2 Day Desert Trip from Fez to Marrakech via Merzouga

The local supplier of the activity in Fez had us board a bus that we thought would take us on a 2-day tour with a guide explaining what we were going to see. In any case, the driver stopped as planned on the first day, and we arrived in Merzouga in the Sahara, where we stayed in a tent camp, took a camel ride, and had dinner. The problem concerns the second day because we could not understand with whom we would be traveling on the day that would take us to Marrakech with brief stops in the Dades Valley, Ouarzazate, and a one-hour stop planned at Ait Benhaddou (a UNESCO site). None of this happened because it was unclear whom to ask. Some tours returned to Fez, while others went to Marrakech with 3-day tours. We had booked the 2-day tour and paid for it. We were unable to find any tourist bus going to Marrakech that would show us what we had paid for, and we had to, unfortunately, take one that did go to Marrakech but only as a tourist taxi that makes the route from Merzouga to Marrakech with stops for restrooms and lunch every 2 hours. No visits and certainly no explanations about the sites we were supposed to see. For us, it was a great disappointment because I understand that in 2 days one cannot see what can be seen in 3 days, given the distances, but I paid and was attracted to book for what was offered to me. I was not asking for anything else. Paying for that program that was offered because, in any case, there were no significant problems that hindered its success or events that caused changes to the program.

nice experience great holiday

We booked this 2-day Merzouga Desert tour from Fez to Marrakech via Viator mainly for the itinerary offered and the supposed availability of guide in Spanish. Unfortunately, the experience was marked by constant disorganization and clear breaches of what was announced in the reservation. From the beginning everything was chaotic. During the previous days we were called several times to coordinate the collection; we always told them that we did not care about the meeting point and that they indicated one. We were finally summoned at 7:00 in the morning near our riad, where we were waiting for more than half an hour. Later we were picked up by a car in which we were alone and taken to a cafeteria full of tourists, minibuses and badly parked vans. There we were left “lying around” without explanations, saying only to wait until they told us where to go. After about 20 minutes, we were assigned a minibus that was supposed to be the final one, but we still needed to pick up other people at different points in Fez, which delayed us another half hour. Result: almost 9:00 and still not having left Fez, while other passengers were being picked up almost two hours later than us. The tour description indicated that there would be a guide in Spanish, which was not true. There was no guide and the driver did not speak Spanish. Still, we want to highlight that the driver was friendly and professional, and tried to explain things in English during the ride. The stops during the day were correct (Ifrane, cedar forest, lunch breaks and bath). Before arriving in the desert we stopped at a traditional clothing store where we were told that it was mandatory to bring a handkerchief for the camel ride, hinting that you had to buy it if you did not have one. This turned out to be false, as it was not mandatory at all. A stop clearly aimed at forcing purchases. The arrival in the desert was correct and the camp and the haima were very good, no objection in that respect. The camel ride and sunset were also pleasant. However, the lack of information and coordination became clear again, as the dawn activities (visit to nomadic village, sandboard, quad or camel ride) were explained late and did not match what we had been told the previous day, besides not being included in the initial price. The worst part of the whole excursion was the return to Marrakech. After the morning activities we were left in a parking lot without any explanation, without guidance or visible responsibility. While the rest of our classmates were getting on different buses, we were not receiving any information. We asked several times without getting clear answers. Eventually there were only three people left. A driver asked us the destination and told us that we would go straight to Marrakech, stopping only for lunch and bath. At that time we knew that the stops included in the itinerary would not be made, specifically: ·Ouarzazate (10 minutes) ·Ait Ben Haddou (1 hour, with entrance fee included) These stops were one of the main reasons we hired this tour, and they just weren’t made. The driver of the return journey did not provide any explanation or information during the entire journey. After contacting the organizers, even they couldn’t agree: one person told us they would stop at Ait Ben Haddou and another told us it was impossible because the 2-day tour didn’t have enough time. We understand that you may not have time, but then the itinerary should not announce stops that will not be made. That's misleading advertising. In short: constant disorganization, contradictory information, non-compliance with the itinerary and absence of a guide in Spanish, despite being clearly indicated in the reservation. If the tour had been described honestly, we would not have hired him. A very disappointing experience for a trip that promised much more.