We all sat around a roaring fire with a backdrop of Sahara sand dunes.
When I looked over at my husband and my almost 28-year-old son learning to play the African drums, both smiling from ear to ear, I thought that this was a special experience.
When my son and his fiancée later joined a Conga line and danced around that same fire, both smiling from ear to ear, I knew that this was an unforgettable experience.
This was "Classic Morocco” with Intrepid Travel, a one-week small group adventure starting in Casablanca and finishing in Marrakech.
Our son and his fiancée were midway through a three-month Europe trip. They jumped at the chance to tour Morocco in their parents' purse, and we jumped at the chance to spend special time with them.
We just didn't realise how special this trip would be!
Sahara glamping.
From the moment we first saw the Sahara sand dunes, some as high as a hundred metres, to watching the sunrise over those dunes the next morning, this was the ultimate "pinch me" experience.
We stayed at Yasmina Luxury Camp at Merzouga, close to the Algerian border. Our tent was private with our own ensuite. It was also blissfully air-conditioned.
Shortly after we arrived at Camp, it was time for our camel ride. Each person on a camel of our own, we rode up, down and across the ridges of the terracotta sand dunes.
Whilst the beginning of the camel ride was somewhat hairy as the camel seemed to lurch beneath us, the ride itself felt like a slow horse ride. With a comfortable saddle and a handrail, I felt stable and safe.
And what a platform to view the seemingly never-ending sand dunes!
After about twenty-five minutes, we dismounted and watched the sun set. Seeing the sun set over dunes as far as the eye can see is a sight that will live with me forever. Sharing this with my husband, adult son and his fiancée was priceless.
Back on the camels, we rode back to Camp in fading light as the camels cast long shadows on the dunes. Breathtaking isn't a powerful enough word.
Meeting for dinner in the meals tent, the wind whipped up, and the rain pelted down outside. The tent was completely enclosed so we had an adventure without feeling in any way unsafe. My kind of adventure!
As quickly as the storm erupted, it died, and we were ushered outside after dinner to a roaring fire with drumming and dancing.
This will be a night that my husband and I will talk about until the end of our days, and it was incredibly special to share it with our son and his fiancée.
Our Moroccan adventure.
This Classic Morocco Intrepid itinerary is capped at twelve people. Our group comprised seven Australians (four were my group), three Americans, a Londoner and one lady from the Dominican Republic (she was a friend of two of the Americans in the group).
Three of the group were solo travellers – one each from Australia, the US and the Brit. None of us had travelled with Intrepid before and none of us had been to Morocco.
Our trip was at "Comfort" level. For me, this was the Goldilocks level – all the comforts I needed without the luxury element that I didn't need. We had an air-conditioned van with seatbelts, and we stayed at clean, air-conditioned hotels and riads, all with Wi-Fi.
Air-conditioning was important as, at the beginning of September when we travelled, the temperature averaged more than 30 degrees. It was a boiling 42 in the Sahara.
Our guide, Mohamed, never left us, so he handled any issue. Our driver, Ayoub, was a magician, both with driving and with packing all our luggage into the van each day!
Breakfast was provided daily and some lunches and dinners were included. Where a meal wasn't included, we were taken to a restaurant where English was spoken and where there were toilets.
The drives were often long, but we stopped every two hours or so for snacks, coffee and toilet stops. Surprisingly to me, the service centres were much like those in Australia.
At Mohamed's suggestion, we all contributed to a tipping kitty. Bottled water was bought for us from these funds (you can't drink the tap water in Morocco). We then decanted water as we needed it into our drink bottles. The kitty was also used to tip the local guides we had at each stop. Surplus funds were used towards our farewell dinner in Marrakesh.
Family bonding from travel.
You hear a lot these days about the Bank of Mum and Dad or, as I read recently, The Suitcase of Mum and Dad! For me, paying for my son and his fiancée to accompany us on this Morocco trip was actually a payday for the parents.
It is my husband and I who are the absolute winners, sharing travel memories with our kids into their adulthood. Irreplaceable memories. The shared wonder, the shared excitement, the shared trepidation (think camel ride here!), the shared meals, the shared laughter. All of it!
If you can ever travel with your adult kids, I can only say, "Just Do It!"
Top tips for when travelling to Morocco:
Pack a hat and sunscreen. Moroccan heat is sweltering!
Carry cash (Moroccan Dirham [MAD]) as cards are not accepted everywhere. There are lots of ATMs.
Walking is often on uneven, dusty ground. Pack comfortable walking shoes.
Take some entertainment for the long drives. Consider purchasing an e-SIM if you want Wi-Fi during the day. We did and found that mobile data worked very well.
Pack anti-diarrhoea medication. You might need it.
Ditto for travel sickness medication. The drives are long and the roads can be bumpy and windy.
The writer was a guest of Intrepid Travel on the eight-day "Classic Morocco" Comfort Style itinerary, starting in Casablanca and finishing in Marrakesh.
This story was published by Mamamia on 24 October 2025.
