Camel Safaries

Testimonial: Camel Safaries of Morocco
Just like majority of people, due to procrastination and eventual negligence, I wouldn't normally bother to write such recommendation. However, I was so thankful to Ali Oussou and his crew, not to forget the best driver Omar, I would like to take a moment to praise them. Also for the good of internet community, as a diligent trip preparer and an outstanding tour guide deserve to find each other, I hope to contribute to any newcomers planning trip to Morocco will find this helpful.

Two other guys from London and I went on a 4-day trip commencing and ending in Fez. We simply chose Fez because the plane ticket was cheaper and seemed closest from Erg Chebbi, our primary objective for going to Morocco. With such a short time planned in Morocco, we figured that 72 hours may not be enough time to even just to get to the desert and come back, hence decided to have a local guide organize our four days. So I started my research on various tour guide agencies in Morocco, started contacting them one by one. I only contacted three, which had multiple recommendations in various travel site forums, and my choice became apparent as soon as I received responses from each. Firstly, Ali had more detailed and customized-looking itinerary in attachment, in headed papers. There were different price options given depending on whether we wanted standard or luxurious accommodations. Finally, the price was just more than reasonable, cheaper than the other two, not necessarily the quality was any lower.

So that was all before we flew to Morocco. Feels like it is already getting longer, so I will stay brief and concise. When we landed in Fes, Ali was waiting at the airport holding up the sign written "Hoonio". I was so relieved by the fact that he was the most friendly looking among the people waiting by the gate, not to mention he always came early and waited for us. So he took us to a nice hotel in the Fes medina, and had a decent dinner. The next was the long 8-hour drive to Erg Chebbi. On the way, Ali made sure we take a break in all places worth places worth stopping by, so that we had experienced the seasonal change from the snow on the mountain Atlas to hot summer in the desert area. On the way, we also had a short picnic where we had custom-made sandwiches with canned fish, veggies on free-range Moroccan buns. It was a long ride, but the Omar's driving skills on his 4x4 made us comfortable enough to take short naps in-between, and the sceneries were just magnificent that we could not help staying awake the whole time. So we got to Erg Chebbi before the dawn, where Ali left us to Yusef who took us to the bivouacs and we came back on the next day. Although we chose to go with the standard accommodations, all the hotels we stayed in were great, and we were served with the best meals for all breakfast and dinner, which were covered by the tour. Lastly, I would like to emphasize how inspiring Ali was. He was so passionate in his job that he took education in linguistics, therefore proficient in countless languages. He is proficient in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Berber, but he can also do simple communication in so many others. He also knows so much about own culture that he can go on endlessly about Morocco in one of those proficient languages of his. Wherever he takes people to in Morocco, he keeps good relationship with all locals, so that whether it is restaurant or hotel, we get the best service. He is both friendly and funny that he will make his clients feel like accompanied by an old-time friend than someone who only does what he or she is paid for.