Hi we are youngish seniors who have not been to Morocco.
We love group tours, have taken them only with Road Scholar, so prefer under 30 people.
We prefer shorter trips, up to ten days.
Our interests include Rabat,
Fez, Marrakesh.
Any reliable groups, tours or guides/companies you have used?
Thanks in advance!
Also, try to visit Agadir.
OAT has a good tour to Morocco.
We had a great tour with Friendly Planet.
OAT (Overseas Adventure Travel, oattravel.com) limits their land-based tours to 16 participants. Their "Morocco’s Imperial Cities Revealed" tour includes the cities you are interested in, and it's 10 days. (They call it 11, but unlike most other tour companies, they count the day you leave the US, even though they assume you don't arrive and actually start the tour until the next day.)
Never been to Morocco, but I did an OAT tour to Sicily, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast, and it was great. Friends have been on several of their tours (including Vietnam and Croatia, not just the usual destinations) and enjoyed them all. Their prices are surprisingly low.
Meh. I agree prices surprisingly low. Looks like a lot of cities. Maybe I am wrong, but I am less interested in home visits and desert camps. I have heard raves about OAT
That's disappointing about the cancellation but it's hopeful there's other options. I traveled to Morocco with Intrepid (premium level) and it was excellent. I opted for the longer tour but if memory serves they have some shorter options.
The local guides were phenomenal (highly educated and experienced) and the group was only 11.
Look at Gate 1. They have several Morocco Options
https://www.gate1travel.com/mediterranean/morocco/2026/escorted
Being less interested in home visits and desert camps isn't "wrong," you like what you like. OAT certainly comes a lot closer to the sort of local immersion touristing that Rick Steves promulgates on his shows than his own tours do. Not everyone is comfortable with that. I wouldn't be all that keen on desert camping either (though it sounds more like glamping).
Also look at G Adventures, they have a lot of different tour levels including a National Geographic branded outing but it is 15 days. I took the NG branded tour of Ecuador and Peru and thought it was pretty good.
https://www.gadventures.com/trips/journeys-morocco-in-depth/DCBNG/
Odysseys Unlimited has a Morocco tour; see if the itinerary is similar to the Smithsonian tour. Someone told me that they operate some of the Smithsonian tours.
Another suggestion, if you don't mind travelling with (mostly) Brits. Voyage Jules Verne. I did their Tunisia 10 day tour, which was great. They have 3 options for Morocco, the longest tour being 14 days. But they don't seem to have their 2027 dates up yet.
Their 14 day tour;
www.vjv.com/middle-east-tours/morocco/grand-tour-of-morocco
I meant to address MJH. Not meh. Sorry. These have been great, would not have known of many! Yes, Odyssey collaborated with Smithsonian. Well, the refund was swift.
Would you consider going on your own, with all transfers and tours arranged beforehand with a well-respected guide?
Morocco is super easy to do this in that manner.....you'd have all of the benefits of a tour, but could choose your own hotels, sights, restaurants, and time schedule.....just a thought...I've been a few times and hope to go again in 2027, single female traveling solo.
I'm sure there are many folks here who could give you the names of drivers and guides that they have used with success....
OAT has both a longer Morocco tour and a shorter one that is part of their new “Immersions” line of shorter, faster moving tours. I haven’t done either but I have done their Tunisia tour which also has a desert camp which I expect is similar. It was a special experience; the sunrise, sunset and starlit skies in the Sahara were memorable, the food excellent and the tents very comfortable. I am sure you will also get a camel ride at the Moroccan one, which is one of those things it’s good to have done once. I’ve now done two camel rides (the other one in Egypt) and I don’t feel any desire to do a third one!
NYCMOM, Gate One might be a possibility. They have a 10-day tour. We will be using them in 2027 for a tour to South America, so I can't speak from first-hand experience. However, I have several relatives who have taken some Gate One tours, and they were very happy with them.
We loved Morocco Fabulous Travel, but it would be a guide versus tour, but they do have group trips available as well as customizable personal itineraries.
We did a Gate 1 Morocco tour several years ago, and had a great time. Used them elsewhere (Peru and Turkey) and pretty consistently good.
I'd say the 2027 Moroccan Allure offered in a relatively small group size (our "classic" tour was like 28 folks and wasn't too unwieldy) and hitting some spots you mention - Rabat, Fez, and Marrakesh.
From https://www.gate1travel.com/tour/small-groups-morocco-15dmaall27.aspx?Brand=DISCOVER :
Small groups of maximum 22 travelers guaranteed
- 2 nights Rabat
- 2 nights Fez
- 1 night Erfoud
- 1 night Sahara Tented Camps
- 1 night Ait Benhaddou (Ouarzazate Region)
- 3 nights Marrakesh
- 2 nights Essaouira
- 1 night Casablanca
If you are considering Gate 1, I just received an email that promo code DLMCM900 will get you $900 a person off their 18 day Absolute Morocco Tour if purchased by July 27th. It is one of their weekly deals.
Do note that they count your travel day as a tour day, so this tour would really be 17 nights.
I had a fabulous two-week Morocco tour in November 2024 with OAT. There were 14 people in our group (two opted out after the second day for medical reasons). We spent 2-3 nights each in Rabat, Fez, Marrakesh, and one last night in Casablanca. The desert "camp" for two nights was wonderful. It's really "glamping" in individual large tents with rugs, private baths, comfy queen beds, etc. Yes, there were several stops for 1-2 hours to meet people along the way, plus two separate meals in families' homes. However, the majority of the time was spent in the cities, walking through the gorgeous old medinas, eating quite well (vegetarians were taken care of) and shopping (on our own time, of course). I had never been on a group tour with a national company before, and was very impressed.
