Amazing Morocco and Original Travels!
Morocco
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Dec 22 - Jan 1, 2026
Our trip was amazingl. Kim Kim paired us with the local travel provider “Original Travels”. To begin with, we were supported by Abdellah who helped guide us to our booking. Once booked, we were handed over to Saïd who ably supported us, quickly and patiently answered all our questions. Once we arrived into Casablanca, we found two of our checked in luggage had not arrived. We filed a complaint with the Royal Maroc Desk, exited the airport and met Ayoub, our driver for the entire trip. He immediately took us to several stores to help us buy immediate necessities like tooth brush, a few clothes etc. With that, we started our trip with a promise from Air Maroc that they would send our suitcases to Fes once they arrived in Casablanca. The two suitcases arrived at Casablanca on Dec 23. But Dec 24 and 25 came and went and they did not arrive at Fes. So, on Dec 26 we told Saïd that we needed to go to Casablanca to try and get our suitcases instead of continuing to the desert camp in Merzouga as per original plan and requested him to make needed changes. Ayoub drove us to Casablanca airport and patiently waited for several hours while we tried to wade through terrible bureaucracy and rude staff at the airport baggage claim. Luckily with the help of a gentleman named Karim who took personal interest to find and get us our luggage, we were miraculously united with the two suitcases. In the meantime, Saïd silently and efficiently worked out needed changes which included booking us into a Riad for the night at Fes, delaying our arrival at the Desert Camp in Merzouga by a day and adjusting our stay in Boumalne Dades by a day. Everything was seamless! In addition to driving, Ayoub was a repository of knowledge and helped us learn about culture, music, geography and history of Morocco. He also guided us to good shops along the way and helped us buy high quality rugs, ceramics etc. in addition, for tours of Fes Medina Mohammed, the guide was very good. Idriss, the guide for the tour of Marrakech Medina was very good as well. Overall, a very memorable trip of a beautiful country and friendly people and tasty food!
I need to talk about Amazigh music. Our driver Ayoub played this form of music throughout the trip and we have gotten hooked. We don’t understand the language but the tunes have a meditative chant-like quality. It was fun drawing parallels with certain forms of folk music from across the world and playing some samples as we drove past gorgeous countryside!
Hotel Reviews
Very good breakfast, good location
The place was very quaint and beautifully decorated. However there was one small problem. The single restroom had a small window which let in outside air which was cold. So at night we shut the window. Next morning we realised that a smell had accumulated in the restroom, the kind of smell that happens when sewage does not flow smoothly. We reopened the window and that took care of the issue. That apart, it was a pretty property with great views from the terrace and a very good breakfast.
Amazing location, looks down on the valley with great views of the Atlas mountains
Magical! Great location! Good food! Post dinner bonfire and music were totally out of the world!
Very unique and quaint!
Activity Reviews
We did not see any sights in Casablanca apart from King Hassan II mosque which was amazing!
We stopped in Rabat to check out an area by the ocean. It was a whitewashed mixture of shops and homes and was nice?
It was pouring rain the evening when we arrived in Chefchaouen. Walking the hilly streets in the rain was fun and next morning we took a self guided walking tour of the main sites and also went down pretty alleys and at times got lost. Volubilis Roman ruins with frescos like ones in Pompeii were interesting. Our guide, forget his name, looked and sounded very like Joe Pesci! We drove through Moulay Idriss to get a sense of the little town. From Volubilis it sparkled on the hillside in the afternoon sun like a jewel. It is a holy site for Islam and non-Muslims are not allowed into any of the mosques or holy sites. So, not much to do. In Meknes there is a mausoleum. We did not go in. Not sure if non Muslims are allowed to. We checked out the nearby shops and then had a very good lunch at a traditional restaurant just close by….
The drive takes one through rugged and spectacular countryside!
Mohammad, our tour guide, picked us up from our Riad and we drove to one main gate of the Royal palace and walked from that point. He was very knowledgeable and gave us lots of history as we walked through the medina. The medina itself is amazing and a veritable feast for our senses! Not to be missed! Fes is an ancient town and holy to Islam. It also has the oldest Royal palace and the current King Mohammed VI spends most of his time here. We were told the climate helps his asthma. The alley close to one of the main palace gates has lines of homes with balconies. We were told these homes were owned by Jews. For protection they chose to live close to the palace. Inside the medina there is Al Qarawyn, an ancient mosque established in 985 AD and an ancient madrassa with beautiful ornate calligraphy established in 1400s. Also right there is a large tannery where all kinds of leather is processed and there is a large shop for leather goods where one can buy high quality leather goods. Apart from above spice shops, sweet shops, little shops with all kinds of things and milling crowds make a fascinating mix. Beware of the labyrinthine alleys. One can easily get lost!
The drive through middle Atlas is spectacular! The first sight of the desert in late afternoon sunlight is surreal. We were given a tent in Orient Desert Camp. It was one of two tents at the edge of the cluster of tents with a large window looking out onto the desert.
It was very special to see and experience nomad life in the Sahara. On top of that the nomad family prepared dough and baked a pizza in an earthen oven fired with twigs. The raw simplicity was beautiful and the fresh pizza had amazing taste!
Boarding down the side of a huge sand dune was fun!
This was fun. It took us some time to get used to controlling the buggies…
We toured Ait Ben Haddou on our own. It was fascinating and views from the top spectacular!
