Middle East and North Africa Tours and Vacations

Our Treasures of Jordan journey (Feb 15 to 20, 2026) was truly an unforgettable experience from start to finish.

Despite the unexpected flight cancellation from Turkish Airlines and last-minute schedule adjustments, everything was handled with remarkable professionalism and calm.

Our guide was exceptional—knowledgeable, passionate, and deeply proud of his country. His warmth and storytelling brought Jordan’s rich history and culture vividly to life at every site we visited. Our driver was equally wonderful—always punctual, kind, and knowledgeable, making every journey comfortable and relaxed. Together, they showed incredible flexibility in rearranging the itinerary to accommodate our changed arrival, yet still ensured we experienced most of the important historical and cultural highlights.

Jordan itself was such a beautiful surprise. From the dramatic landscapes and historical sites of Jerash, Petra, and Wadi Rum to the serenity of the Dead Sea, every day revealed something breathtaking. The depth of history, the richness of culture, and most of all, the genuine warmth and hospitality of the people made this trip truly special.

We leave with grateful hearts, wonderful memories, and a deep appreciation for this extraordinary country and the amazing team of Zicasso’s travel company who made it all possible.

Another magical Zicasso trip. This time to Morocco with a local agency. The travel specialists ensured our family was well taken care of from the minute we landed in Marrakech.

We were greeted by our incredible driver with a basket of pistachios, almonds, apricots, figs, the most delicious dates, and a bag with adapters, a map, small bills and coins (for bathrooms), and a beautifully custom-designed leather backpack with our daughters’ names engraved on it in Arabic. Our whole family agrees that our driver’s hospitality, attention to detail, and love for his country made this trip extra-special. Even though there were many long drives during this trip, our driver always asked when we needed breaks along the way, seemed to know many of our local guides, and ensured we were comfortable and saw key viewpoints during our drive.

One of our most memorable visits was to the blue city of Chefchaouen. We stayed in a riad on New Year’s Eve and were treated to live music and delicious Moroccan food for dinner. The next day we had plans to hike to a waterfall; however, the rains flooded much of the path and the travel specialist asked if we were okay to take a walking tour of Chefchaouen instead. We were grateful for this flexibility and all very impressed with our local guide. Since he grew up there, he took us to many of his favorite spots, including a walk along the river where we had the absolute best pomegranates we have ever had. Not only the fruit itself, but we were then treated to pomegranate juice and a special combination of orange and pomegranate, which remains our family’s favorite.

On our way to Fes, we stopped in Volubilis. Again, our guide made the tour of these Roman ruins and UNESCO World Heritage Site one to remember. Our guide’s in-depth historical knowledge and ability to find the perfect photo spots made the ruins come to life. We are thankful we took the time to stop here.

Our stay in our riad in Fes was truly remarkable. The intricate details in both of our rooms, the superb breakfast, and excellent service will hold a special place in our hearts. Again, the local guide who took us through the souks and then the food tasting tour grew up in the community and seemed to know the local favorites.

Our driver’s keen driving skills helped us maneuver through a winter storm in the Middle Atlas Mountains. The road closed for many hours, but with our driver’s patience and perseverance we managed to cross the mountains and have lunch in a great local spot.

Riding the camels in the Sahara to our desert camp was a memorable experience for all of us. The camp itself was absolutely exceptional. Heated tents with private bathrooms and very comfortable beds were beyond what we imagined. We were treated to a delicious dinner that night and sang and played music with the local camp guides after the glorious sunset. After catching the sunrise and a scrumptious breakfast, we began our long journey back to Marrakech, going through the towns of Skoura and Ait Benhaddou.

In Marrakech, the travel company arranged for us to stay in our hotel, where we made spa appointments for the most soothing hammams and had lovely breakfasts each morning. In addition to the local shopping and especially the spice seller, our highlight was definitely the cooking class on the farm with our chef, where we learned three kinds of tagines with couscous, salad, and desserts. We toured the farm and just had an amazing experience with our chef and her sous chef. We treasure the recipes we learned and have already recommended the farm’s cooking class to friends. It is absolutely worth the drive of 29km outside of Marrakech.

Our trip concluded with a wonderful stay in the coastal town of Essaouira, probably our favorite town. Walking along the seaside, having fresh fish, and meandering along the square gave us wonderful memories to bring back home.

We are so grateful for Zicasso, the travel company, our driver, and all our local guides for this five-star trip. Thank you so very much for helping us make such a delightful family memory!

Zicasso’s travel specialist did an amazing job working with us to put together an outstanding agenda and making all the arrangements on her end. The team delivered an absolutely outstanding experience in Egypt! Having one Egyptologist for the entire time was extremely helpful, and he was outstanding, making our time in Egypt extremely memorable.

Superb. Each Zicasso point person was efficient, knowledgeable, and gracious.

I was very impressed by Zicasso’s tour operator and enjoyed my trip immensely. Yes, there were a few hiccups initially that were resolved before I left for Egypt. I even spoke with the travel specialist on Zoom face-to-face before I left for my trip and my concerns were all clarified.

From the time I landed in Cairo and was met at the airport by the representative from the tour operator to when I left, things ran smoothly.

The ground teams in the different areas were very efficient. The accommodations were first class. The tours that were planned and the Egyptologists that accompanied me on these tours were very knowledgeable and went beyond what was expected or required of them. The local tours met my expectations.

The transportation provided was also first class.

They did provide exceptional service overall.

We are a group of nine college friends in our mid-70s who had an absolutely wonderful trip of a lifetime to Egypt and Jordan, planned by Zicasso’s travel specialist. Every facet was competently covered: Cairo, Aswan, Abu Simbel, a five-day dahabiya cruise down the Nile, Luxor, and onto Petra in Jordan.