Travel is always wonderful, wherever you go and whoever you go with. Of course, it often takes plenty of patience and a good spirit of adventure, but never let anything or anyone ruin your vacation.
If you’re thinking of joining one of my organized tours in Morocco, whether you want to travel in a group, with friends or family, or go solo, you should know there are options for both.
It’s up to you to work out which kind of organized trip to Morocco suits you best, based on your needs, your time, your budget, your personality or any other factor you want to consider. And I’ll try to help.
In my experience, neither option is better than the other in principle: travelers who came alone went home with the contacts of many new friends, both fellow travelers and locals, met along the way, while those who came in a group were happy to have shared such a wonderful experience with friends, family or people they’d never met before.
Before listing some pros and cons of traveling alone or in a group, let me reassure you that Morocco is a safe country for everyone, from families with kids to women traveling alone. If you follow the advice of a tour operator who already knows these places, you’ll have nothing to worry about.
Traveling alone or in a group? Be informed before you leave for Morocco
If you want to join an organized group tour and don’t already have a group of family or friends to travel with, the agency will put you together with other people booking the same tour. In the first case you already know your travel companions, while in the second you’ll be going in “blind”, without knowing who will be sharing your vacation.
Tour operators usually put together fairly homogeneous groups. So a family with two children won’t be placed in the same group as young people looking for nightlife, for example.
What kind of traveler are you?
In any case, people who book a group tour are usually travelers keen to meet new people, whoever they may be. And if you’re afraid of being on your own and feeling lonely, a solo trip certainly isn’t for you.
If, on the other hand, you’re the kind of traveler who likes your own space and doesn’t want to be with other people all the time, a solo tour is better suited to you. Of course, even on group tours I leave free time when everyone can do what they like and go where they want, but most activities are designed to be done together as a group.
Do you want to socialize?
When it comes to meeting locals, I’ve noticed that people on group tours tend to socialize less, both with Moroccans they meet in the street and with travelers from other groups. This doesn’t happen when you travel alone, because it’s much more common to strike up conversations with strangers. A real advantage when you’re discovering a culture different from your own, letting you learn new traditions and hear stories about Morocco from people who have always lived there.
How much do you want to spend?
Another aspect to consider when choosing between a solo trip and a group trip is cost. If you have a set budget you can’t or don’t want to exceed, I recommend a group tour, because you’ll know the total cost of the trip in advance. Experiences booked as a group also cost less per person, as do transfers, which would cost a lot more if you booked them on your own. You might save on other things, like your choice of accommodation or restaurants, but it’s usually easier to get discounts for larger numbers.
Do you want to organize everything yourself?
As for trip planning, a group tour is definitely more convenient and simple. The tour operator takes care of booking hotels and flights and choosing activities and places to eat, so you won’t have to worry about any of the organizing.
If problems or unexpected issues come up, the cultural mediator will handle them, whereas you’ll have to sort things out yourself if you’re traveling alone. You’ll also have to plan your own itinerary, transfers, accommodation and places to eat and relax, just as when you organize a DIY trip. But all this could be an advantage if you want to reach places and sights not included in group tours, stay somewhere cheaper or more upscale, eat without sticking to the group’s schedule, or spend longer than planned admiring a sight or doing an activity.
A quick note on the places you might want to visit on your own. Many sites pose no problems at all, while for others, especially in more rural areas, it’s wiser to be guided by someone who knows the area. That said, in general, with the right respectful and modest attitude, solo travelers have nothing to fear for their safety.
Don’t risk missing the best!
One last aspect I want to touch on is how much freedom and insight you’re looking for. If you travel alone, you can change your plans at the last minute, stay longer in one city or less in another, or skip an experience that sounded fascinating but disappointed you once you got there. There can be many reasons, and you have plenty of freedom to follow them.
In a group, nobody will force you to do anything you don’t want to, but if, for example, there’s a three-hour guided tour of a Moroccan city that has already worn you out after half an hour, you can’t break away from the group to go somewhere else.
On the other hand, on your own you risk missing beautiful but lesser-known places that aren’t in the guidebooks, which you could discover thanks to the tour operator taking you there. And on group trips you get information and fun facts about the places you visit that you wouldn’t otherwise learn.
All in all, there are plenty of pros and cons, and neither option is better than the other: it all depends on your expectations and needs.
Finally, I invite you to keep in mind that for a tour operator, making decisions that suit every participant isn’t always easy, so please be open to other people’s needs and always be willing to adapt.
Lisa
