Holiday Reviews
We invite every traveller who books a holiday via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the holidays they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same trip can have different views!
Read our review policy
Marrakech & the Sahara holiday, independent reviews
 Reviewed 12 Mar 2006 by John Day |  |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Riding camels into the desert, and sleeping out - night sky without light pollution.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Read the information carefully before you go! We didn't! Morocco in March is VERY COLD - hotel bedrooms may be unheated. Pack accordingly.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Not sure. Better to have 16 in a bus than in eight separate cars and we ate at Moroccan restaurants, so probably yes.
4. Any other comments?
Excellent food except at the gite (which would be better described as a very basic youth hostel). It would have been nice to have two nights in one place, as there was slightly more bus travel than was comfortable, especially as the bus was small for 16 plus day sacks. We were the only retired couple on the bus, and the only ones with grandchildren, but felt entirely at home with the very friendly group and are now busy exchanging photos and e-mails. Would recommend it, but perhaps a month later when it would be warmer.
| Reviewed 13 May 2008 by Dalia Daud | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
Essaouira was just charming and tour guide (Youssef) in Marrakech really gave us a good overall flavour for the city considering limited time. Loved the place. All parts were memorable in their own way, was really pleased that we were able to experience dessert, mountains, coast and city all in 1 trip!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
If you are looking for a time efficient, hassle free holiday which allows you to experience so much in a short time this is definitely the one for you. Oh and don't forget the toilet roll!
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
Yes, all guides were local, ate local produce and food and our guide was able to tip all those who helped/assisted us on the trip which was great.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
Great experience, fantastic place would definitely go back again. Made so much easier by the fact that everything was so well organised. (The only thing i would say is that there was a lot of travelling on Day 3 from Dessert to Ait ben hadou - which was quite tiring). Great group, great guides and definitely recommend it!
| Reviewed 3 Dec 2006 by Fiona | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The most memorable part was sleeping in the Sahara dessert and waking up to watch the sunrise. The town of Essouaira was fantastic also.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
I would tell them to book their own flights, as they are not good flights booked by the operator (arrive very late at night and leave at 9am via Casablanca which makes a possible 4 hour flight a 7 hour flight) I would also tell them to spend a day or two in Marrakesh before or after as there was not enough time to explore this city.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
I do think it benefited local people however I struggle to understand how they can justify using bottled water - bought in 600ml containers rather then by a 20L one (or equivalent) and encouraging people to refill water bottles - the environmental impact in producing bottled water is huge - 400 billion plastic water bottles are produced and disposed of every year and it costs.
Read the operator's response here:
We use Royal Air Maroc who fly use Casablanca as their hub which does mean that all flights will have a transit stop in Casablanca. The reason we use this airline is because we have an excellent working relationship with them, this means they are able to confirm seats for us when we require them. There are a huge amount of low cost carriers who fly direct to Morocco. However they only fly into Marrakech, as this trip starts in Ouarzazate we would be unable to use these carriers, starting in Ouarzazate also means we are able to cover more on the ground and reduce travelling time.We are aware of the situation of the numerous amounts of bottles being used by tourists to the country. This is something we are addressing and are in discussions with our local operator. Unfortunately the 20 litres are unavailable in Morocco, the largest we can source is 5 litres, so we are looking into using these as well as trying to filter and purify local water.
Thank you for your comments and I am pleased to hear that overall you had an excellent trip.
| Reviewed 16 Apr 2006 by Jo Goddard | |
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The most exciting part of my holiday was experiencing the most authentic of Moroccan treats - the hamman. Sadly this wasn't part of the pre-arranged tour, I guess it wouldn't have suited everybody, but it's well worth it!
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
People booking this holiday need to know that you will spend the majority of the time (60%) on a bus.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?
The holiday benefited some local people but I did not feel it was environmentally friendly at all. We covered 1500 miles in a bus, created tonnes of plastic water bottle waste and the amount of food we were given at hotels was enough for a party twice the size, so much was wasted.
4. Any other comments?
I did enjoy the holiday and loved the country but would only give it three stars.