Car and driver in Morocco

On a trip to Morocco, Dec. 20, 2006-Jan. 4, 2007, I arrived in Casablanca with only a hotel reservation and some ideas but no firm plans. I had read articles about Morocco in ITN, checked the Internet and had referred to Lonely Planet and Footprint guidebooks as well as several fine pamphlets (“Imperial Cities,” “Museums,” “The Kasbah Trail,” “Casablanca,” etc., published by the Moroccan National Tourist Office (Orlando, FL; 407/264-0133, www.visitmorocco.org).

I also arrived without my checked bag, but it came, in time. Be advised that if this happens to you (and don’t forget to put necessities in a carry-on!), you’ll have to retrieve delayed luggage, assuming it arrives at all, because it will not be delivered to you. As a small consolation, you will be reimbursed 400 dirhams (about $47) for the assumed taxi fare to the airport, if you ask.

I stayed for two nights at the Ramada Les Almohades Casablanca Morocco (Avenue Moulay Hassani 1, Casablanca; phone 212 22 220505, fax 22 260242 or e-mail casa.almohade@ramada global.com), whose chief concierge, Mohammed Hakim, was very helpful.

This 4-star hotel is centrally located and has the usual amenities for a Ramada hotel plus a good Moroccan restaurant with musicians in the evenings. Not including taxes or any meals, the rate was about $97 per night for a quite comfortable single.

I normally use public transportation when I travel, but Mr. Hakim suggested that I hire a car and driver I had already used for a tour of Casablanca. Ali Abida (youness_vip @hotmail.com), who is available through Mr. Hakim or directly by e-mail, is quite familiar with the entire country and is very pleasant and accommodating. He is also a careful driver — an important consideration, given the accident rate on Morocco’s highways.

While this was during the holiday season in the West and, this year, during Ramadan in Islamic countries, it was off tourist season. The rate for Mr. Abida’s services was €100 (about $130) per day, cash (no credit cards). Payment was made to Mr. Hakim in part at the beginning of my stay in Morocco, with the balance at the end. I gave only a gratuity directly to Mr. Abida on my departure.

Mr. Abida was responsible for all expenses for his vehicle, a diesel Mercedes normally used as a “Grande Taxi,” and himself. I paid separately for my accommodations, meals, museum entrance fees, etc. When we stopped for mint tea or coffee and/or lunch, Mr. Abida sometimes insisted on paying the bill. We were not together when we were not using his car, and he arranged his own lodging. I could contact him on his cell phone, if necessary.

Mr. Abida is fluent in Moroccan Arabic and French and is competent, but hardly fluent, in English. I simply did not fully understand this when I arranged for his services. However, I would still recommend him for a limited period or for someone who can converse in French or, of course, in Moroccan Arabic. We managed fairly well with English and my nearly nonexistent French, but I know it was frustrating for both of us at times. To facilitate matters, each morning I indicated in writing what I wanted to see and do. Mr. Abida often also suggested other things. Incidentally, Mr. Hakim called us a few times during our trip to ensure that all was well.

Mr. Abida certainly knows his country, but he is not a licensed guide and hence cannot be seen behaving as one, i.e., closely accompanying a tourist on foot, which was a minor inconvenience. Through him I engaged licensed, fluent English-speaking guides twice, at the Roman ruins of Volubilis near Meknes and for the medina in the Old City of Fez.

We drove approximately 1,200 miles in 13 days on a route quite familiar to tourists in Morocco: Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes (two nights), Fez (three), Beni Mellal (one), Marrakech (three) and one night each in Essaouira, Safi and El Jadida, ending up back in Casablanca.

About accommodations, I asked Mr. Hakim to make reservations for me at hotels along the way, and he did so for most of them. They often were in Ibis Hotels (phone 0 892 686 686 or visit www.ibishotel.com), a French-owned chain found throughout Morocco — 3-star and, overall, quite satisfactory. The rate for a comfortable single room was about $40 a night, not including taxes or any meals. Each hotel had a dining room, indeed with largely the same menu at each hotel.

The weather on this trip was generally sunny but cool.

ATMs were easy to find and seemed to have a limit of 2,000 dirhams ($233).

Bottled water, a must, was readily available. Alcoholic beverages, including Moroccan wine and beer, were quite commonly available in restaurants, with a few exceptions. And mint tea, seemingly a national obsession, was delicious!

There were few tourists, and most whom I saw were from nearby Europe.

Mosques normally are not accessible to non-Muslims in Morocco. A notable exception is the magnificent Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, which offers tours for foreign tourists.

A car and driver certainly gave me a great deal of flexibility and a convenient, and I believe overall cost-effective, way to see many things I most surely would have missed had I been using public transportation. I was not interested in driving myself. And although there was a language problem, I certainly gained from my near 2-week close association with a proud citizen of Morocco.

J. ARTHUR FREED

Los Alamos, NM