Morocco Family Private Tour, A Dream Trip So Different from the Rest Review

I have dreamed about travelling to Morocco since I was a child. I don't know where that dream came from. Morocco just seemed so different than the United States/Texas - where I grew up.

This summer my daughter signed up to do a semester abroad in southern Spain - Granada. I looked at the map and saw how close Granada was to north Africa. 

So - after a bit of discussion - we decided that my son and I would meet her in Spain and then take a trip to Morocco. Both of my kids were very intrigued by the idea of travelling in Morocco (and then they could say that they had visited Africa).

I started looking on Trip Advisor for tours of Morocco. I very quickly landed on the reviews of Travel Exploration. So I sent them an email.

The first thing I noticed was how quickly, generously and patiently Alecia Cohen responded to my emails. The positive reviews on this site - and Alecia's friendliness convinced me that I should book a trip with Travel Exploration. So I did.

I was not disappointed. 

Alecia Cohen runs a first class operation. She sent me a beautiful PDF brochure about a 6 day tour of Morocco. She patiently answered a lot of questions. And helped calm my anxiety about taking my two kids on what seemed like a really adventurous trip.

Our driver Moustaffa was amazing. He was very professional and also a sweetheart. He also disclosed later in the trip that he had been a national kick-boxing champion in Morocco.

He went out of his way to show us his country. He is very proud of Morocco and wanted us to see what an amazing place it is. He succeeded.

In the first hour we were with him - we saw a roadside camel attraction. My kids and I were excited so we pulled over and he negotiated a deal that allowed us to get up on camel-back for a photo op. He tipped the camel wranglers out of his own pocket. 

He took us to an amazingly nice restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean and negotiated a great meal. 

He was great. Always nice. A safe driver. Looking out for us. We developed a trusting relationship very early. It helped my anxiety a lot - knowing that Moustaffa was there. He gave me his cell number when he dropped us off at the RIad and said to just call or text him if anything came up.

Moustaffa -- wonderful.

The Riad's that Alecia picked out were fantastic. Romantic. Exquisitely well run. Riad Lina in Chefchaoen and Riad Mabrouika in Fez. Both amazing places. If you go there you will love them. Clean, great food. Friendly staff. Beautiful.

We spent our last night - in Chefchaoen. There was a music festival going on. Riad Lina was booked. Alecia found another Riad - Dar Baiboa. I was a little nervous about that place (Alecia said it was her fourth choice - because all of the other Riad's were booked). Bottom line - it was just fine. Not as romantic but clean and nice.

The guides that work with Travel Exploration are just the best guides in the country. We had three different guides and I could not have been happier. The guides spoke great english, were super friendly, respectful and fun. 

They were all really proud of their heritage and their country and wanted to show the country off in it's best light. And they succeeded.

So - if you are interested in going to Morocco - you can trust Alecia Cohen and her staff to put together a safe and wonderful trip. Alecia has great taste in people, hotels and experiences. I could not be happier.

Thank you Alecia and Moustaffa and all of our guides.