Excursion d'une journée de Marrakech à Essaouira

First the good: our driver, Abdu (Ibrahim) was excellent. He arrived at our hotel promptly and was extremely courteous and, most importantly, a very safe driver. Essaouira is definitely worth visiting. It is remarkably different from Marrakech. It is a fishing town with hundreds of small and large fishing boats. The town is in stark contrast to the activity of the Marrakech souks. There were not myriad motorcycles buzzing around the streets. The fort is amazing. The guide was polite and knowledgeable. There was time for us to explore. And now the not so goods: Several times we stopped at what felt like contrived tourist cash traps. We liked learning about the Argon oil but felt like we were then expected to buy products. The stop for the tree climbing goats was interesting, but be prepared for a baby goats thrust into your arms and the expectation of a payment for a picture - we would have appreciated a heads-up or be given the choice. Our guide invited us to stop for tea but didn’t realize we were being led into a sales pitch for tea and spices. Be prepared for some steep guilt ridden prices. Lunch was good but were not given a choice of restaurants- we were again guided up to a terrace of a restaurant. It could be shame on us for not being more aware but we were guilty in trusting the tour to have our best interests in mind. A good tour, but go in with your eyes open and expect to be guided into a planned path.

<p>Driver was very friendly and Essaouria was a great town to visit. Would advise the direct route rather than the scenic route other wise you don’t get much time at Essaouria</p>