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My wife and I did a lot of research on your companies that will do excursions to the Sahara. Eventually, we decided on Rough Tours because it offered guides with local knowledge and avoided the many tourist traps along the route between Marrakech and the Sahara. Some other companies will provide drivers (with little or no English) and stop only at tourist sites where you are hassled by vendors. Rough Tours avoided all of that and at a very reasonable price. Our guide picked us up at our Riad in Marrakech in a Toyota Land Cruiser and drove us to Boumalne Dades. On the way, Youssef provided a lot of interesting details about growing up Berber in Morocco as well as history of the region. Youssef was deeply knowledgeable and able to answer all of our many questions. He did an amazing job of locating restaurants that were delicious and clean but not overrun with tour buses. After a full day drive with stops at some very interesting kasbahs, we ended at Boumalne Dades for the night. Early on day two, we drove on towards Merzouga and stopped at some beautiful spots along the way. Youssef was such a delight, very cheerful and engaging. We especially appreciated that he introduced us to Tinariwen, a famous Berber musical group. We ended the day with a 90 minute camel ride out to the camp site, led by Hamid our jovial local camel wrangler. Before we reached the camp, we paused at some of the larger dunes to watch the sunset. Visitors should be prepared to see numerous four-wheel vehicles crisscrossing the desert which does somewhat diminish the exoticness of the desert. When we arrived at the camp site (Majestic Camp), the host (Mohammed) greeted us with tea, nuts, and dried fruit. We met the other groups that would be staying at the camp that night (Mohammed speaks Portuguese) and were assigned our luxury tent. Being January, it was quite cold as the sun went down so it was nice to find refuge inside the warm tent. Dinner was sufficient if not extravagant before everyone gathered at a camp fire for traditional Berber music. Travelers should be advised that there are lots of other camp sites very near to each other so it is possible to hear music from next door. The next day, we woke up early to see the sunrise before jumping back in the car with Youssef to drive to Fez. Along the way, we stopped in the Alpine mountain town of Irfan and in the cedar forest to feed some wild monkeys. From there, we travelled on to Fez where Youssef deposited us at our Riad. We cannot say enough good things about Youssef, our guide. He was so nice and easy going, amenable to our desires to pull over and take pictures or change the itinerary as needed. His personal story of growing up a Berber was a unique experience and a wonderful window into a cultural piece of Morocco that can't be appreciated in a medina or souq. Booking with Rough Tours was very easy, We will definitely recommend Rough Tours and Youssef in particular to our friends in the future. Thanks!
My wife and I did a lot of research on your companies that will do excursions to the Sahara. Eventually, we decided on Rough Tours because it offered guides with local knowledge and avoided the many tourist traps along the route between Marrakech and the Sahara. Some other companies will provide drivers (with little or no English) and stop only at tourist sites where you are hassled by vendors. Rough Tours avoided all of that and at a very reasonable price.
Our guide picked us up at our Riad in Marrakech in a Toyota Land Cruiser and drove us to Boumalne Dades. On the way, Youssef provided a lot of interesting details about growing up Berber in Morocco as well as history of the region. Youssef was deeply knowledgeable and able to answer all of our many questions. He did an amazing job of locating restaurants that were delicious and clean but not overrun with tour buses. After a full day drive with stops at some very interesting kasbahs, we ended at Boumalne Dades for the night.
Early on day two, we drove on towards Merzouga and stopped at some beautiful spots along the way. Youssef was such a delight, very cheerful and engaging. We especially appreciated that he introduced us to Tinariwen, a famous Berber musical group. We ended the day with a 90 minute camel ride out to the camp site, led by Hamid our jovial local camel wrangler. Before we reached the camp, we paused at some of the larger dunes to watch the sunset. Visitors should be prepared to see numerous four-wheel vehicles crisscrossing the desert which does somewhat diminish the exoticness of the desert.
When we arrived at the camp site (Majestic Camp), the host (Mohammed) greeted us with tea, nuts, and dried fruit. We met the other groups that would be staying at the camp that night (Mohammed speaks Portuguese) and were assigned our luxury tent. Being January, it was quite cold as the sun went down so it was nice to find refuge inside the warm tent. Dinner was sufficient if not extravagant before everyone gathered at a camp fire for traditional Berber music. Travelers should be advised that there are lots of other camp sites very near to each other so it is possible to hear music from next door.
The next day, we woke up early to see the sunrise before jumping back in the car with Youssef to drive to Fez. Along the way, we stopped in the Alpine mountain town of Irfan and in the cedar forest to feed some wild monkeys. From there, we travelled on to Fez where Youssef deposited us at our Riad.
We cannot say enough good things about Youssef, our guide. He was so nice and easy going, amenable to our desires to pull over and take pictures or change the itinerary as needed. His personal story of growing up a Berber was a unique experience and a wonderful window into a cultural piece of Morocco that can't be appreciated in a medina or souq. Booking with Rough Tours was very easy,
We will definitely recommend Rough Tours and Youssef in particular to our friends in the future. Thanks!
We recently went on the Essaouira and Ourika Valley trips and had a very good time on both, it is a good way to see a bit more of Morocco. Rough tours were friendly, helpful and responsive and I definitely recommend them.
Our 3 Day tour with RoughTours was the highlight of our visit to Morocco. Our only regret was that we didn't take a longer trip with them. Our guide, Achmed, and driver, Mohammed introduced us to their Berber culture. It felt like a road trip in a van with two young Berbers who knew everyone wherever we went. They were fun & friendly and took care of everything for us. They played a soundtrack of wonderful Berber music as we drove through the countryside. We really enjoyed meeting all the welcoming Berber people. The tour was "rough" in name only. The van was air-conditioned, the accommodations were comfortable, and Mohammed was a skilled and safe driver. Achmed was very knowledgeable and willing to answer all our questions. We highly recommend RoughTours.
You will not be disappointed in this tour! It was amazing! A once in a lifetime, unforgettable day! Thank you Rough Tours
I booked the Day trip to Ourikka valley from Marrakech by email. Responses were quick and detailed and reservations were easy to make. On the day of the tour, our tour guide-Youssef- was in the lobby at the arranged time waiting for us. I can not say enough wonderful things about Youssef. He was a wealth of knowledge, very kind and trustworthy. He also is a wonderful photographer. It was like traveling with a professional photographer. I never had to ask. He always asked for my camera and directed us to areas to make sure we got great shots! He explained everything and gave us so much historical information in a fun way. You will not be disappointed in this tour! It was amazing! A once in a lifetime, unforgettable day! Thank you Rough Tours Morocco.
I spent 9 days travelling through Morocco with my family visiting Fes, Merzouga, Ouarzazate, Rissani, Todra gorges, Marrakesh, Essaouria. The guide (Youssef Bani) has been very kind and well prepared, he made us feeling really good! All accomodations were fantastic, clean and very confortable.
RoughTours is the best tours company if you head to Morocco
We did a 4-night/5- day tour with Rough Tours last month (Marrakesh to Fes via Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes) and it was definitely the highlight of our three weeks of travel in Morocco. Driver Brahim and guide Driss extended their Berber hospitality (and first-hand knowledge) to us wherever we traveled/visited. They were personable, flexible and kind, and made certain that we were comfortable at all times and having the kind of experiences we hoped to have. We stopped at all of he obvious tourist destinations along the way, but best of all, got to meet Berber people and experience Berber culture in a way that one probably wouldn't on another, more generic tour. We met and drank mint tea with family members and with cave-dwelling Berber nomads. We also got to see up close the good work Rough Tours has done in Ramlia Village, Youssef's home town, in creating a school for local nomad children. A portion of the fee charged by Rough Tours goes to support the Ramlia Nomad Literacy Fund. The school is an amazing achievement for someone as young as Youssef, the kids friendly and personable, and we encourage all those with the inclination to plan a visit there. You will be inspired... All of the accommodations chosen by Rough Tours were as good or better than we expected: we spent our first two nights in very nice, comfortable and clean hotels with good facilities and decent food. The third night we spent in Ramlia village in a very basic auberge (and had one of the best meals on our trip, prepared by Youssef's sister). Our last night we left most of our belongings in a locked room at a very basic hotel in Merzouga and showered there before setting out on a 1 hour, 20 minute camel ride to a desert camp, where we got to experience the dunes and the stars (the Milky Way!) that was truly magical. Our 9 hour drive to Fes included a stop at a great market in the town of Rissani (we got lucky that we were there on a market day - Sunday). We highly recommend a Rough Tours and their authentic 5 day Morocco tour to anyone considering this trip.
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Roughtours, a Berber family owned business, is devoted to bringing the best in both quality and value. We carefully chose guides based on their knowledge of local culture, history and their proficiency in English, Spanish and French.
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