Scott Barronton (00:00)
Morocco is one of those destinations that sits on a lot of bucket lists. It had been on mind for really long time, but for most people, it also comes with a lot of questions. Like, how many days do you really need? Is it easy to get around? Should you try to plan it yourself? Or do you need to work with someone local? And maybe the biggest one, what is Morocco actually like once you get there?
Because what we've learned on this trip is that Morocco isn't just about the places you visit. It's about how you experience them.
Speaker 2 (00:37)
We're Scott and Melissa, The Sunshine Travelers.
Speaker 1 (00:39)
We're all about exploring the world and sharing the journey with you. Whether you're a seasoned traveler, dreaming of your next adventure, or just here for the stories.
Speaker 2 (00:47)
No matter where you are on your travel journey, we've got first-hand experiences, tips, and plenty of inspiration from some of the most amazing places on Earth.
Speaker 1 (00:56)
So buckle up and get ready to travel with us.
Scott Barronton (01:04)
Today's episode's a little different. We're recording this from Morocco, sitting outside our riad by the pool after several days traveling through the desert, the mountains, and local villages. And we're going to introduce you to someone who has completely shaped this experience for us.
So this is one of those episodes where we're gonna bring you directly into the experience with us. As I said in the opening, we're sitting by the pool at a Riyadh here in Morocco. And instead of just telling you about Morocco and what we've done, which we're gonna do some of that in a future episode, we wanted you to hear from someone who grew up here.
and it's built a business around showing travelers what Morocco really looks like. And honestly, that has been the biggest difference on this trip.
So we've traveled internationally a lot, but this is one of the few places where having someone local with us the entire time has completely shaped how we experience literally everything from the food to the culture, just to even understanding what we're seeing and be able to ask questions along the way.
So we sat down with Mustafa this evening from Morocco Adventures. And what you're gonna hear is a conversation about Moroccan culture, Berber traditions, and how he has built his business and what most travelers miss when they come here.
And honestly, I think that's the key because you can come to Morocco and you can see the highlights and you can go to the souks and you can go shopping and you can stay in a beautiful Riyadh or you can come here and actually experience it on a deeper level with local people in local communities. So let's get into our conversation with Mustafa.
speaker-0 (03:00)
Well, Melissa, we have a special treat tonight. We're sitting here in Morocco, out beside this gorgeous pool at the Riyadh, and we have Mustafa here with us. And he is going to talk to us a little bit about Moroccan and culture, and then a little bit about planning trips to Morocco
Mustafa, thank you for taking time away from your family to come and be with us and talk about this tonight.
speaker-1 (03:30)
You are welcome guys, are welcome and Marhaba as we say in our language. Marhaba and thank you for your visit, thank you for your collaboration,
Welcome.
speaker-0 (03:43)
So Mustafa, why don't you start by just telling us a little bit about yourself and sort of your background because Melissa and I have found that very interesting. Yeah.
speaker-1 (03:53)
So I am Mustafa from desert. As I said, I born with sand in my eyes, with the nomad family. And then we grow up in the desert with my sisters, my brother.
I started my work with tourists from the desert. Even I was studying, but in my holiday I worked with the tourism as camel man as a waiter. I did all I started step by step to get to this point.
speaker-0 (04:30)
And
so as a camel man, you took people out into the desert with the camels and led them on an adventure out through the desert.
speaker-1 (04:40)
Yeah,
ride the camels and we take them into the dunes to enjoy the sunset or sunrise and also to have a night overnight in the desert and to enjoy it together with the travelers. This was my beginnings.
speaker-0 (04:55)
And I just, find that just so interesting because this is, you didn't just wake up one day and decide you're going to start offering tours of Morocco. You started working with guests in the hospitality and the service industry. And so you've, you've been through, you know, all of the different things that make a positive guest experience and you've been able to incorporate that.
into your business.
speaker-1 (05:26)
Yes sir,
I did it step by step as I said, it's impossible to come and enter to the domain without experience, know. You should do it step by step for you can succeed in your business. You should do it step by step. As I said, I start and I love this domain because of my experience from the beginning. And after that,
these steps, step by step, I went to study to get more information. I had experience but I need to study more to know how to get to this business from, as we say, we enter from the big gate. Okay, not from the window.
speaker-0 (06:12)
Talk to us a little bit about Morocco Adventures. What is it that you guys do as a part of this company?
speaker-1 (06:19)
we have Morocco and adventures. Morocco which is a country, which is origin and then the adventures, it's the, there are the activities that we are doing. It's kind of adventures and the discover the Morocco.
So as I said, I started step by step until I decided to have my own company with this name, Morocco Adventures, and offering tours for the people, for the travelers to organize with the transportation, with accommodation from the beginning till the end, with safe and security hand, and also with the best conditions for
them. I meet many people, I had many experiences with travelers, so the best moment of my company was with my travelers.
speaker-0 (07:09)
And there's a reason that we ask that is because we're actually here on a trip with you right now. And part of what we like to do is to go and experience that.
adventure or experience that vendor or that company so that we can recommend first hand based on experience and so so far so I mean just wonderful I think we're at like eleven out of ten
speaker-2 (07:36)
it's like you just keep surprising us, even though we had the itinerary, right? We knew what we're going to do, but until you actually do it and you've just every day it's been even more of a surprise and a surprise and it's just been fantastic.
speaker-1 (07:51)
You are welcome, madam. This is our secret and our magic of our company and our services. we,
send the program for the travelers in the beginning, but I never sent some program with details. I leave it as surprise to discover it. I give a general idea, okay? And some people, ask for details. I said, it's much better to discover it by yourself here. Because if I sent you the details from the beginning, it will be boring for you. You know? To read and to send to you, I can send to you the program
many details like you know like a newspaper okay but later it will be boring for you it's much better to give you just key words okay and then while you are here you're gonna discover that and you will love it and you will enjoy it with us
speaker-2 (08:44)
And even every morning you've said, here's what we're going to do today. Here's our program. ⁓ But it's still just a surprise.
speaker-1 (08:51)
Of course,
course, of of of
speaker-0 (08:53)
a little surprised, just kind of woven in to there. And you know, I guess it's kind of the same thing, like when we did the Dune Buggy tour and the guy's like, we said something about wanting to see the Desert Fox. And he said, well, he's like, but what if you don't see it? And so you got to hold just a little bit of that back, right? To make sure that people aren't disappointed as well.
if something has to change.
Mustafa, what is, what would you say is the main reason that people should come to Morocco and they should come and plan a vacation here?
speaker-1 (09:21)
answer.
The men, I can say, they feel comfortable and they feel happy after their visit of Morocco. Because as I said before, of diversity of the culture. There is Berber people, Amazigh people, as we say, Amazigh people.
and Arab people and also diversity of the mountains. We have mountains, we have oceans, we have deserts. So with this mix of things, they back home happy and some of them they regret because they have just a little time instead of to have 10 days or 13 days they have just five days they came and they try to make it again and back to Morocco.
speaker-0 (10:15)
And so you said the Amazigh people, those are the original people, the native people here to Morocco.
speaker-1 (10:18)
And that's
Yeah, the native people in Morocco and all over North Africa, Amazigh, actually in Morocco, with Amazigh people are the original. And then for that we have, as I said before, we have interesting history for Morocco, which is back to 350,000 years ago, started from Berber people, Amazigh people, to Arabs people.
speaker-0 (10:48)
What would you say are some of the least known places in Morocco that if you were going to tell someone to come and see Morocco, what are some of the places that you would like to take people that they may not have heard of or maybe they haven't seen on social media?
speaker-1 (11:08)
Okay, I can say Dades Valley to hike, to meet the locals, nomad families in the desert also, some places that...
They make them more interested to come to Morocco, to discover, to meet locals, and to live the real culture of Morocco. Not to go just to somewhere that is famous, as you said, and famous in the social media. Also to discover the real Morocco, which is meeting the locals and have experience with locals. And to talk to the locals, to nomads, to the Moroccan.
who are in we say, in the deep Morocco. Not just what we see, what we saw, and what is in the social media. This makes people more interested, and what I am trying to do, to bring people to Morocco, to show them the real Morocco. Yeah.
speaker-2 (12:09)
And I think that's one thing that just being with you the whole time is that we can then ask you questions. And then you can share with us as we go along. And you're not just checking into a hotel, trying to find a restaurant. You can tell us about traditions with food.
And we've seen in several places how they traditionally make the bread and how important that is to all the meals. And even our God in Marrakech that you put us with, the local guide of Marrakech, he even told us the first time he had pizza, he put it inside bread.
because he didn't know. And the first, and his, that his mother had and she put it inside bread, cake. He said it was a piece of cake and she put it inside the bread. But just understanding the culture and how it's just, is so different. And every day we've been able to ask you questions and be with you and learn a little bit.
speaker-1 (13:10)
And I'm happy to answer your question, Madame, and I want to share, as I said, this is the real trip, to share everything with you and to know about Morocco. Not just to come to visit and to go to the ocean or to take pictures. This is the real Morocco and the real trip, to share everything with you and to know and to back with the very good souvenir of Morocco with you.
speaker-0 (13:34)
Yeah, and I think we have a new tradition that we're going to be taking back with us, which is Cous Cous Friday.
speaker-1 (13:41)
Yeah, because this is Moroccan food which we cook for Friday. And also, as I said before, it's kind of cooperation.
and solidarity that we share it with neighbors as I show you while we went to home in the mosque. the people, families, they bring couscous to share it with people in the mosque and the neighbors. It's a symbol for cooperation. Couscous for us, it's important and to be in one of the best days in the week, which is Friday for ⁓ Muslim people, for us.
It's an important day.
speaker-0 (14:30)
And we learned that during the week, if you go into a restaurant, they may have couscous on the menu, but it might say only available on Friday.
speaker-1 (14:41)
Yeah,
exactly.
There are some restaurants that make it for the whole week, but most of them try to do it just on Friday. Because if traveler comes and Friday couscous and they say we have it on Friday, he will have an idea about Friday. To know what is very important for Moroccans on Friday.
Bye bye.
speaker-0 (15:12)
And we
should add that your wife made us a beautiful, wonderful tasting couscous today for Couscous Friday. And so that was very special.
speaker-1 (15:18)
Welcome.
She can teach you next time cooking class at home. ⁓
speaker-0 (15:27)
Melissa will
sign up for that.
speaker-2 (15:30)
Sounds great.
speaker-1 (15:31)
Inshallah guys.
speaker-2 (15:32)
So if people come to Morocco and they try to just do it on their own, they show up or they book everything themselves, what would you say are some of the biggest regrets or mistakes that you have heard people say?
speaker-1 (15:47)
So
they can do it, but as I said before, it's impossible for them to discover the important things in Morocco. We will back for the question of Mr. Scott that he said about social media. They will just take and go to the destination of social media, not really Morocco.
But if they contact some travel company from Morocco who are locals, they will have a best trip and they will discover the real Morocco.
speaker-0 (16:20)
So kind of along that same thought.
is earlier today you talked about the value of the relationships that you have, the relationships with the Nomad families, the relationships with the hotels and the Riyadhs and then relationship of the people who have the camels and the buggies and stuff like that. How does that work in your business and how does it benefit the client?
speaker-1 (16:47)
It will help them to meet these people also. It's by me. They can have to meet also the same people and they will share same cooperation with these people. They will help these people.
speaker-0 (16:49)
relationships that you have.
speaker-1 (17:09)
they will know the...
culture for these people from this cooperation and benefit they will know them they will know them directly and they will and they will meet them for and this this cooperation help us to grow up to grow up our our our to grow up the business and also to to help the travelers to have more information about to have the contact with with these people that i said the camel man
it makes for them more easy to get to the information that they look for.
speaker-0 (17:46)
Yeah, so
one of the things that you talked about earlier today was that if people come here and they're trying to book a hotel, the hotel may be like, we don't have any availability. Or, then they maybe charge them extra high prices or whatever. But because you have these relationships with the hotel, when you pick up the phone and call the hotel, they want to work with you.
speaker-1 (18:01)
Yeah.
Of course, it's for easy, as I said, collaboration. You know, when we have collaboration with the hotel, it's not like if you go directly. It's normal. For us, they will give us benefit because of the discount, and we can share with the traveler this discount if the traveler contact us and the intermediary.
and to contact to book for them the hotel he will benefit on the discount okay but if you go directly the hotel they don't know him it's first traveler they will it even for the it doesn't know which kind of the hotel of the rooms they have the category of the rooms so they they will give him any room okay and also for the price it's different it's much better to contact
the travel agency, the company, even if there is some problem, responsibility back to the travel agency, not to the traveler. It protects, so we should know that the travel agency protects the client, protects the traveler.
This is why the company exists, a travel agency exists in here, to protect and to help the traveler to get to his goal, easy and more safe.
speaker-0 (19:28)
By the way, I don't know that we've seen a major brand hotel during our travel. I mean, maybe in Marrakesh, but outside of Marrakesh, I don't think we've seen a single big brand.
speaker-2 (19:41)
No, they're all local. They're local places.
speaker-1 (19:43)
Yeah,
Even in Marrakesh, we went to the locals. Yes. All the hotels, you know? Yeah, there is foreign people, they have the hotels everywhere you go. But all for that, as I said, I try to go to the locals. Even for the owners of the hotel, I use to go to book with locals.
speaker-2 (20:01)
And throughout our trip with you, we have seen that. So not only are you cooperating and working with and benefiting these local hotels, but it's also, like you mentioned, a nomad family or a Berber community or a cooperative where they help. And you knowing those places and allowing us to
visit those places that it can benefit everybody and so I think that's just a great I think you have told us several times. That's just the way I Guess maybe just mention that like how The community share yeah, and they help each other So it's such a big part. I think of the culture that we've seen
speaker-1 (20:44)
to
help each other as I said they try to help each other like we saw in the Nomad family just an example as I said before when the families one of the family is happy all everyone neighbors are happy when someone is sad all the neighbors are sad they share everything and for our according to our business we
Like what we did, we went to Nomad family to visit, to have a tea and after you give them a tip, that tip, can just, I think will not stop us with this family. They can even benefit. If they buy something for that family, if they buy something with your tip, they can share it with the others that they have close to them.
For example, if they have some special dinner, like they have too much meat on that night, you know, they share with everyone that they are around, around them. It's impossible to eat something special and your neighbor, no.
It's impossible to happen here in villages and nomad family. It's kind of a humanity and cooperation that we have in the blood, in the blood since we are in life. So we try to keep it, to try to...
to do that also and we teaching that for our kids to keep it. It's very important. It's very important to share the smile and happiness with everybody and what you have.
speaker-2 (22:19)
And we have really just witnessed that. Not only with you, but just any of the other local guides that you have.
speaker-1 (22:27)
Yeah.
speaker-2 (22:27)
us with
how they interact and how they speak to everybody and it's just it's such a refreshing you just feel it I think in this in the spirit you just feel the cooperation and the helping. So if somebody wants to come and visit Morocco, talk about a minimum amount of time that they need to come and explore with you.
speaker-1 (22:38)
exactly.
How many
days as I said before, minimum 10 days to mix and to care for they can visit the most and the main things in Morocco and to visit and to have a visit in Morocco they need minimum 10 days. 10 days minimum but good it's 13 days you know not like some people they came maybe they don't have time or they don't have idea if they don't have time that's a special situation but
If they don't have an idea, now we want them to receive this information that it's much better when you are coming to Morocco, it's much better to have minimum 10 days for you can visit and to have a real visit and visit to real Morocco.
10 days to 13 days and you can visit the ocean, mountain, desert, valleys, oases to do the activities, different activities that you had saved. So I can say 10 days.
speaker-2 (23:51)
And
that gives you an opportunity to do a couple of cities. But then the places that you have mentioned, some hiking, the desert, the camel ride, different things like that and have a variety. Foxes. But obviously if you have more time, then you can see even more. When should people, when is the best time for people to visit?
speaker-1 (24:13)
Of course.
So the best time, it's much better to come from like September to December and from January to May.
But for June, July, August it's too hot for the people that they want to visit the desert. Okay, southeast of Morocco which is Merzouga Elk should be desert.
It's hot, but we have a best and very good conditions, swimming pool everywhere and air condition. But for people that they have a chance to come another time, it's much better to come in other season, like a different season.
speaker-0 (24:57)
just comment
real quick about the construction of your buildings because we've had some hot days where the temperature got up to you know 27 28 degrees Celsius which I think is somewhere in the 80s Fahrenheit and so it was was hot outside but you walk inside the buildings and it's nice and cool
speaker-1 (25:23)
Yes.
speaker-0 (25:23)
because of the way that
you construct them. You have very thick walls that in the traditional style are made with ⁓ mud and straw. And I don't know, and they have very tall ceilings.
speaker-1 (25:33)
mud, straw, clay and oil.
speaker-0 (25:40)
And so you walk inside and it's just so cool and refreshing. And those spaces aren't even air conditioned. There is air conditioning. So in the hotels and riads that we stay in, there's air conditioning. But inside those other buildings that don't even have air conditioning, it's just cool. It feels nice.
speaker-1 (25:49)
Of course, this is
Yes, because of
the material that we use for the building. As I said before, the mat, clay, and the wood. It's specific and very good. Also, it's opposite for the winter. Winter is cold outside, but inside it's warm. It's made just for that. As we saw in the casbahs in the Dades Valley, where we had lunch with the Sulaiman family.
So there inside you look it looks like like Casbah and inside it's it's cooler than outside.
speaker-0 (26:39)
So I think that's just absolutely amazing. if anybody's thinking about summer in Morocco, it is possible to do. Of course. We're sitting beside this beautiful pool right now. you can spend your day by the pool. Yes.
speaker-1 (26:53)
and the view, the view of the dunes
speaker-0 (26:55)
That's another whole story, but in the evenings when the sun does start to go down, it gets a lot cooler. But then you mentioned that there are places where people might go to during the summer.
speaker-1 (27:09)
of ocean by ocean like ⁓ Sawera, which is about three hours driving from Marrakech, Agadir, Taghazout, which is also one of the famous beaches in Morocco. It's about two hours and a half driving from Marrakech. So we have option in Morocco. We have option for people who want the ocean, the desert, the mountains, also like as we saw before, cyclists.
people by bicycle. So we have this tourism also in Morocco. So Morocco is diversity.
speaker-0 (27:43)
But I think you did say though like the absolute best time is like right now or you know that or just before really so February to the beginning of the first week of March or January to the first week of March.
speaker-1 (27:50)
Yeah.
speaker-0 (28:01)
is probably the most ideal but year round sounds like you can find something to do in Morocco
speaker-1 (28:09)
Yeah, on that time. we have also snow somewhere and they can make it snowboarding. Yeah, snowboarding on that time.
speaker-0 (28:19)
Bring your snowboard because
even if there's no snow you can go down the dunes.
speaker-1 (28:24)
Yeah, yeah, of course. You can use it for sandboarding. Also, we should also mention about the climbing and gorges. And gorges and Todra gorges.
speaker-0 (28:29)
Sandboarding.
So
we saw someone doing rock climbing in the Gorge. No, that's not my hobby. Heights and snakes are two things that I stay away from. yeah, you can do that. lot of cycling. There's a lot of people here doing cycling tours. But this is a...
speaker-1 (28:43)
Actually your hobbies Mr.
speaker-0 (29:00)
We like this particular time because in the Roses Valley, this is the time of year. There's only like six, five, six weeks out of the year where those roses bloom. And we're here during that time, the Damascus Roses.
speaker-1 (29:16)
Yeah, the Damascus Rose in Roses Valley, which is the town of Calat Maguna and it's famous by the festival, Misses of Roses, which is the first week, sometimes first week and second week or second week of May. Okay. And we have the festival with music and also to present the roses product.
from the cooperatives that were like the one that we saw in Roses Valley.
speaker-2 (29:49)
So one of the questions that I got, I asked people, as I've been sharing our trip, what questions do people have about visiting Morocco? And one of the questions that I got was, what if a solo woman traveler wanted to come to Morocco? Is that possible? And what would you recommend for someone who's interested in doing that?
speaker-1 (30:13)
very possible
as I said before so for the women for grop women or single women they she can come when and has a best trip with in safe hand because if as we said as we said before if you contact
travel company, you will never have problems. The responsible is the company all the time. and if the women arrive here in Morocco, she will have many advices from that company, from the company, and will help her to have the best trip in Morocco. There is no problem for women to travel in Morocco.
speaker-0 (30:54)
I mean we felt extremely safe during this trip. Whether we were in Marrakesh or out here in the desert, we felt extremely safe.
speaker-2 (31:04)
Yeah, and but you even told us when we first arrived you had somebody you organized for somebody to pick us up from the airport Take us to the Riyadh. Yeah, the guys at the that checked us in at the Riyadh They recommended a place to eat, but you even messaged us and said Make sure you're in the city. Just keep that in mind Make sure that you basically keep your wits about you and make sure you're aware
But you said it's very different once you get outside of the city. Again, people look out for people.
speaker-1 (31:31)
Of course, course madam, because the city, know, the city is a foreign people, many people, not just locals, you know, so we don't know, we don't know who is good, who is bad, so it's much better to be careful, but I never had the problem with in some city.
Maybe because of the advices that I give to my travelers, they apply that and they respect that. So we never had any problem. And some cases happen sometimes, but not that much danger. If you take the advices, you will never have any problem.
never a in Morocco as I said. Morocco is one of the destinations that is very safe for the people and travelers can prefer Morocco as destination.
speaker-2 (32:15)
Because so much of your economy and so much of the people here rely on tourism and rely on visitors to come as well. So one of the things that we talked about is why somebody would want to book a trip with you. Obviously we talked about some of the mistakes and things like that. And you said it's because it definitely makes it easy.
because we would say, okay, we want to, guess maybe give the example when we started talking to you, we have this amount of time. Tell us what itinerary you would recommend, right? You just made it easy. This is the place.
But obviously if somebody had an idea of, okay, I want to do these things, they could tell you that too, and then you would build the itinerary around. So in addition to that, what else, if somebody wants to book a trip with you, what else would be helpful for you to know to help them plan that trip?
speaker-1 (33:11)
Okay, first we ask about how many people, how many persons there are, okay, and how many days they prefer to have, but also we can help them to to tell them about how many days is much better to have if they want.
And we try, the most time we try to give them the whole trip that including as I said, desert, mountains, all the Medina, Marrakesh, Fes, the famous and also some valleys, you know, to mix to have the diversity in their trip and to enjoy it.
If the traveler suggests us his program, we can make some changes in his program and give him better program. But most of they accept, know, because they know that we are in Morocco and we know better about what is good for them. So they choose our program. So as I said before, 10 days is good and it's good program and we can visit the most important things in Morocco.
For the and depends also depends on the of the budget of the travelers We we ask them about what category of the accommodation they want? Four categories five categories because for four I am telling I am saying that's four or five because to be comfortable trip we have category three three stars or two stars, but it's you know, they
have it but it's not that that comfortable trip for them. It's much better for that I advise our travelers and everyone want to travel to Morocco to choose four or five stars to have a comfortable trip.
speaker-2 (34:58)
And that's
where you're going to get, mentioned we've had air conditioned. If we've needed it, you have heat, you have all these things. And that's what you'll get in that category. Restaurants at the locations and then just everything, every place that we have stayed at has been unique, but just beautiful. So the design that you think of when you think of Morocco, local materials, that's what you're going to get.
speaker-1 (35:23)
Of course,
so it will have with this with this conditions they will have a very very good time and they will enjoy their their holiday. Of course.
speaker-2 (35:34)
And fantastic service. The
other thing I would say about accepting your itinerary, accepting your program, 100%. Because if you think, oh, I just want to go see this city, you'll miss out on what you said at the very beginning. You'll miss out on the real Morocco if you just go to the places that you have seen in pictures or that you've
speaker-1 (35:59)
For social media, for the famous and social media areas, that's different than the real Morocco. So as I said before, it's much better to contact the company to give you the real Morocco, the real visit and real trip for you can meet the locals and meet the real culture of Morocco.
speaker-0 (36:21)
I would say that anybody that's like, ⁓ I don't want to go to someone's house you have to. I for me, I made a post the other day that said, pictures were a thousand words, but the real experience with someone, the interaction with them is worth 10,000.
words right yeah and you just can't compare those two things and so for me I would say yeah go have that cup of tea with the the Nomad family
speaker-1 (36:53)
Yeah.
Yeah, is, as I said, this is the very good and the best and the real visit in Morocco. Not just to choose what you've seen in the social media to go to this place, this place. No, you should come and test that with the locals and have a communication with the locals and the locals take you to the right and the best places to enjoy real Morocco.
speaker-2 (37:21)
And having said that, you're still gonna go to the palace in Marrakesh. You're still going to go into the markets and the soaks. And you're still gonna, and you recommend, now we are not traveling to Shefchaouen, but you love to take people to Shefchaouen because it's beautiful. So you're still gonna go to those places, but you're gonna get all the other experiences as well. So I wanna say too, if you,
If you have questions about Morocco, traveling to Morocco, you of course can always reach out to Scott and myself. But then also, Mustafa, how can they find you and just keep up with your travelers and your experiences? Where can they look you up?
speaker-1 (38:02)
for the travelers to contact.
to contact our company. It's easy from the recommendations of travelers of companies like you. By you they can contact us. Also we have recommendations from other travelers. Also by our website. From our website we have our WhatsApp number which makes it more easy to contact and to have the answer
quickly and to have what you want quickly. Not like for me now, I try to all the time when I receive some email from travelers, I try to ask them to go to contact me by WhatsApp. know, it make it more easy and I can understand what you want exactly and you will understand what I am telling you and what is the program and you will understand me in one second. Instead to take time, you will understand your
trip and where you are going and whom you are talking with.
Yes. So it's much better. Buy a website and then WhatsApp, Instagram also. Instagram has also the videos, the real videos of our company for me and my travelers and also the recommendation of our travelers. So now to contact our company it's easy and you know...
from to have the general idea about our company it's easy from our website and the TripAdvisor which is with our travelers feedback.
speaker-0 (39:40)
and that website is moroccoadventures.com
speaker-1 (39:44)
Yes sir, yes thank you. It's at moroccoadventures.com
speaker-2 (39:45)
and Instagram is the same as well.
Yes, that's right. Say it one more time.
speaker-1 (39:54)
Our Instagram
is at moroccoadventures.com
speaker-0 (39:59)
Thank you guys. Well Mostafa, I think we'll let you get back to your family. We thank you for coming out tonight and sitting with us by this gorgeous pool. We look forward to the rest of the trip.
speaker-1 (40:09)
Thank you sir.
of course, we're going to enjoy it together for the rest of the days. Thank you for this interview and you are welcome and happy to welcome you and to enjoy the time with us and to leave the real Morocco with us. Thank you, Madam Melissa and Mr. Scott and thank you for Sunshine Travelers.
Scott Barronton (40:31)
so coming out of that conversation, well, so there's a few things that really stood out to me. And the first is how much emphasis Mustafa puts on experiencing Morocco beyond just what you see online. It's really easy to build a trip around Marrakesh, maybe Fez, maybe a desert camp and feel like you've seen Morocco, but what he kept coming back to and what he showed us,
and I think that's what we felt so far every single day on this trip. Whether it has been sitting down for tea in the camp of a no-band family, getting to hold their lamb and interact a little bit with their their son as he went and got the baby.
sharing a meal with a traditional Berber family and getting to hike with him and then having him tell me, my mother's so excited, this is the first time that we have done this and getting to be invited into their home, learning how bread is made and how absolutely important that is to them. And even like I mentioned before, just asking questions throughout the day. You don't get that if you're just moving from hotel to hotel.
own or even from place to place on your own. It would just leave you wondering about so many things. We also met one couple from London that was doing this trip on their own. And when we talked to them, it really seemed like that they had a checklist and that they were checking things off. And they did mention to me, well, we like to kind of travel in our own pace and do our own thing. But I honestly feel like with Morocco, the culture.
the traditions, the people are so much a part of what you experience, not just here's this valley, here's this hike, look at this gorge. It is about the people and their lives. And I don't know, I think that's just such a big part of it, just then seeing the sights.
I think the other thing that stood out to me was the timing and how much time you need to plan in visiting Morocco that 10 to 13 day range seems to be really important because if you try to compress this into like five or six days you're gonna miss the diversity that makes Morocco so interesting it's gonna be more on that check checklist you know checking things off as you go
the mountains, the desert, the valleys, the coast, we did seven days, but there were things that we didn't get to see. and our purpose for being here was to validate that this would be a good group trip destination. we knew from the beginning that we were not going to see everything, that we weren't going to spend as much time as we.
really wanted or needed here, but it was more about vetting out Morocco adventures and seeing all the different places that they would take us, the types of accommodations, and those type of things. So we had a really different purpose for being here.
And honestly, Scott, even with the time that we've had, you know, even though that we had a full week and we did see such a variety of landscapes and places, there's obviously still so much more that we could do. So many more cities that we could visit, other towns and destinations, and then also just have relaxing time.
So the drive going from the desert back into Fez is gonna be a really long day because we needed to shorten the trip. Normally they break that up and there would be a stop in between.
The other big takeaway for me is just how much easier this has been having everything coordinated locally. And I really just don't even know that we could have done this because it's not like going on booking.com and booking a room. I mean, I imagine you probably could do some of that, but there was so much coordination I take the desert as an example.
we needed a four-wheel drive vehicle to get us out to where we got onto the camel. And then we needed the camel to take us to the camp. And then we needed a four-wheel drive vehicle to come pick us back up and all of these different things that needed to be coordinated, including the camp itself, And so I couldn't imagine trying to do all of that on my own.
The hotels, the transportation, all the guides, this has been seamless throughout the trip for us. And that's not something we always say because we plan a lot of trips on our own. Most of this trip that we're doing, the three months, it's us planning every piece of this. Now we're pretty good at it and we know a lot of the things that need to be there.
But in a place like Morocco, I think that was really important to have someone local helping us. Because in some of these places, they don't speak English. They speak the Berber language. And that's not something that we know. Yes, that and then the Moroccan Arabic. Also, you know, a lot of them also speak French as well. And so the communication.
would definitely be an issue. But I also want to say too, like you mentioned, getting to the desert, getting to the four wheel drive, going in some of those places that let's even say you rented a car. Like you wouldn't be able to do that unless you then hired somebody else. Because I can't imagine being able to do those things. And then of course, like you mentioned, having tea at the Nomad's family's camp.
⁓ having the meals with the families and also just the little things like he's always coordinating. The guide was waiting there for us. he's coordinating the whole time because who knows exactly what our timing would be. And we had somebody there waiting with a rose for me, at the airport and
just all these little bitty things, the gods were waiting. And I guess that's we should say that to. And like you mentioned, we are gonna talk about this in another episode, a lot more details. But Mustafa also, it wasn't like he's the guide for every single thing because he's not the expert. He's the expert in what he's the expert in. And so then when you go to that area and do that hike, he's got somebody else waiting for you. When you go to the Kasbah, he's got somebody he knows, trust.
ready to take you on the tour. Also in Marrakesh, somebody who knows Marrakesh and the history and all that inside and out, that's the person that takes you there. And so coordinating all those, we didn't have to do any of that. And honestly, it's like you mentioned, it's almost better because they work with these people day in and day out. You're probably going to get a better deal anyway. And it benefits everybody in the whole network.
Yeah, and we talked a little bit about this, but like the brands that you're familiar with or that we're familiar with in the States, they're either non-existent or they're not in the places where you want to be. And so, trying to just jump on your Marriott app and booking a hotel, you might be able to do that.
then it's way somewhere else and not in the places where where you would want it to be so and not to mention you're just gonna miss out on the fantastic localness of what these riyadhs and places are I have not seen a chain hotel no I haven't seen one but I think that there are some
I think they do exist, but they're just not where we were. so, and I would strongly say that you want to be in the places that we were at. These were the great places.
And so we talk about these guides and I think about Soleimane who, you know, is someone that Mustafa knew from working in the hotel. So he works at the hotel that Mustafa likes to use. And so that's where he met Soleimane, found out that Soleimane does the guides for the local hikes.
⁓ in that Monkey Fingers Canyon. And so that's who he paired us with. And so, that's just, that's not something that you could pick up easily and do yourself.
For sure, this is one of those destinations where I would not want to do that, which is what we have always said about going to Morocco. And it's not because you can't, because you would just miss too much. I can only imagine if we had just, like, I don't know, even tried to drive ourselves, found these places, maybe stop and hire a guide on the spot, but you wouldn't have gotten the best.
of the best, the vetted people that he knows. And then like we keep saying, those experiences that have made this trip so rich so far.
Well, if Morocco's on your bucket list, I think the takeaway here is pretty simple. Give yourself the time and think about how you want to experience it. And when you're ready, let us help you with your planning.
If there's one thing that we've learned on this trip, it's that Morocco rewards curiosity. The more you're willing to step outside of what you've seen online, the more this destination is gonna give back to you. And that's really what we're trying to help you do with these episodes. Not just find places to go, but understand how to experience them in a way that actually stays with you. If Morocco is something you've been thinking about,
or even if this episode just sparked your interest, we'd be happy to help you think through what a trip like this could look like. Or let us know if you're interested because we're starting to plan right now a group trip for early 2027, probably in the February to early March.
timeframe. And so just reach out, let us know, send us an email and we'd be happy to help you with that. You can also reach out to us through Sunshine Travelers experiences through our website and we'll also include Mustafa's information in the show notes so that you can learn more about Morocco adventures. Thanks for joining us and as always, the world is full of sunshine and surprises.
Make this the year that you explore beyond the familiar.
Speaker 1 (51:12)
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Speaker 1 (51:37)
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Speaker 2 (51:47)
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