Morocco Sahara Desert Adventure tour

Morocco sahara desert adventure tour

The best moments we had in Morocco, from Casablanca , Marrakech..to the camel trekking in Merzouga desert.

We’ve arrived home from two weeks of exploring this fabulous country. I’ll break this up into segments for easier reading and I’ll add pictures when I can.

After eight months of anticipating and planning, we set off from our home in Upstate NY to Casablanca, the first stop on our Moroccan adventure. We planned for two weeks in Morocco which was the most time I could take off from my work and still allowing us to see a fair amount of this magnificent country. What made the trip even more exciting was that we were doing most of it with our son and our daughter, her husband and our almost 13 year-old granddaughter, six of us in all. This trip report won't be a blow-by-blow, but rather impressions from a first-time visitor.

The journey began a bit tenuously. I booked a late Air France flight out of Detroit to Paris with a connection to Casablanca. The originating flight from our small regional airport was the last flight out for the day. A couple days before we left a light came on in my brain about being on the last flight out; if we missed our AF connection, we'd be out of luck! I called Delta and they put us on an earlier flight with no change in fare. As we were boarding, sure enough, Delta cancelled the flight we were originally on! Whew - close call!

We were advised not to spend time in Casablanca, but we especially wanted to visit the mosque as it's one of the only ones in Morocco accessible to non-Muslims. We arrived from a short layover in Paris the afternoon of Thursday, April 17. Unfortunately, our luggage didn't make the connection at CDG, but no problem, there was another flight arriving that evening. By 9:00 our hotel told us that the suitcases hadn't arrived, so we went to bed hoping to see them the next morning. Fortunately, they arrived on an early flight but instead of being delivered to the hotel, we had to go back out to the airport to collect them. Our train to Marrakech where we were to meet up with the rest of our family left at 11:00 a.m., so our visit to the mosque turned into a trip back to the airport. Needless to say, we were disappointed not to be able to see the mosque, but so happy to be reunited with our luggage!

We stayed in the Royal Mansour Meridian, a Marriott, in the middle of the city. Normally we don't stay in chains when we travel outside the US, but we wanted a western-type hotel knowing we’d be suffering from jetlag after a very long trip. It was a big, very nice hotel. Other than seeing the route to the airport and back - twice - we didn't see any sites in Casablanca. Our impression is that it's a huge, somewhat dirty and bleak city but that might be unfair given our short time there.

The train to Marrakech was pleasant and uneventful.

In all, we took three trains during the two weeks. We bought first-class tickets which were cheap by US standards. Moroccan trains are mostly clean and reliable. Each train arrived after schedule, but no problem. The trip to Marrakech takes about three hours and we enjoyed seeing the countryside along the way, a combination of hilly terrain, cactus and lots of sheep!

Sahara Desert .

Since we figured this would be our one and only trip to Morocco, we wanted to make sure we included a visit to the desert. It turned out to be the highlight of two weeks of highlights. Because our children had only 10 days, we had to limit our Marrakech sahara trip to three days/two nights. I found that most excursion companies don't offer an itinerary that short because it involves too much driving. I did find Morocco Excursion Company , http://www.morocco-excursion.com/.

They picked us up from our riad in Marakkech. There were six of us, seven including the driver, The first day we crossed the Atlas Mountains and spent the night at a hotel in the Dades Gorges. I have a fear of driving over mountain passes, but surprisingly, this didn't bother me. The scenery was breathtaking, climbing through lush greenery, finally reaching the top of the treeline, then descending again. We often remarked that it reminded us of the Rockies.

We stopped for lunch at Aït Benhaddou a kasbah and now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We climbed to the top and were able to see miles into the countryside.

We stayed here the first night. http://www.riadvieillescharrues.com/. It was a rustic, charming riad in the middle of the Dades Gorges. We had three choices of lodging that night and we chose this which was the medium option. Definitely rustic, but fine for a night. It was a narrow gorge and that night was particularly windy which lent an almost eerie quality to it. We were served a delicious dinner family style with the few other boarders.

We left early after another delicious Moroccan breakfast, once over the mountains, the landscape was flatter and more desert-y with low scrub. We passed through countless villages and began to see even more traditional dress - lots more burqas. We were interested to see so many women on donkeys with baskets of greenery. Our best guess was that they would make mats of some sort with it.

We had lunch at a cafe in Erfoud, a busy city on the edge of the dunes. After lunch Ibrahim took us on an off-road excursion through the moonscape leading to the dunes. We started to see a mass or orange ahead of us which got bigger and bigger as we approached. That was our first glimpse of Erg Chebbi and it was a thrill.

arrived in Merzouga, the small village closest to Erg Chebbi. Merzouga, or what we saw of it, is rabbit warren of dirt lanes connecting small buildings. Even our driver got lost and had to stop to ask directions to our final destination. But we did find it, a pleasant, basic auberge of sorts. There were rooms with beds, but we could see that it's main purpose was to hold suitcases for people like us who were going to spend the night in the desert. We were told to take only what we'd absolutely need for one night and leave the rest in the room.

We arrived mid afternoon and were told that the trek out to the erg wouldn't begin until about 5:00 or so due to the heat. We were in Morocco the last two weeks of April. I don't know if the weather is always as beautiful then or if we just got lucky, but we didn't see a drop of rain the entire time we were there and the sky and temps for our desert excursion were perfect. 

Anyway, we strolled around the grounds and visited the camels who would be our transportation for the next 14 hours. Soon it was time to leave. The camels are lying down when you get on them and pop up quickly upon a command from the "driver". Holding on was something we learned to do right away! When my husband who's tall and big boned got on, Hassan, the owner of the company, didn't like the way it looked and suggested that he ride with him on his 4-wheeler. I guess it was quite an experience!

The rest of us set off with our Berber guide. The camels are roped together which you'll see from my pictures. It was an hour and 20 minute ride each way. I wish I could describe the dunes, but words don't do them justice. It's a sea of orange sand as far as you can see in any direction. How they know exactly where to go is amazing, although I'm sure these men have spent their entire lives there and somehow just know. 

It's not flat. We would climb a bit, then descend. The climbing wasn't bad, but the descent was a little scary as the camel lowers its head to go down. The only thing between you and sliding down the camel's neck is a metal post similar to a saddle horn! I realized that I was holding on so tight that I had to uncramp my hands. Also, there are no stirrups, so your legs and hanging which means they're no help in hanging on. But the beauty of where we were far surpassed any discomfort we felt. 

For almost an hour and a half, we were awed by the quiet, the beauty and the grandeur of our surroundings. Every once in a while we'd see another group in the distance and I thought I was on a movie set. The most touching moment came when our leader dropped the rope of our lead camel, walked a few feet away, took off his sandals and bowed in prayer. I'll never forget watching him.

Just when you think you can't take another minute more of what's generously called "camel massage", you arrive at your destination. Dismounting is another experience. The guide gives some sort of command and the camel drops on its front legs. As you're lunging toward earth the guide braces you just at the right moment and the camel lowers its back legs so you're level again. Whew!

We walked down a dune to our camp where my husband was waiting, the four wheeler trip having taken about 15 minutes, evidently a 'Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" experience :).

The camp was a small grouping of very basic permanent buildings. It had a decent outhouse with running water as well as a large room where we ate dinner. In addition to us, there were about 15 more people that night. We enjoyed talking to our fellow camel trekkers who had come from all over the world. 

After we arrived, we climbed a dune to watch the sunset. The sand is pretty hard, but it's also soft in places, so climbing was a bit of a workout as your feet sank in from time to time. Across from us was a very large dune which my son and son-in-law decided to conquer. They eventually became dots in the distance and I was concerned that they'd have enough daylight to find their way back, but they made it. 

The sunset was breathtaking. The sky was clear, but there were just enough clouds to make it interesting. We climbed back down to camp where the Berbers were making dinner. We sat at a long table and were served delicious couscous with a choice of chicken or vegetarian tagine. 

After dinner they entertained us with traditional music. I drifted out of camp to look at the stars. The combination of the music in the otherwise silent desert surrounded by the dunes, and the millions of stars above made it a surreal experience. 

We slept on mattresses which were placed on rugs on the ground. Since there were six of us, we had our own sleeping quarters. The door to each building was a rug which when lowered, made for one dark bedroom! The silence was deafening, although we all eventually slept, to be wakened just before dawn. 

We climbed another dune to look east into the sunrise. I realized that we were actually watching the sun rise over Algeria which was only about 25 miles to our east. Like the sunset the night before, the sunrise was breathtaking.

By about 7:30 we mounted the camels to start the journey back to Merzouga. Once back, we could take a shower and we were fed a wonderful breakfast in the courtyard. We gathered up our suitcases and settled our bill for the three days with Hassan and Morocco Excursions.

I will never forget the orange color of the sand and the dunes which, as we were in them, enveloped us. I hadn't anticipated how quiet it would be. No birds, no traffic, no sounds of any sort. I'll never say, "in the middle of nowhere" again without thinking of the new meaning our experience gave it.

Having only done this only once, I can't compare it to anything else. I'd be interested to hear what the experience of other Fodorites has been. It obviously wasn't luxurious, but we weren't looking for that. It was fine for us and I can't think of anything I would have changed about it.

We enjoyed every minute of our two weeks in Morocco. From the medinas and the souks to the mountain passes and the desert, it was a wonderful assault on the senses. People have asked what we liked best about it. That's hard to say since we had so many different experiences, but what always seems to rise to the top is our experience in the desert. Definitely an experience of a lifetime!

Marrakech

When you step onto Jemaa el Fna square in Marrakech, you enter another world. Several acres of cacophony assault you. The souq (the Arabic term for marketplace) is full of people hurrying in every direction, music, snake charmers trying to entice you to put a snake around your neck, men with monkeys on a leash, vendors selling everything from toys, ceramics, herbs and spices to beautiful vegetables. At night the square transforms into one huge outdoor restaurant. The daytime stands are removed in place of scores of food sellers. Tables are set and every 10 feet a different food hawker tries to lure you into his patch of real estate to have dinner. From what we could tell, the food in each place was relatively similar; Moroccan salad, skewers of different meats, couscous, sweet, sticky pasteries. Through the haze from the grills, there’s a wonderfully pungent aroma of Middle Eastern cooking.

People are dressed in every manner; men in djellabas (the ‘d’ is silent), the full-length “robe” that many Muslim men wear, women in full burqas, and Western dress. The vast majority of women we saw in Morocco wear at a minimum the hijab, or head scarf. They’re used to Westerners in Morocco, so although we didn’t wear shorts in public, our crop pants and short-sleeved shirts didn’t seem to offend them. Of all the places we visited in Morocco, Jemaa el Fna is one that I felt I didn’t get enough time in. Here are some photos of the square and Moroccan dress.

Marrakech and Fes

Marrakech is Morocco’s fourth largest city. Founded in 1062, its population is now just over 1M. You can see the Atlas Mountains which run north and south through the middle of the country. A number of well-known international names have lived in Marrakech including Yves Saint Laurent who bought the beautiful Majorelle Gardens, a peaceful oasis in the heart of the modern city known for its stunning “majorelle” blue. The 12th century saw the building of madrasas, or koranic schools. We visited one well-restored madrasa which served as home and school to over 100 boys and men for almost eight centuries. The narrow alleys of the old medina are full of pedestrians but if you’re not careful, you may be run over by a motorcycle, moped or motorized cart speeding around the next corner. The ville nouvelle, or modern city boasts a number of luxurious hotels, including the gorgeous Mamounia, a five star art deco property which has hosted the likes of Mick Jagger and Winston Churchill. We treated ourselves to a drink there one evening.

Fes

If the medina in Marrakech seems old, it’s nothing compared to Fes. Founded in 789, it appears to have stood still in time and you can almost picture what it was like all those centuries ago. Unlike Marrakech, there are no motorized vehicles in the medina which would normally give it a calmer atmosphere were it not for the fact that the streets (alleyways) are so narrow that the crush of people makes it frenetic. The medina is one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world. Fes itself is the third largest city in Morocco with a population of almost 2M. Driving through it when we arrived, it appeared to never end. We spotted McDonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hut! :(. The old medina is so large that we didn’t spend much time outside in the nouvelle ville other than a stroll along a tree-lined boulevard where we stopped at an outdoor café for a morning break. We hesitated because, typical of most cafes, there were no women customers, but my presence didn’t seem to bother them.

When you step onto Jemaa el Fna square in Marrakech, you enter another world. Several acres of cacophony assault you. The souq (the Arabic term for marketplace) is full of people hurrying in every direction, music, snake charmers trying to entice you to put a snake around your neck, men with monkeys on a leash, vendors selling everything from toys, ceramics, herbs and spices to beautiful vegetables. At night the square transforms into one huge outdoor restaurant. The daytime stands are removed in place of scores of food sellers. Tables are set and every 10 feet a different food hawker tries to lure you into his patch of real estate to have dinner. From what we could tell, the food in each place was relatively similar; Moroccan salad, skewers of different meats, couscous, sweet, sticky pasteries. Through the haze from the grills, there’s a wonderfully pungent aroma of Middle Eastern cooking.

People are dressed in every manner; men in djellabas (the ‘d’ is silent), the full-length “robe” that many Muslim men wear, women in full burqas, and Western dress. The vast majority of women we saw in Morocco wear at a minimum the hijab, or head scarf. They’re used to Westerners in Morocco, so although we didn’t wear shorts in public, our crop pants and short-sleeved shirts didn’t seem to offend them. Of all the places we visited in Morocco, Jemaa el Fna is one that I felt I didn’t get enough time in. Here are some photos of the square and Moroccan dress.

Riads and Dars...

We were fortunate to stay in the equivalent of five-star hotels. But they’re more elegant guest houses than hotels. While there are many Western-style hotels in Morocco, we opted to stay in dars and riads. A riad by definition, is a building that surrounds an inner courtyard. The courtyard usually has a pool or fountain and is a quiet refuge after a day in the souk. ‘Dar’ means house. They’re usually very small; the most rooms any of ours had were seven.

Our rooms were exquisite. The bathrooms were beautiful, usually decorated with beautiful ceramic tile. No detail was overlooked. All three of our riads/dars had rooftop terraces. The terrace of our riad in Marrakech offered a view of two stork nests. We spent a lot of time engrossed in the nesting culture of storks; it was fascinating.

The terrace of our dar in Fes overlooked the entire old medina and from the terrace of our dar in Tangier we were able to see the Rock of Gibraltar across the Mediterranean. Since the weather was warm and perfect throughout our stay, breakfast was served every morning on the terraces. Breakfast usually consisted of yogurt, fruit, wonderful Moroccan bread, crepes, fresh orange juice and coffee or tea.

The owners of two of the riads were French. The owner of the dar in Fes is American. She painstakingly restored every detail of it over a period of years and hired a young couple to manage it. All of them welcomed us as family visiting their house.

I found all three Riads And Morocco Excursions Company on Trip Advisor after a lot of searching and reading reviews. I'd highly recommend each one.

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