Merzouga, Morocco INCREDIBLE 3-Day Sahara Desert Tour: Tips for an UNFORGETTABLE Journey

[@UnidentifiedFlyingObject-d8w]

An amazing video and good journey I love Morocco

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Thank you so much for watching! We really enjoyed this tour! We have our final video in this series from Fes coming this Saturday and we'll automatically add it to the playlist linked below! -Judy 🎥 Morocco Travel Series: kzbin.info/aero/PLNT98lWfwdF0_pL4S2LnqlBz2KBX9XMCc

[@kuleanapacifikana1429]

Aloha dear friends! I haven’t finished watching this video yet because I’m just AMAZED at how you both just took the plunge and go on this desert trek. I’m not sure if I’m brave enough to do it tbh. I so appreciate all the efforts and energy it takes to video all of your AMAZING travel adventures for us. I live vicariously through you both! I will finish watching it. Much mahalo and SAFE travels throughout! 🤙🏽

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Hi @kuleanapacifikana1429, Thank you so much for your very kind words! I guess it's all perspective. We know this lifestyle isn't for everyone, but we are having the time of our lives. We felt like this adventure in the Sahara Desert would be something we'd regret not doing, so going on it felt like a no brainer. We try to make smart decisions, so we don't travel everywhere in the world when we worry it might be unsafe. In this case, we felt very safe all throughout Morocco, and we recommend this particular experience to anyone. We appreciate you watching our video and your kind words. Mahalo to you as well! -Judy

[@GlobetrotterGranny]

I’m loving seeing your Big Gelato Members growing in number!!!!

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Thank you so much, Rebecca! It's slow but coming along! We are so glad to have you with us (and we have a few more behind-the-scenes videos uploaded when you have some time to check them out!‚. -Judy

[@5217tuber]

Nice! This brought back good memories of our 2-week Morocco tour in 2022, using Gate-1 Travel. I’m generally averse to organized tours but enjoyed the experience very much, with a great variety of lodgings and meals. The camel ride to see the sunset over the dunes - not the same spot as what you experienced - was the highlight for us, too! I appreciated that Morocco is a generally open and tolerant country, but was dismayed at the amount of trash along the roads.

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Thanks for sharing your experience, @5217tuber! I think there are certain excursions where it makes sense to have a guide/organized tour, and this was one of them. We've heard good things about Gate 1 Travel, so it's encouraging to hear that your experience was a good one, too. We actually expected Marrakech and Fes to be similar to Cairo in regard to trash, but we were pleasantly surprised that wasn't the case. We saw people sweeping and watering down their stoop and area outside their homes or stalls. We only saw one person unwrapping something and dropping the wrapper at their feet. Maybe it was the route we were on, but we didn't see an abundance of trash (or at least nothing worse than we've seen in many other places). -Judy

[@Cmbuie123]

Each new video is better than the last. The photography was amazing !!! As always informative and interesting!! Thank you !!! it’s on my bucket list for next year.

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Thank you so much for watching, Katie, and for your kind words! We hope you have an incredible Sahara Desert experience. A lot of people online said you should do a four-day tour if you have time, but they never gave good explanations of what could be included in that extra day, We encourage you to ask good questions so you build an experience perfect for you! Here are our other Morocco videos (so far) if you've missed them. -Judy 🎥 Morocco Travel Series: kzbin.info/aero/PLNT98lWfwdF0_pL4S2LnqlBz2KBX9XMCc

[@jennyhope1850]

Loved this video. Spectacular 😊

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Thank you so much for watching, Jenny! It was a pretty awesome experience! -Judy

[@GlobetrotterGranny]

OMG the monkeys!!!! Wow, what an experience.

[@FindingGinaMarie]

It truly was quite the experience! I wish I had been able to embrace the monkeys a bit more, but I'm also glad that we were scratched because they can carry disease. We were so unprepared for what that part of the experience would be like! -Judy

[@GlobetrotterGranny]

Love this video. Excellent. The camel ride reminded me of our camel ride in Israel. I was terrified and nearly feel over the camel’s head when we were getting off and getting on. 🤣 I would totally do it again!

[@FindingGinaMarie]

One of our other viewers also commented about this being reminiscent of his camel ride in Israel, too! Thank you so much for watching, Rebecca! Fortunately, I somehow felt more stable than I expected. I think the worst part was how sore my arms were from pushing against the handlebar on the downhill of the dunes. It was more fun than I expected, and I would totally do it again, too! -Judy

[@dianamartin9558]

Cool video! Loved the head wraps. Were you able to re-wrap? I would have to watch a video to probably do it right. Can’t wait to see more from your trip!

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Hi Diana, We did not rewrap, but we were amazed at the couple we rode camels with who put their headscarves on in a matter of a minute or two without even a mirror when we were sitting around camp drinking tea. It took us ages and ages when we were putting on kimonos, so I can't imagine how long this would have taken us (and how many videos we would have had to watch)! We definitely noticed that the longer scarves looked a little fancier and had maybe a little more room for error, but the berber man selling them didn't encourage me to get a longer one. Next week is the conclusion of our Morocco series with a tour of Fes, which we really enjoyed! Thanks so much for watching! -Judy

[@srabaneeghosh534]

Wow!!! Such an amezing experience you had!! Its our bucket list item for sure... just came from Northern lights trip to Finland & Norway, so need to restore our pockets😅... as we will be in Central Africa in Dec/Jan for work...wish to make a plan for Sahara Desert in January, '25. Is it will be a good time to visit this place in January? Thanks in advance 😊

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Thank you so much for watching, @srabaneeghosh534! It will be cold in Morocco in January, but if you've just been in Finland and Norway, I don't think the weather in Morocco will bother you. The Northern Lights are a bucket list item for us, but we don't like the cold! You could probably expect it to have a low of about 7° C and a daytime temperature of about 12° C. It's not ideal weather, but not prohibitive. It was starting to get a little chilly in Fes when we left at the end of October. We found Marrakech to be a bit warmer. We hope you have an incredible time and would love to hear how it goes for you! -Judy 🎥 Morocco Travel Series: kzbin.info/aero/PLNT98lWfwdF0_pL4S2LnqlBz2KBX9XMCc

[@enriquesanchez2001]

Loved the monkey segment! ♥♥♥♥♥

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Oh Enrique, You have no idea! It was a little unnerving when two jumped on my head and then I had two grabbing my legs! And of course, the ones that hopped on Kevin adored him! We only read later about how potentially dangerous it could be if they scratched you and the downsides of their lack of fear of humans. But I do wish I had let go of my fear and embraced the situation when I was in it! -Judy

[@enriquesanchez2001]

@@FindingGinaMarie I see now that it was kind of dangerous if you were scratched! I would have been unsettled, too! Glad you handled it well! 😄

[@FindingGinaMarie]

It was still an interesting experience, and it was very interesting to see them! -Judy

[@enriquesanchez2001]

@@FindingGinaMarie Can't take away that VERY unique experience from you! You LIVED - even precariously! he-he, 🤣🤣

[@lisap0204]

Great video! The monkeys would have freaked me out, too!

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Thanks, Lisa! I didn't expect them to jump on me from the tops of the trees and having them pull on my dress latching onto my legs was very unnerving. I was just glad that neither of us was scratched, but I do wish that I would have relaxed more into the experience like Kevin did! -Judy

[@enriquesanchez2001]

First of all - I SAW the FROG! Hello, JUDY and KEVIN! 😆 This whole video reminds me of the month (actually two 2-week visits in two succeeding years) I spent in Jordan. From the city of Amman, into the desert dunes, riding a dune buggy with my old friend and winding up in through Wadi Rum and finally PETRA! ♥ We went on a tour of the interior of the country - not sure if I told you, but I went solo to the northern part of Jordan and entered the Palestinian territory and stayed with a large family in their luxury home for two days! Eating and sharing so much, the head of the house made two special tiles for me out of semi-precious stones and ceramic stone which were beautiful! I was able to enter the West Bank in Jerusalem and experience so much that tourist might not since my friend enlisted another friend to guide me everywhere and even visit a second story home inside those wonderful alleys around the main suqs in old Jerusalem, plus walking the 7 Stations of the Cross and the amazing Church of the Holy Sepulchre! Seeing the Mount of Olives and "observing" a camel in front of me atop the hill overlooking the old city. We tried entering the Dome of the Rock but I couldn't prove that I wasn't Muslim, which would have been magnificent!

[@FindingGinaMarie]

I am SO delighted to hear you saw the frog, Enrique! We would love to visit Jordan. What an amazing trip that must have been! Wow, having such an experience with locals sounds incredible and something I think we all would aspire to. We'd love to see Israel, but I think that trip will end up being a good while from now based on current affairs. What cool experiences you have had! -Judy

[@enriquesanchez2001]

@@FindingGinaMarie 🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸🐸 Thank you, Judy!♥ I am very grateful to have gotten the first taste of travel in the start of the 80s when my father received an appreciation gift from his boss in the form of a 3-day cruise to the Bahamas. My sister had been working at a travel agency while in high school and college, so her name was on the IATA list which in those days allowed her to book vacations at significantly reduced costs like $10 a day for any cruise!!! It all seems like such a blessing we were bestowed with since family members could be added to any trips she scheduled for herself. After the short cruise, we as a family, went on numerous cruises around the Caribbean, the highlight of which was a TWO-WEEK cruise to several islands including a port of call to Caracas, Venezuela, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, the Virgin Islands, St Martin, Martinique, etc. Later Mexico, twice! After my sister, Ketty, was no longer on the list, my parents continued to go on cruises into the late 90s. In 1984, I went on a two-week trip to London! Unfortunately in the 90s I started work at a computer distributor to Latin America which only allowed me two weeks at the end of each year! Bummer! Being a family-centered time, I was "landlocked" :( But the story goes on - but the bottom line is that I have been blessed, yes, by God, to be able to bring many dreams into reality. 🙏

[@FindingGinaMarie]

What a great story! Not everyone loves traveling internationally, but we think it brings so many wonderful experiences. Our brothers-in-law worked for American Airlines when we were first married and shortly afterwards one of the negotiated perks were standby flights that extended to us. It didn't always work out, and we had to share this perk with other family members, but we got to travel domestically more than we would have otherwise. That benefit is long gone, but we are grateful to have had it at all! There are a lot fewer perks these days in the travel industry, but gosh the deal your sister had sounds amazing. It looks like you leveraged it in the best way! We are big fans of London, and it's where we found our love of international travel. How frustrating to only get two weeks vacation. I thought it was only US companies that were so hard hearted about time off. It's expensive and sometimes challenging to travel with a family, but I'm so glad you got to experience as much as you have! Thank you so much for sharing! -Judy

[@enriquesanchez2001]

@@FindingGinaMarie Thanks! That reminds of when my cousin Robert was hired at Eastern Airlines. Goodness knows I TRIED to get a job there! It would have opened more to me and my thirst for travel! We have both been blessed! ♥

[@FindingGinaMarie]

@@enriquesanchez2001 Well, since Eastern Airlines went belly up, it probably worked out well for you. And we agree. Very blessed! -Judy

[@fadilcastro9179]

Im jealous 😊

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Hi @fadilcastro9179, The Sahara was such a cool experience. We are very grateful to have been able to visit! It's worth being on anyone's bucket list! -Judy

[@alisonarthurs4317]

Hi there! What an experience! I have two sets of questions. First, what is the bathroom situation? Are they primitive or more like Western? Do you need to bring toilet paper with you just in case? Second, can you share pics or videos of the tents you slept in? I may have missed it but I did not see the accommodations in your video. Thanks so much for sharing your journey - especially all of the tips and costs!

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Hi Alison, Our accommodations included a full bathroom with sink, regular Western toilet and shower (although we couldn't get the shower to warm up!). But everywhere we went in Morocco had regular Western toilets. We needed to throw out our toilet paper (except in our riad in Fes, which had updated plumbing). I am behind on uploading our blog post regarding more details about our Sahara Desert experience, but I'll tag you once that's ready and will be sure to include photos of it. It was a very nice tent with an actual door and two queen beds. All the restaurants we stopped in (and grocery stores) had Western bathrooms as well. It's not the best picture, but picture 100 gives you an idea of what it looked like. Picture 110 shows what it looks like from the outside. I will be sure to include plenty of the camp during the daylight in our blog article: www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g304017-d2433804-Reviews-Kasbah_Bivouac_Lahmada-Merzouga_Draa_Tafilalet.html#/media/2433804/632142754:p/?albumid=107&type=0&category=107 It's never a bad idea to carry some tissues for toilets in Morocco. There may have been one restaurant (?) we visited during our Sahara Desert trip where we needed to use tissues because the stall had no toilet paper, but that was the exception versus the rule. Our experience was a luxury version and it did not feel anything like camping (I guess more like glamping!). So glad to hear that including prices was helpful. It's really good for us to hear this! -Judy

[@NEWS.SANTOS]

welcom maria to casablanca

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Thank you so much for watching! We bring you with us to Fes on Saturday and hope you'll join us! -Judy

[@NEWS.SANTOS]

مرحبا مرحبا بيك في الدارالبيضاء

[@julianmarkov7502]

Can I just say: Awesome explanations! I have a couple of questions. Were you the two of you the only people they showed around? How often are the tours offered?

[@FindingGinaMarie]

Hi @julianmarkov7502, Thanks so much for watching. We had booked a private tour, so the vehicle we traveled in had only us and our driver who also was our tour guide. The only time we had other people with us was that one other couple for our camel ride (and we ate dinner that second night with them, too). The evening event with berber music was a crowd of other people, but surprisingly, that didn't bother us. After the berbers played their music, everyone was invited to try out the instruments. We enjoyed watching people get up and try out the instruments. When we departed from the desert camp, our same driver/tour guide took us on more sightseeing and brought us to our riad in Fes (all without anyone else being included). Hope this helps. Happy to answer any other questions you have! -Judy

[@nncadi1]

Monekye part...NOPE, NOPE and NOPE!

[@FindingGinaMarie]

In retrospect, I felt exactly the same way. We weren't prepared in any way for what we encountered and we both were very lucky not to be scratched. There were some important learnings there for sure! Thanks for watching! -Judy