Moroccan Wanderer

Village Guesthouse: While in the village, students will be in big rooms of a guesthouse (5 to 6 students per room) with shared bathrooms. There will be access to electricity but no wifi.

Sahara Camp: While camping, students will be sharing tents that have beds and pillows.

Hotels and Riads: For the rest of the program students will stay in hotels and riads (traditional Moroccan houses) with private showers and bathrooms and access to electricity.

Rustic Pathways works with local community leaders and organizations to identify and prioritize the needs of each community. Please note that while we try our best to ensure we provide our advertised projects, some changes may occur due to the communities and project partners we work with.

Infrastructure Service: Students on this program will participate in an ongoing project of building a community center for youth in the village. Prepare to get your hands dirty during this incredibly powerful project!

This program involves service that requires students to be physically active (e.g. construction). 

Delicious traditional Moroccan food of course! Food is mostly family style except for Marrakech and Casablanca where we order individually off a menu. Morocco is home to many delectable dishes, many of them heavily influenced by French colonialism. Having been a major stop along the African spice route, Moroccan cuisine is rich and flavorful. The tagine, a Moroccan favorite, is a stew cooked within a conical clay pot where couscous, vegetables, spices and chicken or beef are usually piled high to be shared around the table. Dig in and fork what strikes your fancy onto your plate, or eat like a real Moroccan and scoop up each bite with some crisp and crunchy bread. Variations of the tagine are common as well as fish fillet and assorted kinds of kebabs. Hearty lentil soups are also a good starter to any meal. Be sure to sample some pastilla while you are traveling, this traditional dish is a crispy crepe stuffed with chicken and spices while the top is sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon. It’s the perfect combination of savory and sweet! Almost all Moroccan meals are served with bread, as it is a big staple in Moroccan daily life. After you are good and stuffed be sure to wash down your Moroccan feast with a steaming cup of sweet Moroccan mint tea. Moroccan breakfast usually include a lot of carbs and is rarely accompanied with eggs or protein. If that is an important component for you at breakfast, packing bars and other snacks like nuts is necessary.

Dietary Requirements/Food Allergies – We can easily accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and other common dietary requirements on this program. Please make sure to include this in your medical form so that our staff can prepare and we always recommend bringing along some of your own favorite snacks!

We will be providing bottled water at all times, but don’t forget to bring along your own reusable water bottle so we can minimize our plastic usage.

Expect hot and dry on most of your program’s locations, however Morocco’s Atlantic coastal cities such as Casablanca and Rabat are generally cooler and milder than in the interior. The interior of Morocco such as in Marrakech is hot and sunny during the summer. Up in the Atlas Mountains where you will be doing your community service expect it to be hot and sunny during the day and cooler at night.

Flights: Rustic Pathways uses Royal Air Maroc for our escorted group flights from the United States to Casablanca, Morocco. Students will fly from New York (JFK) to Casablanca (CMN) with an approximate flight time of 7 hours. The advertised dates for this program include travel time from the USA.

Visa: There are no visa requirements in Morocco for students traveling on United States passports. Students traveling with Rustic Pathways on passports not issued by the United States are responsible for determining their own visa requirements. Please check with the appropriate consulate or embassy.

Internal Travel: This program does not have any internal flights, but students will be traveling frequently throughout this program. Students will travel via private bus or private vans throughout the program as they travel around Morocco.

Students are allowed to bring phones on their Rustic Pathways program, but must abide by our cell phone policy. Students will not be allowed to use their phones during group activities, nor at any other time where it is disruptive to the group dynamic. If students are unable to abide by this policy, disciplinary action may be taken and phones may be confiscated until the end of the program. We want to encourage students to disconnect in order to fully immerse themselves in the experience and get the most out of their program. That being said, students will have access to wifi twice during this itinerary while in the larger cities. Parents will have access to our 24/7 emergency number and will also receive updates from our staff once your student is in country.

All activities in this itinerary are included. Checked luggage fees, personal gifts, laundry, and snacks are not. We generally recommend bringing $300-$400USD for spending money.

Students will have the opportunity to do laundry once during this program. The cost is $1 per 3 items.

It is very important that we respect the cultural norms and local customs while traveling throughout Morocco. With a majority of the population practicing Islam, Morocco is a conservative Muslim country and the influence of religion is felt in the ways people act, dress, and present themselves. Women should be very mindful of their clothing while visiting Morocco. It is important to wear modest clothing that does not show or reveal too much skin. This means avoiding shorts, tank tops, transparent shirts, crop tops, and tight clothing such as yoga pants or leggings. Wearing loose fitting clothes will keep you cooler during hot days anyway, and the added coverage will protect your skin from that powerful Moroccan sun! When visiting religious sites such as the Hassan II mosque, it is required that women cover their heads before entering the mosque so remember to pack a scarf or sarong. While swimming or visiting the beach, we ask that you please pack a one-piece bathing suit. Remember, Morocco isn’t all desert and heat, evenings on the Atlantic coast or up in the Atlas Mountains can get pretty chilly and breezy even during the summer months. Be sure to pack a sweatshirt or light jacket that you can throw on just in case!