Where to start? SUCH a terrific trip!

Morocco | Jan 19 - Jan 28, 2025

Where to start? This was SUCH a terrific trip! As we were planning our Morocco trip, we Zoomed with Majid to talk about priorities for a 9-day, 2-person trip with a driver; he put together a detailed itinerary that fit our needs and budget. It took us on a counterclockwise loop from Marrakech to the desert to Fez, then Chefchauen and finally to Casablanca. Rabat, Tangier and Agadir will have to wait until next trip.

We are the kind of travelers that usually prefer to make our own itinerary, but choosing KimKim to plan our trip turned out to be a wise choice. Having a van and driver felt indulgent, but for such an epic trip, it made our trip so relaxed and enjoyable. The accommodations were mostly family-owned, safe, clean, friendly, charming places, which we loved. If you looked for things to complain about, they could be found (a light bulb out, a confusing shower controls situation, whatever), but nothing unclean or impacting sleep or hygiene, and all had decent Wifi and wonderful Moroccan food, but could also accommodate other dietary needs. Most places were riads (older, renovated buildings with a central garden/courtyard with all windows facing the courtyard), and at least this time of year (late January), quiet and super customer-oriented.

For two of us with a driver, the driver can make or break the trip; Mohamed was just terrific. Personable, low-key, smart, flexible, experienced and very safe. Since we wanted to touch a lot of far-flung bases, we were literally 30+ hours on the road. One thing I hadn't anticipated was, at least with Mohamed, how relaxing the road travel can be when you don't have to drive and don't have to worry about the unknowns. We just sat back and enjoyed the ever-changing landscapes, and whenever the urge to take a photo struck, Mohamed would pull over or tell us that a good photo spot was coming. He also was able to adapt our itinerary by stopping at local places of interest, time permitting.

That road-time also gave us plenty of time to ask whatever questions we had about the country, the people or what we were seeing out the window, which made for pretty effortless learning. I basically travel to gain perspective, and having ready answers to whatever crossed my mind was a joy.

A tension point with guided tours is that shops incentivize guides/drivers to bring customers, so you can end up in way-overpriced shops where they ply you with food/drink treats, have a personable host guide and inform you, then give you the hard sell at the end. Mohamed avoided such places, though I'm sure there are endless such establishments. Such a blessing.

In Marrakech and Fez, local guides took us through the city sites, and both were personable, knowledgeable fluent English speakers who provided good perspectives on what we were seeing. There seemed to be less personal crime in Morocco than other developing countries I've been, but Mohamed and our guides were nicely safety-oriented. We never felt unsafe, and it made for an stress-free relaxing trip. Sometimes, 9 days in a developing country can feel exhausting; with a trip like this, I could have stayed indefinitely.

We were connected with Majid via WhatsApp, in case we had any questions or concerns, which we appreciated. In the end though, we never needed to call him for anything. The only suprise along the way was a dinner with a host family that had to be cancelled due to host illness. Majid and Mohamed deftly handled that, and provided a delightful memorable private rooftop dining experience at our riad that we'll long remember.

We stumbled upon KimKim online, so we sent our deposit, part of me was thinking, I hope KimKim is real - maybe this trip is a little too good to be true? Alas - Mohammed actually WAS waiting for us at the Marrakech airport with a little sign with our name on it. And so began one of our all-time favorite trips. Morocco is a fascinating country, with friendly people, amazing landscapes, and wonderful food. And KimKim provided an unforgettable experience.