Hi, After reviewing the posts on trip advisor, it is hard to tell which ones are real and which ones are planted / coached. Looking for feedback on either of these two companies. Both are responsive to emails inquires and seem very helpful. Both also seem to be local. Journey Beyond seems to be well recomended and more well known. It is also considerably more expensive. I am told that with Journey Beyond Travel, I am guaranteed and english speaking guide and I will not be cajoled into buying things from merchants (a common practice for tours I understand). It also looks like Journey's accomodiations are nicer. Would appreciate feedback from anyone who has used either company. Thanks!!!

I used JBT for my trip to Morocco with my sister last October. It was well organised and our driver, Hamid, was excellent. We had a Toyota landcruiser all to ourselves, which meant that we had full control of the pace of the trip. Hamid quickly observed that I love to take photos so he will always point me to photo opppotunities which I would otherwise miss. He also stopped for us and took a slightly more scenic route where possible. Obviously we were concerned because we were two ladies travelling on our own in Morocco. That's one of the reasons we chose JBT... because of all the reviews and recommendation. The trip also allowed us to spend time with a local family, walk through orchards (which included lessons about dates) and excellent home made food. The accommodation chosen for us were first rate. Even today, my sister and I continue to recount the days we had in Morocco. JBT isn't the cheapest tour operator, but I think it is money worth spending... for the extra bits.
Enjoy your trip to Morocco!

Hi cdc --
My husband and I also used Journey Beyond Travel and had a wonderful time. I have a trip report posted here on fodors if you want to read about our experience. Everything about our trip was amazing - I highly recommend JBT and would use them again if we return. Our driver was named Hamid also, maybe the same person as Kakijalan's - he was great! The riads we stayed in were gorgeous; our night in a tent in the Sahara was a blast; loved visiting with local families and eating with them. JBT helped us plan a really fabulous itinerary and the trip went completely as planned - not one glitch or complaint.

Have a great time no matter who you go with - we loved Morocco!

Leslie

Thanks so much for your responses. I am going to book with JBT today. We are doing our own tour from Tangier to Fes (visiting friends), and then looking forward to having the guide show us the best of the Sahara leg, down to Marrakech. JBT suggested a day trip to another portion of the atlas mountains - different from what we drive through on the down to Marrakech. If there were any must see's - please pass along. In the meantime, I will review your trip report (I think again. . . overflow of information at this point!).
Thanks again.
cdc

We did do one day trip from Marrakesh up into the mountains to do a little walking (I didn't want to write hiking because it wasn't at all strenous but could be if you wanted that kind of day). We visitied the Tin Mal Mosque and had lunch with a Berber family (I think Berber...it's been a few years!).

If you're not overwhelmed with info and want to read more, my report's at: http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...in-morocco.cfm

Please come back and write about your trip when you return. Have a wonderful time!

I am presently looking at JBT although I haven't contacted them yet. I have a couple of questions to those of you who have used them.

(1) Did you also hire them as a guide in Fes, for Example, or did you just use them just on the tours and do the cities by yourself?

(2) Which of their tours did you take. I've been fretting for days over whether to take the Golden Sahara or the Magical Sahara.

(3) Next, I have a question regarding the camel ride. I would love to go on a short camel ride, but I'm thinking that will make me very sore for the rest of the trip. Someone on another forum said that it 'pulled joints you didn't know you had'. So, any comments on that would be welcome too. We are mature adults, but we are reasonably fit and healthy too. So, I would like to hear from someone on that.

(4) Did anyone do the upgrade? The standard tent sounded fine until it got to the en suite facilities and I believe it was their site that mentioned hot water and then it seemed the upgrade was a better idea.

While at first glance they appear to be somewhat more expensive, I noticed that in their 'what this includes' section they indicate that the price includes tips. The other tours that I've seen do not include that, so that alone would make up part of the difference.

I didn't mean to steal the thread, but since cdc said she had her info, I couldn't see starting another thread on the same exact subject. Thanks.

Hi 1Caroline --

I'm happy to answer any questions.
We customized our itinerary - it wasn't one of the exact ones shown on their website. That was one of the great things about JBT - they were flexible! Our time in the desert was short - we spent only one night in a tent. The tent was ensuite and that was nice but we ended up not using the shower and just waited and showered when we returned to a hotel later that day.

If you're looking at the Golden Sahara or Magical Sahara that would be more nights in the tent so maybe an upgrade is worth it - I don't know really what the difference is in quality or cost. Some of the camp areas might be more of a loud party atmosphere - ours was quiet. So depending on which you prefer you could mention it to JBT.

I thought our camel ride out into the desert would be a few hours but it ended up being only about 15 minutes I think - just up over a dune and then we stopped to watch the sunset. It was somewhat disappointing to me and not what I was expecting. BUT, the camels' saddles (just blankets?) had no stirrups so we really were at the mercy of gravity with nothing to brace ourselves on and my husband in particular found it quite uncomfortable! So he was happy to have such a short ride.
I think it was more that kind of pinching soreness rather than the muscles being used or joints being pulled -- but again that was just on a brief ride. I think there's a better technique where you sit with one leg up and across rather than both just dangling down. We didn't know to do that.

It was a go-with-the-flow kind of destination and so we did not complain about wanting a longer ride. There's a lot to do with timing on any given day where things might not go exactly as per plan but if something is truly important to you make sure you spell it out when creating your itinerary with JBT.

We had one driver, Hamid, for almost the whole trip -- after we reached Marrakesh we had another one for our last couple days. Hamid was great at explaining what we were driving past, stopping for pictures (often!!) and good at conversing but also not talking constantly which I appreciated. In the cities JBT arranged for us to do 1/2 day tours with licensed guides (not Hamid) and then we had a free day or so to explore on our own. The guides in Rabat, Fez, and Marrakesh, and the desert were great and we saw a lot with them I know we wouldn't have accomplished on our own. Also we got to eat with the guide's family on a couple of occasions and that was a highlight.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. Let me know if you have other questions.

Leslie

Thanks, Leslie. I really appreciate all of your good information. That gives me something to go on when I contact them. Thanks, again.

You're welcome!

Hi Caroline,
We are leaving in two weeks for our trip, and I will post a full report when we get back. I can tell you what we have planned (I have spent a ton of time planning this trip), and hope that helps -
We are flying into Tangier and spending two days there on our own. We found our hotel through recomendations, internet searches. There are a few 'must sees' that I think we can handle on our own, and I understand that it is pretty safe to wander around the downtown area. We will then take the train to Fes. I have a friend who lives in Fes - and runs Riad Laaroussa - Fes (http://www.riad-laaroussa.com/) so we are staying there. Her hotel has a lot of great reviews so I am sure it will be wonderful. We could go to Menkes for an overnight, but will more likely just take the train there and back on a day trip. I am going to rely on my friend for the must sees in Fes, so no guide for us while we are there.
From Fes, JBT will pick us up and take us into our Sahara and Mountain tour. I sometimes get car sick, so we may change up their published tour to help me get more acclimated to the roads, altitude, heat, etc.
As for the camels, I had heard that they can be uncomfortable, but confirmed with JBT that we will not be riding them a long distance. I was encouraged to wear long pants on the day we ride the camels. I didn't ask JBT about it, but have heard from other people that you could also rent ATVs and drive them to the camp site.
We did not upgrade the tent for the overnight - I am hopeful that the standard tent is good!
We only will have a day and half in Marrakech, so we thought it was wise to have a JBT guide to stay with us. At the end of the Sahara part of the tour, we will get to Marrakech and have a few hours with a guide touring the city. The next day he will pick us up, take us to any remaining sites we missed, and then do a tour of another portion of the mountain area outside the city. Our flight is late in the evening, and we felt that having a guide would be most efficient way to spend our time - it also saves us on cabs and transportation worries, as well as gives us a safe place to keep our luggage.
As for the tips - I noticed that as well. When I spoke to JBT about it, it seems like they want you to feel comfortable and no pressure - you are there to enjoy your trip, not stress about who to tip, why you are going to certain places,etc. Again, since we are only there a short time, we liked the idea of having a guide all to ourselves, that can move at our pace and specific to our interests.
I hope that this helps! I also recomend reading Leslie's trip report. It is very detailed and insightful - I really enjoyed it.
cdc

Hi cdc Thanks for your input and I'll be waiting to hear from you when you return. We have always traveled independently even in area where we didn't speak the language. However, as we learned in Japan and Russia, that not being able to even read the alphabet makes it lot more interesting and a bit more challenging. I also plan everything and do my research for months before going. fact, I have the plane tickets already. We found much better rates from where we lived by flying into and out of Casablanca, so we bought them lest they not be available when we went back to get them.

I have, just this week been talking with JBT but the desert area they presented to us would put us so far down that I'd almost have to leave Fez off and I'm trying to decide if I'm willing to do that or not. They've been very nice and prompt. They have also been accommodating as best they could my husband's special needs since he's a diabetic and his insulin must be kept cool. That's a little challenging in the desert.

Have fun and enjoy your trip and I'll be looking forward to hearing about it upon your return.

cdc - we really loved our stay at Riad Laaroussa - lucky you to be headed there soon! I really wish I had taken a cooking lesson when we were there. I recently saw an episode of the Andrew Zimmern show Bizarre Foods that was filmed at Laarouusa. They were teaching him to make bastilla...yum, one of my favorite dishes in Morocco. It was interesting both to see them in the kitchen and to see him making the cultural faux pas of trying to kiss one of the women. She quickly backed up! Here's a link to a 4 minute clip showing that - hope the link works:

http://www.travelchannel.com/video/l...-culture-15336

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

The link did work. I need to remember the no touching thing - definately come from a different culture where it would be rude not to give a handshake or hug.
Another thing - I am not a big meat eater, but am still excited about the food. I see a lot about the meat specialties, but also seem to have a lot of veggie fare.

Caroline - JBT is being very accomodating about my diet in planning ahead for the meals that are provided. I will let you know what happens in practice.

We are on our own in Tangier, by the way, if you have come across any good suggestions for sights or food.

Also, unrelated. I still haven't purchased travel insurance. The Cherubis plan seems a lot less expensive than the AmEx one. . . We have insurance for just about everything under our standard plans - I am just worried about the really big stuff - like an air lift out of the sahara (by the way, so scared of scorpions!), or an act of god or terrorism, or any of those really big things that you know aren't going to happen, but if you pay for the insurance, it's pretty much guaranteed not to happen

Best,
cdc.

Caroline - I am not very active on this site, and was just looking at old posts and saw a post from you indicating that you are flying through Spain for your trip. We are doing the same - how funny, going from Madrid to Tangier and then flying out of BCN on the way back to the US. I really must make sure to do a good trip report for you Good luck with the rest of your planning!
cdc

cdc That's cool. We got much better rates flying into and out of Spain. I can't wait to read your report.

Has anyone tried asking for Hamid as a guide. I wonder if you could. It appears that they have an office staff and a guide staff. I originally corresponded to Houssaine Boufala and he turned me over to another guy (I won't name at this time.) I've been trying to work with JBT, but the young American guy they turned me over to has not met my expectations. He's nice enough, very nice, but every time he responds, he apologizes for the delay as he's been busy. Then, every time there has been several errors on his outline or he hasn't made the changes. I gave him a definite date that we would be there and that we would leave. Once he moved our arrival date to a day later and once he had us getting back to our departure town later than our flight left. Then, he gave me the original presentation back without making the changed I had requested and no explanation though he said he had been in a hurry to come to the states for the first time in a couple years but he'd already given it to somebody to price although it wasn't completed yet. I can appreciate his being anxious to go home for a visit, but just let someone else help me and I'd be happy. I'm thinking of asking for someone else. I don't want to continue with this guy if he doesn't have the time to read my e-mails. I was so excited about finding this company and now he's making me have second thoughts. I've been so careful to outline exactly what I meant, but he simply doesn't read it. I'll have to think about this one some more. I think it's the person rather than the company though, but I'd go to another company rather than continue like this.

Caroline -- I'm sorry that you're not having the best experience right now with JBT. The person we dealt with to set up our trip was Fazia and we had no problems at all during the planning (or the trip!). We were able to meet her in Morocco and really enjoyed that. I checked my old emails from when we were working on our itinerary and unfortunately it was just a generic jbt@journeybeyondtravel -- not hers specifically. I wonder if you could ask to be put in touch with her -- maybe do that by phone not just email -- and try to explain what's going on and your concerns. I think you'd be well taken care of by her.

Caroline-we are booked for a 9-day trip in Sept.with JBT because of our nephew's wonderful experience with them. We have been corresponding with Thomas, one of the founders, and have found him to be so helpful and in touch with all of our wishes and concerns. We did speak with him by phone before we booked, as Leslie said, maybe that would help you.

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for your kind comments about our team at Journey Beyond Travel. I wanted to personally apologize to 1Caroline about my mistakes in talking with you regarding your itinerary. Basically, we work very hard in each custom trip we put together and there was some confusion as we discussed your route. I was trying to get the information correct so that I could send you a new version of our custom itinerary packet that we have been sending out to certain clients recently. It takes us about two or more hours to put these together, so I try to be careful to understand all of your points. You are right, perhaps my venturing to the US and trying to get your route ready (so that Aicha could work on it and then send it to me once I landed) before I left (and in transit) caused some of my misunderstandings. I do know that when we talked with the places we were outlining (I believe), we didn't have too many extra choices of places to go since your trip is somewhat off the beaten path (which is pretty cool). Please do not allow this to paint the wrong picture of our company : ) I do take great pride in what we do and I just didn't want you to have to wait a few days as I traveled since I wanted to ensure all was put together properly for your trip. I am the best person to give your route a final overview, but sometimes email doesn't help us clarify all that we need to. Perhaps Leslie is right that a phone call would help, but I am not sure that I have your number on file. In any regard, we look forward to helping you possibly get this put together and once you are in country you'll understand why we stand out : ) Thanks! Thomas at Journey Beyond Travel (Founder and not so young, but thanks!)

Leslie or other Moroccon experts- what was the experience like when you visited the home of your guide for a meal (I think that was part of your tour)? I am trying to prepare for cultural norms and what is deemed polite - beyond the standard please and thank you.
Also, someone suggested that they had brought little dollar store toys, even pencils and pads, to give away to the kids we meet in the villages. Was that your experience as well?
Last minute packing is in full swing!!!! Thanks.
cdc

Hi cdc -- haha I wouldn't say I'd be in the category of Moroccan expert but I can tell you about our experience. In Fez we were with a female guide, Nadia, for a day and stopped at her parents' place for lunch. It was a meal prepared by her mother and sister and was served to just the 3 of us, my husband, myself, and Nadia -- not the whole family. We were introduced to other family members but they stayed in other rooms of the flat while we were there. We were taught how to eat using the flatbread in place of silverware but we also were given the option of forks if we wanted them. I had taken a small gift for her mother since I knew we'd be stopping for lunch which I hope she enjoyed - it was candy from home. I'm never sure what to take for little hostess gifts.

I think the only thing beyond please and thank you manners-wise would be washing your hands before eating (duh). Everyone is digging into the same platters. And then eating only using your right hand. I do find it challenging to eat with my hands and using bread like that is very filling but when in Rome I do as the Romans....

Our experience with our guide Tata's family was similar. His mother and sisters prepared the meal when we stopped at their house on our way to the desert. We were then served (just us and Tata and our driver Hamid) at a table in a garden -- not along with the rest of the family.

We were served milk pretty much straight from the cow at Tata's as a welcome drink and I was not super keen on that but didn't want to offend. I think I took one sip and surreptitiously made my husband finish mine. It tasted good - Tata had mixed in some date syrup - but perhaps it was a little warm and thick. Anyway, I guess eating and drinking what you're given and not turning things down would be an element of the polite-factor you mention. Which I'm sure most people know, sorry, not trying to state the obvious!

We didn't really meet kids to give them anything in villages - sometimes they would run up and hold their hands out and ask for money - our driver Hamid would then tell them to run along. I think that's an unwanted side-effect of tourists giving little things randomly to children they come across - that it encourages begging. If I knew I'd be visiting a school I'd take supplies to give them or if I was going to a family's with children I'd take a gift for the children but I wouldn't give out treats to kids on the streets. But that's just my opinion.

Good luck with your packing and have a fabulous trip!!