I have always wanted to visit Morocco, but getting around on our own sounded a bit challenging and more aggravation than we wanted to go through, so we decided to take a private tour organized though a company in the States, with a driver and tour guides when necessary, and all accommodation, meal and attraction reservations made and paid for in advance. This is the first time we've ever taken a tour (except in Saudi Arabia, where you almost have to), and it's for two weeks (which gave me pause for thought), but hopefully it will be a good way to see a lot of Morocco without some of the hassles that come along with visiting a country in this part of the world.

Update after our return home: We arranged the tour itself through Experience It Tours in Florida (with an office on the ground in Marrakech) http://www.experienceittours.com/ -- which did an excellent and efficient job of securing hotels and such -- and specifically requested that Rostom Badrane be our driver, based on the recommendations of Bart Aldrich https://pbase.com/baldrich/moroc who was there in October. Rostom has his own tour company as well http://www.badrane-tours.com/ and does extended countrywide tours like ours, day trips and simple transfers between cities. If you’re considering a trip to Morocco – which I can’t recommend highly enough – or find yourself in the country and in need of services, I would get in touch with Rostom. He’s a great person, is fluent in English, French and Moroccan Arabic, and quite frankly knows everybody and everything to make your visit an unforgettable one.

This gallery is just an overview of our trip, with a picture or two from every day; I'll fill in the many blanks when we get back home.