Morocco Tour recommendation for solo travelers
 

Hi,

I would like to travel to Morocco end of August, beginning of Sept. I am a female travelling alone and I have been advised to look into joining a tour.

I do not like to travel with tours and have always travelled on my own.

I have contacted one tour company, Cosmos.
Has any of you had travelled with Cosmos?

Can you please recommend any other tour company?

Any tips and info is appreciated.

I have not been to Morocco yet but have been looking at several tour companies. I'm a fairly experienced traveller and prefer to go on my own as well, but have been told that it's probably not a great idea for a woman to travel solo in Morocco. I would recommend that you look at tour companies who specialize in Morocco such as Isram (went to Turkey with them and it was great!), Heritage Tours, Sunnyland Tours or Y'alla. Most tour operators offer an "Imperial Cities" package for the major cities - Marrakesh, Fez, Rabat, Casablanca - plus more extensive tours into the Atlas mountains, Todra Gorge or coastal region - Essouria, Safi, Agadir. If you find something, please do post it!

I forgot to add a few others!

Homeric Tours
General Tours (has some interesting independent tours)

Look at www.affordabletours.com for more information on these.

Hi Lia,

Thanks for the pointers. I will do a research on them. I am hoping to find a tour company that operates smaller groups and I do not end up with a rushed trip through sites and else.

Will post when I decided on one.

Also take a look at Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). I think they guarantee no more than 16 in a group:
http://www.oattravel.com/gcc/general...aspx?oid=48221

I took a tour of Morocco through Globus (also owns Cosmos). I debated over which tour to take because both are basically the same although I chose Globus because the hotel selections were more upscale. The trip was somewhat rushed but, at the same time, I am the type of traveler that likes to see as much as possible in each country I visit. There were approximately 30 people on the tour with me. We had ample free time in Marrakesh and Fez. My only disappointment was that we did not stop at the film studio outside of Ouazarzate. Also, we rushed through Meknes and Rabat, but I knew very little about these cities and didn't mind. In the end, I was glad that I went with a tour company. I normally plan my trips on my own, but Morocco was one country were I felt "safer" with a group.

I am interested in land only.

I called both gap and oattravel today. Oattravel does not have land-only. It is a combination of land and air.

I also called gap and they offer 3 tours to Morocco. They have 15 and 8 day tours and they said they do not put more than 16 people in a tour which suits me.

I also called Heritage tours and they offer customized tours. In the case of a solo traveller, you travel with a guide. I am not sure if I am comfortable to travel alone with a guide. That is just me but I might end up doing that if cannot find a tour I like.

I also called Cosmos and looked over their tour. My impression was the same that it might be a bit rushed. I am finding out so far that all the tour companies go through Rabat, Casablance, Fez, Marrakesh and some locations in between within 13-15 days including the flying time from USA in my case. This seems awful lot to cover for the amount of time.

Try these - each offers a land only tour:

http://www.generaltours.com/display_...i?tour_seq=721

http://www.marrakeshvoyage.com/Trips.html

http://www.djoserusa.com/www/bestemm...estemming=0007

kcapuani, thanks for the input on Cosmos/Globus. I somehow did not notice your post earlier. I have looked into these tour companies as well. The Globus tours for Morocco seemed to have been cancelled and Cosmos is available.

I am having a hard time find a tour company that I like fully. After looking ath their itenaries, it seems that each one of them lacks some aspect and I need to compromise.

Has anyone heard of a company named General Tours out of NH?

Hi zbjoon,
We took general Tours 10 Day Egypt tour March 19-28. Since my husband and I were the only ones who signed up for this time frame we had our own guide in Cairo for 2 days.
When we boarded our Nile cruise ship. we were in a group of 14 English speaking people.
We were very pleased with General. The guides throughout Egypt were great.
Christine

ChristineC - This is a good sign. Also the travel agent who recommended them pointed to some excellent approval ratings General Tours have.

I am somehow having a hard time nailing down a tour company for Morocco. I know of many companies thanks to this forum but have not come across anyone that has taken the tours I am considering.

I took a Morocco tour in April with a friend (both of us are women) with Cosmos -- and I highly recommend it. We had a great group -- mostly Brits, a few Aussies, a Kiwi and a few Americans. If you go with Cosmos you should check to see when Graham (Aziz is his MoOroccan name -- he is British, but lives in Marrakech) is the tour director -- he is absolutely fabulous -- his balance is perfect -- talks enough to give you a thorough history, but doesn't overwhelm you -- has fun stories and a great personality. All our needs met beyond expectations. The hotels were fine -- one or two could have been classier -- but most were terrific -- you spend little time in the hotels anyway. We did most of the optional tours -- and thought each one was worth the money. Overall, I would say that the Cosmos tour is an excellent value. You won't regret taking it.

Are you thinking of walking or hiking, or more of a city tour? We're looking into booking with Sherpa Expeditions (UK) for a hiking trip. I've travelled with exodus.co.uk before and was pleased with them. They do city tours, but also active expeditions (and a mix of the two, I think).

I wanted to do Morocco this year but the schedule didnt work out. I checked into several companies but was the MOST impressed w/ Baraka Journeys. A tad expensive but everything is paid for up front inc/ daily water! A day tour guide from my Turkey trip recommended Baraka. I was impressed w/ him so I thing I would trust his judgement. Anyway check it out!

Hi zbjoon:

Four friends and I travelled with Heritage Tours about 5 years ago. We told Heritage where we wanted to go, how long we wanted to stay etc. and they put together a terrific tour package for us. We had our own van with driver and an english speaking guide. The guide really helped to smooth out the trip. I don't know if would be economical to do this type of trip on your own but it worked out great for our small group. Since we basically planned the route, we could be flexible as we wanted. It was quite an experience especially sleeping outside under the stars on the edge of the Sahara. Pre dawn we rode camels to the dunes and watched the sunrise - the most spectaculat sight ever! If you would like more info on where we went and what we saw, let me know.
BabsB

Hi, I'm hosting the forum this week--I wrote Fodor's new book, Solo Traveler.
The advice so far is terrific and specific.
I would feel more comfortable joining a tour, at least part of the time. There is lots of hassling in that part of the world. I once paid a kid just to keep hasslers at bay; it's just the way it is.
Part of the solo experience is being safety conscious and sensible. I would err on the side of safety, above all. Tours have lots of pluses, and in Morocco, you'll enjoy the company of others.
Lea

Hi, I am new to this travel talk forum so my reply will be useless to Zbjoon but I hope it may be of help to other solo travellers to Morrocco. I don't like travelling in organised tours as they usually involve going to places that you don't particullarly want to go to but when I checked out Morrocco I found that it was going to be difficult to get around as taxi's seem to be the preferred way of travel. However I found a travel company (I live in the UK) which satisified my needs - www.kuoni.co.uk, which satisfied my needs. I went on a tour of 'The Imperial Cities and Atlas Mountains' and it was wonderful. For most of the trip we were in 4x4 jeeps which held 5-6 people so everyone got to know each other and at the end end we were a big group of friends.

One word of warning!! I decided to stay in Morrocco for an extra 4 days ny the beah an just read and relax. I left the group and went solo to Agadir. This turned out to be my holiday feom hell. Agadir was distroyed by an earthquake in the 60's and has been developed into a package holiday destination with no heart or soul, If you are travelling solo - pick your destination carefully.

Great specific advice, Cambe. I too have been to Agadir, and remember the combination of veiled ladies and topless ladies on the beach. Another reason for soloists to PLAN carefully. If things don't go right, that's when it's hardest to be on your own. Checking things out, like posters do on this forum, can help you avoid needless miseries.
Thanks for the input!
Lea

Lee_Lane and Cambe -
Since I am the original poster, I will fill you in my experience. I have kept quiet for reasons that you will find out if you read on. However, my experience might help other solo travelers particularly females.

When I posted this in July 2004, I was new to this forum and have never consulted any travel site for my trips. I did not know anyone who has taken tours to Morocco either. I am a very cautious solo traveler and quite alert and don’t compromise my safety. I picked a tour company that seemed very reliable. I picked the land-only portion since I was already traveling in Europe. I paid almost as much as air and land combined for land only which was okay with me. I made sure to mention to the tour company that it is very important to me to be in a group. I got there at midnight due to airline delays. The guide who was Moroccan and spoke very good English picked me up. He informed me in the deserted airport parking that I am the only one in the group and I will be traveling with him in a SUV for two weeks. When he came to pick me up the next day(Sunday) I informed him that I am not going to go through with the tour regardless of the financial consequences. He tried to change my mind but there was no use. My Moroccan tour guide was a very descent man and although this was going to cost him money, he was very helpful and professional. Anyway, through a great deal of difficulty I managed to get out of the tour and after paying a penalty for my airline ticket, I returned back to Europe.

Since the tour company only deducted the one night stay and transfers and returned the rest of my money, I decided not to mention their name in any public forum or take any actions. This is the first time I am even posting about this experience. When you read the general information of these tours, you will see that “group” can mean one person and they are not required to let you know. I found that out later and also my credit card company informed me of that. However, if you ask they are required to tell you that you are the only one and I had asked that question one or two weeks prior to the tour.

Anyway, I was somewhat terrified of this experience and sad that I missed the chance of seeing Morocco in spite of all the precautions. However, I really like to go back to Morocco but in no way I will trust any of the tour companies to go alone with them. I will only go with a tour to Morocco if I have a travel companion.

Hi Zbzoon,
Well. First, thank you for posting your experience. You did exactly the right thing, which is to trust your gut. That is the key to this whole solo thing. Trying to "prove" something doesn't work. Each of us has our own level of comfort. I'm sorry that it didn't work out, and am pleased that you got your money back!
That said, I will tell you that at times I have gone alone with a driver. In the 1980s, I did this in Malaysia. I came in alone, and went to the best, bonded company, and asked for their very best driver. I said that I was writing about the experience for a major magazine. I interviewed the driver, and felt ok about it. We spent a wonderful week, and I often invited him to dinner, as my companion. He was 100% professional.
Would I do that today? In Malaysia? Probably not. In Paris? Probably. I would need to establish parameters and trust my gut. Today I would have the help of modern technology to keep me connected to the company and friends during the entire trip--something unheard of in the 80s. But that was a different time. With the "new normal" caution comes first, sad to say.
What do you guys feel about this scenario? What would you have done?
Lea

Zbjoon I think I would have done the same thing, although this was probably a very nice and safe man I don't think I could have done it. I returned from Morocco the end of October, my husband and I had rented a car and drove over a good part of the country. Unfortunatley I found that some but not all Morrocan men had diffrent ideas about what was acceptable behavior towards women and for that reason alone I would not have done the tour solo. That said do try to make it to Morocco some day and make sure you see the desert in Merzouga!

Lea_lane - Thanks for the answer. Sorry I misspelled your name in the last post:( Coincidentally you misspelled my name as well but it is a made up name and far from my real name:) I will check out your book next time I am in the bookstore. Sounds interesting.

When we travel alone, we all face some lengths of time in a car with someone we do not know, like transfers from a major airport to our hotel or a small town two hours away. It is inevitable. I for one have a hard time to travel with one person alone (man or woman) regardless of the country I am in. I feel I am a very easy target. The only places I will feel safe with that scenario is in countries I am more familiar with and know the locals, and have a reference for that person. Or if I have good references from people or companies I trust. I am very interested to see the answers as well if any.

Trish - Thanks for the note. We both posted around the same time and I saw your post only after I posted mine.

I have to agree with you regarding some men. The behavior was too flirtatious for my taste. I noticed it in the short time I spent there. And I keep an extremely low profile when I travel.

I did not go through all the details of my experience but needless to say I went through a lot of aggravations. However, I will go back to Morocco with a travel companion and a tour company next time.

Dear Zbjoon,
Sorry for the misspelling. It's an interesting alias.
While I would travel with a bonded driver from a reputable company, I would almost never enter a car or private room of someone I just met. Even if they seemed "nice." It's just a rule I have.I think we are really pretty safe if we stay in public places. When we go into private spaces with people as we travel, all bets are off. Especially if they seem insistent or something seems a bit rushed or strange. Let's face it, by soloing we draw attention, both good and bad, and we know by now that not everyone is a Boy Scout. (Hey, I don't even trust them anymore.) I've been in a few suspicious situations where I bailed out by joining a group of strangers, or by walking in the middle of the street. I err on the side of caution in most situations, and so far, it's worked.
Lea

One of my fears about going on a tour with only a guide (like the one zbjoon bailed out of) is that the guide would take me to his favorite rug dealer, or jewelry maker where I would be coerced into buying things I really didn't want. I found the merchants in the markets in Morocco to be almost threateningly persistant without any special introduction from a guide. Has anyone ever experienced this? And what did you do to get out of the situation without giving in and buying something?

Hi Ms T,
Shopping pressure is a big problem in Morocco and other countries in that region, and not only for soloists. I am one tough cookie when it comes to hassling. I am not polite. I keep my eyes averted and I do not engage in banter. I dress down and look as dull and poor as possible.
We women especially tend to be kind and to chat. But this whole hassling thing is a rather difficult part of traveling. Best is to avoid shopping areas if you're not shopping. And I've actually paid a kid to run interference for me if it gets really awful. Also, I almost never buy things when a guide takes me. I tell him ahead of time that I have no money and no interest and he will be wasting his time. And I say it firmly! And even when I have been brought to stores, I simply stay outside. If you show even the slightest interest you are going to have a rough time getting out of a whole routine. So show absolutely none.
I often shop in government-sponsored shops, where the prices are fixed and the goods are quality. Too bad, because Morocco has great goods. Any other ideas?
Lea

Hi.
I am a woman thinking of going to Morocco on my own too. Having never travelled alone before, I thought I would start with a tour - you have to crawl before you walk! I am from the UK and I came across the Adventure Company. Has anyone heard of them? Are their tours any good?

I would appreciate any feedback and thanks in advance!

Interested to see this thread as I'm also considering a solo trip to Morocco. I wasn't posting here when this thread initially ran. I've done a lot of solo travel, but am considering a tour for part of my time in Morocco - the rest would be solo in places like Essaouira, Marrakesh and possibly Fes.

Right now my top candidate is Intrepid - I've done some tours with them in Asia - good itineraries, good prices, variable guides and accommodation. I too would prefer a group to a guide just for me. I tried that in Romania and it was a disaster, although I've done day tours elsewhere with just me and a guide with no problems. I think how I feel about this may vary by country.

Besides Intrepid I'll be looking at Adventures Abroad, and Explore! - I'm also considering Explore! for a tour of Sicily.

Thanks thursdaysd. I will look into it. So far, Intrepid looks the most interesting. Am thinking about taking their 21 day tour of Morocco. Has anyone done this or know anything about it?

I returned recently from Morocco with Imaginative Traveller on their 15-day Deserts & Kasbahs tour. It was superbly fun; we had 14 people in our group which was just right.

Everything was coordinated smoothly and we had time for independent activities too. So, that's another small-group tour company to consider?

I was comparing Intepid with Imaginative myself - I believe they're very similar in terms of style and itinerary. In the end I went with Imaginative because they were offering a special discount at that time.

A company called Country Walkers has a magnificent-looking women's only walking tour of certain places in Morocco. Do a google search, and you'll find it.

I was in Morocco last fall. I can't say much about traveling solo because I had a bit of a weird set-up. I had a chaperone and a driver just for me (long story, and not because I felt unsafe or anything).

For anyone considering a solo trip, I would recommend looking not into complete guided tours, but rather piecing together your trip and using guides only when you need them.

For example, it isn't at all necessary to have a guide or company in places like Marrakesh and Essaouira. Marrakesh is very touristy, and of all the cities in Morocco, the one where you find lots of women walking around by themselves. Essaouira is the same and it's easy enough to get between the two by bus, so you don't need anyone's help.

Fez is another matter entirely. I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much out of it without my guide. Look into getting a guide from the tourist office for your days in Fez and arranging for day trips to Volubilis. The same goes for the desert, which is hard to plan as a solo because most of the trips that take you out there are built around couples.

So, to sum up, if getting complete trips is difficult, just try to get a guide or a tour of Fez and the desert, because Morocco is perfectly manageble on your own.

bm

ttt

Hi all. This has been a great thread to read through. I've posted similar questions about traveling solo on Lonely Planet's message board, as it's been awhile since I've been out of the country. All but two responses from women said they felt very safe traveling alone.

I have the same idea as someone else's post I read: to hire guides when I feel the need. They've had special training and are licensed by the gov't, so they are safe.

I was also considering a customized tour with a driver & guide, but wasn't comfortable with that idea - it seems too isolating. I want to have a flexible schedule and be out among the local people whenever possible.

The more I read, the more comfortable I feel.

I'm also planning to include Spain before and/or after Morocco. It should be a great trip. I'm wondering how many tourists will be in Morocco during December. I don't like the cold weather, but it's the best time for me to take off work.

Thanks everyone. Enjoy!
Teri

I'm in my early 50s now and did Morrocco totally alone in 1981. I'm female and had no major problems. I'd do it alone again. Happy Travels!