The highlight of our trip was experiencing the people, including Ilyass our driver/guide, the local guides, and all of the people that we interacted with in the riads, the restaurants, the shops, and the medinas. The other highlight was experiencing the breath of the Moroccan environment and our surprise at the fertileness of the land.
We hit it off with Ilyass immediately and he was more like a friend than a guide/driver. He spoke very highly of Experience-It and he also represented it very well. Ilyass was a most remarkable companion. He was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, incredibly competent, kind, fun, and a joy to be with. He felt more like a friend than a hired driver/guide. If someone picked him out specifically for us, then great job. If it was just the luck of the draw then I need to play the lottery when we get home!
When we were planning this trip I wondered about the guide. Since we would be traveling with him for nine days, would we get along? Would he understand our needs both physical and mental? Would he listen to our desires and work to fulfill them? Would he go out of his way to show us a good time? Ilyass far exceeded our expectations on all counts.
Here is but one example of Ilyass going out of his way for us. Yesterday, on the drive from Essaouira to Casablanca, Joani mentioned that she had found a Jewish Museum in Casablanca and would like to see it. Ilyass had not been there previously but said we could probably go to both the Hassan II mosque and the Jewish museum and then go to the airport. So yesterday, after a stop at the largest mall in Morocco – boy, Ilyass can eat! – he dropped us off at our hotel to rest before taking us to Rick’s Cafe last night for dinner. Unbeknownst to us, before going to Rick’s Cafe, he drove to the Jewish Museum to make sure that he could find it today. And today, we did indeed go to the Hassan II mosque and the Jewish Museum before going to the airport. To me, that is going above and beyond.
The accommodations on this tour were excellent. Our favorite accommodations? it’s a tie – Riad Myra in Fes and Riad Due in Marrakesh. Riad Myra was so big and beautiful and the staff was so gracious. Riad Due was so simple and yet the room was so modern. We loved meeting Elena the manager and her excellent staff.
I would recommend “Experience It Tours” without any hesitation.
Mark S.
(November of 2018)