Original Travels Co

We had an amazing trip to Morocco, in no small part due to the service and dedication of the Original Travels team.

We had a thoroughly positive experience with original travels throughout. Our initial trip planning was through Abdel, who was highly responsive, very pleasant to deal with, and rapidly adapted the trip to align best with our preferences, including taking account of our young children (for instance by managing the driving distances for each leg). The same can be said of the point of contact for the trip, Said. Said was also very responsive, provided helpful answers to various ad hoc questions, and also facilitated a pottery workshop midway through the trip, which turned out to be a highlight. Said also ensured two hotel upgrades throughout the trip, which was appreciated.

Turning to our driver/guide, Samir was wonderful throughout the trip. Not only was Samir a fun companion on the long drives, he ensured our every need was met at every stage of the vacation. Of particular note were the small acts of kindness throughout the trip, such as providing snacks and water for our children, securing cough meds, and even helping resolve our kids arguments! We cannot speak highly enough of his services, and would hope to meet again in the future.

In terms of specific points on accommodations and activities, overall Original Travels arranged for very comfortable accommodations and a range of fascinating activities. The accommodations we enjoyed the most was Kasbah Azul in Agdz (fantastic staff, food and ambience), as well as Riad Pachavana in Marrakech (lovely peaceful Riad, with delicious breakfast). We would also highlight Dar Rihana in Boulmane Dades as being lovely and glad we stayed there.

For improvement in the future, we felt that the desert camp (Orient Desert Camp) had a ‘transactional’ feel as compared with other hotels we stayed at. Whilst a lovely location and comfortable camp, it had a less personable atmosphere from the staff. We also much
preferred the atmosphere of the Riad in Marrakech rather than the hotel we stayed in Marrakech’s New Town (which did not give any particular flavor of Morocco and could have been anywhere), so would recommend use of the Riads where possible.

Of the activities we participated in, particular highlights were the pottery workshop mentioned above - the owner was so welcoming and hospitable and we had a fantastic time. Also the desert camel ride was amazing, though it would have been better had we arrived slightly earlier so as not to be rushed onto the camels to make the sunset. We also thoroughly enjoyed our Marrakech food tour, and would recommend that to fellow travellers.

Generally the guides used by Original Travels were very good, though we would note the following slight caveats:
- Our guide in Ait Benhaddou put the least effort in, and generally just took us to a range of stores to buy things from his friends. Was more preoccupied with catching up with his friends rather than actually guiding the tour.
- The tour of marrakech guide did not adapt his general spiel to better fit our young kids
- The guide in Merzouga didn’t speak much English, which made communication difficult.
- We would’ve appreciated if guides took more initiative with taking photos in the moment instead of us finding a spot and doing a posed photo.

That said, all of our guides (indeed all of the people we met in Morocco!) were welcoming and friendly, and did provide special experiences.

Overall, we are extremely glad we chose Original Travels and Morocco for our vacation, and would strongly recommend for other travellers!

It was an excellent experience. Kimkim put together a phenomenal plan for us that helped us cover almost all major cities.
A special word for Rachid who was our English speaking driver cum guide who rendered an excellent service to us. He was always very accommodative and always ready to help us make our trip better than planned. Be it last minute changes to dealing with emergency situations...Rachid handled every situation with calm and maturity. He is the best that the industry can have.
At the end of the trip we were like a family.
Thanks to Kimkim Said and Ali and special thanks to Rachid for making our trip one of the best for our memories.

Activity Reviews

Moroccan Dinner and Fantasia Show at Chez Ali

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marrakesh Evening Food Tour

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I have mentioned it in my review. The best of the best...Kimkim Ali, Said and Rachid.

Transport

Half-Day Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Majorelle Garden

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hamza and Said were very helpful and quick to respond both before and during our trip across Morocco. We reached out to Kimkim at the last minute to plan a trip and they did a wonderful job.

Ayoub was our guide/driver for the full trip and he was everything we could have hoped for. His positive attitude always added to the day. Ayoub helped us see unique sights along the journey and even made our long travel days engaging and interesting. It was genuinely wonderful to have everything scheduled and outlined for us. We felt like we could turn our planning brains off and just enjoy the sights and culture of the regions.

Our city guides, Sharif in Fes and Sellam in Marrakesh, were knowledgeable of the history and showed us around to many of the local hot spots. It was great having an official guide for half day tours.

We had a great time and thank everyone involved in the trip!

Our Morocco vacation was amazing and memorable! Our driver/guide Faissel was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ He made our vacation run smoothly and was thoughtful, easy to be with and made sure my husband, son and I had everything we needed! We would never have been able to have the vacation we did without Faissel!!
The whole Kimkim experience was excellent and I look forward to using them to plan another vacation.
The private tours, accommodations and recommendations were all on point. We really had a wonderful time!

All local guides were great and speaks reasonably good english. They have a good knowledge of Local as well as Moroccan history and answered all our questions and queries.
A special mention to our fulltime driver Rachid, who was outstanding in his job and is great in conversation. There were really long drives and it is not easy to keep a bus full of people happy. He did that and also resolved all issues to our satisfaction.
He became just like our friend. Love him.

Hotel Reviews

Riad El Yacout

Fès

The room was smelly and very shabby. Hot water was not working and had to call maintenance to fix it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Orient Desert Camp

Merzouga

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The floor carpets were all wet

Riad Mokhtar Tanger

Tangier

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Casablanca Hotel

Casablanca

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Quick Tour of Casablanca with your Driver-guide

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Marrakech to Merzouga Desert via Ouarzazate

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marrakesh Evening Food Tour

Marrakesh

Moroccan Dinner and Fantasia Show at Chez Ali

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Desert Adventures around Merzouga

Merzouga

The ATV and Camel Ride experience was the highlight of the tour

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We spent 9 days in Morocco and the itinerary was planned superbly. I am so happy we chose Kimkim for this trip - would not only use them in the future but will also recommend them to friends and family. Our local guide Ayoub was incredible - super knowledgeable, friendly, and kind. He was amazing with our 10 year old son - they became quick friends on the trip. We always felt very safe and taken care of. Our guide in Fez (Sharif) was also great - took us to see all the major highlights and just gave us an over-all fun experience.

A couple of very minor things - when we stayed in the oasis overnight, the guide there could have been a little bit better. It sounds like it's still a developing travel destination, but it would be super helpful to have a guide who spoke better English. There was a bit of a communication/understanding barrier, but again, just a small nit pick.

Food tour of Marrakech was definitely one of the highlights - would highly recommend it as part of any itinerary.

Thank you Ali, Said and the whole Kimkim team and guides for an unforgettable experience.

Hotel Reviews

Riad Salam Fes

Fes

Beautiful hotel, but our actually room was not so great - it had a musky/stuffy smell, was a little run down and dark. Air conditioning did not work - they did try to fix it or move us (alternatively) but we only had one more night there and it did not make much sense to move.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dar Jasmine

Chefchaouen

Lovely Dar - clean and spacious room, great water pressure, friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Orient Desert Camp

Merzouga

Gorgeous location, superb tent, great food, very friendly staff. the ONLY little thing - would be nice if the guide spoke slightly more English - there was a bit of communication gap. Otherwise, super fun experience in the desert.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Ksar Ighnda

Ait Benhaddou

Hotel is really really pretty. Room was ok - a little dark, but pretty spacious. TINY safe ... almost makes no sense to even have one, you cant actually fit anything.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad al Rimal

Marrakech

Lovely - super friendly, clean. Room was a little small, but we did have a private terrace, which was very lovely. The hammam was great as well - they even did it for our kid and he was in 7th heaven - much needed for all of us as this was the stay at the end of the trip. 10/10 would recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Family Visit to the Majorelle Gardens

Marrakesh

Would skip - SO many tourist, hard to really see anything.

I travelled to Morocco with my 2 kids, ages 11 and 14, from April 12-20, 2025. We have an amazing, magical time!
The trip was planned perfectly- we have a good mix of sights, learning crafts, visiting women's cooperatives and relaxing. Our driver, Oussama, took care of us the entire time. I didn't have to worry about the timings, how to get places because he was on top of it. This let me enjoy the trip with my kids instead of stressing over timetables and calling guides.
One day, my daughter was pretty sick on our way to the Sahara dessert where we were to stay the night. Oussama elected to stay in a tent, in the dessert also, in case my daughter got worse and needed help.
Our guides were also fabulous. Sharef, in Fes, was patient and full of knowledge. We were passing a veterinary clinic set up for the working animals in Fes. I asked to stop by there. He said sure and we spent an hour there learning about their mission and learned the head vet went to the same school I did!
A cooking class was set up for us in someone's home- this was my son's favorite experience.
The hotels we stayed in were perfect.
I would definitely contact KimKim again to help me book another trip as we had local guides, met locals, were invited into their homes and were taken care of.

I am the 11 year old. The things I loved were when sharef took us to the medina in fes, he let us go into any place we wanted to. Also he took us to the best restaurants, an even took us to a place where they show you carpets. I also loved the old city in fes because all of the houses were beautiful. Also our amazing driver Oussama he took us everywhere and he took us to get lunch at places everywhere. Also he is one of the nicest drivers I have ever met. Thank you everyone.

The overall experience of Morocco was exceptional and far beyond our expectations. The scenic beauty, the hospitality and Moroccan food was something we enjoyed to the utmost.
Our local driver cum guide Suffiane was an amazing person, who was always extremely helpful and guided us in best possible manner.
The other driver Osama, who remained with us for last couple of days of our tour, was also very supportive and helpful.
We look forward to coming back to Morocco with our kids.
The Kimkim team lead by Abdellah extended every possible help in arranging our trip and ultimately we had the most amazing tour of our lives.