DAY 32: SHOULD I TAKE A GUIDED TOUR OF MOROCCO? YES, AND HERE'S WHY

Sunday, May 18 (Marrakech) – When I was in college at NYU, I became fascinated with the architecture, design and culture of Morocco.  I bought travel and interior design books and thought about visiting.  But over time things got in the way and Morocco was swept to the back of my mind.

Fast forward to when I started planning my 100 days of travel.  I knew I wanted to spend a good amount of time in the south of Spain, and while I was researching, I realized just how close the coast is to Morocco (about 15km!).  So I knew it was finally time to see the country.  But instead of a day trip from Spain to Tangier, I wanted to make the most of being in that part of the world and see more of the country.

I mentioned it to my friend Lainie (who has traveled just about everywhere you can imagine), and she said that Morocco was one of the (few) places left on her bucket list and that she would be able to join me in May.  So we started talking about the trip and ultimately decided to choose a guided tour – something I’ve never done before in this capacity.

Is a guided tour for me?

Pluses of a guided tour

• Chaperoned travel in parts of the world where safety is more of an issue
• A local guide who speaks the foreign language
• Transportation between cities and villages – especially where public transportation is nonexistent
• Ability to see parts of the country you wouldn’t know about or have access to alone
• Guaranteed company of fellow travelers looking for similar experiences
• Itinerary is planned for you
  
• It can be cost-effective as the company usually gets good rates on hotels and attractions

Minuses of a guided tour

• Limited free time
• Hours and hours on the bus
• No guarantee of quality tour guides, group members, etc.
• No ability to choose accommodations, amount of days in each destination or places to eat (some of the time)
• You may get stuck in sales pitchy destinations and shops
• Itinerary is planned for you – this can also be a plus, but on a tour there isn’t much opportunity to deviate from the specified plan if there’s something else you want to do
  

Ultimately we felt that a tour of Morocco would be the best way to see the most of the country and that it would make our parents happy in terms of our safety.  We looked at a lot of tour companies and routes, and finally selected the “Highlights of Morocco” tour from Explore Worldwide.  See how it goes in my next few posts!