Cities of Morocco budget tour

Planet

On this tour in Morocco, to help protect the environment, we avoid any domestic flights and the associated CO2 emissions. We have also designed some city tours to be conducted on foot as much as possible and reduce the amount of driving each day.

Drinking water and the waste associated by single use plastic water bottles is something we are working hard on in Morocco as well as other destinations. All travelers are encouraged to bring their own refillable water bottles and we are rolling out a program of providing large water canisters in our vehicles on group tours to take refills from. We are also offering water filtering bottles to travelers, all of which can vastly reduce waste generated by our customers both during the tour and on an ongoing basis.

Our Moroccan guides are strict in monitoring and preventing littering to protect the sites we visit and waste bins are provided in all vehicles.

Morocco is a country which has become famous for its ruins and aged old places of worship. As part of our pre tour briefings we mention the effect that we as humans could cause in terms of touching or attempting to break pieces of these old artifacts for souvenir purposes. We also encourage travelers when entering these aged old places of worship to take care of where the step and to always follow the tour guide’s instructions diligently.

People

In Morocco, we visit a couple of carefully selected local shops during most tours, where travelers can learn about the way the locals produce and use Argan Oil, saffron, rose-water, leather, or metalwork. All products sold in these shops are sourced from the surrounding local communities.

We use only Moroccan guides, as we feel they can provide both historical information and more insight into modern day Morocco and culture than international tour leaders. Most hotels used are locally owned, including the desert camps we use at Erg Chebbi.

To provide a more in depth experience of Moroccan culture, we take time to explore many of the towns and cities included on the tour by foot. This not only reduces our carbon impact but also allows us to explore local towns more and interact with the local population. By exploring on foot it does also allow us to make stops in local restaurants and shops where money spent helps to contribute towards the local economy.

We also try to consider the social and cultural aspects of the local community and how to respect the customs and traditions of its inhabitants. Our tour notes will provide advance information on dress codes and particular local customs, and our guides will expand on this in their explanations during the tour. This means we can create valuable and rewarding opportunities for our travelers and allow local people to mingle and exchange ideas and thoughts without causing any unintended offence.