From Marrakech : Private Day Trip to Atlas Mountains

What an incredible day from start to finish. We left early to hike the Setti Fatma waterfalls before the crowds came and it was a game changer. Lunch was definitely the highlight - we were taken to an authentic, delicious Berber tajine inside a real family home, not a tourist-trap restaurant. The hospitality was beautiful. The camel ride on the way back was so much fun and we really appreciated the company's absolute transparency about the artisan stops. Zero pressure, completely genuine and perfectly organized. Highly recommend The Moroccan Tour!

We booked this for our kids to see a bit more of the real Morocco, and it was worth every penny. The car was comfortable, air-conditioned (thank goodness!), and our driver Bob was fantastic with the kids. He explained everything in such a simple, fun way. The visit to the argan cooperative was interesting, and the lunch by the river was so peaceful. Even my picky eater loved the tagine!

This day trip was exactly what we needed. It wasn’t rushed at all, and our driver, Bob, made everything feel easy and fun. We loved the mountain views, and meeting the Berber family for lunch by the river was such a nice touch — it felt personal. The food was delicious, especially the tajine. The camel ride made us laugh so much. It was one of those days that just feels right from start to finish

We booked this trip last minute and it turned out to be the best decision of our holiday. Our driver Zack was honestly amazing funny, patient, and great with the kids. The drive through the mountains was so beautiful, and stopping at the women’s argan place was really interesting. Lunch by the river felt so peaceful, and the food was all homemade and fresh. The kids still talk about the camel ride at the end. Just a really special day that felt genuine and relaxed

This day trip was probably the best day of our Marakesh vacation! Driving through the Atlas Mountains was just amazing. Just beautiful scenery all around. This tour will give you a glimpse of the authentic Moroccan life. It was great to see how a traditional Berber family lives and to interact with them. The trek up the mountains to the waterfall was a bit challenging but certainly worth it. There are some amazing scenery and sites to experience in the area. Our driver Bob was very friendly and knowledgable about the places we hosted. We were traveling with two kids and he was very patient with us. The best part for the kids was the camel ride on the way back to Marrakesh. I highly recommend this tour!

great experience with simo our driver and mohammed our mountain guide the best thing about this is that u go at your own pace make stops wherever you want and whenever lunch by the river was delicious and peacefull and I highly recommebd the agran oil place the quality is so good since I already tried it

This day out was exactly what we were looking for as a family. Our driver Youssef was patient and great with the kids, pointing things out along the way and even stopping when we wanted a photo. The visit to the women’s cooperative was fascinating — our daughter loved trying to crack the argan nuts! Lunch by the river was something we’ll never forget. The kids said it was the best tajine they’d ever had (and so did we!). It didn’t feel touristy at all, just warm and genuine hospitality

Really an adventure, fascinating cultural experience, beautiful mountains and a knowledgeable guide, very happy with our experience.

Because I had read so many good experiences we booked a private tour here. Explained in advance that we wanted to go to the non-tourist Berber villages. Always my question was answered quickly by email. Every other day we were picked up in a van and the man said he was the brother of the man I had been in contact with. He spoke reasonable English. We drove for over an hour, had barely been able to have breakfast in our riad, and wanted to drink coffee or tea. That was no problem, we could choose at a gas station or a little further. The last option chosen. That was already the beginning of the river along which the colored seats and other fairground attractions stand. We drove another hour, by now I had become quite carsick. Then we could choose whether we wanted lunch or the walk to the waterfall. We had all been in the car before! Chose the latter again and drove on. The road became busier and busier, the restaurants more and more, we were clearly in a tourist area. Then I saw on a sign that we were in Ourika, a place I hadn’t wanted to go. We got off to wait for a guide and he started talking about the price; 400 Mad. Why did I ask, we booked an all-inclusive day trip? Our driver didn't respond and we didn't do it. First setback! Then to the berber house and ate. That was kind of fun. By now, we had explained to the driver that this is what we wanted: to meet people and walk through villages; and that I had asked by email: the least possible non-tourist tour. The man promised to see where we could go after dinner “we still had the whole afternoon”. While we waited for our tagine, the driver went to sleep. We could walk through the village after dinner. We did but were not welcome. Little boys made dishonorable gestures at me as they shouted “madame...” and pointed their fingers up. When we took pictures they asked for money and when we gave too little they kept grumbling. We experienced great cultural differences. After an hour and a half we had the driver woken up and then he had to eat. Then he told me he couldn't get to small Berber villages by car. He wanted to stop on the way but we would pass new villages. So we drove back to Marrakech where we arrived again at 15.15. I'll just say that there has been a huge miscommunication here, but expensive we had paid 2150 MAD to drive around for a few hours. I also emailed this review to The Moroccan tours but had no reply. Unfortunately.......

We were quite disappointed by the excursion. The driver was very nice and the transport worked well, but the reality of the day trip is not what the description says. When we book a private tour, with the much higher price than the group trip, we expect something personal, individual, special. This trip is exactly the same as the group one, only with a separate private bus. The tourist traps/organized scams are the same. We meet the masses of tourists as we have the same stops, same fake argan oil scam shop, same walk up the hill to the waterfall through the same craft shops. A separate guide (who is completely superfluous), walks with us among hundreds of other tourists stuck and waiting to go through masses of people going up and down on the same unspectacular track up to a very unspectacular water fall. We are then brought to a very dirty restaurant where all the other tourists are also brought. Food is really not good, drinks cost extra. The camel ride is along a road, nice for a few pictures. All in all very disappointing for people like us who tried to avoid mass tourism.