Ancient Heritage to Hot Sands: Immersive Morocco Tour

Another magical Zicasso trip. This time to Morocco with a local agency. The travel specialists ensured our family was well taken care of from the minute we landed in Marrakech.

We were greeted by our incredible driver with a basket of pistachios, almonds, apricots, figs, the most delicious dates, and a bag with adapters, a map, small bills and coins (for bathrooms), and a beautifully custom-designed leather backpack with our daughters’ names engraved on it in Arabic. Our whole family agrees that our driver’s hospitality, attention to detail, and love for his country made this trip extra-special. Even though there were many long drives during this trip, our driver always asked when we needed breaks along the way, seemed to know many of our local guides, and ensured we were comfortable and saw key viewpoints during our drive.

One of our most memorable visits was to the blue city of Chefchaouen. We stayed in a riad on New Year’s Eve and were treated to live music and delicious Moroccan food for dinner. The next day we had plans to hike to a waterfall; however, the rains flooded much of the path and the travel specialist asked if we were okay to take a walking tour of Chefchaouen instead. We were grateful for this flexibility and all very impressed with our local guide. Since he grew up there, he took us to many of his favorite spots, including a walk along the river where we had the absolute best pomegranates we have ever had. Not only the fruit itself, but we were then treated to pomegranate juice and a special combination of orange and pomegranate, which remains our family’s favorite.

On our way to Fes, we stopped in Volubilis. Again, our guide made the tour of these Roman ruins and UNESCO World Heritage Site one to remember. Our guide’s in-depth historical knowledge and ability to find the perfect photo spots made the ruins come to life. We are thankful we took the time to stop here.

Our stay in our riad in Fes was truly remarkable. The intricate details in both of our rooms, the superb breakfast, and excellent service will hold a special place in our hearts. Again, the local guide who took us through the souks and then the food tasting tour grew up in the community and seemed to know the local favorites.

Our driver’s keen driving skills helped us maneuver through a winter storm in the Middle Atlas Mountains. The road closed for many hours, but with our driver’s patience and perseverance we managed to cross the mountains and have lunch in a great local spot.

Riding the camels in the Sahara to our desert camp was a memorable experience for all of us. The camp itself was absolutely exceptional. Heated tents with private bathrooms and very comfortable beds were beyond what we imagined. We were treated to a delicious dinner that night and sang and played music with the local camp guides after the glorious sunset. After catching the sunrise and a scrumptious breakfast, we began our long journey back to Marrakech, going through the towns of Skoura and Ait Benhaddou.

In Marrakech, the travel company arranged for us to stay in our hotel, where we made spa appointments for the most soothing hammams and had lovely breakfasts each morning. In addition to the local shopping and especially the spice seller, our highlight was definitely the cooking class on the farm with our chef, where we learned three kinds of tagines with couscous, salad, and desserts. We toured the farm and just had an amazing experience with our chef and her sous chef. We treasure the recipes we learned and have already recommended the farm’s cooking class to friends. It is absolutely worth the drive of 29km outside of Marrakech.

Our trip concluded with a wonderful stay in the coastal town of Essaouira, probably our favorite town. Walking along the seaside, having fresh fish, and meandering along the square gave us wonderful memories to bring back home.

We are so grateful for Zicasso, the travel company, our driver, and all our local guides for this five-star trip. Thank you so very much for helping us make such a delightful family memory!

Zicasso’s travel agent and his team were great and very accommodating.

The trip was superbly organized and Zicasso’s travel company was very professional, and demonstrated great care to ensure we had the kind of trip we envisioned.

We have used Zicasso affiliates several times and this was one of the best. They tailored a creative program in Casablanca, Fes, Rabat, and Marrakech to our likes, needs, and abilities, and modified it as needed before and after the trip began.

The guides were very good on the whole. Two of the three hotels were outstanding and the third was excellent. We couldn’t have had a more punctual, careful, or informative driver. We even met one of the owners of the company for a coffee. He went out of his way to make our stay special, safe, and secure.

Thank you for organizing a wonderful trip. Zicasso’s travel company was super-helpful and we enjoyed spending two weeks with our driver. We brought back with us amazing memories of the medinas, riads, souks, mosques, palaces, ancient ruins, the desert, the food, and, of course, the cats of Essaouira.

Traveling with two kids can be challenging, but from finding the cleanest bathrooms to making sure we could sleep in, our driver adjusted to our schedule. He was so caring and by the end of the trip, he was a part of our family. We will miss him, as well as our trip coordinators, who were extremely attentive to our needs throughout. We miss Morocco, a country of contrasts.

The trip was thoughtfully planned, with an excellent driver and local guides. Each of the riads and hotels chosen for the trip provided excellent service and beautiful rooms. Zicasso's tour operator was a joy to work with. The pace of the trip was perfect for us. Mary and I have not enjoyed a holiday more thoroughly than this tour of Morocco.