We took our first trip to Morocco last year - and it was an unforgettable and wonderful experience that was filled with adventure. We travelled to Marakech where we stayed at a hotel called Riad Assala in the older part of the city, which was more beautiful than the other parts. It was also a more convenient location as it was really close to the famed Jami Lafna where you can find entertainment, restaurants, shops and bars. Whilst here we also met another couple on holiday, who gave us lots of valuable information. So much so that we then got a tour guide for the rest of our travels.

I would recommend this tour guide because I found him to be fair as well as very honest. He met us at our hotel and we showed him our itinerary of the places that we wanted to visit. Before we left, he made arrangements for us for our transport, hotel accommodations, and activities. This saved us a lot of the guess work that you have to make on what types of accomodation and travel would be best.

On our first day we were taken to the Gorges via Ticheka, Ait ben haddou Ouarzazate. The views travelling here were amazing, and the views from the place itself was also spectacular. We also visited the Skoura palms and a small kasbah. The most unforgettable moment of this trip was meeting Moroccan people who lived in a cave.....the Berber tribe . We visited these people with our guide, and they invited us to drink "Berber Whiskey" (aka mint tea) and to eat lamb kebabs. These people welcomed us and seemed to really enjoyed the company of foreigners. It is good advice to take some common medications with you, as these tribes like to ask for such things as asprin, that are not available to them. Our guide translated for us, and was a big help in indicating customs of the tribes.

The next day our guide took us to Merzougha, which is also known as the Erg Chebbi dunes. We passed through the towns of Erfoud and Rissani before getting to Merzougha. Our guide had previously booked us a camel trekking trip for the day. This place was so amazing and very breathtaking. We booked a night's stay at the Yasmina Hotel, and our guide took great care in getting us food prepared by the excellent staff at the hotel. We wanted to stay another night because we were treated very well at this hotel and the service was amazing. We only has a few days left however, and had to get back to Spain. We decided to go on a tour of the dunes the next day. We got up early to take photos of the sunrise and then we were on our way to a small village in the middle of the desert. As we were traveling we came upon a nomadic tribe who lived in tents. We stayed to look around and our guide spoke with them for a while as they looked at us with curiosity. We finally got to the little village and where the local people played Gnawa music. The music was so interesting that we Vbought a CD from one of the locals and he was very happy and satisfied to make that sale.

The next morning our guide woke us up to eat breakfast and get ready for our next trip. We were then to travel to Fes via Midelt. As we passed through Azrou we got to see our first animal (besides the various stray dogs and the camels).......monkeys. Our guide made us laugh by trying to act like the monkeys. We stopped in Ifrane (aka the Snow City) and had a very good lunch at an outdoor eatery. We stayed in Fes for 2 days and had such a great time on this trip.

I would like to recommend finding a tour guide to anyone who is planning to travel to Morocco. He was very flexible in his scheduling and made time for us to make changes. Although this option is not as cheap as staying in one resort, but we saw and did so much more. Our guide spoke English as well as other languages, and he did everything he could to make our stay and exciting and as comfortable as possible. It was also advisable to be very respectful and to treat the tour guides and the locals with courtesy, as they have many different customs.