Trip Report Morocco

1 post

We just returned from a phenomenal 10-day tour of Morocco. We found our guide Bari through a posting on a Website, and he subsequently sent me half-a-dozen references, one in my own hometown whom I met for coffee. After speak to Bari by email and phone and then meeting his reference in person, I felt quite comfortable booking him for our trip. He helped me plan our itinerary and booked hotels for us. Our itinerary was: Marrakesh - Ouarzazate - Tinghir - Merzouga - Midelt - Fez - Rabat - Casablanca. Bari picked us up from the airport with his driver Ali and a 4x4 Toyota Land Cruiser. He stayed with us the whole time as we sped across southern Morocco, stopping in tiny Berber villages along the way. He also arranged a 2-day camel trek into the desert, along with sandboarding - one of the most amazing experiences we have ever had. Bari speaks Berber, Classical Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, French, English and Spanish, and has a BA degree in Linguistics from the University of Meknes. He was a knowledgeable, friendly and very competent guide. We never felt uncomfortable with Bari or Ali, and in fact we became very good friends with both of them. If we ever took a local guide in one of the big cities (local guides are required by law in each city), Bari personally introduced us to him in advance. Ali himself owns the Toyota and always made sure it was clean, functioning and safely guarded. Ali even arranged a cell phone for us, and texted us while we were with local guides to make sure everything was OK. Due to Moha's knowledge and hard work, we felt like guests in Morocco, not tourists. He introduced us to numerous locals in a way that you are never able to in groups. We had tea with a Berber woman who lives in a cave and has 11 children. As Bari put it, She has very little money but a very big heart. This trip really put into perspective the diversity of life in our world, and we returned to Morocco amazed in every way; by the rich culture, geography, language, cuisine, and hospitality. We could never have had such an amazing experience had we not had the good fortune of finding Moha. I would recommend to contact Bari for any of your forthcoming trip to Bari. You can get hold of Bari through email or on the Internet.

6 posts

I'm very inspired by this trip! I think it's a great idea to hire a local guide like Bari. You never know what kind of guide you're going to get though.. sometimes you end up with kooky guides who just give you the typical touristy tour. But it sounds like Bari was genuinly interested to give you a cultural experience. I have been to morocco but it was nothing like this experience. I will have to arrange another trip like yours!