Marrakech City Guided Day Tour with Lunch

A very informative tour with a very knowledgeable guide. A little tip wear comfortable shoes as there is a lot of walking, sometimes at a brisk pace! The lunch was excellent, very tasty and plenty to eat. Just be aware you will be taken into shops/co-operatives by the guide which were quite full on to get you to buy something, so you have to be prepared to say NO firmly but politely, unless of course you want to buy from them. I would still definitely recommend, as you are with a guide you don't seem to get bothered/hassled by the Souk/street sellers.

Tour was, for the most part, fair. Haj, the guide, appeared to be more interested in bringing us to shops etc where he, probably, received a kick back. As advertised, the palace and burial grounds were visited. Tour consisted of extensive walking etc, especially to the restaurant. We thought we were walking to the US and Haj kept saying its on the corner. After lunch we visited the Menara Gardens on our own, Haj having left the tour before lunch. Driver was unable to get us back to the pick up point and dropped us off a taxi ride away. We would not recommend this tour to others and feel strongly that it was not worth the almost 200 that was paid and certainly not up to par with other Viators we have taken.

Disappointing overall. Fortunately I had checked emails the night before as the meet up wasn't at the Riad as arranged, pick-up ran late but the driver was nice so I can live with that. The trip started off well enough, saw some interesting historical sites. The guide seemed at first knowledgeable but answers to questions weren't great. Delivery was okay, clear speaker, but lacked the anecdotes that can keep interest did find out about his two wives and there was a little light joking though. It then became a matter of walking briskly through Marrakech without much in commentary on the city or life in it. When he greeted people he knew we didn't feel included, as other guides can make you feel, or that we were benefiting from his familiarity with the area. That would be disappointing in itself but what was the kicker was that we were actually disadvantaged by his knowledge! Yes, the infamous shop stops that you get - not one but two in a single morning. You kind of expect these but two to very overpriced shops was a bit much. One included a long talk on pharmaceutical products, interesting enough I suppose but despite the shop fellows comments, the shops prices were several times those of a stall round the corner I could order the products cheaper in the UK. Looking at the positive, a quick shoulder and back massage was offered in the shop which was well worth the little extra! The second stop was an overpriced gift shop. At this point the group was feeling like the trip was a con game of sorts. A guide steering towards friends is one thing but taking people, who are supposed to be in your care in a foreign city, to shops you know are way over local price is just wrong imho. Bit more walking and then we got dropped off at the restaurant for dinner. As it became clear that the guide was going to be leaving us, I pointed out that I had signed up for a day trip, not half day. I indicated out the printout where it mentioned gardens, so he said he would tell the driver to take me there after the meal. No guide for the second part of a guided day trip but better than nothing I thought incorrectly it turns out. Restaurant was ultra-touristy and whilst the starters were good the main was not up to the standard of everywhere else I ate in Morocco. Service was terrible asked three times for a drink, price not included, but despite there being quite a few staff it arrived as the meal ended and the manager? got very shirty when we didn't leave a tip. Waited a while for the minibus to turn up which dropped off the rest of the group a nice couple, meeting them was probably the best bit really. The driver then took me to one of the gardens, said that I could take 45 minutes to look round. One long queue later I found out that the entrance fee was more than I had in change and that they didn't take cards. You know, the sort of information it would be nice to know before hand - the point of booking a 'guided tour' is to be guided. With no cash machines around I just sat around until the minibus came for me. This was my first full day in Marrakesh and, along with the attempted 'tanning market' hustle don't ask, it could have easily put me off. Fortunately, the lovely people in the Riad helped me find the city tour bus stop it isn't out of service as some parts of the internet suggest and I had a proper introduction to the city via its recorded commentary the next day! Marrakesh takes a bit of getting used to but by the end of the week I was really quite taken with the place. The amazing 3-day tour I booked through Viator helped a lot with liking Morocco overall. I can't recommend this tour, getting a guide book and travelling round yourself would be as good. It included a meal so that pushed it up to 2 stars but only barely.

This tour is essentially a sales pitch. The driver pick us up first and then head to other stops for two other people. Then he went to go pick up the guide. So there was a lot of wasted time. Then we saw a palace and a cemetery, and then we were take them to a carpet store and a medicine shop. The Guide then dropped us off at a place for lunch and left. So we were stranded for two hours until the driver came back. I do not recommend

We had a great time with this tour. Our tour guide, Najet, shared a lot about the history of the places and monuments we visited. She also had a lot of tips on the shopping and going out at night, because we had an all girl group. Our driver was also very kind and accommodating.

Generally the tour was ok. It didnt feel special though. The monuments and gardens was generally a good experience. What I would recommend/change: The tour guide was a helpful good man,but because of our age difference he couldnt be engaging with the info he provided. The food at the restaurant at the mid-day break was good. The place looked like it works only with tourists and seemed like nothing great generally. I would recommend to offer a variety of places with pictures so people can choose and pay accordingly.