Morocco Encompassed (from Casablanca to Marrakesh)

7 Reviews

Excellent

43%

Good

29%

Average

14%

Rather Poor

0%

Bad

14%

• TF

  Tiffany
  Written on January 1, 2018

  3.5 - Good

  I was lucky enough to have a group of people from all over the world to travel Morocco with. The north part of this tour took us through the major cities of Morocco, from Casablanca to Fez to Chefchoaouen using welll organized vans and local trains. The commutes were relatively short (a few hours). Restaurants were decent; not great, some seemed like tourist traps. Nobody seems to get orders right (very common thoroughout all of Morocco). The second part of the tour was a lot of travelling, ranging from half a day to a whole day. Sites of interest were rushed to avoid visiting them in the dark (note: this is for the wintertime when the sun sets much earlier). The main goal was really to get to the Saraha desert, which takes quite a while (think 2-day trek each way). Nice local tour guide who kept us on track but was a bit absent minded (e.g. forgot my change, acknowledged questions but did not follow up, provided poor recommendations).

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• MC

  Marc
  Written on December 8, 2017

  3.0 - Average

  Good tour for the money if you can be your own guide. If you really want to see this country, you will need to do your homework beforehand, have a clear idea of what you want to see, and be willing to break with the itinerary. For example, the official itinerary reduces Fez, the world's best-preserved medieval Islamic city, into a pre-packaged shopping trip, skipping that city's magnificent architecture almost entirely.

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• 

  Bruce
  Written on October 27, 2017

  5.0 - Excellent

  Great tour, great guide, well planned

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• 

  Kathi
  Written on November 11, 2015

  5.0 - Excellent

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  Sharni
  Written on November 30, 2014

  3.5 - Good

  This was a good introduction to Morocco. Highlights were Chefchaouen (which is a dreamy, laidback, beautiful place...and the hotel was amazing!) and Moulay Idriss, both in the northern part of Morocco in the first half of the tour. The local guide Rachida who took us on a day walk around Essaouira at the end of the tour was also fantastic. The second half of the tour in the southern part of the country felt a lot more rushed, where we had a lot of terrain to cover in a short time, so there were some very long uncomfortable drives to endure. Sometimes we were so rushed that there wasn't time to do the advertised 'optional activities' (e.g. the movie studios in Ait Benhaddou), and many on my tour group agreed that it would have been nice to have an overnight stay in Tangier so we could see what this city and its surrounds have to offer...since we were only there for a few uncomfortable transit-hours where we were waiting for an overnight train to Marrakech which had unexpectedly changed to a later departure. I felt that this tour heavily catered to avid shoppers, which I am not! Meaning that there were lengthy lingering 'shopping stops' that held up the whole group and were of no interest to me...but due to the labyrinthine nature of Fes and Marrakech's souks, we had to all stay together to avoid getting lost. Thanks to my guide Rachid for assisting me when my phone got stolen and my bank card was eaten by an ATM, rendering me cashless! He was very patient, helpful and organised, and reassured me that everything would work out, which it did!

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• 

  Anonymous
  Written on October 1, 2014

  1.0 - Bad

  I am an extensive traveller and have been on many adventure holidays. I have just come back from an Intrepid Moroccan tour with the worst guide I have experienced. While some people experienced problems right from the briefing session when the guide got upset because someone was trying to speak French to him (although the guide was fluent in French) the real issue started a couple of days in when the group didn’t want to do an optional meal activity. When informed of the group’s decision he refused to provide any information on what other options there were for nearby restaurants to the hotel. He got upset that we were not listening to him and said he would be in the foyer for the next 15-20 mins before he would be gone for the night. We later found out that he got further upset because we did not invite him out with us even though it was explained to him that we thought he had made other arrangements by what he told us. Luckily enough there was another Intrepid group at the hotel and after talking with their guide he was happy to provide many safe local options and directions to get there. His group also went to eat at one of these local options on the second night which was recommended by their guide. We assumed that ‘kickbacks’ might be happening for the guide with the optional activity but who knows as we were very confused with the reaction from our guide. From this point our guide ignored us so that at bus stations we stood at one end as a group while he stood at the other by himself. He organised bus tickets so that he sat away from the group (except once when the poor unlucky girl had a rather icy ride to the next destination). Basically, he did not talk to us and we did not get any information on the country, culture or anything else. He just handed out bus tickets and hotel keys and disappeared. One of the guys in the group had a one-on-one with him to try and sort the situation out but to no avail. At no time did the guide try to attempt a resolution to the situation, which as a tour leader, that is what I would expect the ‘leader’ to do. Some of the paying clients in the group took on more of a leadership role than the guide. In the end two people left the tour early while the rest did their best to still have a good time. I could go on with other examples but I think the point has been made. Never have I (or others in the group) come across such an unprofessional, immature and arrogant tour guide. You would think we were there to please him rather than the other way around. I am both angry and disappointed that this should have happened not having experienced anything like this before. I will be complaining to my travel agent who will talk to an Intrepid Representative. I know other people who were on the tour are also doing the same. I should point out that while I found the tour itself OK it was greatly marred by the tour guide experience. At least it was a good group of people so we had a good time meeting each other. However, spending a substantial amount of money and travelling to the other side of the world excited about the holiday and having this happen has left me a bit stunned. Lucky for me, I tacked a mountain climb with another major adventure tour company at the end of this tour and found the exact opposite. The guide was totally professional, mature in attitude, participative, and totally dedicated to the need of the individual client as well as the group dynamic. As a traveller who talks to a lot of people I will be singing the praises and recommending this company. While I won’t be writing Intrepid off as I think the group lucked out with an unprofessional guide, I do question the recruitment process that can allow such a situation as this to occur when clients pay so much and are so far from home. Hopefully, this feedback will be noted and passed up the line at Intrepid so that a constructive outcome can come from this bad experience.

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  Jenni
  Written on November 20, 2013

  4.5 - Excellent

  The tour was fantastic. The highlight was definitely sleeping in the Sahara Desert and seeing the Moon Rise in the early hours of the morning! Amazing.

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