Surfing, Hiking, Mountain Climbing and More: Morocco is Easier Than Ever for Adventures!

Azdean Elmoustaquim (00:02)
Welcome back to another amazing episode of Destination Morocco podcast. And in today's episode, we'll welcome back Ted. We really, really appreciate you being in the episodes with us. We're very grateful for your time, your insight and your help. And today's episode is really, really different and very special. Would you please share with the guests what we're going to be talking about today?

Ted Cragg (Producer) (00:14)
That's fun.

⁓ Sure. Well, it's a bit of a new topic. We want to talk cover some adventure travel in Morocco so things like ⁓ Climbing trekking rock climbing surfing ATV and quad biking that kind of thing Lots of different options and I think you can tell us more about I think Morocco is becoming more and more known as a destination for all of these activities Yeah

Azdean Elmoustaquim (00:47)
Absolutely. Absolutely, Ted. Yep.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (00:51)
So this logistics to write of what kind of equipment people need and how they can fit some of these activities into an itinerary You know, do you need like but to add a few extra days for instance, or can you fit it in? we'll go over some of those ⁓ logistic stuff, too Yeah, suppose the most ⁓ Probably the most well-known or famous place as far as tracking well for starters

Azdean Elmoustaquim (01:08)
Perfect.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (01:17)
Maybe trekking itself is probably the most well-known thing to do in terms of outdoor kind of activities. lot of that comes back to the Atlas Mountains and Mount Toubkal is the highest mountain there, which isn't that far from Marrakesh. I'll bring it up on my map here, but yeah. So how far is that from, yeah, from Marrakesh?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (01:30)
Russia.

From Marrakesh, you get to it through Imleel village, which is in the outskirts of Marrakesh. I would say it's about an hour, ⁓ give or take an hour and 30 minute drive. And then from the village, ⁓ you can climb to the top, do the ascent, then explore the mountain, then do the descent.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (01:58)
Yeah. Wow.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (02:00)
Again, yeah,

but I'll explain the details To do it can be done in many different ways. It can be part of a complete itinerary. For example, starting from Marrakesh or Casablanca, going through the southern part and the northern part of Morocco, then you come into the World's East Side to Marrakesh and to Imlil, or it can be just a day trip from Marrakesh to...

to Imlil and Toubkal. Normally when you get to Imlil, ⁓ we recommend spending the night in Imlil, ⁓ at the village. There's many places that you can stay there. then when you go with us, this is what comes with the package. You'll have your own chef ⁓ going with you because you need somebody to go with you to the summit. And then it comes with a local guide.

that guides you through the summit. Then you'll have a mule and a person in charge of everything that you put in the mule because to carry all that stuff it's pretty heavy. So you have two or three people that are traveling with you to the summit. before getting to the summit you travel from Imlil village to the base camp. I call it base camp because the term is very familiar to a lot of people and that's where you're going to spend the night.

And then you wake up in, you between the base camp and Imlil, would say it's probably about two and a half, three hours. And then from there to the summit, takes, it depends on your pace. takes probably about four hours to six hours. then you explore the summit and so forth. Then the descent, it's a little bit quicker because it's less resistance.

you can either go back to the base or you can go back all the way to to emulate spend the nights and then go back to marrakech whatever your destination is if if it's a day trip from marrakech then you go back to marrakech if it's you need to go back to the airport you know just go back to the airport so that's basically what you know that you know going to the summit in toqqar will consist of which is highly recommended and also

Ted Cragg (Producer) (04:08)
Okay.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (04:15)
When going to the summit, really need to accordingly. It depends. It's, you know, if it's summertime, if it's the winter, because it's going to be cold. Even if it's summertime, it's going to be hot during the day. But nighttime, the temperature really, really drops. And then, you know, at this time, October, November, there's a chance, probably a little bit of rain, some snow, probably. If it's coming on time, sometimes it's delayed. But you need to pack accordingly.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (04:25)
Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (04:44)
just to be on the safe side and like you mentioned when it comes to equipment, the summit always, you know, comfortable shoes, something that is not slippery, you know, they'll give you a little bit gear if you would, there's places to buy gear if you need to, the guide will show the Imlil village and then just get ready for your adventure, it's a lot of fun.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (05:04)
Okay.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (05:08)
And like you said, know, Toubkal is the highest in Morocco. think it's 4,660 or 56 meters. I think it's the mountain in Africa after Kilimanjaro, I believe. So, and it's really, really worth it. And now this is when you're going by yourself. Let's say just if you have somebody going with you, that's perfect as well. Now, when you go...

Ted Cragg (Producer) (05:27)
Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (05:35)
in those excursions sometimes it's just you but then we will pair you with a group of people so that way there's company that way you know it's you know you may not feel safe but it's very safe but just in case there's always somebody there with you so you have your chef that cooks for you and everybody else on the trip you have your local guide so you are really really protected then for example you stay in a lodge or something

Ted Cragg (Producer) (05:45)
Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (06:04)
They may schedule all the people that are going to the summit at the same time. So, and then they'll spend the night in the base. Then after in the morning, they'll have breakfast and then they'll continue their trip to the summit and then they'll descend.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (06:09)
Hmm.

Do you know, can you climb it year round or there's certain times of year they recommend you don't?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (06:23)
depending

on the weather you can climb here year around but sometimes because of the weather or the stones it may not be ⁓ open yes good question

Ted Cragg (Producer) (06:34)
And if you don't want to climb, you just kind of want to get close and hopefully get a nice view and that kind of thing. Can you just go to Imlil, for instance, and stay overnight? there any other towns maybe around that area that you could go to as well or instead? Mm hmm. OK.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (06:43)
100 % yes, absolutely yeah

yeah there's there's a lot of villages but Imlil is the most popular one there's there's

you know Imlil the other villages next to it so and even when you go to Imlil even for people that are doing trekking you know it's funny when we did Dan and Cierra they didn't go to the summit but they loved Imlil and they did you know soft trekking if you would

Ted Cragg (Producer) (07:07)
Yep.

Mm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (07:12)
And

it was funny because they have the mule and they are with the mule and then they had the local guy then and the local guy gave each one of them an apple and then he started eating the apple and the local guy started laughing and was like why? That was for the mule. Yeah, but you can still have a lot of fun. know, day trip to Imlil is definitely a lot of fun. Also, this is where we get a lot of requests that if you remember, we get a lot of berber experience.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (07:42)
⁓ yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (07:42)
⁓

lunch, dinner with a local family. This is where we set them up here in Imlil is one of the places the Atlas Mountains also we can do it in going to Fes or from Merzouga or Middlt along the way those stops yeah so those are really really good experiences to have during your trip and build them into your itinerary if you would

Ted Cragg (Producer) (08:04)
Yeah, neat.

Yeah, it sounds pretty straightforward. mean, it's not that far from Marrakesh, so you can you can definitely fit that in. All right, let's switch gears a bit. Let's look at some surfing and kite surfing. So what are the best spots for doing that along the coastline?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (08:19)
yes.

that's a really, really good question. Again, in reference to where Marrakesh is, the first place that comes into mind is Essaouira, which is a three hour drive one way from Marrakesh. And there has been some really international surfing events in Isawara throughout the year. really, really popular. So that's the first spot that comes in mind because of the weather, because of the waves, because of ⁓

you know, the way that this Essaouirais shaped if you would. So this is the first one that really comes in mind. And again, you can do like we did with Imlil, it can be a day trip. You can be in Marrakesh for five days, for example, or week and do a day trip to Imlil or day trip to a summit. Well, you can do the summit, but it can be a day trip to Imlil. If you want to do the summit, then it becomes two to three days depending on the length of time that you want to spend. And then this one can be a day trip as well for Marrakesh, you know, three hours.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (08:52)
Yep.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (09:19)
each way that's six hours and then it gives you an opportunity to do some surfing. You can do some surfing classes, we can book them for you or you can just do surf on your own if you are an expert or if you know how to surf you can do that as well.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (09:25)
Yeah.

Yeah. mean,

most of this coastline seems to be beach, beach. So, yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (09:37)
Yes, yes, yeah, it's

really, really nice. Then the next spot that comes into mind, which is going south into that direction, is a place called Taghazoud, which is between Essaouira. Yep, that's it, between Essaouira. And this one is becoming more and more popular between Essaouiraand Agadir, if you would. From Agadir, it's about, probably about an hour. I think we took the bus a long time ago, maybe years ago.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (09:52)
Nice.

Yeah.

Okay.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (10:05)
And it was a lot of fun. It was a lot of fun. So this is a really Tarazut. Very well known as well for locals for surfing as well. So it's a lot of fun. Yeah, it's really, really nice. Yeah, yeah. It's very quiet. Again, my experience back then, I mean, a long time ago, it was just amazing. Even then, the place was not really...

Ted Cragg (Producer) (10:10)
yeah.

Huge beach.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (10:33)
known to a lot of the locals. It's just people in the area know it and they go to it. But now it just kind of know became really really popular and big.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (10:36)
cool.

yeah.

I've heard it somewhere, maybe Essaouira mostly, but there are surf competitions in Morocco.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (10:50)
Oh yes, their self competition is in the Essaouirabut also their self competition in other water sport activities in Dakhla. If we go totally south, all the way south, you'll see Dakhlawhich is again, we talked quite a bit about Dakhla. it's going to be, you know, this is one of the, it is.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (11:00)
Mm-hmm.

Yep.

It's on here, right?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (11:17)
But it's just unknown, again, to the Americas as last time that we have spoken in our episode. ⁓ But to the Europeans, it's very popular. To the locals, it's incredible. So, yes.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (11:19)
Hmm.

So it's like this long point here, this is isthmus

that's a bit off the main line. It feels like an island, not, but it's a bit isolated, yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (11:38)
It's not. Yeah, you're right. You're right.

So here, this is in the next decade or so, this is going to be the new Marrakesh. This is going to be the new Fes in terms of tourism. And everything is being built and set up for that right now. So it's a lot of opportunity for growth, for investments and stuff like that. Yes, it's definitely a must see. Now, when we talk about Dakhla, you can fly to Dakhla for Marrakesh.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (11:46)
Really?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (12:06)
Ryanair, there's other airlines that they have direct flight for a lot of major cities. But also, when you look at hotels, a lot of American brands that they are already there, and there's a plan to bring accommodations into it. It's just the drive, it's a little bit hard getting in and out because it's pretty far.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (12:19)
Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (12:34)
So, yeah.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (12:34)
⁓

So obviously much easier to fly. ⁓

Azdean Elmoustaquim (12:38)
Yes, but if you

can do an image for the beach of Dakhla that way the audience that are watching YouTube or LinkedIn can see how beautiful it is and ⁓ they do all types of water sports here in if you would.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (12:44)
yeah, that's true.

Let's see here.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (12:57)
Yeah, it's, and you can see it's really, really, really beautiful. It's very pretty, very calm, very quiet. yeah. Oh, a hundred percent. Yeah. You can see there's again, there's a lot of water sports and some people they even play golf and it's kind of strange, but in the ocean. Yeah. So.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (13:01)
Wow.

Yeah, great place for kitesurfing. Wow.

Yeah.

Yeah, there must be. mean, you're right in the ocean. There is tremendous winds coming straight across. Hmm, interesting. Yeah, well, that's true. That's a that's a new spot, as you say. I'm sure we'll hear a lot more about it, Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (13:20)
Yeah, it is. It is. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

Oh, 100%. I totally agree.

Yeah, I totally agree. Now there's other places where you can do the same, but these are just the major ones. There's Merlif, if you would. It's also in the south between Agadir and Al-Takhla, obviously. It's a little bit to the southern part of Morocco. yeah.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (13:41)
Mm-hmm.

yeah, here.

I've seen this, yeah, with the stone arches and things. Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (13:54)
Yeah, that's yeah, yeah, it's just it

is gorgeous. It is very, very beautiful, very pretty. The food is amazing. The accommodations are incredible. And these are the spots that are really unknown, especially if we talk to North American audiences. ⁓ Europeans, they know these places, like the back of their hands, and they love them. So.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (14:15)
Yeah, interesting.

Mm-hmm.

Hmm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (14:22)
And Agadir is one of those hidden gems. It's just a lot of people don't know much about it. for us, the locals, it's a must see. Agadir is, you have to visit. It is, is a big city. It's one of the biggest cities in Morocco. And it's incredible. It's incredible that the whole city back in 1961 was really damaged by a massive earthquake.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (14:32)
Yeah, it seems a fairly big city. Yeah.

Mm. Mm-hmm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (14:52)
It was rebuilt and

I remember the first time when I visited Agadir was very surprised in the most positive way. I loved the Yeah Yeah It's a coastal beach beautiful cafes. ⁓ yes, you can you yeah, they have I think they have their own airport Yeah, you can fly from Marrakesh from Casablanca, you know, literally any major ⁓ airport. So yeah

Ted Cragg (Producer) (15:00)
Yeah, actually.

⁓ Can you fly into there? Is there an airport? Over here, yeah.

Okay,

because then that's a bit of a hub. you're in Agadir, you can go up the coast a bit or head down there. Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (15:21)
Exactly, yes Yes If

you're do surfing, that agadir is a must stop for you Because it's right in the middle between the southern part You can go to Merlef, can go to Trafaya, can go Dakhla, excuse me And then north, it's like you're one hour away from Taghazout And then you're a couple of hours away from Essaouira. And by the way, the drive

Ted Cragg (Producer) (15:31)
Okay.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (15:50)
it's breathtaking you know it's unbelievable yes yes yeah yes heading north yeah yes yeah it is amazing especially when you hit that sunset or sunrise it's just it's absolutely worth it

Ted Cragg (Producer) (15:53)
to drive along the coast. Yeah, there's a road here from Agadir heading north. It really hugs the coast there. Wow.

yeah.

Hmm, neat. Okay, well, let's go inland and talk about doing some quad biking and ATV activities and fun things like that. Where's the best place to do that? Okay.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (16:22)
The best place is definitely Merzouga, you can also

do it in Agafay. Agafay is a little bit more rocky but sand, natural sand and it's definitely worth it.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (16:28)
Yeah.

I feel like that's a place where you often see the kind of classic photos of people jumping over the sand dunes and their quad bikes and so on. It's in my... Where's it go? Yeah. So how easy is it to do that when you show up? Are there lots of options and is it safe and how do they guide you through it?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (16:41)
Yes, yes, that's right, that's right, yes.

Well, you know,

that's a really good question. Merzouga, it's, you know, to do this on your own, you know, it's going to be tough. I'd say good luck. It's going to be very difficult, but you have to go through somebody. You got to go through, you know, agency, a tour offer or when you go with us, for example, we set everything for you. So we, if you're going to do the AGV, basically, you know, the quad, we bring them all the way to the camp.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (17:01)
Okay.

Yep.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (17:22)
where your

tent is. Normally it's breakfast so it's a little bit early morning. It comes with the instruction, know, if it's one or two or three so it depends how many people are going to be doing it and if you are familiar with it and you can drive it then you're good. If not then you'll have somebody drive and you'll just be in the back enjoying the view and the drive.

It's definitely worth it. When we did this, Imran complained because he said that was the worst driver ever because I could not move that machine. It was just too big for me. I didn't know how. ⁓ And then I rode with one of the guys and he did with the other guy. And he just had such so much fun. ⁓ He was just jumping and laughing and having a good time. And he loved it when they go into the edge of

you know, we're doing then he just goes like almost 90 degrees down and he just like a roller coaster. It was such an amazing experience for him. And he had a lot of fun. So those we can definitely book for you. They'll come to the camp. They pick you up and they take you. ⁓ It's a really nice drive. The whole experience probably, I would say, will take about an hour and half ⁓ because that's what it took us. And it's kind of strange because

Ted Cragg (Producer) (18:32)
Okay.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (18:43)
We went to a place, all you can see is sand and I had no idea which way was the way back to the camp. So, but luckily those guys, they know what they are doing. And we just enjoyed it. It was just a lot of fun.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (18:53)
Yeah.

What would the weather be like? Is it really, really hot when you're out there?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (19:01)
Well we did it in July so it was really hot but then again 7.30 in the morning it's still nice weather it's not really that too bad it was sunny, very sunny most of the time the weather especially in the morning is gonna be friendly in a

Ted Cragg (Producer) (19:10)
Right.

All right. Yeah, OK. So I guess the point is much as anything is that it's an activity you can, you know, add to if you're going to Merzouga anyway, or Agafy, but you don't have to add like a whole extra day necessarily to to do some quad biking like it's a couple hours.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (19:33)
No, no, does not

really affect the rest of your schedule. I'll go back for example, when we get to Merzouga, the most common ride is the Camel Ride because everybody wants to experience it and rightfully so. Then it's an option, you can do the Camel Ride or you can do the Quad if you want to skip the Camel Ride or you can do the 4x4 if you want to skip both. Those you have options, one of those three options. A lot of people they want to do the Camel.

It's very seldom that we have somebody wanted to do the quad and then you go through, you know, the dunes, you take a little break, then you take pictures, the sun, you know, sunset, and then you go to your camp. Then the next day you'd have the same options. Hey, you know, you can go back to the Riyadh, you know, taking the camel or the quad or the SUV. Everybody says SUV because they want to get there as quick as possible. So, yeah.

So, and those are just options for you. Now, when you schedule a quad experience, it's a little bit different. It's extra, and it's done in the morning. So you can finish the experience, come back to the tent by the time they start serving breakfast.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (20:46)
Oh yeah, OK. Me, yeah, well, that's a great thing to do. Add to your bucket list. Similar theme then the other one was mountain biking and rock climbing too. So I guess the thing with this, of course, takes a little more maybe preparation. We may need to get into some more gear and and of course.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (20:53)
Absolutely.

Yes.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (21:10)
Perhaps experience if you kind of know what you're doing a bit better. But if you do want to do some rock climbing, where's the best place to do that?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (21:17)
The best place to do it is Tudra ⁓ Gorge. There's two gorges I believe. One of them is you can do it and the other one is cannot do it. for the one that you can do, again we talk about equipment, harness and your shoes and all that stuff. You gotta get your own, have your own. want to rent something, it may not be to the quality of your liking, just to be on the safe side. It's always good. ⁓

Ted Cragg (Producer) (21:20)
Okay.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (21:45)
to have your own gear, especially for those things. And safety is very important. You'll have somebody helping you, somebody just putting everything on and make sure that you're tied up and good to go. And for rock climbing, the gear is very important. And it's definitely worth it. Definitely worth it.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (21:59)
Yeah.

Okay,

well let me pull it up here. So there we go. this is yeah roughly a little little closer to Merzouga but roughly halfway between Marrakesh and Merzouga.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (22:19)
Yes, yes,

yeah, yeah. It's probably about four hours away.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (22:26)
from, from Merzouga, okay. Yeah, you can tell from the map here too, but it's an amazing green strip of like life and vegetation, right, in the middle of desert. Huh, so that's good point, because it does make it seem, at least in this part here, fairly built up. So you get all kinds of accommodation, right, and restaurants and everything else. and then does the canyon or the gorge,

Azdean Elmoustaquim (22:28)
from Merzouga.

Yes, yeah, yes, yeah, yeah.

Yeah. Yes, yes.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (22:53)
go right through this area here, or does it keep going pretty far?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (22:57)
Yeah, it goes not too far, but it goes pretty well. So, and that's what you do the rock climbing. Yeah.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (23:06)
Yeah.

So, there's the gorge up here, too, they point out. Yeah, it's quite as you can tell, it's great for rock climbing.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (23:14)
Yeah,

this is the Tudra. ⁓ And the other one is Buman. If you could look at Buman, Dades or Tudra.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (23:23)
yeah.

Right. Okay, yeah, this is.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (23:25)
Yeah, right there. Yes. Yeah, that's

it. That's what you can do it. Yeah.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (23:32)
a bit further over here.

Yeah. So what's the difference in this one? Is it a bit narrower?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (23:41)
This one it's a little bit safer and it's better to do it here.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (23:45)
Okay.

Yeah, so again you get, you know, services and everything you need, but it's all quite accessible.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (23:52)
Yeah. Yes.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (24:01)
Yeah, interesting. OK. So you talked a bit about ⁓ gear there. I mean, how practical if people if people need to bring specific gear, does it take a lot more planning to get that as part of the tour, as part of the transport, you know, and baggage and allowances, that kind of thing? Does that get complicated?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (24:23)
No, not really. It's pretty easy. know, the gear, it's in itself, it's really not heavy. And also when it comes to packing and stuff, you have your own vehicle. So you can just put whatever you want to put into it and it travels with you throughout the tour. yeah, there's plenty of space. ⁓ The vehicles that we use, know, we use a six passenger vehicle if it's one person traveling or if it's two people traveling. So there's always

Ted Cragg (Producer) (24:34)
Yeah.

That's true.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (24:52)
room for for luggage extra luggage equipment and stuff like that yeah and and also I heard so many questions and things about laundry you know can we do laundry in our trip and just you know I just wanted to I know it's kind of off-topic but yeah we can you can there's many places especially in the the cities and it can be done in-house at the Riyadh which costs a little bit more

Ted Cragg (Producer) (24:55)
Yeah.

Mm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (25:20)
Or your driver basically, if you're going to do for example, you have a visit in fast before he drops you off or after he drops you off, he goes to the local cleaners, drops off your laundry and then he picks it up before coming back and pick you up in the afternoon. and that's the best way to really do it. So yeah, you can. And we recommend it every three or four days just to be on the safe side.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (25:41)
Yeah.

Yeah, especially if you're doing lots of outdoor adventure stuff and things get dirty. that's, that's good to know. Yeah. These, these little logistics that we often forget about. ⁓ all right. Then the last big question, of course, comes back to safety. And I mean, when you, when you're booking things with these operators of various types, like other inspections, you know, are they certified, ⁓ are there systems in place to make sure it's safe?

Azdean Elmoustaquim (25:45)
Yeah, absolutely.

Yes, yeah, yeah for sure

That's a really good question and it's very difficult to do that in Morocco Ted and that's the truth. ⁓ know lot of people they operate and they may not be ⁓ fully licensed and they may not fully have the right insurance coverage so you always want to check and that's the chance that you really take when going on your own probably doing it on your own versus

Ted Cragg (Producer) (26:12)
Hmm.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (26:31)
through a company or a tour operator because we know what we're doing and we do it right. So, and that's the right way to do it. Have somebody plan those things for you because I heard so many terrible stories, you know, but you your safety comes first. So.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (26:48)
Yeah,

absolutely. Well, it's good. Yeah. So we've kind of focused largely, I guess, on the south of Morocco and in the coast there. I mean, there's stuff you can do throughout the country for sure. But it does seem like there's maybe the most options and choices in the south, whether it's the mountains or the desert or, of course, the beaches, too. So.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (27:06)
Yeah, yes. yeah. Yeah, in the North side, mean,

you know, you can do almost, especially when it comes to the mountains and the hike, and you can do the same thing, especially you've seen how beautiful Shefchaoune is. You've seen how, you know, Akshor, you know, when we did that tour, the day trip to Akshor, it's just beyond incredible. Those are spots in places in Morocco that you'll be surprised that those places really exist in Morocco.

so it's very diverse very beautiful and it's absolutely must see so

Ted Cragg (Producer) (27:42)
OK. And maybe one last question then, too, is just in terms of booking. So if you're looking at especially I mean, it's one thing if you're doing quad bikes and stuff and that's generally part of itinerary and it's pretty short. But if you want to do some of these longer things, especially to go out surfing right for a couple of days or doing some real more intense rock climbing and trekking. So how does that impact booking and just planning an itinerary in the kind of time that you guys need as an example?

to make sure people have the time. And let's say that it's not just to go to Morocco to do those things, but you're going to want to see some of Fez and Marrakesh and do the touristy stuff too, but also some of the more adventurous things as part of your trip.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (28:22)
That's a really good question, Ted. I always recommend, you know, start a minimum of three to four months. know, planning a trip to Morocco, just to give you an idea, when I'm trying to go to Morocco, you know, I've been there zillion times.

It takes me, it's an average of nine months. It really is. I promise you that because there's so many moving parts. then when you go, you need to make sure in my case that everything is running smooth and everything is in all good standing. And it does take that long to plan. So when we say three or four months, because we extensively do those plannings for you because

Ted Cragg (Producer) (28:44)
You

Azdean Elmoustaquim (29:08)
A lot of people when they come to us, heard about us in the podcast, they got some research online and sometimes that research is very helpful and sometimes it's very harmful. And it's up to us to educate and you know, it's like a buffer and say, hey, this is good information that you have gotten. This is not a good information. It's not accurate and so forth. So it takes a little bit of back and forth in terms of discovery call and virtual meetings.

until we get to the point that's okay you know what we want to go with you and let's start planning the itinerary and then that process of planning the itinerary then we go with you know the first version and the second version we we keep making the changes to the exact itinerary that the traveler or travelers want until it's finalized and that this process here we're talking a month and half you see so and then

Ted Cragg (Producer) (29:51)
yeah.

Sure.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (30:05)
when the time comes to the payment, we can do one payment or we can do split payments with no additional cost that's when everything is confirmed. So it depends on the season. three months may not be enough to book an experience. Sometimes three months is more than enough and it's quiet and it's available. So, and again, just to give you an idea, for example, in Merzouga,

Ted Cragg (Producer) (30:22)
Yeah, yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (30:33)
Sometimes you can find a place, know, it's like a hundred dollars per person, just as an example. But sometimes on the high season, that same place is five hundred, six hundred dollars because of the availability. it's just planning is very important. The earlier you plan, the cheaper it really is for you to pay. But also this is something we have never really paid attention to because we didn't have to. ⁓

Ted Cragg (Producer) (30:42)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (31:01)
the dollar is not as strong as it used to be. And sometimes when we make a booking, it takes months. So the dollar can be valued at certain dirham, Moroccan currency, today. But in a month or two, it lost 10%. So we cannot go back and say, hey, we have to add that 10 % to your cost, because it's the wrong way to the business.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (31:15)
Yeah.

Hmm.

Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (31:29)
So, you know, just to give you an idea that the dollar has lost, I would say about 20 to 25 percent of its value from a year ago. So it's really, really difficult. So when we say this is what the price is, then that price is locked. You know, if the dollar loses more value, it's not on you. our commitment to you. So those are the things that a lot of people don't really pay attention to. So, yeah, book early.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (31:46)
Right.

That's great.

Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (31:57)
basically.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (31:58)
For lots of reasons. Good to know. Cool. Well, that's good. Yeah. It's fun to explore some different things and different ideas. I love seeing the coastline there. It's stunning and there's so much to see.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (32:09)
It is, it is, it is.

I know it's, you know, just I've said this many times, Ted, and I know you have as well. Morocco is a pretty big country. just the map does not do it right. It's just, it. And that side that it's not being it's not popular in the in the Americas. It's it's it's really, really must. So that's where the locals go. That's that's where a lot of Europeans go. And it's not as crowded. It's beautiful.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (32:19)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (32:35)
It's

absolutely worth it. Then the seafood, the food, when we talk about food, which we just did the episode, the food in that region again is completely different. ⁓ The seafood that it's available in those regions is not available for the rest of Morocco, but it's beyond incredible. Definitely worth it.

Ted Cragg (Producer) (32:39)
Yeah.

Hmm.

Yeah, so get there before the rest of the crowds do. It's a time to go. Good. All right. Well, it's been fun. We'll be back ⁓ in a bit. Of course, we do episodes twice a month and ⁓ I like to pop it in here from time to time and talk and travel. So I'm sure I'll see you again before long.

Azdean Elmoustaquim (32:59)
Yes.

Thank you.

I really really appreciate it as always I'm very grateful for you, very grateful for everything and to the audience you so much for and again and we're very very grateful for you we appreciate you very much thank you

Ted Cragg (Producer) (33:19)
My pleasure.