Middle East & North Africa Travel Agents and Reviews

Five stars aren’t enough! This Zicasso company was extraordinary! It was perfect because we didn’t just tour, we experienced it. Their planning team worked with us ahead of time to accommodate our out-of-the-box requests and our itinerary was the best planned and laid out that I have ever seen. I felt they got to know us well, truly customized our experience, and matched us with the right guides and drivers. Their choices of accommodations were absolutely beautiful. We are both seasoned travelers who felt we got the trip of a lifetime at a very reasonable price.

Our driver was extraordinary. His bright smile never faded over 10 days and many, many miles. He anticipated our needs and interests masterfully and provided incredible service. His driving was excellent, his heart pure and kind, and his knowledge and love of his country were a treat. We even really enjoyed our time in the car because he was a delight to talk with. He also had great command of where the best-quality experiences were in every situation. He was clearly well respected at all of our stops by his counterparts throughout the country. Impeccable!

Our guide in Marrakech was a perfect match for us. He not only had great command of his job, he was so fun and so spirited. It was like hanging out with a very knowledgeable, joyful, and interesting friend. I felt like he had my best interests at heart when he chose where to take us in our limited time and when he helped negotiate good prices in the market. You could tell from the many people who greeted him very warmly as we moved about that he had many great relationships, a telltale sign of just what a great guy and consummate professional he is.

Our guide in Fes was delightful. She was excellent at her job and a joy to spend the day with. Our other guide there helped to make our special requests come true for memories of a lifetime. Both of their relationships with the people they work with helped to make our experience more than a tour.

In the desert, our guide, who wore more hats than I could keep track of, had a powerful presence that made it clear from the minute we arrived that we were in good hands. His grace, clarity, warmth, and ease were remarkable for such a very hard-working and dedicated man whose service and staff demonstrated, from beginning to end, excellence in every way. Who knew you could get five-star accommodations, food, management, and staff in the desert?! We were fortunate to have extra time with him to hear about his Gnawa roots, resulting in us having a deeper understanding than we would have from our time in their village. The evening fires, camel ride, and sandboarding were a big part of what made our trip so special.

All of these people were great at their jobs, but you can’t teach what they brought to those jobs. Our travel personnel were some of the best in the business; not just in Morocco, but in the travel industry.

Zicasso’s travel partners did an amazing job and were quick to work through any issues we had during our trip to Dubai. My only complaint is I asked for the start times of our daily excursions and was told they would be given to me on arrival. The driver picking us up didn't have any schedule for us. It was only after calling the company that I got what I originally asked for.

The trip, on the whole, was quite memorable. The Zicasso travel agency did a good job in planning the itinerary and obtaining top-rate accommodation. Providing a nice, sturdy car (Toyota Land Cruiser) that had WiFi throughout the trip was especially helpful on long drives traversing the more remote areas. My husband particularly enjoyed being able to use Google Maps to identify the routes and towns along the way and ask questions about them. Having a private tour guide and a good driver indulged us in the convenience and comfort we much appreciated. There were a few hiccups, one particularly dreadful incident involving a riad we stayed at that I reviewed extensively on TripAdvisor, and some general comments I will share with you.

The tour guide and the driver were delightful. The tour guide was in his 40s and the driver in his 20s. They had a nice rapport, like older and younger brothers, which was endearing to observe. The guide’s English was adequate, but not fluent, and quite heavily accented. He was informed as to the basic “tourists-need-to-know” information of the history of Morocco and had elemental knowledge of the sites we visited, but he was not conversant in more in-depth exploration or on topics outside of these spheres. That was regrettable because there were so many opportunities on the long drives to explore various subjects (bygone and current) regarding Morocco and its people, but we were not able to do so with him. (Unlike the tour guides we had in Greece, on the trip Zicasso arranged for us in 2019). The driver’s English was minimal, but he was gentle, good-natured, and had “hollow legs”; it was a delight to watch him put away enormous amounts of food at one sitting! (We invited them to share lunch with us throughout the trip.) Perhaps it was not easy for the agency to find a guide and a driver who could get along well on a two-week trip away from home.

We were generally pleased with their services, but there could be improvements. The driver was excellent and equally deft in negotiating narrow, winding, hillside lanes and chaotic city traffic. As a guide in charge of the itinerary, ours could have been more cognizant as to the timing of meals: on the day we traveled through the Draa Valley, we drove for five hours after breakfast without stopping for food! I was “hangry” and complained. He could also have been more aware of the conditions of the places we stopped to visit vis-a-vis the conditions of his charges, such as age, health, etc, and advised us as to appropriate safeguards. It was a warm day and I wore sandals. When we started down the cobbled stone path leading to the kasbah at Aït Benhaddou, I wondered aloud if shoes would have been more appropriate, but he was non-committal, so we did not turn back to the car to change shoes and it was a mistake. The long, steep, cobblestone path, crossing the stream on stepping stones to reach the kasbah, and the numerous stone steps up and down the kasbah clad in sandals made me feel extremely insecure and greatly diminished the pleasure I would have had in exploring the kasbah. He could also have advised us in advance that we might want to wear/bring socks to enter the Hassan II mausoleum in Casablanca because we were required to remove footwear inside. I noted that a large tour group all took out socks and put them on, likely informed in advance by their guide.

Now the horrific episode at the riad in Fes. That was one of two really nasty experiences on the trip.

The agency booked two nights at the riad. The riad itself was quite beautiful and our room on the second floor was large. However, as soon as we entered the room, we were bowled over by the strong smells permeating the space. I thought they were using scented candles, but there were none. We opened all the windows and even turned on the A/C fans hoping the scents would diminish, but they did not. And there was no escape: the sheets, pillowcases, throw pillows, duvet cover, and towels all had strong perfume-like scents. Likely the laundry soap they use and the products they use to clean the room are heavily scented. There was also a plug-in liquid insecticide in the closet. We spent all night coughing and sneezing, and were unable to sleep. My husband’s eyes became horribly bloodshot and swollen. My sinus was totally stopped up. We spoke to the manager the next morning about the situation and were told that there was no other room available. Besides, he insisted our room smelled fine, like all the other rooms in the riad. We told the travel agency we would have to move to another hotel, and we did. He found us a nice room at another hotel; comfortable and with no strong scents. The hospitality industry in the US is very aware of scent allergies and does a good job of keeping their facilities as scent-neutral as possible. Strong perfumes and scents are not just annoying, but dangerous to people who are allergic to them and should not be dismissed casually. We understand that people in some cultures may be used to, or even love, strong scents, but a facility that hosts guests from all over the world should have a better awareness of these issues.

The second incident was in Casablanca. The travel company treated us to a farewell dinner at this high-end restaurant and we were really looking forward to it. It was in a wonderful location with beautiful grounds. We were led to a table with an ocean view. We happily sat down, but that was the end of the joyousness. At the table next to us, the family had a dog! The dog was initially cradled by a child, but then set down to roam around the table, drink water from a bowl next to the table, and eat food thrown down from the table! Are there no sanitation laws against that? But that was not the worst part. We soon smelled cigarette smoke and looked around to see a man at a table near us smoking an e-cigarette. Then the awful stench of cigar smoke filled the air. The man at the table behind us was puffing on a huge cigar! We asked if smoking was allowed and the waitress insisted that smoking was legal in all restaurants in Morocco. (Not true. Smoking has been banned in restaurants in Morocco since 2008, but apparently enforcement is rare.) We asked to be moved to a non-smoking section and she said there was no such section. She did move us to a quieter corner, but numerous customers were smoking around us. We would have left, but it was getting late and we were hungry. It was a miserable experience. We should have known better and left when we were stopped at the gate area by a guard who would not allow our driver to enter the restaurant with us! He was wearing a kaftan.

A minor episode that could have turned into a bad one was at the riad in Marrakech. We were to spend three nights there. After checking in, we went up to our room and discovered there was no power. In fact, there had not been power for most of the afternoon in that part of the riad, but we were not informed of it when we checked in around 4pm. It was only after discovering the room had no power and asking the front desk about it that we were told construction next door had somehow interfered with the power grid, but that power should come back on within an hour. We waited in the courtyard for a couple of hours, but nothing happened. We contacted our agent, who was in Marrakech, and he met us at the riad. We told him we could not stay in a room with no lights, no A/C, and no power to charge phones and iPads. By then, it had been four hours sitting in the courtyard instead of resting in our room. Neither the hotel nor the agent appeared to have any solutions except to wait! We told him that if by 8.30pm power was still out, we would leave and go to another hotel. At 8.30, he rose to speak with management, but as luck would have it, power returned and remained on for the rest of our stay.

We were very happy with Zicasso and the travel company. There were no hitches. All of the guides, drivers, and hotels were wonderful.

My husband came down with bronchitis in Egypt and the hotel immediately got him a doctor. The Egypt travel company continued to monitor his condition throughout the trip.

I received white-glove service from the initial inquiry to the conclusion of the trip.

Zicasso's travel partner helped me plan my dream trip. I have wanted to go to Greece and Rome since my freshman year in high school after reading about Greek mythology and taking world history and civilization. Many, many years later I was able to go; not only go, but take my daughter and give her this experience.

Our itinerary was customized to our interests and backed with fun. We received detailed instructions. When you are traveling abroad, you have so much to be anxious about. Our agents made it all easy. I really appreciated their emails checking in while we traveled and providing updates.

I highly recommend them and look forward to my next trip with them.

Overall, the travel agency arranged an amazing and unforgettable tour for us in Israel. LeeAnn is extremely organized, positive, and knowledgeable about Israel. She was able to propose an amazing itinerary and worked with us on edits until it was perfect.During the tour itself, she was very hands-on and reached out to us frequently to ensure everything was running smoothly. There were some minor scheduling issues (as can be expected on a nine-day tour), but she was very hands-on and proactive at fixing.

I would highly recommend this travel company and look forward to working with them again.

We cannot say enough wonderful things about our Zicasso travel agent and his company. He planned and guided us through a wonderful trip to Türkiye in April. Our agent was available, patient, flexible, and responsive to all of our requests, changes, questions, and concerns. He could not have made the planning easier, even when we asked questions we had already asked or had last-minute requests.

In addition to creating the trip we wanted, he provided us with a detailed itinerary, a 24-hour local contact in Türkiye, restaurant recommendations, gratuity information and suggestions, as well as responding to individual requests, such as "How do I say I am allergic to peanuts?" in Turkish! Our trip went off without a hitch.

All of the hotels were amazing and each one different. Our agent even arranged for an upgrade, at no charge to us, at the last minute. We had wonderful guides in each of the three locations we visited. We traveled by air within Türkiye and that also went amazingly smoothly, even through there were very few signs in English. The attention to detail was amazing and appreciated.

Our local contact was also fantastic. He answered questions any time of day or night, was helpful, and made us feel taken care of throughout our journey. We also felt secure knowing we could provide our family members with a local contact, just in case.

We can say, without reservation, that you can completely trust our travel agent will design and implement a wonderful and memorable vacation for you, no matter what you are looking for.

The Zicasso tour operator was friendly, accommodating, and helpful. He told us he wanted us to have the best possible trip and that nothing was too much trouble. I believe that was his intention.

For example, when the Wi-Fi aboard the cruise turned out to be very poor, our guide immediately got a data SIM for our phones. We had two guides, one for Cairo and the north and one for Luxor and the south. Both were very experienced and well-versed in their knowledge of the history of Egypt and the monuments they were guiding us through.

Our hotels in Cairo and Alexandria were entirely acceptable. We were, however, disappointed that sometimes we were taken for lunch at tour bus restaurants. It would have been much nicer if a quieter and more intimate restaurant had been selected. By contrast, in Suez, we were guests at a private social club and treated to an incredible lunch as we watched massive ships glide by so close to us. It would have also been nice to have had more information on tipping customs, since every country is different.