2-Day Toubkal Mountain Trek from Marrakech

I do not recommend this organization to anyone! And of endangerment! Awful, We contacted the agency a few months in advance confirming that we were beginners and asking if that was possible, We were sold a dream by being told that we would have a suitable group, and that arrangements would be made to make our experience enjoyable Here are all the lies and especially the wrongdoings: We ended up with a group of experienced individuals; the first guide didn’t care about us and went very far ahead, when we were lost another guide waited at a distance for us to guess the paths, which caused us to waste time and energy on everything! In addition to having the mental burden of being left behind, having to move forward blindly, and having to be quick when we are not trekkers! We asked in advance what equipment we should bring, and we were told that everything was here! We still brought our things but not everything because they reassured us about the availability, result: 30 dh for the gloves that have been used for a long time 100 dh for the cleats, I refused the remaining sticks and shoes that we had brought, Also, no information or communication from the guides about where we were, or even about the location, NOTHING! Just robots walking at full speed in the mountains, grooming those who are able to keep up with them! No words of encouragement during our moments of doubt; on the contrary, at every opportunity, they did not hesitate to tell us to turn back! At 2 o'clock from the summit after 15 hours of walking! They indicated that if we did not return at the same time as the others, we would have to find our own way back to Marrakech AT OUR OWN EXPENSE! Therefore, it was better to abandon and turn back! An added stress; we arrived not thanks to them but thanks to our desire to succeed! They exhausted us on the way back to fit into their schedule, all just to ultimately make us pay for the taxi and put pressure on us! No concern when my sisters were feeling dizzy due to the pace! They didn't even warn us about the last checkpoint or sell us bottles of water for 20 dh! So? Ascent with lightweight water bottles! The refuge? We were 20 in a room with people who only snored and didn't care about the others; phone lights ringing, a maximum of 3 hours of sleep, They could have told us to bring earplugs! Also, I had asked for my little sisters to be with me or in a women's room; we arrived and they were next to sweating 50-year-old men. Yes, to tolerance, but there are limits, especially when we had warned and asked! To be avoided!

Sadly, I had a pretty bad experience on my 2-day Toubkal tour from 19–20 April. First of all, one of our guides, Hassan, was very friendly, funny, patient and supportive, even with the slower people in the group. I really appreciated that. Unfortunately, my experience with the other guide, Ayip, was completely different. He suggested that I walk at the front because I was one of the slower hikers, and at first I thought this was a good idea. However, it did not work at all. Within the first few seconds, the whole group overtook me and I was left behind alone for at least half an hour. Instead of keeping a steady pace and using a normal zig-zag line like other groups, he repeatedly took steep shortcuts, overtook people, stopped, and then continued again. This made it very difficult to find a rhythm. Another very frustrating thing was the communication. He kept saying things like “we will take a break in 5 minutes” or suggesting that we were almost there, but then we would continue walking for a long time without stopping. This happened repeatedly and made it hard to trust what he was saying or mentally pace myself. When I finally caught up and asked why he had left me behind, he said that he had not, and that I simply had to keep up. The same strategy was tried again, with the same result. I was left behind again and became increasingly frustrated. After a third unsuccessful attempt and another long period of walking alone, I became visibly upset. He told me that I had absolutely no reason to be annoyed and that I should “respect the group”. Only after I made it very clear in front of the other groups and guides that this was unacceptable did the strategy finally change for the last part of the summit push. There was also a moment where I tried to have a normal conversation with him about where I had already been in Morocco. I mentioned that I liked the Rif Mountains, and he replied that I “should have just stayed there”. I found this very unprofessional and disrespectful. In the end, he even seemed surprised that I did not leave a tip. I am still proud that I reached the summit of this amazing mountain, but honestly, I feel like I did it almost entirely on my own. Sadly, I expected a very different experience from a guided 2-day tour.

I would never travel with this company… terrible communication and they aren’t concerned about our safety. We didn’t do the trip we had planned due to weather conditions and they didn’t refund our money. We wouldn’t recommend them at all.

We made it to the summit and back, but there was no communication about the plan before or during the trip, and they didn’t have bunk space for a third of our group (we had to sleep in the hut eating area after all other groups ate dinner). They took our passports for verification and it required asking 8 times before they were returned to us. The tour was very disorganized and was the worst guided hiking experience I have had.

A great, very well organized trip. From drivers to our guide, everything was very smooth. From our hotel in Marrakech to the summit of Mt Toubkal and back in 36 hours - all without any problems, and great service as well. Highly recommend this outfit.