November 14, 2021

JasonHeyseJasonHeyse
in Magic of Morocco

We will be on the Magic of Morocco tour starting on November 14, but arriving on 10 early in Rabat. Is there anyone else on this tour? I know there are at least 29 of you out there! :D Would love to connect before the tour.

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Comments

  • JasonHeyseJasonHeyse

  • JasonHeyseJasonHeyse

    I'm scheduling all of my tours on my own once we arrive in Rabat. Am I going to regret not including a day trip to Chefchaouen? I would love to see the blue city, but its a 6 hour drive one way! I've read that once you see the actual city with blue buildings, there is not much there. Perhaps it's like the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Once you've been there you say, "Yep, it's still leaning!". Any thoughts on this experience?

  • Smiling SamSmiling Sam

    JasonHeyse - Personally it would have to be something so spectacular for me to ever consider 12 hours of driving (6 hours each way). I doubt Chefchaouen would pass that test for me. You could do a lot of things in Rabat in 12 hours.

  • JasonHeyseJasonHeyse

    Agreed. That was my gut feeling.

  • milmil

    JasonHeyse HI
    stay in Rabat, it is a great city, lots to see. The blue city is not that big... you can see some blue houses in Rabat. :)) not worth all that driving.
    https://www.google.com/travel/things-to-do/see-all?g2lb=4419364,4317915,4270442,4597339,4371334,4429191,4258168,4638963,4624411,4515404,4605861,4629143,4617195,2502548,2503781,4401769,2503771,4596364,4524133,4306835,4640247,4270859,4284970,4291517&hl=en-US&gl=us&ssta=1&dest_mid=/m/0fs44&dest_state_type=sattd&dest_src=ts&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiNpd3O_NTzAhUtIjQIHc5oDQcQ69EBKAF6BAgCEBs#ttdm=34.026977_-6.791025_12&ttdmf=%2Fm%2F02vqhhc

  • JasonHeyseJasonHeyse
    edited February 2022

    Morocco

    Was

    Fun.

  • Claudia SailsClaudia Sails

    bkmd, the rest of us can't wait to see and critique your next trip review.

  • BKMDBKMD

    Claudia, I'm jinxed. Every trip I book gets cancelled. As of now, November 2022 is the next shot.

  • Claudia SailsClaudia Sails

    Try being nicer. Karma is - as they say - a b----.

  • BritishBritish

    BKMD. How unkind to someone who gave a brilliant report.
    Jason, After your report, I want to go, thank you!

  • itskritskr

    It has made me want to go,too. Thanks for your great report

  • JasonHeyseJasonHeyse

    BKMD, I’m sorry. It was quite lengthy. I should have shortened and just said great trip. I had several request to know details of the trip and I had promised to respond. I’ll try harder next time, I have not posted much and certainly didn’t know about formatting.

  • BritishBritish

    Yes rude when people are taking the time to write a review. Have you ever written a review?

  • NoreenNoreen

    Jason - Please post your report again.  We are going to Morocco next year and I would love to read it.  As British mentioned, don't let rude people discourage you.  

  • kfnknfzkkfnknfzk
    edited February 2022

    I am saddened, JasonHeyse, that you removed your post. It is unfortunate that Tauck allows the nonsense of a few to dominate this site, a site that is supposed to be about traveling with Tauck. In my opinion, both you and British are owed an apology.

    And thank you, mil, travel maven and Noreen, for speaking up. I presume we will be flagged for acting like mature, civil adults who have a passion for travel.

  • PureLuxuryPureLuxury

    JasonHeyse I was super busy today and didn't get a chance to look at any post. I'm sorry I missed your trip review. I am planning to travel to Morocco and would love to read your review. Please consider re-posting or sending to me via PM. Thanks!

  • BritishBritish
    edited February 2022

    I consider the removal of the post an absolute tragedy. I so wish I had taken a screen shot for reference if I go on the tour. Best wishes to you Jason, please re post…thank you….a survivor of a BKMD report criticism!

  • kfnknfzkkfnknfzk

    Great report. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

  • NoreenNoreen

    Jason - I wish we were going this year and not next but now I am excited due to your wonderful trip report. Thank you so much for reposting.

  • NancyCohenNancyCohen

    I’m ready for Morocco in October — thank you for the wonderful review!!

  • AlanSAlanS
    edited February 2022

    I don't know if anyone else is having the problem my computer (a PC) had displaying JasonHayse's re-posted report (fantastic report by the way!) due to strange code affecting the formatting, but here it is re-formatted (just a copy and paste into and out of MSWord). I hope I didn't miss or repeat anything):

    JasonHeyse
    February 10 edited 10:29AM

    Here by popular demand and line spaced just for BKMD.

    Nicole was indeed our guide, and she was spectacular. In fact, I think she was the best guide we ever had in all of our 10 trips. So knowledgeable and spoke the language well enough to get by. We went in early to Rabat and did all the Museums. I think it takes a day or two to let our body know your actually on vacation and let your ears get accustomed to the language where you feel comfortable. We did a Viator Walking Moroccan Food Tour with Muhammad who we would highly recommend. We’ve done Viator on several trips and they are very good and safe. He walked us through the Medina and introduced us to all his shop friends and they gave us samples along the way with him explaining what we were eating. We were so taken with him we took a 2nd Viator the next day, his cooking tour. (Yes, we’re foodies) He took us to the market, we shopped for our lunch, then he took us back to his mother's house who is a chef, and we watched her cook then we shared the meal together. He instructed us how to hold the bread properly and eat with the right hand. Now I have to tell you, rereading this, we ARE NOT the kind of people who go home with someone. In fact, we are super careful. But after the first day, we felt very close and safe with Mahmoud. He made Rabat a very special place for us to remember. It was like visiting Rabat with a really good friend. The Hotel La Tour Hassin was exquisite, and the hotel restaurant is a real treat where they introduce you to Tagine, mint tea and all kind of new flavors. ! We joined our small group of 11 the next day. Dinner on your own at Dinarjat is a must! Reservations online. You won’t regret this; I won’t say anymore to not spoil your surprises.

    Fez Souks and Bazars were incredible. Lots of walking today!!! Tauck keeps these tours tight and together. They even hired extra local people to walk behind our group and beside us to make sure no one hassled us, or we took a wrong turn. Because of this, there was no time to shop in Fez, it was more like a sightseeing tour. They promised real shopping ahead. We watched a cloth making demonstration, a Rug bazaar and visited a school here.

    By the time we got to Volubilis we were tired. The roman ruins were interesting but disappointing they weren’t well cared for especially since the significance was so great. We enjoyed the wonderful restaurant Dar Roumana on our own night and Nicole hired a guard to take and pick us up from there. Great wine! On the way to Casablanca, we stopped to buy Argon oil and to say hello to the goats in the trees. We even got to hold the babies that smelled freshly shampooed.

    We were told Casablanca was the least favorite and now I see why. There really is not much to do there other than Ricks Café. And although it looks exactly like the move, it’s just a mockup. But the waiters were lovely there, and by this time our little group had bonded, and we were all giggly. Tauck treated us with lots of wine to make up for it. The hotel 4 Seasons is the best thing in Casablanca as well as their restaurant. But beware there is no alcohol here. Never fear you are warned of this well in advance if you need provisions before Casablanca Thank goodness there was no Medina tour in Casablanca. I think I would have screamed!

    Marrakech hands down was our favorite, it should have been called Magical Marrakech. We liked all the places we visited here, there was something for everyone. I’ll answer questions from you, but I don’t want to spoil all the surprises here. Yes, there was one more Medina tour but this time is was more relaxed or maybe because we were old hands at the media by now and we knew how to walk and shop fast. I did all my shopping here. The pottery factory they took us to was amazing. I bought 2 Tagines, many bowls, Brass tray and those cute magical lights with holes in them. Beautiful Tea glasses that I use for juice glasses in the morning when I dream of Marrakech.

    All this and we haven’t even gotten to the desert yet.!!

    Dress warm for the desert, but don’t buy anything, Tauck will take care of you like they always do. The 4x4 jeeps took us out to the desert. Our Berber style campsite was prepared for us and the sweetest Berber people who we were able to interact with. They spoke good English. They had about 5-6 tents set up for different activities, and we roamed from tent to tent at our leisure. There were hand tattoos, camel riding, mint tea ceremony, music tent, the dinner tent, wine tent. Even a tent full of pillows if we just wanted to recline and watch the sunset. And what a sunset it was! The Berber dinner (again Tajine) was fantastic, and the wine flowed. There was dancing and music as the sun went down, and the fires were lit, and the strong cold winds were blowing. Have you ever woken up the next day from a wonderful magical night before and said, “did that really happen?” Yes, it did, in Marrakech.

    Dress warm for the desert, but don’t buy anything, Tauck will take care of you like they always do. The 4x4 jeeps took us out to the desert. Our Berber style campsite was prepared for us and the sweetest Berber people who we were able to interact with. They spoke good English. They had about 5-6 tents set up for different activities, and we roamed from tent to tent at our leisure. There were hand tattoos, camel riding, mint tea ceremony, music tent, the dinner tent, wine tent. Even a tent full of pillows if we just wanted to recline and watch the sunset. And what a sunset it was! The Berber dinner (again Tajine) was fantastic, and the wine flowed. There was dancing and music as the sun went down, and the fires were lit, and the strong cold winds were blowing. Have you ever woken up the next day from a wonderful magical night before and said, “did that really happen?” Yes, it did, in Marrakech.

    As if the trip could not have gotten any better, then there was the Last Night Dinner. It was right out of Arabian Nights in a beautiful bungalow that Tauck rented just for us that night. Torches lined the entrance as we entered and went up to our own roof top to look over Marrakech where we had our own bar and bartender. We all had dinner together as a family and dined on plate after plate of Moroccan food that we now all recognized. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful vacation.

    We highly recommend Morocco. I am richer because of this experience. BE Brave!

  • NoreenNoreen

    Ala S - Thank you for fixing the problem now it is much easier to read. Jason, again I want to thank you for the wonderful report.

  • Claudia SailsClaudia Sails

    Yes, I had the same happen Alan but thought it funny considering the prior concern about line spacing.

    When I write long posts like reviews I originally type it in Word. However, when I copy/paste it to the forum the line spacing disappears. I have worried that adding it back would make the post too long and have to be split up.

  • PureLuxuryPureLuxury

    JasonHeyse thank you so much for re-posting. I am excited for my trip. You had me at "mint tea". If it's anything like the delicious mint tea I had on the Jordan-Egypt tour--I'll be in heaven yet again.

  • BKMDBKMD
    edited February 2022

    Alan - Tread lightly as some people around here are very sensitive about criticism of their poorly formatted posts :)

    Claudia - It's a good idea to type long posts into a word processor first, as posts sometimes disappear as they're being typed into the forum directly. If you save it in MSWord as a .txt file, it should maintain your formatting. Or alternatively, type it into Notepad, which automatically saves in simple text format.

  • AlanSAlanS

    There appears to be no accounting for flaggers' motives- not only did they flag my transcription of AustinGirl's post, they flagged her earlier post with the great photos of the desert tent at sunset, kissing her husband while they were in desert garb, and of her riding a camel.

    Either someone is not right in the head or we have spammers or a juvenile that is using a parent's password to flag posts.

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