Thanks to Yamina Tours for a fantastic 15 days in Morocco! Our itinerary was ambitious - to visit all the major cities and see as much of the country as possible, and Yamina worked with us to pull it off.
We were extremely fortunate to have the best Tour Manager imaginable in Mr. Sallam El Hasnaoui, who was our senior guide and driver for the entire 15 day trip. He was also our primary source of information about all things Moroccan and Berber (Amazir) history and culture. Sallam took excellent care of us and was not only able to keep us on schedule but also to squeeze in several sites on the road that were not on our original itinerary.
Yamina reserved comfortable Riads in the old cities or medinas in each place we stayed: Rabat, Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fes, Dades Valley, Marrakech and Essaouira. On the way from Fes to the Dades Valley, we also had an exciting camel ride and spent one beautiful starry night at a luxury desert camp near Merzouga that we will not soon forget. All the riads provided filling and delicious breakfasts. For most lunches and dinners, we were left to explore local restaurants, which suited us just fine.
One memorable evening, Yamina organized a cooking class in Chefchaouen for us with the lovely Fadoua who, assisted by her husband Abdessamad and their two boys, taught us a thing or two about preparing a chicken, green olive and preserved lemon tajine and Moroccan salads. We had some of the best Moroccan cuisine of the tour in Fadoua and Abdessamad's home, and were very grateful for the experience.
In most of the cities and historic sites we visited, Yamina arranged for very knowledgeable guides who provided an incredible amount of information about Moroccan history, architecture and culture. We were particularly interested in learning about the history of Morocco’s Jewish population and appreciated visiting the old Jewish quarters or mellahs in each city and some of the remaining synagogues. Standout guides were Mustapha in Tangier, Lahcen in Fes, another Mustapha in Meknes, Mohamed in Marrakech and Abdellah in Essaouira.
Our sincere thanks to all of our guides, riad teams and our friend Sallam, who so proudly showed us his Morocco, and to Abdelhafid, our tour manager here in the US, who planned the trip with us and made it happen in record time. We do not normally book tours, preferring to make our own arrangements and figure things out once in a country. However, Yamina Tours did such a wonderful job of organizing this trip and taking the burden of researching and managing it off of our shoulders that we will definitely do this again.
Thank you Yamina Tours for making this a trip we will never forget!