Morocco Walking Trips

Many (most?) of the hotels had issues with showers either not having hot water or flooding the bathroom floor. Except for the hotel in Essaouira, the hotels were somewhat isolated so we couldn't just leave our room and explore, we had to get taxis or just stay at the hotel. We did very much enjoy the lunch in the Atlas mountains - it was really lovely. The hikes were nice, but not really anything special. I don't recall seeing anything remarkable and maybe that was partly due to the 2023 earthquake which damaged many structures. The guide was more of an organizer than a guide. He was very nice and even organized meals when we were supposed to be on our own, which was good and bad. We found that for the second half of the tour we preferred being away from the group to do our own thing, so we begged off on the dinners. One thing that disturbed me throughout the trip was how animals were neglected or left to run wild. There were cats everywhere and at night there were dogs. There were starving horses pulling tourists in horse drawn carriages. There were mules carrying huge loads with sores on their backs where they had been prodded to keep moving. It was truly horrible and I could not get away from it unless I was locked up in my room. Another thing was that there was trash/litter everywhere, including most of the hikes. The logistics all went smoothly and we were transferred to and from the airport and the bus was fine if you didn't mind a safety issue that a few of the seatbelts would not stay locked. Overall I would not recommend this particular tour. I've gone on other tours with Explore that I have enjoyed and will try them again.

The overall trip as planned is lovely. However earthquake damage has had an impact. The very rough road over the High Atlas and the damage to the Tinmel mosque make for a long and less interesting day 3. That said the balance of the trip was very good. The hikes up into the mountains and village lunches are highlights. I can’t say enough about our guide Boubker. He was excellent. He was easy to talk to, knowledgeable, and very good at managing the issues that arise on any group trip. Our driver, Omar, was also terrific.

Our guide and driver were both outstanding and really made the trip for us. Our guide Boubker was super friendly and knowledgeable and Omar our driver very competently handling some challenging driving. I enjoyed our Explore Atlas to Atlantic walking tour but was surprised by how much time we ended up spending in the vehicle. There was nothing our driver or guide could have done to reduce this time but I would make sure you are prepared for the vehicle time if you take this tour. 3 of 5 our hotels were great, 1 was basic but comfortable and one was small with a bathroom that needed a thorough cleaning.

High Atlas to The Atlantic-This could have been an amazing week but the drive to Essouria was too long. This spoilt the 7.5 mile Atlantic walk as we were chasing daylight. All accommodation was excellent and the group of 14 was super friendly

Holiday was brilliant. Tour guide was great, food was good and walks were interesting. A couple of improvements however. Trip notes need updating for last walk. It was not flat or easy! Lots of uphills and tiring sand dune walking. Loved it but not all of group enjoyed it. Transport from airport very poor. Had to wait 1.5 hrs when we arrived - in end had to ask a local to ring local number for us as we couldn’t get through. Transport picking us up for the airport was 35 mins late. Very stressful pickups 😕

Leader was excellent. The long walk was not well described in itinerary. 7 miles in 2hrs was not possible in that terrain. Accomodation was mixed. Some lovely .others not so.