Morocco Travel Agency / Travel Exploration / Morocco Tours in 4x4 / Private Morocco Tours / Camel Treks / Sahara Desert Tours / 4x4 Excursions / Marrakesh Tour /Berber Villages Testimonials

I came to Morocco with an expectation of surrounding myself with marvelous traditions of color pattern and decoration, but my experience, thanks to Travel Exploration Morocco, was more profound than I could ever have imagined. I was immersed in the life and culture of the Moroccan people in a deep and meaningful way.

I visited Moroccan Berber families and met a range of generous, friendly people that shared their lifestyles with me. I was amazed by the warmth of the people in Southern Morocco, the intricate architecture and decoration of the great cities, the rich and diverse countryside. The carefully selected guides in Marrakech, Fes, Ouarzazate and Meknes Travel Exploration Morocco chose made every visit a unique learning experience. This was all in addition to a carefully designed itinerary that allowed me to visit craftsmen in their workspaces and see the designers that create all elements of Morocco’s rich culture, from weavers, to dyers, silversmiths to potters.

This culminated in my two days working in the Pottery Cooperative in Fes where I had the opportunity to paint plates and design zellij mosaics. Here I realized that even the tiniest piece of tile in a great architectural zellij mural has been carefully crafted and touched by the hands of many talented artisans. This Pottery & Zellij Tile Design Tour hosted by Travel Exploration Morocco has been a gift that enriched my life on a personal level, broadened my worldview and contributed greatly to my future work in the art studio. Thank you for your generosity and friendship Alecia Cohen and Hossaine Amiri. I miss you already.
- ESME THOMPSON, PAINTER & PROFESSOR OF STUDIO ART, CUSTOMIZED POTTERY & ZELLIJ DESIGN MOROCCO TOUR (NEW HAMPSHIRE) - JANUARY 2009

Dear Travel Exploration Morocco,

Happy new year! We wanted to thank you, as we had such a wonderful time in Morocco. It was made even more enjoyable by the wonderful drivers and guides that your agency provided to us. They enhanced the journey with their immense knowledge and friendliness.

Marrakech was great place to begin our Morocco travel adventure. We especially enjoyed the Bahia palace, Saadian Tombs, The Majorelle Gardens and the labyrinthine souks in the Marrakech old medina. Essaouira, the seaside port was nice to visit after the bustle of Marrakech. The seaside strolls and laid back atmosphere offered us a relaxing change of pace. We also quite enjoyed our hike up from Imlil within the High Atlas Toukbal Mountains. In fact, as mentioned, everything was wonderful and easy and the only thing that could have enhanced our trip would have been to add an extra few days to our travel itinerary!

We will encourage our friends to visit the beautiful country of Morocco and absolutely encourage them to utilize the expert services of Travel Exploration Morocco. "We couldn't recommend Travel Exploration Morocco more highly.”Your expertise and knowledge helped us plan and execute our trip with complete ease. It was a top-notch experience made possible by your hand chosen, expert, and wonderful people and services."

Thank you again Alecia Cohen and our best wishes to all!
- JAMES P. SALL & ELSA VIVERO (LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA) CUSTOMIZED PRIVATE MOROCCO ADVENTURE- DECEMBER 2009

Our desert expedition was fabulous! Our driver, Hossaine Amiri, arrived promptly at our hotel, Le Tourmaline, and our group piled into his luxurious 4X4 land cruiser heading south from Ouarzazate to a desert encampment in the M’hamid Sahara. En route, we stopped in Draa Valley's city of Zagora to tour the ancient Zaouia and the Koranic Bibliotheque’s library of manuscripts, dating back as far as the 16th century. We also had the opportunity to tour Tamagroute, a pottery cooperative with professional demonstrations of Zagora’s local pottery tradition, which is famous throughout Morocco for producing forest green ceramic pottery that is made from henna.

We explored a date palm oasis, watching farmers till the soil and women carry firewood in bundles on their heads as they have done for centuries. We arrived at the virtual “end of the road” in the M’hamid Sahara for a spectacular sunset camel trek across the dunes to our bivouac. Our Berber bivouac (tent encampment) in the Sahara dunes was simply fabulous. The bivouac was extremely comfortable, the food high quality and delicious. Of course, the night sky in the Sahara desert is crowded with millions of stars. In the morning, we greeted the sun walking on across M’hamid's lush Sahara dunes; the sand was fine as talcum powder.

All details were attended to during our Sahara journey; our every comfort was assured. All the people we encountered along the way in the Sahara were attentive, hospitable and delighted to meet us. It was an exceptional experience and I would not hesitate to employ Travel Exploration Morocco on my next Moroccan adventure!
- FREYA ELLINWOOD (NEW YORK CITY) PRIVATE MOROCCO TRAVEL- M'HAMID SAHARA DESERT TOUR - NOVEMBER 2009

Starting from the moment we reached Casablanca Airport, we were greeted by Ridwan, your driver and guided that was appointed to us. Ridwan, this nice and patient person who guided us through Casablanca for our Morocco Imperial Cities Travel Tour, let us experience a lovely dinner and then drove us to Marrakech the next day...

In Marrakech where we first met Hossaine Amiri, that welcoming, generous, polite and decent gentleman who was very opened hearted, and showed us how Arab Generosity can be – and how it should be every day...

And finally meeting you, dear Alecia Cohen, with your lovely and welcoming smile and sincerity although I was a tough customer...

As I told you before that visiting Morocco is one of my wildest dreams, and you made it come true in the most tremendous way...

I do not think that I would have been able to enjoy this Morocco Travel experience to Casablanca, Marrakech and Essaouira as much if I used another other travel agency. Both you and Travel Exploration Morocco are very much aware of Morocco inside and out, including the best Riads and places to visit, the best Tour Guides, restaurants and many varieties of tastes...

I'm cherishing your frequent calls to our hotels to insure that we are feeling comfortable, Hossaine Amiri who checked in with us daily concerning what we liked and what we disliked in the Riad, with the Morocco tour guides, the city, if we slept well the night before, etc...

What Travel Exploration Morocco did, was make us feel over 8 days that we were pampered, very well taking care of and every step we took in Morocco was very well organized and pre planned...I know that you went behind the call of duty, as I know some other agencies, which are good enough, but I never experienced the kind of attention that I received from Travel Exploration Morocco...

- FARIDA & HANY SONOBOL (CAIRO, EGYPT) PRIVATE MOROCCO TRAVEL - IMPERIAL CITIES TOUR NOVEMBER 2009

Dear Moroccan Traveler,

For anyone who is interested in traveling to Morocco, I thought I’d write a letter about our Morocco Travel experience to let you know how happy we were with our travel agency, Travel Exploration Morocco. The Director of Travel Exploration Morocco, Alecia Cohen, was very responsive and quick to e-mail us with answers to our questions. As we were making plans less than a month of our departure, we could not wait two weeks for a reply. Alecia Cohen was also available by phone. We had some specific requirements that did not lend to it being in a standard tour. Ms. Cohen was able to obtain a private guide/driver for our transfers within the country, a knowledgeable guide for our Marrakesh tour, and reputable Morocco trekking company for our Mount Djebel Toubkal hike.

Adding to our pleasure Alecia Cohen’s understanding of our interests. For example, her choice of a Riad with a particularly natural setting within a palmary in their courtyard meshed beautifully with our love of the outdoors. The guides and our Riad host were friendly and helpful as were all Moroccans we dealt with. We were given great recommendations on where to eat and for our wedding anniversary. Ms. Cohen secured a reservation in a charming restaurant with local appeal.

We were so fortunate to have Ms. Cohen as our Moroccan Travel Agent, and delighted when she was able to accompany us on part of our itinerary. She gave us many insights on the Moroccan people and culture and chose places for us to visit that piqued our curiosity and enhanced our understanding of Morocco.

We loved the Djemaa el Fna Square in Marrakesh, the small mountain villages, the merchants and watching Berber women and children in Morocco. We appreciated being taken out in the country on two separate one-day Morocco travel excursions into the mountains of the Ourika Valley. Our visit for tea in a Berber home was one of the highlights of our trip. This home was as beautiful as our Riad in Marrakesh. We definitely got an up close and personal experience with Morocco due to Ms. Cohen’s understanding of our personal interests and her attention to every detail.

As we were basically on a business trip with a few days tacked on, we limited our itinerary to Marrakesh, our mountain trek, a day on the road in the country, driving to Rabat and overnight in Casablanca. We were able to sit in on an open- air symphony concert in Rabat, explore the markets in Rabat and Marrakesh and shop in some of the Berber villages.

We had a thorough education on the art of Moroccan Berber rug making. The salesman surpassed the skill of our used car salesmen. Thankfully my husband did not trade me for a carpet or a camel while on our trip.

We walked several miles in Casablanca and marveled at the Hassan II mosque from the outside and also a passing through a city neighborhood with a grazing cow. We ate at Rick’s café, built to resemble a fictitious restaurant in the movie, “Casablanca.” We enjoyed the meal and the Morocco travel, Casablanca experience.

I believe if you work with Travel Exploration Morocco & Alecia Cohen as your guide to choosing a tailor-made tour that suits your interests, she will exceed your expectations for your dream trip to Morocco!

- HELENE & BILL FOWLER (WASHINGTON) PRIVATE MOROCCO TREKKING TOUR- DJBEL TOUKBAL - JUNE 2009

Words cannot explain the many varied experiences that I had in Morocco with Travel Exploration and they continue to unfold as today is the 3rd Anniversary of my mother's death. I feel blessed to have had such a phenomenal Moroccan sister as my guide through my mother's homeland- my heritage. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything.

- PAM HENRY, SULTANA (WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA) PRIVATE MOROCCO ZELLIJ & POTTERY DESIGN TOUR - JUNE/JULY 2009

We are finally over the long return flight from Morocco. We had a wonderful time with our guide on the one-day excursion to the Cascades D’Ouzoud Waterfalls Tour that was arranged by Travel Exploration Morocco. I wanted to let you know, that if I had known about your company prior to booking my trip with Overseas Adventure Travel that a private tour would have been a wonderful option to consider and yet another way to see Morocco. We enjoyed the Cascades D’Ouzoud water falls immensely and to enhance this trip in the future, we recommend the option to walk the entire falls or just part.

I will keep your web site on file for any my friends who would like a Morocco Travel tour or Morocco Travel experience to see and use.

- MARILYN & JIM BLANKENSHIP (CALIFORNIA) PRIVATE ONE DAY- EXCURSION CASCADES D'OUZOUD WATERFALLS - OCTOBER 2009

Our trip to the Dades Valley Morocco was very beautiful. We saw a great variety of scenery. Hossaine Amiri was an excellent guide; he stopped whenever we wanted to take pictures and explained the history of the area and the local Berberculture in Morocco .

- BARBARA MOONEY (CANADA) MOROCCO DADES VALLEY TOUR - OCTOBER 2009

Thank you so much for coordinating the whole trip to Marrakech and theOurika Valley for us last minute--all six of us decided that we had the best tour of Morocco out of all other 720 students on the ship. Thank you Travel Exploration for being our travel guide to Morocco!

- CASSANDRA CORYBONS (FLORIDA) SEMESTER AT SEA - PRIVATE MOROCCO MARRAKECH TOUR - MAY 2009

With limited time in Morocco, my fiancée and I traveled to Morocco through many miles of gorgeous mountainous and desert terrain thanks to Hossaine Amiri at Travel Exploration. Our journey began in the vibrant city of Marrakech where we were collected in an immaculate air conditioned 4X4, stocked with icy cold bottled water and an heir of comfort and safety. Destination Sahara began - with stops in Ouarzazate for a scrumptious lunch, views of the Draa Valley and endless cups of mint tea within the earthen walls of an ancient Kasbah. A pottery lesson in Tamegroute, south of Zagora located on a small commune filled with talented artists and smiles topped our trip off! To this day I serve all my guests on the gorgeous green pottery I purchased at Tamegroute. Arriving into the tip of the Sahara just in time for a camel ride at sunset, our journey was complete and followed by a feast of a tagine and live music. At night we safely snuggled in colorful tents within a cozy Berber camp. Hossaine provided a high level of Moroccan hospitality, personal touch and charm. He even taste tested figs from the road side vendors to ensure we had perfect snacks for the journey. Thank you TRAVEL EXPLORATION!!
- REBECCA ANDERSON (ENGLAND) PRIVATE MOROCCO SAHARA TOUR - APRIL 2009

My husband gave me the gift of trip to Morocco before heading off to law school. He encouraged me to begin to see the world as an independent traveler. As a student of human rights law, I decided to travel, for the first time in my life, from the North American Continent to Morocco.

I wasn't about to travel, to Morocco unless I knew that the folks I would be working with were culturally competent, dedicated to environmentally and socially responsible, sustainable and ethical travel practices. If I was going to work with anybody, the prerequisite was that they humbly, respectfully support Moroccan people's rights, self-determination, and socially just, sustainable development practices. Originally, I was just going to travel by myself to the Fes World Festival of Sacred Music , but after a brief email conversation with Alecia Cohen, and her submission of a detailed suggested itinerary, Alecia's insight into how to design a reality tour for an independent, intellectual global female traveller was right on. Alecia demonstrated an intuitive understanding as to why Morocco called to me.

From the moment I landed in Casablanca, I felt welcomed home by Hossaine Amiri from Travel Exploration who treated me as he would a sister or a cousin. Hossaine not only helped to teach me to learn how to better speak in Amazigh/Tamazigh Berber and Darija (Moroccan Arabic), he took extra precautions to look out for me wherever I went, something I valued immensely as a woman traveling alone. I genuinely felt like I had fallen into the hands of family.

The tour guides Travel Exploration works with were extremely meticulous about honesty and ethics in their practice in Fes, Marrakech and Essouaira. Every tour guide I worked with had earned at least one or two masters degrees in the subject of philosophy, patrimony, and linguistic sociology.

In addition to all the additional professional photos that Alecia took as I followed my pottery teacher and guide from the Tamegroute pottery cooperative, I was floored by the unwavering hospitality and care offered to me throughout my travels with Hossaine Amiri, Alecia Cohen, and Travel Exploration community partners. Whether it was visiting the herbalist for discounts on rose, almond/orange cremes, amber musk, black soap, or argan oil in Marrakech or visiting with established merchants and jewelry cooperatives in Fes, Marrakech, Ouarzazate and Essouaira where the hamsa f'Fatima (hand of Fatima) found me--I was always treated as family.

Most of all, I will never forget the hospitality of Hossaine's family. Visiting Hossaine's family in the village of Aït Ouzzine, sleeping under the full moon and stars; sharing homemade couscous, bread, and lamb; receiving Henna and Saffron; and exchanging head scarves with sisters Fatima and Malika Amiri--these memories will never leave me--I carry them with me, as I carried the sands at the beaches of Essouaira between the Henna designs encircling my hands and feet back to the San Francisco Bay Area, as a reminder of what has now truly become a second home away from home.
- MRS. JOANNA CUEVAS INGRAM (SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA) PRVIATE MOROCCO TOUR- CUSTOMIZED TRIP - JUNE 2009

We would like to thank Hossaine Amiri of Travel Exploration for a wonderful holiday. We thoroughly enjoyed traveling to Morocco with Hossaine as our driver and guide. We fell in love with the colors of Morocco, the spacious landscape of the High Atlas Mountains along with the breathtaking scenery of the South. The tour which took us from Marrakech to Talouine (home of Morocco’s Saffron) to Taradount through the Tizin’ Test Pass was extraordinary. Our journey to Ouarzazate and traveling to Morocco’s Sahara Desert for a camel trek in Merzouga and to visit the Tamagroute Pottery Cooperative in Zagora was fascinating. After we left your tour of the South, we headed to Essaouira where we stayed for a few days and had lunch at the seafood café which you recommended. Your friends at the café greeted us warmly and we enjoyed the fishing port and bright blue boats in the harbor which is quite difference then the rest of Morocco. It will be a longtime before we have another holiday. We thank you once again for your expertise in travel and for showing us Morocco.
- JENNY PEACOCK and CHRIS HAYWARD (AUSTRALIA) MOROCCO SAHARA DRAA VALLEY CUSTOMIZED TOUR - DECEMBER 2008