Taroudant and Tiout Excursion | Morocco 2025 (6/8)

Susann wanted to go on a trip to Marrakesh. That was a possibility during our visit to Agadir, with plenty of options to choose between. Our only problem was that Marrakesh was a three-hour drive away. It would have been a very long day with only a few hours in the city. To our understanding, Marrakesh is a city that requires several days to see. Well, we had another option as well. The town of Taroudant lies only about an hour from Agadir and is known as Mini Marrakesh. It is a walled city with a long history and it is easy to find excursions in this direction. We opted to go with a tour company and combine Taroudant with the Berber town of Tiout.

Booking the Taroudant Excursion

There are several tour agents selling excursions all over Agadir. Most of them actually sell the same product. Considering that there can be a big price difference between different agents, it is sometimes worth asking around. During our first day in Agadir, I collected the numbers of several of these agents.

Two days before we wanted to go on an excursion, I texted two of them on WhatsApp to ask about availability and cost. The one who replied offered us the trip for 1000 Dirhams. That was the total cost for two adults and a child. We heard from many others later on that they had paid 1200 Dirhams for three people. Asking around can save you a lot of money, in our case around 20 Euros. Our tip is to ask in a way that they still have to convince you to go while at the same time providing the information of how many you are.

After agreeing on the price and excursion on WhatsApp, I just had to take a short walk to meet him at one of his outlets close to the hotel. I did this the morning before the trip and after paying the 400 Dirham deposit, we were set to go.

Hotel Pick-up in the Morning

Our pickup time had been set to 8:30 in the morning. But our minibus was almost 20 minutes late. One of the reasons was that we were one of the last pick-up points. Another reason would come to light later during the day. There was a Belgian couple in the group and he had brought with him his 98-year-old mother. A lot of things would go a lot slower this day than both we and the guide would have liked. Either way, we were soon on our way out of Agadir and heading inland towards Taroudant.

The Climbing Goats

We had just left Agadir when we made our first stop of the day. It was a stop that I must consider to be the most touristic and misleading stop we did during the entire week. Morocco has become famous for its climbing goats. There are so many photos of the goats standing on the branches of the Argan trees. According to online sources, it is a known problem that the Argan oil has provided an influx of money to the country’s farmers. As a result, the farmers have bought more goats. During the drought, these goats supposedly the Argan trees for food and by doing so damage the trees. This is believed to be one of the reasons why the number of healthy trees has been in decline.

Our stop was at one site with an argan tree crowded with goats. It looks interesting. But at the same time, it really looks staged. A farmer later goes around asking for a tip and the whole vision is scattered. It only proves that it is possible for the goats to climb the trees, but not that they do it regularly by themselves.

A Short Stop at a Orange Orchard

From the climbing goats, we continued to a gas station. That was at least my first thought. It turned out that just behind the gas station was an orange orchard that we got to have a short walk through to see the many fruits soon ready for picking. Well, it was not only oranges but also lemons. I consider these types of stops quite boring, but Little A liked all the colors. Luckily we were soon on our way again towards Taroudant.

The Town of Taroudant

We did finally reach the town of Taroudant and drove along its long walls. I really find fortified towns like this fascinating. There is just something about the city walls and other fortifications. There were still signs of the 2023 earthquake that damaged the old walls of the city, leaving large cracks.

Our tour group was dropped off at one of the city gates and that was about what we got to see of the city wall. We were soon led into the maze of narrow streets at the local souk. It turned out that our group consisted of people from several countries. In addition to us, there were people from Belgium, France, Portugal, and the UK. In other words, the guide had to say everything in both English and French. Let’s just say that there were going to be problems with that. Once we entered a small square, with the most touristic shops in Taroudant, the guide caused quite some trouble for himself.

We have no clue what he said in French, but both we and a British family understood that we had 60 minutes to walk around freely. I even asked him twice if I actually heard right. Yes, sixty minutes. So we walked around and eventually got bored with the small square and started to look at the other nearby streets. The British family did the same. It wasn’t until we walked by the square that we noticed that the tour group was gone. We found the Brits nearby but no one else.

We returned to the square and the merchants pointed us in the correct direction and we soon found both the guide and the tour group. I offered to go with the guide to see if we could find the British family. It was first during our walk that I came to understand that he had meant 16 minutes and not 60. The Brits had been able to find the tour group before we found them, so everything was eventually sorted out. But the guide hopefully learned to be more precise.

Our tour continued through the maze of the souk. passed many colorful stands of food and species. It was interesting to see, but not much time to really enjoy it. Back out on the street we were soon back in the minibus and heading out of Taroudant.

Lunch in the Berber Town of Tiout

When we left Taroudant, one thing was obvious. We were all quite hungry and looked forward to our lunch stop. Luckily that was next on our agenda as we drove towards the Berber town of Tiout. The town is famous for its oasis with palm trees, but also for its kasbah which nowadays houses a restaurant. It was at this restaurant that we were going for lunch. High up on a hill the kasbah offered a great view of the landscape.

We were soon seated and we shared a table with the British family. We might have been one of the first to enter the restaurant and our tour group took the tables furthest in. The rest of the tables were filled in the following 15 minutes and soon the food started to arrive. They did, however, start at the entrance and we got our food last. Moroccan logic? We are not sure what it was. In addition to the time it had taken so far, the lunch took forever. Luckily it was delicious. We were soon served a tagine with chicken and a place of couscous and vegetables. Sharing the table with the family from the UK also included some nice discussions. It is always nice to hear “British” English, instead of American.

Interesting fact. The kasbah of Tiout was in 1954 as a filming location for the French production of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

The Oasis of Tiout

After lunch, we began our walk down the hill towards the Oasis of Tiout. This green oasis was once a resting place for the travelers through this harsh landscape. Today with more modern irrigation it is a lush landscape with palm trees. Our guide had for this final part been replaced by a local and our group made its way towards the palm trees. It is, indeed, a beautiful walk. It is like entering a different world compared to the surrounding landscape. Our walk eventually took around an hour, but we still had to wait for our minibus. The old lady was driven down the hill in the bus, instead of joining.

A Delayed Return to Our Hotel

We were eventually on our way back to Agadir. So be it that we left Tiout at the time we were expected to be back in Agadir. In hindsight, I can’t understand why someone is going on a tour like this when they are 98 years old. It is impressive, but the need of a wheelchair on the streets of Morocco is not always easy. That is what you risk when booking an excursion with a tour agency. The risk of delays due to other members of the group. Well, that and the guide’s inability to communicate time properly.

The drive back from Tiout took around 90 minutes, which meant that the swimming pool had closed for the day once we were back at the hotel. Luckily we had something else to look forward to for the evening. There was going to be a show of some kind. So once we had finished our dinner and had a short rest, we saw a show containing traditional music and dance, as well as snakes. It was all finished by a belly dancer. Yes, the standard tourist trap. This time, it was at a proper theater scene at the hotel instead of in a restaurant. It might have been too long, but it was nice to see something different. Maybe we even learned something. We were at least ready for more adventures before heading back to Sweden.