Review MGT 11/10/25
Tour Leader Hassan
Helpful, knowledgeable, kind, caring
Worked hard to make the trip a success for all of us. A credit to the tradition of Explore leaders. Often knew much more than local guides about the sites/sights - always better English than them. I understand that this was his first run of this trip and this might explain why he consistently underestimated the length of drives and walks.
Minibus
Not really up to standard. Seats comfortable enough for an hour's drive, but not for a seven hour drive. Some seats reclined, but this was not helpful. One, next to the entrance door, was fixed in a partly reclined position making it more difficult to get on or off. Another had no control over its reclining making it uncomfortable to sit in and even more so for the seat behind it. The front row passenger seats had a 1m high board separating them from the driver's cabin - this reduced the leg/foot room and made them undesirable for all except the 'must have a front row seat' brigade. One seat had its arm rest missing (it floated about the overhead storage) making it difficult on bumpy roads. The very important air condititioning was somewhat idiosyncratic.
The driver, Aziz, was very good and we always felt safe in his hands. He was called out in his off-time a couple of times, to ferry us to a local restaurant and was always very helpful.
Local Guides
A very mixed bunch. The one at Volubilis was very good, the one at Fes was awful. In Fes we expected around three hours of guided tour - it was more like five. Most of this spent in four locations: a pottery where we had 15 minutes of interesting talk (from the pottery people, not the guide) about production, followed by 'shopping'; the tanneries, five minutes of talk , five minutes of photo opportunity, shopping; a clothes shop, no talk, just shopping ; a restaurant for lunch, where we arrived about 4 o'clock, no choice of where to eat, overcrowded, expensive, not very good quality. These locations took about four of the five hours. Around 12.00 we were told we should have a snack as lunch would be late and were taken to a market. There was 'no time' to look round so Hasan bought us sweet pastries, nice but not my idea of lunch. Hightlights of the tour were supposed to be the 'oldest university in the world' and the tomb of the city founder. In both cases it turned out that they were in active mosques, into which non-muslims were not allowed. So we had a few minutes at each to take pictures through a doorway and virtually no information about either. One of the most frustration 'sightseeing tours' I have ever experienced.
Hotels
Typical of the Explore mix. Always clean and local in the sense of being of the place, usually comfortable and architecturally interesting. Some very quirky - in a good way. Breakfasts very variable - I got very tired of boiled eggs, as that was often the only cooked offering.
Food
In the evenings mostly we ate at restaurants recommended by Hassan, which were always good. When we ate at lunch time the best meals were the 'street food' ones (Berber pizza stands out). On a few occasions, during the longest drives, we had pinic meals, sourced from supermarkets. The food was fine but the locations were not. At best a tree to shelter under, nowhere to sit, litter all around. Inside the stationary bus at a viewpoint would always have been better.
Conclusion
On balance, and despite the criticisms, an enjoyable tour. A wide variety of sights to see: cultural; architectural; countryside. The distances being covered make a really comfortable bus essential. As it was I think too much is being crammed into the time. Possibly two desert camps is one too many. The visit to Taroudant was superficial and wasn't worth the long diversion to include it - though the riad/hotel was nice. Highlights were the walks through local markets and the meal with a local family - I think en route to Mirleft.
As it stands I would not recommend this trip to friends unless they are really OK with long drives in a not very comfortable minibus.
