit Ait Ben Haddou which has been used for many films including, Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth, and recently The Gladiator. Really neat ! Then drive over the High Atlas Mountains to Marrakech. Visit the famous square Djamaa el Fna
RIAD Chergui ( nice but not our favorite )
DAY 13:: MARRAKECH Guided tour with Khalid - Palace of the Bahia, the Saadian Tombs, Koutoubia Mosque and the famous Djemaa el-Fna and shopping in the souk (market) of Marrakech.( great guide, haggelling in the market
DAY 14:: MARRAKECH Exploring the ancient medina and the gardens surrounding Marrakech. Hamman experience ( had to do it but didn’t love it)
DAY 15:: HIGH ATLAS (Drive through the High Atlas mountains to a roadside stop near Imilil and begin a private guided hike(guide’s name Hussein who was attentive but his English was limited), and two mules and 2 muleteers one of which is the cook named Youssef who was a great cook) up around the based of Mt. Toubkal. Hike through the lower altitudes through some of the local Berber villages.
GITE (MOUNTAIN LODGE)- very basic but the only thing available. Loved seeing the rural village life
DAY 16 :: HIGH ATLAS (B, D)
Continue to hike through Berber village and round the base of Toubkal. Dinner will be served in the tent.
GITE (MOUNTAIN LODGE)
DAY 17 :: HIGH ATLAS (B, D)
Hike to Imlil sleep in lodge at base of mountain .
DAR IMILIL( very nice Riad but a little more tired than the others)
DAY 18:: HIGH ATLAS / TAROUDANT Drive through the High Atlas mountains to Taroudant. We did not especially enjoy this area and it’s Medina. It seemed not as clean or lively)
HOTEL DAR ZITOUNE
( ok but a bit contrived)
DAY 19:: Drive along the coast through Agadir ( costed their large indoor farmers market which we loved. Quite different from the other markets ) and saw the goats climbing in the Argon trees. Visited a womens cooperative to see how Argon is processed. In the afternoon you will continue to Essaouira
DAR L’OUISSIA (very nice with lovely upstairs terrace overlooking the beach and great location)
DAY 20:: ESSAOUIRA (B, D)
Essaouira, a picturesque fishing town, with a lovely long beach , an interesting fishing port and nice , small souk( market)
DAY 21:: ESSAOIURA/ MARRAKECH Drive to the airport for departure.
My husband reminded me that we actually did like Essaouira in retrospect but we had an unfortunate experience and were getting tiired at the end of our trip so when first home felt like I had not liked it.
If you have specific questions, I will try to answer.
Dec 17th, 2017, 05:02 PM
#30
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Progol,
Funny! No we did not partake. We did not see them selling it but our guide said it is readily available fir those interested. We were more concerned that we had some wine with us in Chefchaouen as it is a “ dry” town
Funny! No we did not partake. We did not see them selling it but our guide said it is readily available fir those interested. We were more concerned that we had some wine with us in Chefchaouen as it is a “ dry” town
Dec 17th, 2017, 05:12 PM
#31
Thanks so much for writing! It’s so very helpful! I’m just looking briefly now but I’m sure I will have some questions when I take time to really read more carefully.. My husband and I are going in April. Thanks again for getting back and writing!
Dec 18th, 2017, 07:09 AM
#32
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Hi Progol. Glad it is helpful. I just read your proposed itinerary. It looks great to me. When you arrive in Casablanca you might want to get your tickets for an English tour of the Hassan 2 right away as it does get busy.it was closed at lunch time but the ticket office was open. Of course it depends on your timing, which tour will work for you. I wore a head scarf out of respect but our Moroccan guide did not
Glad to see you are having a driver for the exact reasons you mentioned in your earlier post. We too have travelled extensively and usually independently but we definitely would not have enjoyed it as much if we did that in Morocco. I will be travelling again Dec. 21 so if you have questions before that I will try to help you.
Glad to see you are having a driver for the exact reasons you mentioned in your earlier post. We too have travelled extensively and usually independently but we definitely would not have enjoyed it as much if we did that in Morocco. I will be travelling again Dec. 21 so if you have questions before that I will try to help you.
Dec 20th, 2017, 05:21 AM
#35
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Your welcome CaliNurse. By the way I I’m luded the names ( sometimes only the first names) of our guides. If you wanted to contact them, I think if you googled local guides for those places, these names would appear or you could contact our various Riads or hotels and ask if they have contact info for local guides and these names would likely show up. I regret not having written down their full names and contact info.
Be careful with the rug Co-ops that they are quite insistent that you visit. They are very time consuming. If you were really wanting a good quality rug, you might like to take the time but otherwise we felt we would rather not or at least only do it once. Our driver suggested that the second place would be different with no pressure but that was not the case. Once they start rolling them out it is a long process , not to be interupted
Be careful with the rug Co-ops that they are quite insistent that you visit. They are very time consuming. If you were really wanting a good quality rug, you might like to take the time but otherwise we felt we would rather not or at least only do it once. Our driver suggested that the second place would be different with no pressure but that was not the case. Once they start rolling them out it is a long process , not to be interupted
Dec 20th, 2017, 05:28 AM
#36
Good advice on the rug stops. I'm hoping to buy 1 while in Morocco but dont intned to spend a tremndous amount of time on it. We had that in TUrkey and as you say it can be quite time consuming. At first it was interesting, but once we understood the basics we didn't want to spend an hour or more with their narratives & sales pitches.
Dec 20th, 2017, 11:19 AM
#37
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Great summary hurry girl - thank you! Do you know the name of the Desert Camp where you stayed? Modern Deluxe Tent applies to so many camps! I am looking for one that is not too close to Merzoug or other encampments but is close to high dunes. Also, which Hammam did you go to in Marrakech? (So I will be sure to avoid.)
Dec 21st, 2017, 06:45 AM
#38
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Yestravel I think the government run rug store we visited in Fes was the best of the three we visited. We went to a co-op that sells everything for set prices. That helps you to know approximately what the various rugs should sell for and then you can dicker in other places. They sure do have gorgeous ones.
