Mohamed El Asely

Our group of eight travelers,related mostly, had a wonderful trip to Morocco. We had fun while experiencing the culture and learning so much. Our guide was with us all the way, as was our excellent driver. Cities, mountains or deserts, I always felt completely safe. We stayed in absolutely dreamy inns.

Landed in Casablanca and met up with our driver Tarik. First stop the Hassan II mosque. The only reason for our stop in Casablanca was to see the mosque firsthand. Hindsight though, it might be worth a day to explore the city. The tour of Hassan was worth every minute of our time. Absolutely beautiful to say the very least.

After our tour we continued to the city of Rabat. Was not at all what we expected. It is one of the cleanest cities we have ever visited. Quite amazing. Our Riad was also excellent, and the location was perfect. The next morning, we had a private tour of the sights of Rabat with Hassania. The tour was informative, and we received a full array of the important sights with the capital city including the Kings palace. Some of the architecture was very modern as well including the Mohammed IV tower and the Grand Theater. Truly remarkable.

During the afternoon, we trekked onto the next stop of Chefchaouen the blue city. We checked in to our hotel the "Dar Jasmine". This boutique hotel was perched atop a significant hillside, and there were approximately 300 steps to reach the top. A little daunting, although the view of the city was breathtaking and worth the climb. The city itself is very quaint and charming. We explored the small streets and restaurants.

The next day, we had a lovely drive through the Moroccan countryside heading to Fes. The following morning, we had a four-hour private tour with Sharif. Visiting The Royal Palace, Mellah, Al-Qarawiyyin: The World's First University and some local artisans of pottery and the likes. The highlight of course was wandering with Sharif through the tiny alleyways and streets in the souk. Again, an amazing experience seeing what the vendors have to offer. Pretty well everything including the kitchen sink.

That afternoon we were afforded the luxury of a massage and Hammam at our Riad. It was quite the experience. Never had my body exfoliated with coffee grinds. It was exhilarating.

The following day we endured an eight-hour drive form the mountains to the desert. On our way for a camel trek and sunset in the Western Sahara Desert. This was without question one of the highlights of our trip. The camels were amazing. Very well cared for, and exceptionally intelligent. Fortunately, just prior to our arrival it had rained slightly which compacted the sandy desert top layer. It darkened the colour of the sand slightly which made for some incredible photos. After our camel trek to the spot where we watched the sunset, we decided to take the 4X4 to the Tiziri Camp. Quite the exciting drive with our experienced driver.

The camp was pretty cool. The tents were quite large and comfortable. That evening we enjoyed an awesome traditional dinner with tajine's and all. In the morning, we rose at the crack of dawn to catch the sunrise. Again, truly remarkable. Overall, we had two exceptionally long days but worth all the pain by far.

The next leg of our journey took us to Boumalne Dades and Aït Benhaddou. The drive afforded us to see the many Oasis nestled within the valleys of the desert mountains. The sights were amazing. My wife was hoping to see the festival of roses, but by the time we made it was unfortunately over already. We drove through the "valley of a thousand Kasbahs". When you think about this, a Kasbah is a military fortress. Today, these Kasbahs serve as small communities within each area. The very essence of community is quite apparent. Something we found right throughout the country. Especially in the areas away from the big cities.

Next stop, Marrakesh. We spent 4 days in this vibrant city. The first day, we had a morning tour with Hassania enabling us to get a feel for the surroundings. The Souks in the ancient Medina were incredible and a little daunting as we could see how easy it would be to get lost within the alleyways. That evening we embarked on a second tour with the same guide Hassania. This tour was focused on food within the market and souks. We visited several different food vendors - restaurants. What really stood out was how much food was prepared for us. You must bring an appetite to this tour. The range of food consisted of homemade traditional soup, donuts (three generations of ownership), snails in the market and chicken and lamb prepared in an underground smoker - barbecue at Chez Lamine. All so very tasty.

Next morning, once again up well before dawn. We are to embark on a sunrise hot-air balloon ride. Now for someone that is terrified of heights, I thought it may have been an issue. Once we got in and up and away it was no problem whatsoever. Our pilot was a definite expert in his craft of navigating huge balloon. The vistas and scenery were breathtaking. Certainly, a must do for anyone. It was an incredible experience and the photo opportunities endless.

That same afternoon, we were transferred by our trusty driver Tarik to "La Maison L'Arabe. A prestigious hotel where they conduct Moroccan cooking classes. We cooked a tajine dish, learned how to make a rose from the peel of a tomatoe, and prepared a couple of different Moroccan salads. It was so much fun, and I must admit it was all very tasty. With a full belly and new skills, we went back to our riad to rest.

The next morning, off to the airport for final leg of our trip.

In summary, I would highly recommend KimKim to any travellers that want a worry-free experience. The ease of all aspects of our trip can be attested to the professionalism of the staff at KimKim especially including the on-site staff of Original Travels (Said and Mohamed).
All the accommodations, tours and the guides were first rate. One thing I must point out, our driver for the two weeks, Tarik was nothing less than amazing. He took our safety first. He was engaged with our entire group of four. He ensured our itinerary was followed to the letter. He was accommodating when we wanted to make slight changes. He was so engaging and helpful with every aspect of the trip. His communication to us with respect to timing for pick ups and drop offs was excellent. He never pressured us whatsoever. We cannot say enough about the way he treated us. He will be missed.

The only real downside to all of this is we were perhaps a little too ambitious with our itinerary. This was absolutely no fault to KimKim or Original Travels. This is solely on us. Seeing that this was our second trip through KimKim we will take that away as a positive for our next trip.

outstanding trip .. thank you KimKim for providing a rewarding trip .. no complaints of KimKim
tips for KimKim to add:
- Morocco prefers Morocco cash .. rarely US$, almost never credit card
- Plan 40 MAD dinner per person .. 20 MAD lunch per person
- Travel times on Itinerary were hours more than listed
- Berber lunch and dinner more expensive than good restaurants - was surprised
- add ability to shop at "regular stores" where people live .. not just in tourist areas
- fixed meals in hotels - (could be problem for allergies, vegan, vegetarian) - little flexibility - though we loved the foods
- bring Morocco electric adapter for US

Karim was our local guide throughout the tour, he was fantastic. We toured Morocco for 11 days and really saw some great sights. Halif was our driver and he was amazing. Both shared a lot of their Berber heritage. Our only hiccup was our local guide in Fes, he marched us through the Medina and took us to several spots just for us to make expensive purchases. We would have rather experienced the Medina and with some minor purchases along the way. I believe we only met Mohamed briefly in Marrakech, Karim was our tour specialist. This was a trip of a lifetime that I’ll never forget, completely amazing!

Hotel Reviews

Dar Jasmine

Chefchaouen

This was an amazing hotel, great city views and good food. Very comfortable

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

Wow! Camel ride to the luxury campsite, our tents we great and the staff treated us very well

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Chefchaoeun to Fez via Volubilis, Moulay Idriss & Meknes

Morocco

We did not make it to Moulay Idriss or Meknes, so a little disappointed

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Guided Sightseeing in Fes

Fes

This ended up being a full day. We were rushed by our local guide through the Medina. Lunch was over 2 hours and we stopped 4 times for quite a bit of time where we felt pressured to make purchases

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Better local guide

Transfer from Fes to Merzouga via Erfoud & Camel Ride

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marrakesh Evening Food Tour

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff