A Taste of Morocco - Imperial Cities and Desert

Fantastic itinerary, knowledgeable and brilliant local guides as well as our main guide, I loved each day of my Morocco trip with Explore! Strongly recommend 👌🏻

Tour was amazing. Scenery and experiences were diverse ranging from historic cities to the desert and the high mountains. There was quite a bit of driving but required to visit all the places and we did get to see the scenery, especially the mountain passes.. Highlights for us were Fez, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, time in the desert , Ait Ben Haddou ( where lots of films were shot including Gladiator). Fascinating hotels with real character and desert tents were delightful.

This was a whirlwind tour of Morocco with an emphasis on food. There were wonderful street food tastings, medina and souk explorations. Our guide used the long bus rides to talk about the culture and history. My one criticism was Hotel Awayou which was cold and dark and should not have had the same grade as the other hotels.

Rabir lead the trip incredibly well and made me feel like there was a clear plan for the entire holiday which given the pace of the trip was essential. All of the tour guides were incredibly knowledgeable and friendly and the experiences we had were amazing.

It was a fast paced tour that enabled us to see many different sides to Morocco from bustling cities to the quiet of the desert and mountain villages. The sunset and sunrise in the desert was a highlight of the tour. Our leader Moustapha was excellent, giving us lots of information and making sure we were always on track with the tour.

Two of the hotels were below the exxpected standard - Hotel El Batha and Hotel Awayou. The long drive to the High Atlas Mountains to reach the Auberge made this day particularly chalenging for both us and the driver of the bus. The change of riad in Marrakech was and excellent idea however the cookery class some distance from the cente of Marrakech made the afternoon laborious.

The taste of Morocco tour was very comprehensive and a fantastic value. As a newer tour, there are a couple of small itinerary points that weren't perfect, mostly the first night in Marrakesh when we had a foodie tour of the market followed immediately by a full meal at a restaurant. Might be better to eliminate the dinner on that day, or make it significantly later. The foodie tour was plenty!! Mustafa was our tour leader and I couldn't praise him enough. He was wonderful, knowledgeable, open about life in Morocco and clearly loves his beautiful country. Of note, a few of us got in a sticky spot in a sandstorm in the desert, and if he hadn't found us and guided us back, I may still be there trying to find my way out. I am forever grateful for his skill and professionalism. Wonderful tour!!