Yassine Echcherki

From beginning to end, we were extremely well taken care of. From our first communication, Yassine patiently helped us prepare an itinerary that was perfect for our group. Once we arrived in Morocco, everything was seamless and well organized. Our driver Mohamed was polite, helpful and charming. He helped make the long drives between cities enjoyable, and assured that we were always comfortable. We were quite pleased with the selection of riads; all three were beautiful and special, each in... read more

From beginning to end, we were extremely well taken care of. From our first communication, Yassine patiently helped us prepare an itinerary that was perfect for our group. Once we arrived in Morocco, everything was seamless and well organized. Our driver Mohamed was polite, helpful and charming. He helped make the long drives between cities enjoyable, and assured that we were always comfortable. We were quite pleased with the selection of riads; all three were beautiful and special, each in their own way. Guides were polite and well-informed. Ali in Marrakech did a great job choosing restaurants for us, and we had a few memorable and delicious dining experiences thanks to him.

All in all, we had an excellent trip, and were extremely satisfied with the level of service from KimKim. We would do it all over again if we could.

Thank you for an wonderful experience!!

Our trip was great and well planned by Yassine. Our driver Nabil was wonderful and very responsive. He gave us a little phone that allowed us to easily contact him when we needed. We couldn't have asked for better help in a land that we were unfamiliar with.

Our trip was seven days and packed, we were in Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fez, Casablanca and Marrakesh. Admittedly, we should have narrowed down the places we went to, to allow for our type of travel which is a little more leisurely.

We... read more

Our trip was great and well planned by Yassine. Our driver Nabil was wonderful and very responsive. He gave us a little phone that allowed us to easily contact him when we needed. We couldn't have asked for better help in a land that we were unfamiliar with.

Our trip was seven days and packed, we were in Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fez, Casablanca and Marrakesh. Admittedly, we should have narrowed down the places we went to, to allow for our type of travel which is a little more leisurely.

We stayed at 3 star locations and most were great! Riad RK in Marrakesh was great, the fact that they had a Hammam in the location made unwinding much easier. Our Riad in Chefchauouen was also very beautiful and the staff there were very helpful.

On the downside, our riad in Fez (Dar Malika) was nice enough and in a central location but we had a less than ideal situation while there. They are admittedly under transition and do not have a person who works there that stays overnight. This makes it very difficult to talk to someone when the water isn't working (which it didn't for us). The house was very cold outside of the room we stayed in and the second day the groceries went on strike so our breakfast was only a little bread and yogurt. Going to the tannery and not being able to shower was a huge miss. This is the one place I would not stay at again.

The tours that Yassine booked and the guide in Fez was also wonderful. The only downside is that we started to feel like we were only being taken places to spend money instead of simply to admire the culture and choose to buy things if we wanted. We started to feel like the tour was very planned to only go to places that would eagerly show us things only to get us to buy very expensive items. I could do without all the shopping that seemed to be most of the tour, it was very repetitive and didn't allow for much downtime or peace.

There were so many good things and a lot of lessons learned. I will vocalize more about what I'd like in the future and also be sure to know that less is more when booking. Thank you Kimkim, Yassine, Nabil and all of the staff at Morocco off the Beaten Path, you were wonderful!

First of all, a big thank you to Yassine and the other members of his team: Hassan, Mohammed & Nabil as well as Chris and Kellie from Kimkim who all worked together to arrange this trip for us. A special thank you to Mohammed, our driver, who drove us all over Morocco, covering great distances. He was an extremely safe and responsible driver who knows the roads and traffic conditions of his country very well.

Ever since I saw the BBC documentary " Sahara" presented by British Actor Michael... read more

First of all, a big thank you to Yassine and the other members of his team: Hassan, Mohammed & Nabil as well as Chris and Kellie from Kimkim who all worked together to arrange this trip for us. A special thank you to Mohammed, our driver, who drove us all over Morocco, covering great distances. He was an extremely safe and responsible driver who knows the roads and traffic conditions of his country very well.

Ever since I saw the BBC documentary " Sahara" presented by British Actor Michael Palin, many years ago, I wanted to visit Morocco and the Sahara desert. And in January 2019, the day finally came. Before our Morocco tour started, my husband and I have been travelling in Southern Spain for a week. On 11 January, we took the FRS ferry from Tarifa in Spain across the Straits of Gibraltar to Tangier. We spent one night in Tangier and our driver, Mohammed, met us the next morning on 12 January to start our Morocco of the Beaten Track tour.

Our first stop on the tour was Chefchaouen. The winding road from Tangier to Chefchaouen through the Rif Mountains was very picturesque and a great way to see the greener countryside of Morocco. People often think of Morocco as mostly a dry desert landscape, but the route from Tangier to Chefchaouen is very green and beautiful. Chefchaouen was one of the highlights of our trip. The accomodation at La petite Chefchaouen in the heart of the old town on the hill was great. This small boutique hotel is run by two young brothers who were always extremely kind and professional. The decorations were modern and stylish and practical, similar to small boutique hotels in Australia and Europe. The breakfast was great and the wifi always reliable. The town itself was lovely and the locals very friendly. We always felt really safe walking around on our own. A shop keeper invited us up to his roof terrace to show us the spectacular view and meet his ginger kitten. It was great that he genuinly just wanted to show us the view and was not trying to sell us something. In Chefchaouen in general, we felt more relaxed and not so hassled by every second person as in Fes or Marrakech. When you walk around the Medinas of Fes and Marrakech, everybody wants to sell you something or be your guide. The Moroccans are great sales people, but not all toursits want to constantly buy things, so it can be quite exhausting to keep saying no. If you do not want to buy something, the 2 most useful phrases to learn and to say firmly but always with a smile are: La Shukran or Non Merci!

From Chefchaouen we drove to Fes, again with spectacular views over the Rif and Middle Atlas Mountains and rows and rows of olive plantations. En route we stopped near Moulay Idriss to see the Roman Ruins of Volubilis. For people with an interest in history and museums and archaeology, these ruins are a must see. The views over the surrounding countryside and Moulay Idriss from the ruins are great. Since the trip involves a lot of time on the road, it can sometimes be hard to find a clean restroom, so even if you are not that much into ancient ruins, I would highly recommend a stop at Volubilis, to stretch your legs and walk among the ruins and it also has very clean toilets. Just make sure you have enough coins to tip the cleaning ladies.

We then stayed in Fes for 2 nights at a beautifully old renovated 300 year old house in the Medina, called Dar Mallika, owned by an Australian writer, Susanna Clarke. In winter it is quite cold in Fes and the house was very cold, but the room had heating and airconditioning and the electric blankets on the beds were great. It was also good to have a choice of different high quality English Breakfast and other Teas as well as several international News Channels in any language of your choice, to stay up to date with what's going on in the world while on holiday. There was also a selection of music to listen to while having breakfast, from classical, jazz to Arabian pop! Si Mohammed, the Riad manager was also a great host, very well organised, helpful and professional. Fes was a fascinating city and a journey back in time. It was great to see the intricate hard work and centuries of tradition at the pottery workshop and handmade carpets. The guided tour of Fes was great, however a bit too long for me. I would have preferred a half day tour, but that depends on the type of traveller you are. I think some people will enjoy having a guide all day and don't feel comfortable exploring on their own and prefer the guide to make restaurants recommendations or shopping recommendations for them. I personally am very independent and like to explore on my own and make my own restaurant choices, so for people like me, a half day tour would be better. Nevertheless, the guide was excellent and we learnt a lot from him about the history of Fes.

The drive to Merzouga from Fes takes about 8 hours, so if you want to do the camel ride around 5pm in order to reach the desert tented camp by sunset, you really need to leave Fes no later than 8 am and it is not practical to have too many stops. We left at 8 am and since it was only my husband and I and our driver, we told Mohammed we don't want to make many stops, we prefer to get to the desert early. But for older travellers who may need more stops and rests, I think it may be a good idea to rather stay 2 days in the desert, first night in the desert hotel, and then do the camel ride the next day without having to rush. We had limited time in Morocco and only 1 night in the desert, so for us, leaving Fes early and driving without many stops worked well. That said, it is important to make a few short stops to give the driver a break. It's such a great distance to travel and the roads are not easy, I think all people doing a tour should be considerate towards the driver, as he has a massive task to drive everyone from point A to B safely and deserves to have lunch and tea breaks too. We had a late lunch in Erfoud at a cafe I would like to recommend. It's not that easy to know which restaurant or cafe to pick on the road in this remote part of Morocco, but we were lucky to find the Cafe Restaurant Dakar Erfoud. The cafe had seating outside on a terrace and inside. It was very clean and the young men who ran the cafe spoke very good French and made us feel at home. We didn't want to have a big sit down meal. Just a quick sandwich or pizza, and since they are a pizza place, they made us a Moroccan flavoured pizza from scratch and within 35 min, we were on our way to the desert. The pizza was delicious and the cafe also had wifi and even features in a French Spy novel (we found out later when we did some research about the cafe). Here is their website, have a look.
https://www.restaurantdakarerfoud.com

We arrived at the Hotel on the edge of the desert around 4:30pm, and reached our tented camp after a 1 and a half hour camel ride on two camels called Aslan & Anlal, lead by their master Yussuf who only spoke Arabic, Berber and a few words in Spanish! Yussuf was great, he knows the camels and the desert very well and he was very friendly and an enthusiastic photographer. He took many photos of us on our camels. We watched the sun set over the dunes and reached the camp just after sunset. The dinner at the camp was nice, although a bit cold. One thing I would say about doing a desert safari in winter, is be aware that it gets very cold in the desert at night. It was -1 degrees celcius. So if you travel in winter, or if you are an older traveller with health issues or not the outdoor camping type, make sure to pack enough warm clothes, the kind of clothes you would pack if you go camping on an alpine mountain hike in cold weather!

We left the desert the next morning on the same camels with Yussuf leading the way. This time we saw the sunrise. We met our driver back at the main desert hotel and started our drive to Ait Ben Haddou through many dusty little mud brick . We stopped to see some fossils as well as stops in the Todra & Dades Gorges. We had a great walk through the Todra Gorge, took some great photo and had lunch in a town on the edge of the Gorge, called Tinghir. This town was really pretty and a great tourist stop with many hotels and good restaurants. Since it is such a long drive, I would suggest especially for older travellers to stop in this town for lunch or even one night, before continuing the journey to Ouarzazate or Ait Ben Haddou as it is a very tourist friendly town, you can take beautiful pictures of the gorge and do some shopping. I saw some great inexpensive rugs and clothes and other souvenirs in this town, much better value that what I saw in Marrakech. We ate at a restaurant called Inass, popular with tourists. The food was good and they also have an indoor and outdoor seating area and very clean toilets. Again, run by a group of young Moroccans. I really enjoyed seeing the young moroccans running B&B's and restaurants. They seem to know what tourists want and these guys could also speak very good English and French.

After a quick stop in Ouarzazate, the film studio town of Morocco, we arrived in Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a famous movie setting: Gladiator, The Mummy, Laurence of Arabia and many more were filmed here. We stayed at the beautiful Riad Caravane, owned by a French artist who bought a ruined Kasbah and after 5 years of renovations and art collected from all over Africa & Asia, turned it into a 1st class small boutique hotel with very professional staff and fine dining. The Riad also has a rooftop and small splash pool with panoramic views over Ait Ben Haddou. Although we only stayed 1 night in Ait Ben Haddou, I think it is a town where one could spend more time, especially after travelling such long distances.

On Day 6 of our trip we left Ait Ben Haddou for Marrakech. Although Marrakech is not really that far from Ouarzazate or Ait Ben Haddou, the journey takes a long time due to unfinished road works on the Atlas Mountains. We saw some spectacular scenery driving through the Atlas mountains, but the road is quite scary and unfortunately the only way to get to Marrakech by road from the desert. However Mohammed did an excellent job always driving slowly and very carefully.

We arrived late in the afternoon in Marrakech and that is where we spent out last 2 nights in Morocco. I liked Marrakech, the red (dark pink) city . The Riad in Marrakech was nice, again very friendly helpful staff. This one was very traditionally decorated and also had a spa & hamman. Marrakech highlights for me were the Marjorelle Gardens, Bahia Palace and Koutoubia Mosque. The Jemma al Fna square was interesting to see and a must see especially on a first visit, but too many people. The Marrakech Medina is good for restaurants and shopping but I found it hard to walk there with vespas and motorcycles coming from all directions and also too many people for me. By this time we also did not want to buy anything else as we’ve already done all our shopping. I think staying in the Medina is interesting and gives you a true feel for the place, but it is also quite exhausting to keep saying no to everyone who wants to sell you something and if you don't like crowds, like me staying outside the medina might be more peaceful.

Our guide in Marrakech, Nabil was great. He has a lot of knowledge about the city and showed us some interesting places. He was also easy going and flexible, so when we were tired, we could take a break. I would definitely visit Marrakech again, 2 nights and 1 and a half day was not enough to properly explore the city and I can see there is a lot more to Marrakech than the historic medina. Now that I know the medina, next time I would prefer to stay in the area near the Marjorelle Gardens outside the medina, where it is a bit calmer, less motorcycles and people and more open spaces. But that is just my personal taste. If you like staying in the buzz of everything, a road in the medina is definitely for you!

Now that I know the country a bit better, I think 7/8 days is not enough to see all the things we wanted to see and next time I would make it at least 10 days and spend more time in the smaller towns like Thingir, Ait Ben Haddou and Chefchaouen and also try to see more of the coast.

All in all it was a great first visit to Morocco and we are very grateful to Yassine and his team for this excellent introduction to Morocco. The tour was very well organised and they always took such good care of us. It was always easy to communicate with Yassine and his team and they were there to help 24/7! I would recommend them to anyone who would like to to visit Morocco! Just be clear about what you want and what you like and they can arrange it for you!

First we were very pleased with our trip. This is our third one arranged by your company. We went to Croatia last summer and the last winter to Portugal. I'm going to divide my comments into two categories: The first will be the positives, the second will be some weaknesses.

Positives:
Everyone was punctual and right there to meet us and pick us up as scheduled.
Our driver, Nabil, who was with us the whole trip was exceptional. He was good humored and an exceptionally safe driver.
The... read more

First we were very pleased with our trip. This is our third one arranged by your company. We went to Croatia last summer and the last winter to Portugal. I'm going to divide my comments into two categories: The first will be the positives, the second will be some weaknesses.

Positives:
Everyone was punctual and right there to meet us and pick us up as scheduled.
Our driver, Nabil, who was with us the whole trip was exceptional. He was good humored and an exceptionally safe driver.
The cooking class that you scheduled us was terrific.
Our guide in Fez, Mohammed, was superb.
Our guide in Marrakech was very supportive and helpful, but he could have provided more information about what we were seeing. I did love that he added a trip to a Berber Village on our way to our hike.
We loved going to the desert. Riding a camel to the luxurious tent camp was a highlight of the trip.

Negatives:
The first night's accommodations in Fes were outstanding. The other riads were less pleasing due to the fact that we had signed up for four star accommodations. Since we one triple and one double room, we found them to be the same size with an extra bed thrown into the double which made it very tight. My understanding was that the Riads that we were booking would be giving us nicer than standard rooms when I questioned the travel agent about some of the very cheap prices which I saw online for the accommodations.
It would have been good to have received more information on the driving distances. Our third day was horrific and we were exhausted and irritable by the time we reached Fez. I wish the agent might have suggested that we skip Chefchalquin, although we loved it, as it was just too much driving.
I wish that we could have spent time in the Berber museum at Marjorelle Garden in Marrakech.
In retrospect, it would have been good to have more suggestions that would have made for a more relaxing trip. In the end, we canceled our accommodation in Eousoura (sorry for spelling) as it seemed to just far to go to the Casablanca Airport on the day that we would be leaving on an 8 hour flight home. We ended up going to Eousoura as a day trip from Marrakech. Our accommodations on our last night were paid for by us which was fine, but the riad, Riad Zanibar, was a bit rundown and it is a place that I would not have recommended. I understand that the last minute request probably had something to do with it.

We had a fantastic time in Morocco. We visited seven cities in a span of 12 days, accompanied by our Morocco Off the Beaten Track driver, Mohammed. We began our tour in Chefchaouen, then Fes, Merzouga, Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Essaouira, and ended in Casablanca. Each city was uniquely different from the last and we were greatly pleased with the beautiful accommodations secured for us by the MOTB team. We met some wonderful locals while we were there, and felt so welcomed in a place so far away from home.

We enjoyed an unforgettable introduction to Morocco. The places we stayed were, without exception, all very lovely and well located, with full, nice breakfasts and excellent staff. Our driver was nothing short of wonderful. He was extremely helpful, offered what turned out to be excellent advice when requested, and took outstanding care of us. We realized the driver could not substitute as a professional guide, and there were a few times he could not provide answers to our questions,... read more

We enjoyed an unforgettable introduction to Morocco. The places we stayed were, without exception, all very lovely and well located, with full, nice breakfasts and excellent staff. Our driver was nothing short of wonderful. He was extremely helpful, offered what turned out to be excellent advice when requested, and took outstanding care of us. We realized the driver could not substitute as a professional guide, and there were a few times he could not provide answers to our questions, because of language difficulties, or just lack of really specialized knowledge. Yassine and his colleagues made certain that we were always well cared for, and they were genuinely concerned that we enjoyed ourselves.
If there were one aspect we would have done differently, knowing now what we do, we would have covered less, or else lengthened the trip. It was impracticable to cover the distances we did and still arrive at our destinations with enough time to do any exploring. We definitely needed another full day in Chefchaouen. We thought Essouaria was more important to visit than Volubilis, Moulay Idriss, or even Rabat. Ifrane was better just to pass through than visit. We spent proportionately more time in the car than we wanted. We did rely on the trip planners to know how long it would take to reach a given city, and travel times in general; despite cutting down on some of our original plans, we still could not cover everything.
In Fez, our cooking class was very enjoyable; we did not get as much benefit from the professional tour guide as we had hoped, however. He repeatedly remarked that he could not show us what he wanted to because we had come to Fez on a "holiday" (Friday), and that we needed to visit on a different day to see more activity. That was hardly anything we could have known in advance. He also disappeared whenever he "delivered" us to merchants he thought we should shop from. We loved the goats and the argan cooperative; Todra Gorge was excellent; we enjoyed the hammam in Marrakesh; and our overnight in the Sahara was probably the single most important experience.
Overall, the special attention we received throughout our trip, and particularly in Marrakesh, made us very glad we chose Kimkim and MOTB/Yassine and his team to make our arrangements.

We were a party of 6 from Australia. The booking experience with Kim Kim and Off the Beaten Track was 1st class. A great team effort congratulations to Yassine and his team.

When we arrived in Tangier the pickup details had not been detailed and I was surprised to find a driver whom I had not been given his name. Nabil - a lovely man. Nothing was too much trouble for him even though his command of English was patchy at times.

I will address each part of the trip keeping in... read more

We were a party of 6 from Australia. The booking experience with Kim Kim and Off the Beaten Track was 1st class. A great team effort congratulations to Yassine and his team.

When we arrived in Tangier the pickup details had not been detailed and I was surprised to find a driver whom I had not been given his name. Nabil - a lovely man. Nothing was too much trouble for him even though his command of English was patchy at times.

I will address each part of the trip keeping in mind one of our party had been unknown to 4 of us prior to the trip. (not a great idea) This man had not been forth coming with his health issues and the fact he suffered from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) meaning his ability to walk any distance or climb was severely impaired.

Accommodation: The accommodation was excellent in every stop - Tangier, Fez, Desert, Quarzazate, Marakesh and Casablanca. The Riads in Fez and Marakesh were beautiful and the hosts wonderful. Our Fez host went out of her way to help our impaired traveller. The desert speaks for itself and an experience all should have. Ait-Ben-Haddou in Quarzate is 6th century with the whole area under restoration. Sadly we arrived here after sunset and the "getting there" was a little troublesome in the dark. The property has no electricity and lit by candles - not that that is a problem however, not having been able to orientate ourselves in daylight did put a dampener on the night's experience. Next morning was a whole different scenario - a fabulous area and I could not recommend it more highly - just get there in daylight. Our unhealthy traveller just could not make it there and the host went out of his way to arrange alternate accommodation. The host himself was horrified that we arrive after dark.

Meals: All meals provided were great with hosts providing lovely meals on our arrival. Breakfast everywhere excellent

Travelling by Car: Nabil was an excellent safe driver. The 4x4 vehicle comfortable and well maintained. Our travel times were challenging for him time frame wise. Arrival times were really impossible given the state of the roads in some areas and the trucks, buses etc filling the roads. ( I might say some of this was my fault as I had tried to put so much into the trip and Yassine has gone out of his way to accommodate this - in retrospect I had been a little ambitious - an extra day would have made so much difference especially Fez to the desert) We were due to drive Marrakesh-Casablanca on the Saturday morning for a 11.45am flight to London. This truly was not possible - the road over the Atlas mountains is being rebuilt and consequently slow. I didn't know this at the time but given the time it had taken to get everywhere else I cancelled the last day in Marrakesh and added an extra night in Casablanca. The Kim Kim team did this effortlessly for us - thankyou it was the right thing to do.

Guides: The local guides in Fez *** , Quarzate *****, Marrakesh ****** Desert Experience ******
My only comment is that travellers need to understand the driver is not a tour guide as well sadly
and as a result we travelled a long way with no local commentary which would have been very nice. Nabil did his job so well and this comment is in no way a mark against him. He could not have done more.

The Experience would I do it again = Most definitely I could not recommend it more highly

Well done Kim Kim and Morocco Off the Beaten Track
Marion Patrick