Trip overview

To celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary Karen and I decided to go to Morocco.  It took a while looking at different tours to find something that met what we were looking for.   Most of trips we found were 10 to 14 days, and skipped some key area of the country - Tangier and Chefchaouen in the north, the Sahara Desert dunes, or they just pass through the Atlas Mountains but don't spend any time there.   Ultimately I found what we were looking for, a trip called "Morocco Encompassed" through Intrepid Travel.  It is an 18 day trip that covers all the areas that we wanted to see.  It also seems like a good balance in terms of the structure.  We will have a guide, and Intrepid covers all the transportation and lodging, but at least 50% of the time we have to ourselves to explore places like Fes, Chefchaouen, Marrakech, ...   The maximum group size for the trip is 16.

This is the first time we have used Intrepid, and I will rate then at the end of the trip, but the pre-trip experience was excellent, getting all our questions answered and the trip booked.    Intrepid does have a North America office, but they are based in Australia, and I found that since I was typically calling them in the evening US time I always ended up talking to someone in Australia.

Specifics of the trip we are taking can be found at:  morocco-encompassed.   It is actually two 9 day trips.  One in the north that starts in Casablanca and ends in Marrakech, and one in the south that starts and ends in Marrakech.  Likely we will have some people in the group for the full 18 days, and some for only the 1st or 2nd half.  The trip also uses a mix of public and private transport.  So some days we will be riding the train and local bus with other people, and some days private transport just for our group.   The lodging type is also varied, with some hotels with private room and bath, some home stays with shared bath and potentially shared rooms, one night in a sleeper car on the train from Tangier to Marrakech, and one night in a tent out in the Sahara dunes.

Below is a high level map of the tour.  I will include more detailed maps with each daily section.  My intent is to publish daily updates, but even if I get them written daily (which I likely won't, we won't have WiFi every day to be able to upload information even if I get it written.  So, expect posts to come in bursts.  You can either periodically check back to see if there is an update, or sign up for email updates (in the right sidebar).  Please note that when you come to the link you will see the most recent post first, so if you want to follow in order you will need to navigate to the appropriate posts in the sidebar.

We are looking forward to the adventure!