Moorish Spain to Marrakech by rail

COUNTRY:
Morocco, Spain
DEPARTURES:
2012: 20 Sep, 4 Oct, 18 Oct, 1 Nov, 20 Dec
2013: 7 Feb, 21 Feb, 21 Mar, 4 Apr
PRICE:
From US $1150 - US $1410 (11 days) excluding flights
MORE INFO:
Single supplement $150.
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Moorish Spain to Marrakech by rail

Moorish Spain to Marrakech by rail

How this vacation makes a difference

This is one of our rail journeys, where most of the traveling undertaken is by train. This means we are able to interact with the local people and by using the local trains, we can also provide income for the local communities.

In Morocco, we use the local guides in the medinas of the cities that we stay in. These local guides provide us with intimate local knowledge about their culture and lifestyles otherwise unnoticed unless pointed out. This gives us the chance to really see and we use locally owned hotels and have lots of contact with the local people. We use local guides at all sites and can help the local economy by purchasing items made by the local people at markets and shops.

As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost.

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Story of the vacation provider

This small group operator is just celebrating its 30th year and was originally set up to enrich people’s lives through adventure travel. The directors have roots in overland trucking and are determined to keep a pioneering spirit alive. They believe what sets them apart is the strong relationships they’ve developed with local suppliers and tour guides over the years. A tour leader who thinks creatively can turn a good experience into a fantastic one and open up a place so that travelers gain insight into a completely different way of life. They operate in many different countries and try to avoid a blanket approach – their aim is to get customers involved in the projects they visit and to forge lifelong friendships.

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Vacation provider no: 276

Moorish Spain to Marrakech by rail

Reviewed 23 Apr 2009 by Miriam O'Keeffe4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?


Trekking in High Atlas mountains; ferry across from Algeciras to Tangiers; the Medina in Fez; Semana Santa in Malaga.

2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?


Read your guidebook in advance - sometimes it was hard keeping all the info from the guides straight and we got lots of different versions of what stuff was/ meant etc. Be prepared to carry luggage up and down steps a lot and lift it up and down from high racks on the trains. The hotels were very very basic. No hot water in Fez a lot of the time. Food can be pretty samey - especially the breakfasts - lots and lots and lots of bread!

3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


It benefited local guides, hotels etc in Morocco. I would have liked to have had a female guide to get a different perspective. We passed the school where the tour operator are sponsoring two girls which was interesting. I think the train travel definitely had a minimal impact. Also guide quite often had us walk between station and hotels, sending our luggage ahead in a taxi - which minimised the number of minibuses/taxis we used (and probably had more to do with keeping the tour operator’s costs down than the environment!) We did eat in quite a few local restaurants, out of the way spots which was lovely.

4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?


A lovely varied experience. Lots of travel and things to do and see.

Reviewed 08 Oct 2008 by Raymond Alderton5 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?


Seeing the different places and cultures. The optional trips to volubilis and high Atlas Mountains were very good.

2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?


Enjoy the trips make the most of the time available.

3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


Appreciate the use of local guides and smaller hotels. No noticeable effect on environment but also no noticeable efforts to minimise effects and having guided tours that lead you into shops should benefit the shops but when most of the group are tired due to the traveling due to late trains they are less likely to buy anyway particularly if high value items offered eg carpets and pottery.

4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?


Very good. I would say an extra day in the itinerary somewhere would allow a bit of breathing time especially if trains were late which apparently they do run late quite a bit.

Reviewed 29 Sep 2008 by Lucia Brusati4 star rating

1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your vacation?


The train journeys, the excursion to volubilis roman town.

2. What tips would you give other travelers booking this vacation?


Although this vacation doesn't require any trekking it is a quite demanding one for the train journeys and walking tours with no time to rest.

3. Did you feel that your vacation benefited local people, and minimized impacts on the environment?


Yes, we have used family run hotels and minimise taxi rides and of course this vacation is by train and ferry with no internal flights.

4. Finally, how would you rate your vacation overall?


Great for cultural contrasts and for unusual itinerary but quite tiring.
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Vacation Reviews

We invite every traveler who books a vacation via us to send in a review. Because we don't run the vacations they're completely independent and unedited... remember to read between the lines though, as two people on the same vacation can have different views!

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