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Info in Agadir, please


Canuker

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My wife and I were in Agadir in December 2007, while on a Celebrity Trans Atlantic.

 

We originally had an excursion booked through the ship, but cancelled it. We along with another two couples hired two taxis for the day. Hiring a taxi cost 25 Euros (per person) for a three hour tour (insert Gilligan's Island joke here).

 

We went to go to a Hammam (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammam), a souk, the mosque, a cafe and restaurant. In total we toured for about eight hours, for a total of 50 Euros each.

 

It really depends on how adventurous you are

 

When we spoke to our table mates we were glad that we went on our own. They felt very rushed and only got to see very touristy things.

 

If you have some more specific questions please feel free to ask.

 

Cheers

 

Jared

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Henry - As noted on other threads on this board, if you have enough time it is much better to go to Taroudant than to spend much time in the rather dreary city of Agadir. I don't think a taxi would likely work for that, though. After sorting out the arrangements, we had good luck with our guide & driver provided by TangierTours. Perhaps Moroccanguy or Agadirgirl (hmm, sounds suspiciously like they might be related...) has some ideas for guides in the Adadir/Taroudant area. It has not been easy to find guides in Morocco on these boards, resulting in many of us using TangierTours, with generally good reports (although a few hiccups have certainly occurred). Good luck. Fred

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moroccanguy,

 

Do you agree with Freddie that Taroudant is a better use of time than touring Agadir. Our ship leaves a 4PM so we'd have to be back by 3 or so. With an hour dive each way, will that leave us enough time to enjoy Taroudant? thanks.

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Hi there Wripro,

 

Yes I agree with Freddie. Taroudant is very much worth the two hour drive both ways. You will have up to 5 hours in town if you leave the port early, and that would be about time to see the main attractions in Taroudant. It is small enough to explore and is all within the 5 mile long wall that surrounds it.

On the other hand, if you choose to tour in Agadir, you will save an extra couple of hours but you might find it boring and too modern. And you will also would keep your fingers crossed and hope that your taxi driver would be kind enough and not take you to his friend's or relatives' shops and practice the "hard sell" technique on you.

Well to summarize it all:

-Taroudant: real Morocco, authentic, cultural, less hassle, few tourists, not expensive, friendly people, etc..

-Agadir: beach resort, modern, touristy, more expensive, more hassle (especially from shop keepers)

But after all, I am not saying that Agadir is not worth visiting, it is, and I like it (having lived in Agadir for about 4 years now). I am just trying to show that Taroudant is the place to go for people wanting a cultural experience, and a true feeling of Morocco.

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Moroccanguy,

 

Thanks so much for the feedback. Looks like Taroudant is the best option. One more quick question if I may. Can I get a taxi and/or guide to take me there and back at the dock in Agadir or do I need to book someone in advance? And if so, can you recommend someone? Again, thanks.

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Henry - If you use SoussTours, please post about your experience with them. I visited their website and found their prices for a day trip to Taroundant to be much better than TangierTours.

 

You might want to consider springing for lunch at Palais Salam in Taroudant, though, rather than the "family" lunch offered by SoussTours. The Palais Salam Hotel is the former palace of the Pasha of Taroudant and is absolutely delightful - a marvelous haven of quiet and cool fountains right in the middle of the old city. We had an excellent lunch in the beautiful courtyard - delicious lamb and chicken tagines - for around $16-20 per person. We invited our driver and guide to join us as our guests. They were happy to do so and became our "experts" on the local menu.

 

If the "family" lunch is included in the tour price, I would suggest just doing the Palais Salam lunch as an add-on and allowing the guide service to keep whatever portion of the fare represented the "family" lunch. That way, everyone stays even and you get a better lunch, as well as the chance to visit the most elaborately decorated building in Taroundant.

 

Have fun. Cheers, Fred

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Moroccanguy and Freddie,

 

I have booked with Sousstours for Taroudant and asked him to arrange lunch at the Palais Salam. Thank you both for your help in turning Agadir into a port which I am now very much looking forward to.

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Some tour companies use unofficial guides to keep the price down, we had this problem last time we visited Agadir. If you are stopped by the tourist police and your guide is not official, you will be arrested as well and may miss the boat. Always ask to see official government ID badge before you use the company's services.

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allangraham,

 

You are totally wrong. And here are some facts about guides in Morocco:

1- Tour companies are not allowed to use unofficial guides. They are not allowed also to use cars with a steering wheel on the right side of the car, or one that has a foreign registration plate.

2- According to the law, If someone works as a guide without the appropriate documents, he will have to pay a fine of 600 Dirhams. He will not be arrested, neither will the people using him.

3- People who have University degrees in a foreign language (e,g: English) can be English-speaking tour guides as their degree is the equivalent of a guiding licence.

4- 42% of official guides in Morocco did not, or had only primary education. Only 16% have finished University education. The rest had courses for a year (regional guides) or two years (national guides) in tourism in the "Institution du Tourisme" in Tangiers.

 

Hopefully next time you pop up on forums like this one, make sure you come up with some correct information.

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Two friends of mine who work in the tourist industry in Morocco, both confirm that to be classed as an official guide you have to register with the government.

One of my friends is Moroccan working for Med Hotels (MTS) the other is the Thompson's area Manager in Agadir. They also stated that according to Government figures 34% of guides in Morocco are working unofficially (not registered).

When I said the guide would be arrested, I meant he and his party would be taken to the police station and questioned, (yes the guide would be fined) and this would possibly make them late for there sailing.

The original post was meant to enlighten people to the possible dangers of booking private excursions rather than booking the ship organised one.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Hi, as a previous poster has asked, how does one get from the port to the town of Agadir? How far is it to walk? What is there to do there on your own? We've been to Touradant and would like to see something else. Any suggestions?

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  • 5 weeks later...

Anybody here used Morocco Discovery Tours (Graham & Lyndsey Knight - an English couple) out of Ajadir for a Taroudant tour? I see on a roll call a couple months before our Jade cruise that they are using them, so must have heard about them somewhere. Anybody have any first hand information?

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Lauraneill- If you are still reading this board, could you please email your info on Agadir to me: lambs2@earthlink.net

Thank you.

 

Still very curious about anyone's experiences with Graham & Lyndsey Knight's tour company in Ajadir - Morocco Discovery Tours ?

 

I am arranging a tour to Taroudant through them for our roll call and want to make absolutely certain that they use a government registered tour guide!!!!

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