Fez Medina 4-Hour Guided Walking Tour

I'm a Canadian traveller in my mid 20s who booked this this tour with a friend from work. We were excited due to the high rating of this tour and numerous reviews. The guide was friendly and the walk was informative. However, you'll note that when you walk through the medina, the shop stops aren't typical "local" booths, but their own isolated shops where you cannot see neighbouring stalls and what the competing prices are. Also, no locals shop at these stops. The spice "pharmacy" upmarks their products by a factor of x5-10. The pashmina and berber carpet shops were slightly more reasonable but still overpriced. These high prices are partly because the tour guide gets a commission for bringing you there. You are not forced to buy anything but nonetheless many people do. There are comparable goods at the actual vendors where the locals shop for quite a bit cheaper. On this tour, my friend and I each bought an assortment of carpets/scarves/spices. On return to our riad, the local manager was shocked at the prices we paid for the quality of goods we had. Tourism police got involved and we were able to return our goods and get our money back. We then went around with a local employee from our riad and found comparable goods (especially the spices) for MUCH cheaper. In any case, this is otherwise a great walk and still worth it if you don't buy anything. The views are lovely and it's nice to have a guide explain things. If you do buy items at the designated stops, just know you are getting somewhat scammed (despite any bargaining you do to lower the price) and that the tour guide is not bringing you to places in your best interest, but his. Cheers!

The guide knew a lot and spoke lots of languages which was great. He waited for us because we were finishing our breakfast and he took us everywhere that was scheduled and even more. Was very nice always smiling and taking pictures. One of the best guides we have ever had. Recomend it 100% and hipe to see him again

Our tour with Kamal more than exceeded our expectations. Kamal was extremely knowledgable and gave us a complete overview on the history and culture of Fes whilst answering any questions we had. The pace of the tour was fantastic and we left feeling like we had seen and learnt a lot about the city. Kamal ensured we were comfortable at all times and gave us great tips for the rest of our stay. We would recommend to anyone looking to get the most out of their stay in Fes.

The tour was one-on-one, super nice! The guide, Hakim, was super knowledgeable and even thought I'd selected the tour in English he spoke such good Spanish we did it in Spanish. He is not originally from Fes, studies there, but knows so much and knows all the backalleys and people in the stores. We did a half-day tour and really got to see everything that was open. Right from the start he asked me what I wanted to see, in case he could add it to the tour, and if I wanted to buy anything, so we would skip the stores or go to them. I did the tour on Friday, so a lot of it was closed, but that made the Medina more enjoyable. The things that were open were open really because Ramadan was about to start (April 1st, it started April 2nd), so there were less people, but also some attractions were closed. Hakim was really nice, answered every question I had and came up with about Moroccan culture, history, and Fes. He also was very close to some shop owners, so for example we got to go up to the terraces to see the main tannery from above and have the Instagram picture. I think he also took a little bit more care with me because I was a woman travelling alone, and did things like invite me tea and made sure I was close by. I would really really recommend this tour and Hakim to anyone! Keep in mind that the Mosques only allow muslims inside, and the University only allows students, so you only get to see those from outside ;) as well, Fridays are very religious days, so if you can try to book a tour for another day you might run into more people but also you'd see more of the Medina open!

Wow. We have been in Morocco for 5 days - this was EASILY the best tour we have taken. Don’t pass this up. Our tour guide, Kamal, gave us an incredible experience. He made it clear from the start this was a cultural tour - not a business trip (we were never pressured to buy anything with him, and he protected us from scams/pressure situations, while still given the opportunity to buy the things we wanted). He showed us the incredible beauty from different panoramic views of Fez and the Medina, to guiding us through the amazing tunnels of the Medina itself. We always felt safe which was huge for us, and the detail and reverence he had for the city made it a truly genuine tour. Hard to have a favorite part, but the experience/views at the tannery and the Medina itself stand out. We will never forget this experience.

I really enjoyed this walking tour of the Fes Medina! My guide was super informative and helpful! :)

I had a day to spend in Fez and wanted to get the most out of my time. I could not have been more pleased with Adil, my guide. Right away he asked what were my interests and tailored the tour to my liking! It was like being a movie star with a backstage pass to Morocco! I met the craftsman as they worked and saw the process as it happened. He helped me negotiate for bargains and even carried my heavy bags. He was so thoughtful that he planned the walk so we wouldn’t be walking uphill through the Medina. And he even organized my transportation to the train station. Thank you Adil!

Our guide was wonderful and we felt that we got a really good feel for the city. He was very professional and made us feel right at home!

Tour operator was up front that Friday may not be a good day to tour the Medina because it is the Islamic holiday during the week. Overall I think that made the medina less crowded so a bit more desirable to me. But it did mean that many of the "attractions" on this tour were closed. Did my group still find value in this your? Yes, there were some parts of it I will never forget If I were to do it again would I choose a different day? Yes, and not in August when it was 115deg F. Overall the guide was good. He was attentive and well acquainted with the confusing medina streets and alleys. I would NOT reccomend exploring the medina streets alone without a guide. Granted, there were parts of the tour that weren't clearly delineated in the viator description that I didnt expect to be a part of it but if they hadn't been then it really would have been a short tour. Also no admission fees are included in this tour, so expect to pay for every admission fee of every attraction. Which could add up, depending on your budget. Overall a good tour that was a good metaphor for the Fez way if life, IMO.

Tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, well spoken and approachable. He knew his facts and was able to add context as the tour went along. We loved this tour, and it was largely because of our guide. He was excellent as was the tour more generally.