Ali Moujane

The overall experience was lovely.
Our driver was attentive and available. I understand that he is not a guide, but a bit more knowledge of the places we are driving by would have been helpful. Specially since during long drives, there were no guides with us & we passed a lot of interesting places. Once prompted he did tell where we were, but maybe a bit more espontenous info will be great.
All the accommodations were very nice. I had prefer to stay 1 night only at the Sahara desert camp, since it was not clear to me that we were not able to stay in the camp during the day and what was available to visit was quite limited. I did enjoy the Skoura hotel, that was a nice place to relax, after the long drive.
Also maybe look more into the places to eat when out on the road. Maybe there are not a lot of options, but it seems that the places chosen were more geared towards regular tourist, since the menus were limited and/or fixed price menus.
The guide we had in Fes, Moustafa, was excellent, my favorite of the trip.
You have a beautiful country & I enjoyed it very much!

Overall, Morocco was fantastic. So much history, beautiful sights, wonderful people and great food.
We loved Chefchaouen. The staff at the Hotel Dar Monir were quite welcoming and the rooms were cute and clean as well as the location being convenient. Our tour guide, Amine, for Akchour Falls as well as for a city tour was a gem. He was informative, kind, helpful and all that combined with a great sense of humor. We had an amazing memorable lunch with the falls as our backdrop per his suggestion. At the end of the city tour, he stayed with us and brought us to a great vantage point looking over Chefchaouen for the sunset.
We also very much enjoyed Volubilis. Our guide (possibly Hassan), was funny, full of history and knew all the great spots for pictures. It was incredibly hot that day and I wasn't feeling well; Hassan made sure that I was okay and helped me get back to the parking area. We made our way to Fez and stayed at the beautiful Riad Semlalia; the rooms were great, the interior was beautiful and rooftop pool was refreshing after a hot day. Abdul, who seemed to complete multiple jobs (doorman, desk attendant, server for the bar and dining area, etc, etc) was absolutely kind, helpful and overall amazing. Our tour guide for the city tour of Fez was also great, but I don't recall his name. We had dinner with a local family which was an amazing experience with excellent food and company. I think the first name of the family members were Runia, Hassan and Hatim, but I could be off on that.
We had a long drive to the Merzouga area the next day and were rewarded with seeing some of the macaque monkeys on the roadside. We loved our camel ride to the Sahara Sky Luxury Camp even with getting caught in a sandstorm on the way. Just part of the overall experience. The food was great at the camp and Mohammed was such a kind and helpful member of the staff; we absolutely appreciated everything that he helped us with. We had Hassan for a full day tour of the area and he was also a great person. Our highlight of the day was the Gnawa music and very high on the list of the entire trip was the ATV ride through the dunes.
On to Skoura the next day. The Todra Gorge stop was beautiful. We atyed at the Ksar El Kabbaba which was a gem with beautiful rooms and grounds as well as great food. We were greeted by Badr who was also our very very informative guide for our tour the next day. The kasbah we visited was so interesting, mainly due to Badr's complete knowledge of the history and we also loved our visit to see "the happy potter!" We had lunch with Berber family which was another memorable experience complete with a tea ceremony.
We made our way to Marrakesh with an amazing stop at Ait Benhaddou. Certainly a must see for everyone coming to Morocco. We stayed at the Riad Le Pelerin which was in a labyrinth of alleyways which made a fun adventure in finding our way. The staff here was also excellent and accommodating and the rooms were very nice. We loved the food tour that we did with a guide who's name sounded like "Swell" although I know that is incorrect. He was also a local gem. The next day, we did a hike in the beautiful Atlas Mountains with Imlil as our start point. Amazing views during the hike as well as at lunch.
The final day we were back in Casablanca and were so glad to get into the Hassan II Mosque as we missed it the first day due to a flight delay. Overall, the four of us had a great experience and would recommend Morocco to our friends.

Our driver for the entire trip was Rachid. He was very young and new as a driver but did get us everywhere we needed to be safely. He was flexible with timing and was willing to leave earlier on some days at our request. I don't think he was familiar with a lot of the roads and locations, but again he had not been driving for long. It seemed at times that Rachid did not have the same itinerary as we had in regards to the stops that we would make in transit from one city to another. That would be in the hands of the Original Travel tour company, not Rachid. My husband unfortunately did not get his luggage until day 11 and Rachid was very helpful in getting us to places where my husband could buy some clothes. Rachid also very kindly made a trip to a pharmacy at my request one morning before picking us up for the day as my husband and one of our friends were both dealing with bad colds. He was very informative about the Atlas Mountain areas and we learned a lot about the local culture. He also played a lot of local music for us which was a fun part of the experience. We all thought he should spend a little less time on his cell phone while driving but honestly I think a lot of that time was conferring with the tour company. Rachid will do well as he continues to get more experience, my only complaint is that after our mosque tour in Casablanca on the last day, we asked to be dropped off at our hotel and he said we needed to wait for him to wat lunch first. Our hotel was only a 5 minute drive away, not sure what that was about.

A few concerns and suggestions. Ali helped us to set up our trip but a few weeks prior to our trip it was handed off to Said who I believe is the brother of the owner. We did not get an explanation for this. Our hotel in Chefchaouen was changed last minute, Said was quite apologetic, but we did not get an explanation for this either. Although our Dar in Chefchaouen was great, we had someone tell us that our original hotel is the only place the queen is willing to stay when she visits. Made us wonder what we were missing. Said made compensations for the price difference by adding a guided tour in Rabbat as well as "adding" the ATV tour in Merzouga and the food tour in Marrakesh. The problem being that the ATV tour and the food tour were already listed as included in our itinerary. The tour in Rabbat is the only tour of the trip that seemed odd. Hassan was our guide; he was impatient to the point of being rude, in a hurry and seemed most concerned with my husband's hat asking if he could buy it or where could he get a similar hat. He completely skipped taking us to Chellah which is the highlight of Rabbat; he told our drive that we said we didn't want to go there which was a complete lie. Rachid did take us there but we paid for our own entry which should have been part of the tour and we did not have a guide.
When we arrived in Casablanca, we only had one room for the two couples booked. Said did remedy this quickly but oddly enough, it happened again on our last night at the same hotel. Again, it was quickly fixed but it seems that would have been checked on after the first time.
On our way from Merzouga to Skoura, we had an unscheduled stop at a rug shop. We didn't ask for this and would say it just wasted precious trip time.
Our stay at the Sahara Sky Luxury Camp was great but it would have been nice to know ahead of time that there were no outlets in the tents (there was electric lights) as well as the only thing they had for charging devices were 2 USB ports in the rooms. As USB-C is now more common, we weren't prepared. Again, the camp was great, but that information would have been helpful.
And here's my biggest concern. We purchased quite a few things from local crafts people. We are seasoned travelers and are well aware of the fact that in some countries, the tour guides that are with you get a cut of your purchase. That being said, we ran into another group of travelers from the US at the end of our trip in Casablanca. They bought similar items from similar places and paid far less than we did. Made us wonder if Original Travel is also getting a large cut. Which then also made us wonder about the other two hotels that were changed last minute without our knowledge (Merzouga and Marrakesh). Again, although the places were great, should we have received some sort of refund? We have no way of knowing if the cost was equal to the original sites. No one likes to feel like they've been taken for a ride financially.
I don't want to minimize the experience that we had and I will say that Said was quite helpful with an hour long phone call a week before our trip. He also helped with things during the trip. I probably wouldn't have mentioned the hotel thing in Casablanca but after finding out the cost differences on purchased items, we wondered about many other things.

Hotel Reviews

Sahara Sky Luxury Camp

Merzouga

The camp was clean and the food was great. Staff was very attentive and helpful. We very much appreciated Mohammed. The music in the evening was also a great touch. Would have nice to be aware ahead of time that there were no electrical outlets in the tents as well as knowing there were only 2 USB ports per tent as most people now have USB-c. We would have been more prepared if we had been aware of this ahead of time.

Staff

Mohammed was available for any needs/requests throughout our entire stay

Riad Semlalia

Fès

Beautiful riad with large, clean rooms. The inner courtyard as well as the roof top areas were a great place to relax. The rooftop pool was fantastic after a hot day of touring. Appreciated being able to relax with a bottle of wine after a long travel day

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Abdul was so helpful with absolutely everything that we needed

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ksar El Kabbaba

Skoura

Beautiful grounds and rooms with a great staff. Badr was so helpful at the hotel as well as a great tour guide. Wonderful setting for relaxing after a hot day touring.

Authenticity & Character

Loved staying in a local kasbah

Staff

Bdar was a great host at the hotel as well as a fantastic and knowledgeable tour guide

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Hike to Akchour Waterfall

Chefchaouen

Absolutely worth the hike to the falls and to God's Bridge. We had a wonderful lunch right next to the falls. The drive to the area was also beautiful

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Amine, is absolutely a local gem. Kind, funny, informative. We couldn't have asked for a better experience

Guided Exploration of the "Blue City" Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen

Great experience in a beautiful city. Made for amazing photos. Our guide brought us to a fantastic spot for the sunset.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amine, our guide, was an absolute gem in every way

Drive from Casablanca to Chefchaouen via Rabat

Morocco

We had a guided tour of Rabbat with a tour guide named Hassan. He was the first guide of our trip and the only one who we didn't appreciate. Thus the 3 star review. He was in a rush, a bit rude and completely skipped Chellah (Roman and Islamic ruins). He lied to our driver and told him that we didn't want to go there. Fortunately, our driver got us to Chellah and we had time to at least walk through the grounds. Rabbat itself was fantastic and worth the trip

Guided Tour of Hassan II Mosque

Morocco

We were glad to be able to get this in on our last day as we missed it on the scheduled day due to a flight delay. The mosque is beautiful and should be seen by all visitors especially since it is one of only 2 mosques in Morocco which non Muslims can enter. It was a bit hard to hear the tour guide as it was a very very large group of people (you stand under the sign of your preferred language and a tour guide shows up so absolutely no way to limit the number of people in your group)

Quick Tour of Casablanca with your Driver-Guide

Morocco

This really didn't happen for us due to a flight delay

Our trip to Morocco was beyond anything we could have expected. The people, culture, food and shopping were all amazing. Ali and Siad were both excellent to work with, but the highlight of our trip was our driver Faissal. Faissal went above and beyond in all ways to make sure we were happy, well taken care of and had the best trip we could. Faissal is professional, knowledgeable, accommodating, friendly, very concerned with your wellbeing and happiness on the trip and of course a great bargainer when it comes to shopping. He made restaurant recommendations, adjusted the trip (sometimes at the last minute) to make sure we saw the best of Morroco, made sure we saw the best sites and shopping and made sure we always got the best price.

Our guides were all excellent as well. Mohamed gave us a once in a lifetime food tour in the old Medina of Marrakech.

Adbu was very informative during our tour of Marrakech and took us to some amazing shops where Faissal of course got us the best deals.

Sharif was one of the best guides I have ever had in all my travels. He was incredibly knowledgeable about Fez, extremely patient with our shopping (with Faissal for bargaining!), has excellent English and provided us with a world class day in Fez.

Faissal made last minute arrangements for Abdul to show us Meknes. Thank you Faissal! Adbul's knowledge was only matched by his energy. He gave us a great tour of the mausoleum and market of Meknes.

Fatima is a world class guide for sure. Having grown up in Chefchaouen, she showed us all the points of interest and explained the history of the city in near perfect English.

Faissal came through again with a last minute tour of Akchour and the Ponte de Dieu with Omar. Omar has been hiking that area for years and it was a great way to break up our drive from Chefchaouen to Tangiers.

Again, we had an absolutely unbelievable trip to Morocco and could not have asked for a better driver than Faissal. He truly made our trip one we will remember forever!

Hotel Reviews

Riad Le Pèlerin

Marrakech

Our stay at Riad Le Pèlerin in Marrakesh was an unforgettable experience. The staff was incredibly helpful, ensuring we knew how to get around and checking in on us. The rooms were nicely appointed, and staying in a riad was a unique and wonderful way to explore Moroccan culture. Definitely recommend experiencing a riad at least once!

Riad Braya

Fes Medina

Riad Braya in Fes was quite lovely, and the breakfast was amazing, but there was a bit of confusion around meals as our guide informed us we could have dinner there, only to find out no food service was available in the evening. It was also advised to stay close to the riad at night, which made going out for dinner tricky. Despite these minor issues, it was otherwise a great place to stay.

Taj Chefchoaune Luxury Hotel and Spa.

Chefchaoun

Very nice hotel in Chefchoaune. Excellent location overlooking the medina. Helpful, friendly staff, nice rooms and a very nice roof top bar and restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A Scenic Day Trip Journey to Aït Benhaddou

Morocco

The Scenic Day Trip Journey to Aït Benhaddou was absolutely stellar. The views, history, and opportunity to explore up close and climb to the tower were marvelous. It's a must-see for anyone visiting Morocco!

Marrakech Evening Food Tour

Marrakesh

This is a once in a lifetime experience. You can taste some of the most amazing foods from sweets, to hearty tangia, to fresh juices and more. Do not miss this excursion!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mohamed is an excellent guide!

Transport