Trip of a lifetime
Morocco
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Sep 2 - Sep 18, 2022
Overall we had an amazing experience planning and participating in our trip to Morocco where we visited Rabat, Chefchaouen, Fes, Merzouga, Boumalne Dades, Marrakech, Essaouira, and Casablanca. From start to finish KimKim and it’s affiliate Original Travels accommodated our wishes and succeeded in meeting our expectations.
This was the first time that we used a travel agency to plan a trip and relinquished the planning process to another. It was really nice to not worry about anything. Our trip was 16 days long, with 8 different accommodations, 6 different tour guides, 8 different major stops (not including all the wonderful places in between), 1 amazing driver (Karim), and an impromptu neighborhood get together. Each place was completely different and exciting. Having never been to Morocco, we were blown away with the kindness of the people and the beauty of the country.
Our accommodations were 5 star hotels, luxury tent, guest houses, or riads with delicious breakfasts that met or exceeded our assumptions with one exception. Riad Perle D'Eau in Essaouira was clean and the rooms were large but overall the hotel is aging and was not on par with the rest of our accommodations. Once you’ve stayed in amazing places you definitely can feel the difference. The breakfast was mediocre too. It would have gone a long way if our rooms overlooked the ocean instead of a staircase and another room.
In Fes we stayed in a beautiful Riad where the shear beauty of the open air lobby meets you at the door. The stage is definitely set when you arrive to a traditional tea service. Upon showing us to our room we were overjoyed with my sisters room and were told that the hotel had “upgraded” us to an upper floor. There was no comparison to how much nicer her room was. If we had not seen her room we would have been happy in our accommodations but her experience was definitely different. We asked to be moved and they were unable to accommodate us. When traveling with others, you want the rooms to be the same not glaringly different.
We signed up for many workshops and truly loved learning how to make the many exports Morocco is known for. We walked away from each experience appreciating the amount of time, effort, and skill put into each piece of pottery, leather goods, food, brass and copper, blanket, and rug.
The only one that did not meet our expectations was the babouche shoe workshop in Marrakech. We were supposed to fully make a pair of shoes to take with us. Even though we learned the steps to making a puff puff and shoes, we were unable to make our own. At least 3 hours need to be set aside to accommodate this class. Originally we were scheduled to do this in the morning followed by a food tour. Both the food tour and the workshop were rushed and therefore not as we had anticipated.
I would not recommend the winery tour outside of Essaouira. (we were scheduled to tour the facility, wine taste and luncheon there). We chose to continue on to Essaouira and Original Travels took us to a wonderful restaurant on the beach where we enjoyed a glass of wine and a delicious seafood meal.
We rode a camel, sand surfed, took a kite surfing class and a cooking class, had a message, a facial, 2 Hammams, hiked in the Atlas Mountains, and participated in a balloon ascension over Marrakech. These activities enhanced our overall experience.
Each stop we made, each place we visited, each person we met left us with a true appreciation for Morocco. Thank you KimKim and Original Travels for an exceptional once in a lifetime experience.
Hotel Reviews
Wonderful first stop. Enjoyed the treats awaiting our arrival from the airport. Breakfast was delicious!
My favorite! Enjoyed the 1946 hotel steeped in history. If it’s good enough for Winston Churchill it’s definitely good enough for me. Afternoon tea and cookies is a wonderful way to end your day.
Riad was perfectly located. Simple accommodations with a very helpful staff. Breakfast was delicious. Tried our first Hammam here and the private pool. The Hammam is not a luxurious spa like experience but definitely an eye opener and my skin never looked better.
Upon checking in the staff showed us to our rooms. My sister’s room was on the main floor with a beautiful open floor plan overlooking the Riad’s open space. We were told that we were upgraded to another room. Unfortunately this room didn’t feel like an upgrade but of a switch to accommodate another. Our room felt dark where the bathroom was separated between the bathing area and facilities right between the seating area making the room feel cramped. To be fair we probably would have been happy with the accommodations if we hadn’t seen the other beautiful room.
Loved visiting the Sahara Desert. I would recommend visiting for only one day since there isn’t enough to do for 2 days. I would not take guests to a pool that isn’t up to the same standard as the camp. The pool where we were dropped off at was still under construction and shouldn’t be used.
Loved our stay here. The hospitality and food was superb.
The rooms were large and clean, unfortunately they looked into someone else’s room and a stairway. The Riad is dated with a mediocre breakfast.
The Art Deco hotel takes a minute to get used to. My sister’s room was so outlandish that they moved her to a different room where she was very comfortable. The staff was fabulous and the breakfast was delicious.
Activity Reviews
Enjoyed the demonstration and walked away with a better understanding on how the oil is made. More of a stop to purchase quality products.
Loved all of our stops and really enjoyed our stop at Volubilis.
Loved spending time with our guide and his lovely wife. They were incredibly welcoming!
The dinner was delicious! Unfortunately, the wife was so tired that we felt like we were an inconvenience.
We loved this activity! We really gained an appreciation for all the work that goes into the art of mosaics and pottery.
The artist was extremely talented in her craft.
We didn’t have a workshop but we did take a tour of the brass making area and saw the experts at work.
Wonderful day! Lamb lunch was an adventure and loved meeting the monkeys! Riding a camel was an experience in itself. Two hours with rain, wind and sand felt like authentic once in a lifetime ride.
Highly recommend a visit. Quality merchandise priced reasonably without the stress of bargaining!
Loved our guide Hafid! We felt like we were in great hands from start to finish. When bargaining let him help you. We overpaid at the leather store because we tried to do it ourselves. We learned a valuable lesson and got much better as our trip progressed. He spent two full days with us and we enjoyed it immensely.
I loved all of our stops… it’s a long day!
We ate lunch her which was a beautiful spot to take a break!
Great job acclimating us to the city and giving us wonderful history information.
What a wonderful way to see Morocco! This was my sister’s first ascension and our 3rd.
Great class start to finish! My husband that doesn’t cook loved it as well. We ate the food that we prepared and it was delicious.
Unfortunately this was at the end of the day and we felt rushed. We did enjoy the main meal but could have gone with Karim and had the same experience.
We only had 40 minutes to have a small demonstration about puffs and Babouche shoes. While informative, it was not what we expected.
Demonstration and 5 mins each weaving.
Excellent!
They didn’t know we were coming so we moved on to Essaouira where we had a lovely lunch on the beach.
Our instructor was thorough and knowledgeable. We ended our lesson with a better understanding of the sport and a desire to continue with lessons.
Uneventful drive. Seeing a sheep on top of a car being transported and a camel along the road was our highlight.
Beautiful Mosque and a must see since it’s the only one in the country that you can go in.
Our trip wouldn’t have been the same without Karim our exceptional driver. From start to finish he was instrumental in getting us from point A to Z with wonderful stops in between.
