Morocco Tour guide recommendation¤¤¤¤¤

[RebeccaV]

We recently returned from a trip to Morocco and Hassan Bouaouina (gutentagdiewelt@gmail.com) was our guide. We had a wonderful experience. From the beginning, Hassan was professional, knowledgeable, and we felt very comfortable with him. By the end of the trip, we felt as if we were friends. He gave us guidance and suggestions regarding hotels and itinerary before our trip. He booked the hotels for us during our 3 day drive through the Sahara, but we booked our own hotels in Fes, Marrakech, and Casablanca.

We only stayed one night in Casablanca because we were flying in there. Although we enjoyed our visit to Hassan II Mosque, we found the rest of Casablanca not very interesting. We had heard this from others before our trip, so we were not surprised. The restaurant where we had lunch the first day was not very good, but every other restaurant that Hamid took us to during our trip was good and some were excellent. He did a good job finding restaurants where we could have a light meal at lunch and a bigger meal at dinner (or vice versa).

We enjoyed seeing the Moroccan countryside on our drive from Casablanca to Fes via Meknes and Volubulis. The landscape was lusher and greener than we expected. In Meknes, Hassan took us to an interesting craft museum and a covered market. This market was one of our favorite things on the trip. In Volubulis, Hassan’s friend gave us a guided tour of the roman site and we enjoyed seeing the mosaics.

In Fes, we stayed at Riad Fes. It was a nice hotel with a good location. In Fes, Hassan always met us right at the door of our riad because it is dangerous to go into the Fes medina alone. One of our favorite things in Fes was when Hassan walked us around some parts of the medina that are real neighborhoods. It was interesting to see how people live in addition to the main cultural sites and a panoramic view of the city. We also visited an interesting antique store and a leather shop. At all of the shops that Hassan selected, we learned a lot about the crafts and truly felt no pressure to buy. Hassan even helped us negotiate a better price with one shop owner. The highlight to Fes was when Hassan invited us to his home for dinner. We enjoyed meeting his family and his two sisters. Hassan's mother is an excellent cook and the meal we ate at his house was definitely the best one we had in Morocco!

Our favorite part of the trip was the 3 day drive from Fes to Marrakech. We saw many interesting villages and landscapes. During this portion of the trip, Hassan booked our hotels for us. This was great as it made planning very easy. We stayed at the Hotel Kasbah Tizimi in Arfoud. We did not think this first hotel was up to our standards. I’m not sure if there are better options in Arfoud or not. In Merzouga dunes (the Sahara desert), we stayed in Auberge Kasbah Dunes d’Or . During our trip to the desert, we wanted to sleep in a Berber tent. Hassan reserved both the tent and a hotel room for us so that we could use a private bathroom and have the choice of where to sleep. We ended up sleeping in the tent and really enjoyed it. We also took a short camel ride to watch the sun rise. This was set up by the hotel. Our camel guide, Moha, was very friendly. In Skoura, we stayed in the Kasbah Ben Moro, which we loved. The location was beautiful, especially the back terrace overlooking the oasis. The owner is Spanish and has done a great job decorating and making the common areas feel cozy. We had a great meal here and found the owner and his friends to be very friendly.

What we most enjoyed about Hassan’s itinerary were the many stops at reputable craft shops, and cultural events, with no pressure to buy. During our 10 day trip we toured a pottery and mosaic factory, a fossil shop, a craft emporium, a rug shop, a leather tannery, an antique store, and a small music center where we were treated to a private concert of Gnaoua music. The gnaoua music (near the Mergouza dunes) was our favorite. The best part of our entire trip was when Hassan took us to visit some Berber semi-nomads in their dwelling. We had tea in their hut and got to see how the live. It was fascinating, very off the beaten path, and something we feel truly lucky to have been able to do. It was very rustic (their home was made out of wood, dirt, and plastic tarp) and might not be right for every traveler, but it was perfect for us. We loved seeing how the Berbers live and meeting the Berber family.

Hassan’s driver, Driss, is an excellent driver, even on winding mountain roads. He is a bit shy, but very nice.

In Marrakech we stayed at the Riad Kniza. This hotel was fabulous, luxurious, and had a great location within walking distance of many good restaurants and near one of the gates of the medina. The hotel staff was extremely helpful and very friendly. We booked a 5 night package where we also got a massage, a free dinner, etc. See their website for their package deals. Marrakech is where you will do most of your shopping and get to wander around the medina on your own. It is safe to do that here, unlike in Fes. Marrakech was very busy and we found it a bit stressful to wander around on our own, but we’re glad that we got the chance to do it. We like the square. Visit it once during the day and once at night. We had a good meal at La Maison Arabe and another at an Italian restaurant that our hotel recommended in the new part of town.