I have always seen these travel group vacations in my IG feed. I have always been curious how they exactly work, so I decided for my 29th birthday to give it a try.
Outside Hassam II Mosque in Casablanca
I did my research on about 3 different travel groups for trips to Morocco. I compared reviews, the prices, what it included and I ended up choosing Topdeck Travel (www.topdeck.travel). This one had the best reviews on different websites and blogs, plus the price of the tour and what it all included was appealing. This is what my trip included:
Air conditioned van/coach (depending on the size of the group)
3-4 star hotels
Breakfast every day
3 lunches
2 dinners
Some Activities included
A permanent driver
A tour guide
I still had to pay for my flight, but I am pretty lucky that my birthday is on October. I can find cheap flights because it is the off season or shoulder season. I paid about $800 for round trip and a stop in Madrid for 3 days. I also had to pay for the rest of my meals that were not included, which was ok by me. You can find really good cheap food in Morocco. Also, it is mandatory to buy travel insurance for the duration of your trip, I ended up buying it with the insurance group they recommended, World Nomad Travel Insurance (https://www.worldnomads.com).
A week or so before you leave, a representative from Topdeck will reach out to get your flight itinerary. This is to tell the driver what time to get you from the airport. I will be honest, I had some trouble finding my driver. I called topdeck and they were able to successfully help me find my driver. Make sure to download the app too, it was so helpful when trying to keep track what we will be doing the next day on the trip an you can chat with your travel mates on it too.
My roommate I was paired with was such a sweet girl, and I couldn't have asked for a better roommate. There were 7 of us girls on the trip, our tour guide said that his groups are usually more women over men. It seems that women are more adventurous and have Morocco on their list. You get paired with someone of the same gender, so don't worry about co-ed roommates if you are traveling alone. I was the only girl from the United States, because let's be honest, not many Americans, especially Latinas travel alone to a foreign country. I was with a group of Australian girls with beautiful souls and had so many more travel adventures that I did. They were all honestly so inspiring and loved having them as travel mates.
Our first group picture as strangers
One of our last pictures, as family
I was very impressed with our hotel stays, I was surprised they were 3 star accommodations, because they seemed nicer. Our Breakfast was given to us at every hotel, some hotels had better breakfasts than others. But I would highly recommend to eat what you can during the morning, sometimes lunch can be hours later. Also, pro-tip: fill up your water bottle during your breakfast. Some tourist areas charge so much for water!
We traveled in a nice coach van with A/C. I was actually surprised how spacious it was for us. Since we had such a small group we each had a row to ourselves. Make sure to download podcasts, audiobooks, music, movies and shows. You're going to want something to keep you busy and kill time while traveling to each new town or city. We made it to 12 different towns/cities in 10 days. So you can imagine how much we moved around and how much time we spent in the van.
While traveling, make sure to wear something comfy, but something that is culturally appropriate. I usually brought a light cardigan or scarf along the way to cover myself up when making way through town or during pit stops. Another good tip to to bring toilet paper with you or wipes, along with hand sanitizer. Not all places have somewhere to wash your hands or wipe yourself.
Our tour guide was absolutely amazing! He was so kind and really treated us like family. He was our protector and was very thoughtful. I can say he personally made my trip memorable, by planning a birthday cake for me in the Sahara desert. I will never forget that moment for the rest of my life. It's little things like that which makes trips like these incredible.
My birthday cake in the Sahara Desert 💓
I know what you are asking, were there any cons? Well not really. You couldn't really sleep in, because everyone had to wake up early to shower, get ready and eat breakfast to get on the coach by 8am. A good chunk of your time is used to travel by coach because you are trying to cover a lot in a short amount of time. But we did have free time everyday, to either nap, relax or chill by the pool. I didn't really complain because my life has been so hectic before I took the trip that it was nice to just sit and catch up on podcasts and audiobooks.
I would take another trip with Topdeck in a heartbeat. The activities what we did were breathtaking and was everything I wanted to do in Morocco. If you are one of those people who don't want to wait for someone to travel with you, but don't want to be fully alone, this is an amazing option for you. You don't have to be a solo traveler either, grab your best friend, sibling or cousin and go. Don't wait, book it! Who knows, maybe we will be on the same trip with you one day.
Dream come true, walking in the Sahara Desert in a bright dress, Sex and the City style...
Happy Travels!
Con Amor,
Adriana 💕
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