Private Tours for Casablanca and Agadir

[sawbone]

Omar's email is on a posting just before this one. He doesn't have a website yet but he is working on one.

[seacrcsvz]

Mary (Mclim) - looks like you are already arranging a tour with Omar for your friends on April 11, the day we will be in Casablanca, so that's out for us. Better luck next time.

Marion (MParis184) - you mentioned you did a private tour from Agadir to Taroudant, which is exactly what we want to do. With three kids in tow, I think a private guide is the way to go. Do you happen to remember who you did this tour with? I have a referal already for a guide, but it is from someone who went quite a few years back, so I don't know how reliable this fellow is now. Much better ro have a recent referral, I think. Can you tell me how long the car trip was? I know you can stop and see the goats in the trees, etc but I still don't want too long of a trip with the kids (my kids, not the baby goats- heehee). Thanks

Sarah

[heathero]

Hi all,

We have just got back from the Jade (26th Feb - 7th March) and we had a lovely time in Agadir. My original arrangements was with Abdou, but he had an exam on the day, so arranged for Hassan, a licensed professional tour guide, with many years experience to take his place.

 

The Coach was very nice and new, would take 17 passengers, plus the driver and the guide up front, with out those silly jump seats. There was only 12 of us so plenty of space.

 

Hassan was very careful, warned us what to do and what not to do (take peoples photos, leave your valuables on show) and manoeuvred himself between the group and any local hassle we got. He was very knowledgeable and we learnt all about the unemployed and their hand bags, ok, we did not correct his English, just sounded nicer all the men carrying their tools in handbags.

　

But there was room for improvement. He was very proud of his new mini bus with microphone, so we could all hear, but it did not need to be at full volume.

 

When we visited the souk’s, we commented about the chance to shop, what we would have liked was a chance to shop in the souk’s and not as he promised us a trip to the local Berber market (carpet shop) with inflated prices. Shopping in the souk’s would have been nicer, but we may have problems with currency and language barriers. Some of the group wanted a ride on a Camel, so Hassan took us to a stable in Agadir, but I think Abdou was going to take us to the Camel's at the Kasbah, which would have been much nicer.

 

Abdou’s email address in souss.tours@yahoo.com and his web page is www.sousstours.c.la

But overall it was a lovely day and cannot thank Abdou enough for arranging it for us.

　

Heather

[loum140]

Just returned from Oceania Cruise -- thanks Mary (Mclim) for recommending Omar. Casablanca tour was wonderful. He was a little delayed picking us up as port entrance was blocked by a freight train and local Casblanca taxi drivers were...well, "over-anxious" in their attempts to grab us up. We were thankful to see Omar ride to our rescue. Yes, other passengers did take the local taxis and were quite satisfied with a shorter city tour for less money than we paid, but we had arranged for a 5-hr. tour including a stop at Rick's Cafe for drinks and all was as promised. Can heartily recommend Omar. Marsha

[Mparis184]

Marsha - thanks for getting back to us. Glad your tour worked out well. Did you get out of the main part of the city at all? What was your tour itinerary and what were the highlights of your tour? Any stops not worth the effort that can be skipped?

 

What was his charge pp for the tour and how many people were in your group. What type of transportation did he have? Sorry for so many questions. Before I book with a guide I like all the information I can gather ahead of time.

 

Many thanks!

 

Marion

[loum140]

Marsha - thanks for getting back to us. Glad your tour worked out well. Did you get out of the main part of the city at all? What was your tour itinerary and what were the highlights of your tour? Any stops not worth the effort that can be skipped?

 

What was his charge pp for the tour and how many people were in your group. What type of transportation did he have? Sorry for so many questions. Before I book with a guide I like all the information I can gather ahead of time.

 

Many thanks!

 

Marion

 

Marion:

 

Omar's price per person was based on "high season", but it dropped as we added more people. We started with 5, but finally booked for 15 from our cruise and he provided a lovely, new a/c Mercedes van. The itinerary was Mohamed V Square (not that impressive - just a photo stop), magnificent Hassan II Mosque with inside visit (1 hr inside tour + 1/2 hr outside) Corniche and Anfa district drive, Old Market, Habbous and souks, then to Rick's Cafe for a drink.

 

We did not get out of the city proper as it was a very short port stop for us. Also, we were operating on ship's time, which was one hour later than Casablanca time (long story -- don't ask) so we had to keep a sharp eye on the time. City traffic was very heavy. As we were short on time, we did not stop along the Corniche, but this is a lovely beach promonade with nice cafes and pony rides. Anfa district was like any other upscale neighborhood (could be skipped) I'm not into shopping, but the others enjoyed visiting the souks. Though not the "real" Rick's Place (it only ever existed on a sound stage in Hollywood) for nostalgia buffs, this really was pretty cool. It's decorated just like you remember it from the movie, which is always playing on a big screen TV in the upstairs bar. They're open for lunch and drinks 12 noon to 3 p.m., then for dinner. The Mosque is a must-see with Rick's as a great 2nd best.

 

If you contact Omar for a quote, you can mention that we recommended him (April 1 visit). Marsha :)

[verga]

Thanks for the trip report!

[anonymousegirl]

I am interested in figuring out what there is to see and do in Casablanca and Agadir, as DH and I will be there Nov 2010 on Crystal Serenity.

 

I was hoping to be able to see either Marrakesh or Fes, as they are much more historic than Casa and Agadir seems like a beach resort.

 

We are docked in Casa from 8am-5pm which really only gives us 8 useable hours here, and Agadir is 11 useable hours (9am-9pm).

 

crystal does not have there shore excursions up yet unfortunately.

[sneffles]

Really not much to see in Casa except the mosque. I suggest you hop a train and visit Rabat. It has a nice medina and is not congested and polluted like Casa. Sale across the river from Rabat also is interesting.

Agadir: typical tourist city and not representative of Morocco at all. Too bad you don't have time to visit Marrakech!

[Mparis184]

Did anyone on this thread go with Omar on his tour in Casablanca/Rebat? We are looking for a guide for our port stop in January on the Oceania Marina.

 

I am hoping someong has some recommendations for us.

 

Many thanks,

 

Marion

[jotabecu]

Did anyone on this thread go with Omar on his tour in Casablanca/Rebat? We are looking for a guide for our port stop in January on the Oceania Marina.

 

I am hoping someong has some recommendations for us.

 

Many thanks,

 

Marion

 

 

I just came back from a tour with Omar in Marrakech and am fully satisfied. There were 11 of us from the Ocean Princess and he was able to fit us all in a nice air conditioned Mercedes Van (it was pretty hot).

He lives in Marrakech and was able to field our questions and reply with good information.

He will do tours for Rabat and Casablanca.

I was very happy with his services, octours@gmail.com

[Mparis184]

I just came back from a tour with Omar in Marrakech and am fully satisfied. There were 11 of us from the Ocean Princess and he was able to fit us all in a nice air conditioned Mercedes Van (it was pretty hot).

He lives in Marrakech and was able to field our questions and reply with good information.

He will do tours for Rabat and Casablanca.

I was very happy with his services, octours@gmail.com

 

 

Many thanks - I will contact him and see what we can arrange for January.

[seacrcsvz]

We also hired Abdou from Souss tours (post #53) for our trip, which he contracted to his friend Hassan with the new Mercedes van since he already had a tour booked with Mary (see earlier in this post). We had a fabulous day with Hassan, leaving Casablanca and heading out to Tarroudant. We were able to stop along the way and see the goats in the trees (no babies to hold, unfortunately due to the timing but that was still fine). We stopped in the old town, climbed on the town walls, and had some great views. On route to the town, we stopped for a refreshment in a great restaurant, and also put in our orders for lunch. We then spent a bit of time in the market, but actually we were happy to get out (the sales people were quite pushy, we found, and with kids in tow it was a bit chaotic and stressful). The kids enjoyed seeing the snake charmers in the market (be sure to get some small coins to tip them - if you take a picture or touch their snakes they expect a tip, and with three kids, we gave out a lot of tips). Then we headed back to the restaurant for lunch (fabulous!) - the kids loved seeing the goats and turtles roaming freely around the restaurant and we much appreciated a sit down and cold drink! Then we headed back to Casablanca stopping at the Argan Oil factory en route. For those of you who know nothing about Argan oil, look it up online, but it is truly worth a stop (their products are amazing - particularly loved the apple body spray and the chocolate essence oil-, and the healthy benefits are great). Then we stopped at the old Kasbah and saw the views, rode the camels, etc. It was a bit of a whirlwind day, but a huge success with everyone on the tour (we had 7 kids (ages 3 to 15), and 8 adults)! I would definately recommend this to anyone who is going to Casablanca in the future! Hassan can be reached through Abdou, and once I get organized with my unpacking (we are in the process of moving) I will post his personal information as well.

[Mparis184]

Marion:

 

Omar's price per person was based on "high season", but it dropped as we added more people. We started with 5, but finally booked for 15 from our cruise and he provided a lovely, new a/c Mercedes van. The itinerary was Mohamed V Square (not that impressive - just a photo stop), magnificent Hassan II Mosque with inside visit (1 hr inside tour + 1/2 hr outside) Corniche and Anfa district drive, Old Market, Habbous and souks, then to Rick's Cafe for a drink.

 

We did not get out of the city proper as it was a very short port stop for us. Also, we were operating on ship's time, which was one hour later than Casablanca time (long story -- don't ask) so we had to keep a sharp eye on the time. City traffic was very heavy. As we were short on time, we did not stop along the Corniche, but this is a lovely beach promonade with nice cafes and pony rides. Anfa district was like any other upscale neighborhood (could be skipped) I'm not into shopping, but the others enjoyed visiting the souks. Though not the "real" Rick's Place (it only ever existed on a sound stage in Hollywood) for nostalgia buffs, this really was pretty cool. It's decorated just like you remember it from the movie, which is always playing on a big screen TV in the upstairs bar. They're open for lunch and drinks 12 noon to 3 p.m., then for dinner. The Mosque is a must-see with Rick's as a great 2nd best.

 

If you contact Omar for a quote, you can mention that we recommended him (April 1 visit). Marsha :)

 

Marsha - can you explain the ships time situation to me. We will take a Casablanca/Rabat tour and I am concerned about having enough time to fit in everything. If we will be short of time because of different clock times we might have to make some changes to our itinerary. I will have to gewt this all straight before we arrive in Casablanca. I want to make certain we get picked up and dropped off according to the ships time. Our first stop is the Mosque in Casablanca. They only have one English speaking tour at 9AM. If the times are different we might miss the tour.....

 

Thanks!

 

Marion

[sneffles]

I don't know how long your stop is in Casa, but if at all possible, visit Rabat or Marrakech if you want to experience the "real" Morocco. Casa is crowded, polluted and the only thing really worth seeing is the mosque. It is a shame people visit only Casa and think they have seen Morocco.

The souks in Rabat or adjacent Sale are laid back and interesting, as is the city itself. Marrakech is a world-class experience if you have time. Years ago our cruise had a half-day bus tour to Marrakech and it was wonderful and worth the high cost.