Just returned from Magic Of Morocco Tour...any questions?
We recently returned home from the Morocco Tour. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.
1
We recently returned home from the Morocco Tour. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.
Comments
I don't have specific questions at this time but I am signed up for September 2023. How was the trip and any advice? Did you do a pre or post trip? What was your route of travel.
I leave from Boston.
This was our fifth Tauck land trip. We finally made the decision to go to Morocco after this trip had been cancelled due to Covid. The trip was good with much activity each day. Some days we felt it was too much to pack into the day. We solved that problem by bowing out of some touring towards the end of the trip. We didn't go to see the ruins because we had seen many sights like that. We chose to get massages instead of touring on the day we had choices of what to do. We visited medinas in Fez, Meknes, and Marrakech. They were very interesting, but we felt too much time was spend there. Some of the walking to the medinas was difficult because of the condition of the sidewalks and construction. Our local guide tended to be far ahead of some in the group and it was difficult to understand what she was talking about. We used the "whisperer devices" but, at times, they were ineffective. The Four Seasons Hotels were lovely, but we hardly had time there to enjoy these resorts. Some free time there would have been appreciated especially in Marrakech. We used our Gift Of Time night in Marrakech at the end of the trip because we wanted another day at the Four Seasons Hotel there.
Some of the pluses on this trip were a wonderful group of people to travel with, a very nice Welcome Dinner, Farewell Dinner, our great evening in the desert, the mosques, the Riads , and Rick's Cafe. Our visit to the veterinary hospital was informative too. We wore masks on the bus and through the medinas and each time we went inside. Most people were not wearing masks and the tour director was not masked. We know of one person who came down with Covid during our tour.
We did a 3 day post trip to Lisbon (on our own) and flew direct from Marrakech to Lisbon on TAP Portugal. We did not want to fly home from Casablanca because of the distance to the airport (2 1/2 hours). We preplanned what we would do in Lisbon by arranging two Tuk-Tuk Tours and a van tour. On the Tuk-Tuk Tours we saw the main viewpoints in the city and visited modern Lisbon. Our guides were excellent and very entertaining. One day we went to Obidos (medieval village) and Nazare (seaside beach town) on a great private van tour. We chose Lisbon as our post trip stop because we could fly there direct and fly home direct too.
Our route of travel was:
JFK to Paris/ Delta
Paris to Rabat/ Air France
Marrakech to Lisbon/ Tap Portugal
Lisbon to NY/ Delta
If you have any specific questions, please ask.
We did that tour earlier in this year. I blogged it and you can see the trip at https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2022-1Morocco-01.htm
We flew Air Maroc, which was fine, but had problems with the American Airlines connecting flights.
It was a good trip, much better than I expected going in.
Mike
Would appreciate comments on security in Morocco. If you've been on the Egypt trip, was it as onerous as that, with xrays/metal detectors at virtually every building you walk in, armed security guard with the group. etc?
Security in Morocco was apparent at the Rabat airport with numerous document checks. On the trip itself, we did have security in the medinas with an extra person walking/watching with our group. When we entered the Four Seasons in Marrakech, our vehicle was always checked by a guard on duty. Other than that, I didn't notice any other security on our trip. Hope this helps.
I didn't notice any excessive security arrangements and I always felt safe. I haven't done any research but I think Morocco is fairly safe and secure - I don't remember any terrorists incidents being reported.
My philosophy is that the terrorists need support from the local population, and the local population needs the money from tourism. The local population is especially aware of that because of the shutdown from Covid. It seems that it would be counter productive for a group to attack tourists.
Mike
Thank you for your comments on this tour. I just signed up for it in October 2024. I did notice the pace and activity
is a 3, which is higher than most land tours. From your comments about packed days, it sounds like they may be attempting to cram in too much? As a seasoned traveler I have been on tons of tours, but truly dislike jam packed days and a rushed itinerary. Preference is to stop and get a massage or sit by a pool in between.
My concern is that as I get older, this pace could become too difficult. By the time I go to Morocco, I will be 73. No problems walking and I bring a walking stick along, but it sounds like this was even a higher pace. Your thoughts?
Were there any very, very early wakeup calls to leave early for the next destination?
My wife and I are pushing 80 and we didn't have any problems with the activity level on the tour. And I don't remember any very, very early wakeup calls. As I posted earlier, I blogged our trip with a lot of detail. Take a look at https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2022-1Morocco-01.htm and it should give you a lot of detail about the trip and what we did each day.
80 is the new 60!
I am 73 and my husband is 70. This is why we are taking four overseas trips next year. We decided that while we are still in good health we should take advantage of every opportunity to see the world.
I'm 65 and feel 80 - got my second ski day of the season in yesterday and I'm sore today
@Noreen - That's the same attitude we have. We never know when something will happen that will prevent us from traveling. This year we did four trips and have three scheduled for 2023. If fact, we have trips scheduled all the way into 2025.
To comment on something Marla526 said - My attitude about a trip is that I want to do everything possible in the time available. I can relax and sit by the pool or get a massage at home. However, I recognize that different people have different preferences. Tauck seems to take the approach of giving you as much as possible. That doesn't mean you have to do everything - you can always skip some events and stay in the hotel.
Mike - We feel the same way about spas and pools. Thanks to you and your wonderful informative blogs that we decided on three of the four trips next year. The first one is in May to the Galapagos and Peru and then in late October Egypt and Morocco back to back. We will go to Ireland for ten days in August and then join up with the Tauck tour of cruising the Seine, Paris and London. We need to start planning for 2024.
So, I'm 30 again!.... nice.
Marla: The Morocco Tour was rated a 3 in activity and pace, which is higher than most land tours. The days were packed and many days we didn't get back to the hotel until 5:30pm. We had to be ready for dinner by 7 pm, and that was rushed for us. We took some down time on our own and skipped parts of a few days to enjoy the Four Seasons Resort in Marrakech.
manycruises1….thank you for your comments. That is what I needed to learn. Several years ago I was on a tour in Spain that most days began at 9:00 with lots of bus rides, and extremely, extremely long walks, and not done until almost 6:00 pm. That was like work to me. Rushing from place to place just to tick the boxes is not my idea of fun. When I’m on a trip where I feel the company needed to add 1-2 days just to ease the rush of 9 hour days, it’s not that enjoyable. Some comments from others mention pool and spa time. That’s not what I meant, I’m on a tour to see the country and be absorbed in the culture, but not at a frantic pace, where I cannot even shower for dinner.
We are headed to Morocco in April, and just wondering about the dress code during the day and evening for women. Obviously, this is a conservative country. Are there any extreme "do not do's"? I won't be wearing mini skirts or low cut leather outfits. Hah.
Hello. I am reading reviews that La Tour Hassan and Palais Faraj hotels have warm, un-air conditioned rooms. We like it very cool, 68F to sleep and be comfortable. Is it true these hotels lack adequate
A/C. We are going in April.
We were there in February and March. La Tour Hassan was in the heat season (air conditioning was not turned on). It wasn't too bad because the weather was fairly cool. I don't remember any problems at the Palais Faraj Hotel, but, again, it was fairly cool when we were there.
If you want a preview of the trip, you can check out my blog - https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2022-1Morocco-01.htm
My husband, not a shopper, did not feel there was too much shopping on this trip in 2019. Every shopping experience for me was an opportunity to see arts and crafts, which fascinated me, especially with all the vibrant colors.
I, too, would have liked more time in the souks but from Tauck's point of view they probably wanted to minimize the chance of people getting lost in there. What I don't know if they still do is that we were given a few hours to have an optional shopping trip one morning in Marrakech with a "personal guide". (Mine did not speak English and outran me several times! But I survived and now have a great story to tell.) My husband stayed back at the hotel.
I would suggest not to eat any food in the souks. A few people on our trip got tummy troubles, not sure from what, but I know they were tasters.
Also the cab drivers did not seem to speak English. A few phrases of "taxi French" would be helpful to know.
This was one of our favorite Tauck trips.
Is there still a Currency Registry at the hotel in Rabat to exchange US dollars to dirhams?