MOROCCO HANDCRAFTS TOUR – an overview

 

 

2024 TOURS – SOLD OUT 

APRIL 2025 – BOOKINGS OPEN SOON 

Are you enthralled by Moroccan textiles and handcrafts? Have you always wanted to visit this fascinating Amazigh-African-Arab country?  Join our women only, small group tours, for the experience of a lifetime, exploring specialist handcraft and textile museums, enjoying hands-on experiences in leatherwork, zellige mosiac tiling, Fessi embroidery, mat weaving, carpet weaving and botanical dyeing, visiting artisan studios and women’s handcraft cooperatives, indulging in fabulous handcraft and textiles shopping (if you wish), exploring magnificent scenery and architecture and experiencing traditional Moroccan culture. Plus, so much more.

This 17 day women’s handcrafts tour is fully escorted by a retreat|recreate host and our accredited and experienced Moroccan guide. Taking in the four imperial cities of Fes, Marrakech, Meknes and Rabat, plus Casablanca, the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert, the trip encompasses hands-on handcraft workshops and experiences and numerous visits to artisan studios, women’s cooperatives and museums. Spend a night glamping in the Sahara under the stars, explore the souks of ancient medinas, sip mint tea while learning about Moroccan carpet weaving, and savour meals with local families.  Does this sound like the trip of a lifetime? We promise you that the sound of the call to prayer floating over an ancient medina is something you’ll remember forever. Please keep reading to view the health, fitness and mobility expectations for travellers on this tour.

Join us!

Inclusions

  • 17 days accommodation as per the itinerary
  • meals as per the itinerary (drinks not included)
  • local English speaking guide and retreat|recreate host throughout the tour
  • all transport, sightseeing attractions (museums, galleries, etc) and excursions as per the itinerary
  • hands-on textile and handcraft experiences
  • $50 donation per person to a local women’s charity
  • arrival airport transfer

Not included in price

  • international airfares
  • travel insurance (required)
  • early check in or late check out
  • meals and drinks not included in the itinerary
  • personal spending (laundry, phone, souvenirs etc)
  • tips (we’ll create a tips kitty to cover hotel and restaurant staff tipping on behalf of the group)
  • departure airport transfer

Things to note

  • The tour comprises 16 nights/17 days. The itinerary is a full one to ensure value for money, however some free periods are built in. The opportunity exists to extend your trip by extra nights at our accommodations (subject to availability) before and/or after the tour;
  • Transport is by private air conditioned coach, the occasional taxi or jeep and camel;
  • Cultural, environmental and sustainable travel is important to us. To this end, we: engage local city guides; patronise local women’s co-operatives, social enterprises, not-for-profits and fair trade associations where possible. We provide as many opportunities as possible to buy directly from artisans, cutting out the middle man where we can. A $50 donation to a local women’s charity is part of your tour cost – we choose a different charity for each tour. We partner with a well-respected and well-resourced local tour operator whose values align with ours;
  • Accommodation – a range of carefully chosen accommodations ranging from 2 star to 4 star, including several beautiful riads (traditional Moroccan houses built around a central courtyard) and kasbahs, a comfortable business style hotel in Casablanca, a simple but charming rustic guesthouse in a kasbah with shared bathrooms and mattresses on the floor, and a night in a desert ‘glamping’ camp (with proper beds and ensuite bathroom facilities). Please note the single supplement does not apply at the desert camp and solo travellers will be paired for that night;
  • Is this trip right for you? Please seriously and realistically consider your mobility and fitness levels  to determine if this trip is right for you.  This tour is not for you if your fitness is compromised or you use mobility aids. The tour involves:
      • extended walking tours in city medinas; you must be able to keep up with the group
      • a loop walking tour of an archaeological site of Roman ruins over rough, uneven terrain
      • a moderate hike in the Atlas Mountains
      • a loop walking tour of Ait Ben Haddou featuring many steps (Ait Ben Haddou is a hilltop fortress)
      • time in museums and galleries
      • accommodations with multiple storeys and many flights of stairs (no elevators). Our rooms are usually on second and third floors, and breakfast often served on the rooftop
      • accommodations ranging between 2 star and 4 star. The 2 star accommodation is a very rustic, rural kasbah with shared bathrooms
      • stairs and steps are often steep and uneven, frequently without handrails, occasionally poorly lit
      • two optional camel rides (you can choose to travel by jeep if you prefer)
      • several long days of travel through mountain terrain (with adequate rest, meal and bathroom stops)
      • sitting on the floor for some meals and handcrafts workshops
      • squat toilets at some workshop locations and rural rest stops
      • you need to be able to manage your own luggage 
  • our group size is maximum 12 women;
  • all our travellers must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and be willing to test and/or wear a mask if requested by the tour leaders to protect others in the group and the communities we visit;
  • retreat|recreate’s tour groups comprise women from all over the globe and embrace all ages (over 18), ethnicities, orientations and personalities. Flexibility and a sense of humour are essential when travelling as part of a group.

To request the Information Pack (Itinerary & Price, Booking form, Trip Notes etc) for this tour, or to register an Expression of Interest for any of our other tours, please email us via the contact page or at retreatrecreate@gmail.com

retreat|recreate is adept at creating a cohesive and caring group of travel companions all the while taking individual interests and concerns into consideration. Morocco exceeded any and every expectation I had! The experiences were well researched and planned. All the workshops provided insight and understanding of local craft and culture and a feeling of seeing a hidden side of Morocco. If you are planning a trip somewhere, see if retreat|recreate goes there and, if they do, go with them! Susan – Morocco November 2023

Morocco, as a textile and handicraft experience, is best enjoyed when a well researched itinerary and an experienced guide take you places an individual traveller can’t or doesn’t go. We tasted so much immersive variety it’s hard to pinpoint a specific highlight…however meeting the ladies in women’s co-ops and seeing their work and having a woman bus driver (a first!) was special. It was another world. You need to go too. Alison – Morocco April 2023

This is the first official tour I have done and am amazed at how much I enjoyed it. The thoughtfulness and consideration that went into the planning are staggering. Susan, because of her generous heart and good intentions, found the most interesting and unusual co-ops for us to visit and do workshops in such obscure corners, I’m still in awe that she did. The people we met were wonderful and kind, and the women who were supported by our visits so deserving. The cultural excursions were very welcome and informative and I really enjoyed learning about the country. The variety of riads was also a delightful surprise – colorful, smile-raising, rich architecture and craftsmanship as well as helpful staff everywhere. Our Moroccan guide, Khaled, was superb. He was a font of information – geographic, cultural, historical. He was also incredibly helpful and efficient at taking care of practical things (Susan too), as well as sweet and kind. I can’t sing praises highly enough to convey the joy this trip brought. Susan and Khaled are such a remarkable team and deserve accolades for how well they created the entire experience. My appreciation also goes to my tour companions. Everyone was happily cooperative and cheerful, which made all the difference. Mina – Morocco November 2023

If you want a first rate travel and handcraft experience rolled into one this is the trip for you! I have traveled a lot but this was my favorite trip ever. The combination of amazing tour director, guide, driver, sites and craft experiences was superb. I know this sounds like I am gushing but it is truly how I feel about this trip. I can’t wait to go on another retreat|recreate trip next year! Betsy – Morocco November 2023

Every time I travel with retreat|recreate, I think that THIS trip was truly one of a lifetime!!! But
they all have been!!! So, if you are looking to really delve into the history and culture(s) of a
country, particularly one that is difficult to access as a solo traveller, then exploring with a small
group of passionate like-minded women led by a consummate host is definitely the way to travel. Susan’s meticulous research, exceptional organisational skills, deep knowledge and passion for Morocco and its people as well as her connections with an awesome country host made for a truly exceptional handcrafts tour. We enjoyed wonderful full days fully immersed in looking, making, travelling (across stunning landscapes), and meeting warm, welcoming people. There were so many highlights (including mehndi, hammams, and riding a camel in the Sahara), but it was sitting with families in their homes and with women in their embroidery and weaving cooperatives for mint tea and delicious meals as well as trying our hands at a few key handcrafts that left us in awe of this beautiful country. You will not want to miss such an opportunity to explore and learn!
Louise – Morocco April 2023

My experience in Morocco with retreat|recreate was exceptional and exceeded all of my expectations. This was my first experience with group tour travel. I enjoyed being in a small group of women. The size of the group allowed us to experience museums, markets and cultural visits easily and without delays. Having a local guide and driver was invaluable. Susan, our tour leader, was gracious, knowledgeable and provided just the right structure for the group. I am planning on traveling with retreat|recreate in 2023. Jayme – Morocco 2022

I had a wonderful trip with more amazing experiences than I could have hoped for. Morocco has been a destination on my travel list and to be able to take a tour with a textile focus alongside women with similar interests made for a delightful holiday. Once again Susan, thank you for showing me Morocco. I would love to join retreat|recreate again on another trip somewhere if the planets align.  Wendy – Morocco 2019 (NB: Wendy loved the 2019 trip so much she did it again in 2023!)

The trip was meticulously researched, well organised and run smoothly by our retreat|recreate host Susan and our Moroccan guide Khaled. My fellow travellers were a fun and flexible group and a delight to travel with. It was an incredible and varied itinerary taking in many major cultural sites but with a primary focus on interacting with, and supporting, local crafts people. We visited many places and people that an independent traveller would simply not find. The tour took us to museums, palaces, local markets and most importantly people’s workplaces and homes. Visiting weaving, embroidery, carpet making and leather workshops and co-operatives were craft highlights. Impromptu stops included basket workshops, olive processing co-operatives and camel milk tasting, as well as collecting fresh cactus-silk fibres. The hands-on workshops were informative and fun. Everywhere we went we were genuinely welcomed with warm smiles and, of course, glasses of mint tea. A truly memorable trip – highly recommended for anyone interested in the crafts and cultures of Morocco. Gail – Morocco 2022