traveltheworld

I just returned from a week's trip to Morocco with my 21 yr. old daughter.Morocco is a beautiful country with every type of scenery.The experience of the medinas makes you feel as if you have stepped back in time.Morocco has a rich history, the architecture of the buildings is intricate and dazzling,gardens gorgeous and colorful and the sites are fascinating. We were 2 American,Jewish females traveling with the BEST PRIVATE TOUR GUIDE, Hamid Dandane ([email protected]).He brought Morocco to life for us; he has such a wealth of knowledge and speaks excellent English. He incorporated some Jewish history sites into the tour and looked out for our every need. Any minor glitch was immediately taken care of ie. First ATM tried didn't work so we went to an international bank that did. We stayed in beautiful riads, ate in great restaurants, and felt safe throughout our trip. We can't recommend Hamid more highly!!!

Jenni_P

Yes, I completely agree. My husband and I and 2 friends had him for a guid in May of last year. I actually got his name off this site and coordinated a trip with him. He was amazing - very intelligent, knows 5 languages fluently - extremely well spoken. He was always on time, gave us so much information and we would not have gotten to see nearly as much as we did. We started in Marrakech with him, went through the mountains, spent one night in Erfoud in dunes in the Sahara, and then onto Fes. We had our own van and driver along with him and he arranged all our accomodations. We have travelled quite extensively, and this was one of our most memorable incredible trips.

gretchenwall

I agree that Hamid Dandane deserves the title, BEST PRIVATE TOUR GUIDE. My husband and I spent twelve fascinating days with Hamid immediately after he finished with your tour. He arranged every detail of our trip for our maximum enjoyment. He anticipated our every need and ensured our journey was enjoyable throughout.

Due to Hasan's diligent planning, we were able to experience much more of the "authentic" Morocco than we ever could have managed on our own. My husband and I are both educators with a special interest in world religions and politics. Hassan has an amazing ability to give the right amount of information on a wide variety of culturally sensitive issues without proselytizing or seeming judgmental.

Morocco is a magical land filled with contrasts. Hamid helped us to appreciate his wonderful country in ways that would have been impossible without his expert guidance. I would recommend Hamid highly to anyone who wants to experience Morocco on a private tour.

Shokran Gazillan Hamid!

mpkp

Just curious how much he charges. Thanks

Kavey

Would also be grateful for an idea of prices for Hamid. I went to Morocco years ago when I was 19 and would like to go back with my husband sometime in the next year or two and would certainly consider using a private guide for some or all of the trip.

heikev09

We are a couple from The Netherlands who just spent 5 days with Hamid travelling in Morocco. I support everything what is mentioned about him on this site before, but what is more important, he contributed very much to develop a better understanding and awareness of his country and people. This is very important if you live in a place where many neighbours are from Morocco. With pleasure I will tell how friendly and welcoming people are and how beautiful and diverse the landscape is!

Kavey

No one willing to post even a ball park idea of how much Hamid charges for various services?

Even a rough indication would make this recommendation so much more useful.

Kavey

Many thanks!

nancizim

Hello,
I have read all of the responses but the only thing I don't know is an approximate cost of this guide. Although others have asked, I haven't seen it posted so I thought perhaps you could privately e-mail me if you didn't want it posted. My e-mail address is: [email protected]
It would be helpful to have some idea of what this costs - also, is the driver paid separately? Did he make all the arrangements for dining as well as sleeping or did you arrange the hotels on your own? More specific information would be helpful. In addition, we are thinking of going in November. Do you think it will be too cold? I would certainly love to hear from you. Thanks.
Nanci

sarabeth

It's so wonderful to see how many people have used Hamid as a guide. I truly believe these travel boards have helped him build his business. We had Hamid as a guide three years ago; we still keep in touch. He invited us to his wedding (would have given my eye teeth to have gone). As far as his fee, why don't you email him. I believe his prices depend on the type of tour you want. We had him pick us up at the airport in Casa, drive to Fes by way of Rabat and Meknes and then 2 days in Fes. His fee was something like $200. but I'm not totally sure. But if you email him and tell him what you want he will be more than happy to tell you. As you can read from the posts, he does many types of touring options.

lfrieden

We agree Hamid Dandane is the best tour guide in Morocco. My family and I recently returned from two weeks in Morocco using Hamid for our first 8 days and then doing Marrakech on our own. Until this trip we had always traveled independently and never thought of using a guide. However for Morocco we felt we could use some help and Hamid was all that and more. At first I thought his prices were high as many riads stated you could get a local guide for $30 a day and some other tour companies were slightly less. However we quickly learned that you get what you pay for and Hamid was a bargain. Other companies may give you a different guide in each place and not all will be good or will speak English well. Local city guides don't have the depth of knowledge to add the cultural information. Having one guide that we could get comfortable with and who could get to know us made a huge difference.

As others have mentioned Hamid speaks perfect English not only to communicate but he gets the nuances and jokes as well. Hamid is highly educated and knows a great deal about his country, the sites, people, religion and culture and I can definitely say we learned more on this vacation than on any other. Hamid is fastidious about being on time and unless I am mistaken washed his car each night. What we didn't realize when we initially booked is that we would have a totally private tour from sunrise to sunset. Hamid took care of all details well beyond what we expected. While in Fes, we would tour all day and then he would take us back to rest. After resting Hamid would return to drive us to dinner and then come back and pick us up after dinner and drive us back to our riad. He insisted on walking us to our door each time even though it was a one way alley and there was no way to get lost. That's just the kind of professional he is and how seriously he takes his work. I don't think there was a restaurant that we went to that he didn't personally choose the best table, best view or coolest location. In the country he always made sure the bathrooms were clean and if not, found out where the "tourist" bathrooms were.

We couldn't recommend a guide more completely and are confident that you will have a memorable trip if you hire Hamid as your guide.

Luisah

There are three threads on this today.

Seems odd that no one is willing to offer info on the rates, except one poster who suggest emailing the guide.

JJaber

I too just returned from Morocco and had the pleasure of enjoying Hamid Dandane's expertise, hospitality and wonderful personality. Every aspect of Morocco was made more enjoyable because I saw it through Hamid's eyes. He has mastered english as well as several other languages. He was always patient and kind with respect to our group's questions and requests. He worried about each of us as if we were his sisters, brothers or children. No detail or request was too small for Hamid. He had a way of anticipating our every whim. His choice of restaurants, riads and hotels was magnificent. Hamid made sure we saw all the beauty that Morocco has to offer--beautiful shrines, gardens, palaces and countrysides. We learned history, culture and local customs. I even learned that there are seven different kinds of mint that can be used in Morocco's fabulous mint tea. Our visit to a Berber village in the Atlas mountains was a moment I will always remember and treasure. Finaly, for all you shoppers out there, Hamid knows where to buy the best items. All you have to do is ask and he takes you to the best shops that have only items of the highest quality. Hamid will tell you where to buy the best olives, beautiful berber rugs, gorgeous hand made pottery and ceramics and the best jewelry. Best of all, Hamid has no problem with letting you shop as much as you want while he sips mint tea. I left Morocco much richer for having seen a beautiful country and having found a new friend and brother in Hamid.

sfarah

Several of the flattering responses come from folks who have never posted before on this board. Suspicious.

jenmaroc

This thread is very suspect! ...but very well scripted. Bravo Hamid

Moroccan_resident

I have no experience about this person but the emails are well written and sound good. I have taken some tours with Blue Men of Morocco Co and have gotten to know some of the driver/guides, official guides in Fes and Marrakech that they use and of course- the local folks in Merzouga.
Spending a lot of time in Morocco, one learns a lot. All that is well written of this person can be true.

The offical guides and driver/guides do their best to inform their clients about the local culture. Not all want to bring the clients into their homes. In the desert, yes.

Actually, I am not aware of that many independent guides as Hmad is described to be. I am very leery of so many who pretend to be your friend, to get big commssions from hotels and shops, etc..

If you buy high prices items and have them shipped, you want to make sure you get the correct items. You want them well packaged in case they are breakable.

Still think a well known tour operator or travel company that arranges transport with driver/guide, hotels and ryad, shows,offical guides offers a certain amount of accountability that is not there with a private guide.

Luisah

"Still think a well known tour operator or travel company that arranges transport with driver/guide, hotels and ryad, shows,offical guides offers a certain amount of accountability that is not there with a private guide."

Moroccan Resident. I agree. But then you write "All that is well written of this person can be true."

It may be true, but is suspicious since the original post was written in March and is the ONLY post by that person. It sounds like a commercial.

JJaber

I am very surprised at the amounot of skeptisism exhibited in these e-mails.I was a client of Hamid's for my trip in June and July of this year. His name was given to me by a friend. Prior to my trip, I did not know Hamid was listed in Fodor's because I bought the Lonley Planet Guide for my trip. Upon hearing that Hamid was listed in Fodor's I did not hesitate to add my comments so that is why I am a new visitor to this website. I assure you that I would not take my time or exert my energy to write comments as a favor to anyone. I cannot be paid or persuaded to write something that I do not believe is whole heartedly true. Moreover, were I to go to Morocco again I would not hesitate to hire Hamid again; he only stirred us to the best restaurants, accomodations and the best places to shop. We did some shopping on our own and the quality of the items we purchased in places Hamid directed us to far surpassed what we found on our own. I even had pottery items shipped to me in the US from a place Hamid directed us to. All of my items arrived unbroken and before the date promised. Moreover, had they not arrived timely or had they been broken I would not have hesitated to ask the company to rectify the matter or to ask Hamid to intercede. Hamid did not negotiate prices for us; we negotiated our own prices. If I asked Hamid to help with a price negotiation the price went down not up. Whether Hamid got a comission or not I could not tell you and quiet frankly is none of my business. This is a practice that goes on all over the world. People who direct business to others always get something, whether it is a thank you, dinner or whatever. With Hamid I feel he has his busines and reputation at stake and he is not going to jeapordize his business to direct you to only those merchants who give him a comission. A person interested in repeat business and in building his reputation like Hamid only directs his clients to the best places regardless of whether he obtains something out of it or not.
Quite frankly, I do not know why some of you have nothing better to do than question people's motives and reliability.

Strmop

I initially wanted to do the trip independently but decided on a guide
for the same reason as you – there is not enough time to afford to wander aimlessly about. I spent a lot of time researching for a guide who would be reliable, reasonable and honest etc. I believe I found him in Ali Ousso and definitely made the right choice (he was also highly recommended on another forum).
I contacted him back in October outlining roughly where we wanted to go. During the following few weeks we chatted back and forth, discussing different routes, our likes and dislikes etc. He initially gave me all the information I could possibly need for independent traveling regarding public transport/taxis to make our own way, right down to times and prices of both, where the buses stopped and where and when we needed to get taxis etc. (the eventual goal was Merzouga, Erg Chebbi sand dunes/desert). I was impressed with this since he was not ‘pushing’ his services.
I then asked him for information about the tours he organizes. He provided me with various different routes which were flexible and not cast in stone as the big tour operators are. I told him our likes and dislikes re We had a choice of 4x4 or landrover. (We chose the latter, it was cheaper. The vehicle and driver were superb). He accompanied us the whole trip with Idir our driver.
Hope this helps, let me know how you go on. I hope you enjoy your trip half as much as we did. If you want more info re routes etc contact me at : [email protected]
Regards
Karen

Txrangerterry

Just returned last night from 3 weeks in Morocco. My sister and I hired Ali Oussou and his driver Youssef for a 5 day trip from Marrakesh over the high Atlas to Erg Chebbi and then to Essouaria. Ali was fantastic. He was born in Rissani so he knows the desert area like the back of his hand. He is a true "blue man" and he took us to many places off the beaten path. I am a professional photographer so he had our interests in mind the entire time. We had tea with a family that lived in a cave in the high Atlas, spent a night in the desert, and he chose great places for us to stay. He charged roughly $135 per day, including hotels/riads with half board, his services and the driver, a new air conditioned 4x4, all bottled water, and many extras. Youssef (his driver) has driven Hillary Clinton and Van Damme when he was there for movie making. I'll have to refer to the more than 10,000 photos we took to remem,ber all the places Ali took us. He was fantastic. For 2 women traveling alone, we never felt uneasy, he checked all the restrooms before he would let us go in (didn't want us to use Turkish toilets Can't say enough good things about Ali Oussou!