Prachtige 3-daagse waar je heel wat van Marokko krijgt te zien. Van Midden-Atlas over steden en woestijn tot Hoge-Atlas. Een absolute aanrader. Onder begeleiding van een zeer bekwame chauffeur en een gids die wel wat meer mag gidsen :). Alleen de lunches, die niet in het pakket zitten, zijn aan de prijzige kant en in restaurants zeer op toeristen gericht. Het enig minpuntje, voor de rest top!
We started the tour expecting a natural and cultural immersive experience, but it was mainly an ultra touristic tour. The monkey sightseeing was at the side of the main road, full of locals with horses trying to get money for pictures - monkeys were almost tame, so not at all the natural experience we thought it might be. Stopped for food on a very soulless place, then drove all the way to the desert where camels were ready for us. One of them was in clear discomfort, as she was crying (the guide said she was still young and not used to it yet, but I could see she was held down with force on her leg), so on the way back from the dunes I decided to walk instead of riding, as it didn't feel right. But talking to the guys working there was awesome and they made our desert tour really special. The night at the tent was incredible, the people working there were amazing, food really good, the tent super clean (more than some other places we've been in Morocco), well looked after cats browsing around, the night sky a must see!! Day 2 was a long and tiring ride to Ouarzazate, lots of nice villages in the way, but didn't really stop at any of them as we were on a tight schedule. We only stopped for a tour of Rissani - we asked if we could go by ourselves, but there was a guide booked for us, so we had to go with him. He took us to tourist traps (they asked us £1k for a rug that was £300 in Fes - nothing of the cooperative and village supportive shopping we were promised! plus we paid 200 dirham for spices that would have costed us 50 at the next stall), this really stained the whole experience, as we were expecting a more sustainable kind of tourism, but they clearly missed the mark. We were ready for another memorable night in one of the Kasbahs we saw all across the region, but we were instead placed in a western style hotel full of 'package tourist' groups - some people might like this style of holiday, but this is not at all what we were expecting from a dessert tour! Day 3 was really good, still tiring as it was another long long drive, but the landscapes were amazing, you go from desert to snow in a matter of hours and the colours and villages are other-wordly. Shame that we stopped at a filming studio (which we had to pay for, although it seemed like it was included in the cost of the ticket) and a town that is basically made for tourist (still pretty, but no locals live there, only businesses selling the usual stuff), rather than one of the hundreds villages scattered along the way. All in all, our guide was lovely and we are still in touch with him - unless you are an all inclusive kind of tourist, this is not the tour for you. They should really try to offer more authentic experiences, and support local communities and keep a better eye on animal welfare. There is so much potential but it's all missed in the name of the immediate gain.
Mohammed and Driss! You can tell, that these both love their job. They even gave us great tips for the rest of our trip. Driss speaks English and French very well and knows a lot of people on the route and about the places themselves. Mohammed is also very friendly and seems like a nice and calm person.
We were only five people in the group, which made the experience very enjoyable, because it felt very personal: We could decide when to eat, or when we needed a short break from driving.
I really enjoyed the whole tour, but it was a lot of driving, which was probably due to the long distances of the spots. Personally, I would’ve enjoyed some more remote stops, like a calmer, more local restaurant, that isn’t full of fellow tourists only.