Marrakech & The Sahara of Morocco - Discovery Holiday

Our Clients’ Reviews

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It's the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you're interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers. Any feedback collected (Good or bad) from Exodus clients is posted straight onto our website - totally unedited. Read more...

Average Review Rating: from 50 reviews.

Deborah Stamp

MARRAKECH & THE SAHARA

Written April 2012
I loved this holiday. Beautiful mountains, incredible desert vistas. It was varied and interesting, and the amazing group made it even more memorable.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The mountain mini-trek was beautiful. Incredible views, some level of challenge but adapted to meet the needs of our group.
What did you think of your group leader?
Moustapha was very knowledgeable and calm and helped to make the experience so memorable
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
It was colder than I expected in April. Although this didn't spoil my trip, I probably would have packed differently in retrospect.
Froniga Lambert

MARRAKECH & THE SAHARA

Written March 2012
A really great overview of Morocco - lovely to include the desert, the mountains and Marrakech. Lots of travelling, but plenty to see along the way.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Watching the sun do down over the Sahara after a camel-trek to the campsite was special, as was sitting round the campfire later on. Exploring the kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou before the big groups of tourists arrived was lovely, really quiet and peaceful, and the bustle of Marrakech was a real contrast!
What did you think of your group leader?
Mohammed was great, very friendly, lots of useful knowledge and good advice on how to get the best from the various places we visited. One bad restaurant choice on our first night in Marrakech, but a great recommendation for our last night made up for it.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Be prepared for some long-ish mini-bus journeys, but the bus was comfy and spacious, and it gave plenty of opportunity for general chat amongst the group. Food was generally great and plentiful - it sometimes felt like more of an eating holiday!!
As I've found with trip notes for other Exodus trips, the amount of money they recommend you take is nowhere near adequate, unless you were only to have the most basic meals and spend nothing on extras (and by extras, I mean as basic as fizzy drinks). There are lots of AGMs along the way though, so it's easy to get more currency while you're there.
On the flip-side, the accomodation was generally better than the trip notes suggested, particularly in the Sahara campsite (flushing loos!) and the mountain gite. Yes it can be quite basic, but very comfortable.
1 day in Marrakech is really no way enough, but it will whet your appetite to go back for a long weekend under your own steam!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Would completely recommend this holiday, it is a great overview of the country. March was an ideal time to go temperature-wise, nice and warm (around 25 degrees) in the day, but cool enough to sleep at night.
David Steer

MARRAKECH & THE SAHARA

Written March 2012
I had a fantastic holiday. The programme of events were tremedously varied allowing you to get a good insight into the country. The tour guide and group of travellers were also excellent
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
I enjoyed the sahara by night experience and also the atlas mountain climb
What did you think of your group leader?
The guide was vey informative and an excellent guide. The trip notes were also very imformative and help prepare you for the trip
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
The holiday really gives you an experience of some of the key highlights of morrocco. Some days are long and the coach transfer are long on occasions. However you get a great experience of the culture food and people of morrocco. The sahara experience was excellent however the overnight accomodation was slightly more sophisicated than maybe published. I would really reccommend this holiday
Carla Parkinson

MARRAKECH & THE SAHARA

Written March 2012
A great introduction to Morocco with a fantastic group of fellow travellers!
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
I appreciated the contrasting landscapes -- rocky, desolate desert --> stunning mountains --> the buzz of Marrakech's medina.
What did you think of your group leader?
Mohammed found a good balance of guiding and letting us take things in on our own.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Prepare for some long days of driving, especially in the beginning. The upside is that you'll gain an appreciation for desert life.
The desert camp and mountain gite were more luxurious that we anticipated. My husband and I were almost disappointed to find ourselves in a private room with access to Western-style toilets!
When you arrive in Marrakech, hop a taxi and have dinner in the Medina. We ate near our hotel which I regretted after visiting the Medina the following night - the buzz is amazing!
And try a hammam!
Matthew Glover

MARRAKECH & THE SAHARA

Written February 2012
I felt that the tour was an excellent for both solo and people traveling as couples.The tour also had a good mix of walking and culture which I enjoyed. We were always kept busy, and I liked this pace, we fitted a lot into a week.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
One inspirational moment for me was the camel trek in the desert, with a long line of camels walking up and down the sand dunes, travelling slowly towards our desert camp.
What did you think of your group leader?
The tour leader was very friendly and had good knowledge of all the places that we visited and stayed.
Also the group leader was good at making sure that everyone was having a good time and alright.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
If I had any advice to any potential travellers thinking about doing this tour, it would be, when you spend the night in the desert bring enough warm clothes to keep you warm all night. It will be much colder than you think!
Is there anything else you would like to add?
This was my first time traveling as a solo traveller, I throught that it was very easy to settle into being part of the Exodus group, and I shall certainly use Exodus again.
Sara Brown

MARRAKECH & THE SAHARA

Written December 2011
A beautiful country and an excellent introduction.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Spending Christmas in the desert isn't many people's idea of a good time but meeting a group of fun people and marvelling at the stars in the eerie darkness after a 2 hour camel ride is pretty hard to beat!
What did you think of your group leader?
Excellent - really good local knowledge and good language skills. Our driver was also a star - the roads can be a little crazy in Marrakech and the mountain roads sometimes look perilous, but I felt totally safe.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Always bring your own loo roll!
Take advantage of the walking in the mountains - you won't regret it.
madeline hallwood

MARRAKECH & THE SAHARA

Written November 2011
Excellent holiday with the contrast of the desert, mountains and Marrakech. We were there the first week of November, the climate was excellent.
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What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
As normal there were a few; the camel trek, the walk in the mountains, both of which seem to feature in a lot of reviews. The contrast with Marrakech. I was really lucky to travel with a very easy going and friendly group (more Solos holidays please Exodus!!!) and so we laughed a lot throughout the whole week, that very much made the trip for me.
What did you think of your group leader?
Yahya seemed to enjoy our company, did his best to inform us well (he was somewhat hampered by a poor bus microphone however), and kept smiling at all times. He remained confident that the missing bag would arrive (he was correct). He was also very informative on the subject of when and where we could and could not buy alcohol!!
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Do take a change of clothes etc. in your hand luggage, we "only" had one bag not make the connection to Ouarzazate but I get the impression that, on every flight, they are putting on the bags left from the last flight and, to do that, they have to leave off bags for that flight....
Food was a lot better than I expected, it really helps, however, if you eat either chicken or lamb (or both) as they are on every menu.
The camel trek is not out in the wilderness, use your imagination! Bathrooms aren´t as bad on the trip as I feared but flipflops are good for the gite and desert ones. Hot water was a lottery throughout the trip. Water is about a third of the price outside of the hotels. Take sunscreen, hand sanitiser (anti-camel gel) and a torch. And a cork screw, Moroccan wine is not bad at all, however, in some of the places that you stay you have to buy and bring your own wine, so you need your own tools. Twice you will have to take your overnight things in your backpack but on both occasions our sleeping bags were transported for us, so you don´t need to squeeze them into the backpack as well. Oh, and my top tip, if you are camel trekking at the time of year where everyone is taking sleeping bags, get the camel transporting all the sleeping bags as they make a wonderful cushion....
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I really enjoyed this holiday. I don´t feel I saw any 8th wonders of the world but overall it was extremely enjoyable and it made me want to visit other parts of Morocco so that I can understand better the regional variances. I recommend it!
Exodus Response
Following client feedback in 2011 for the camp used near Nakh'la, we have amended this for 2012.
Please note in 2012, the camp used on this trip will be more remote (based near M'hamid) and we hope this offers a quieter Saharan experience.

- Exodus Staff