Our men in Morocco!

Our men in Morocco!  by Kim Alderden

Ok, you might come a long way by using Tripadvisor and booking.com. Of course you find lots of great tips from bloggers who visited the country and today’s travel guides are quite up-to-date. However we all know nothing beats personal advice from locals, right? And we are talking serious advice… Ben Benmoussa & Hicham Tahri are the founders and owners of Activ Travel, a dynamic, creative and highly professional travel company with a savvy status in corporate events.

(And…No this is not a commercial post but a personal recommendation on two guys I trust to the Moon and back.)

Meet our men in Morocco, Hicham @left and Ben @right.

Fresh mint tea in Fez or bubbles in Marrakech?

Fez is one of the imperial cities and is considered as the spiritual center of Morocco. At the legendary hotel Sofitel Palais Jamai terrace bar, how can I resist to a fresh mint tea-pot facing the magical sunset and night-time views on the city. Fez will then merge slowly in the landscape from green dominant roofs into night brightness surrounded by the sound of the prayer muezzins from their minarets. Simply magical & mystical!

For the basic traditional recipe of fresh mint tea drink, you will require a metal tea-pot that can be heated on a stove. Bring around a pint of water to the boil and add half a handful of green tea leaves and fresh mint leaves and the sugar. Leave the tea to steep for five minutes or set the tea-pot over medium-low heat and bring the tea to a simmer. Remove from the heat, and allow steeping several minutes more before pouring into small tea glasses. Bessaha!

Magic in the desert, part II

Magic in the desert, part II  by Kim Alderden

Unrivaled, incomparable, matchless…

Thank you Robert Aarts to capture all these great shots!

Magic in the desert, part I

Magic in the desert, part I  by Kim Alderden

Sometimes you meet a client request which will enable you to create that one-off design for their corporate event. Let me take you on an unrivaled journey in images..

Photo credits; Robert Aarts

Tents for Events

Tents for Events  by Kim Alderden

Looking for the global nomad experience? Read on as we pull back the flap of the tent to share our discoveries with you.

We’ve been travelling the world in search of tent adventures. To be honest, staying under canvas isn’t always glamorous – sometimes nature comes right into the tent or even under the bed sheets. But for those interested in stepping off the beaten path, canvas is magnificent. In the past few years, canvas adventures have been gaining attention in incentive circles and today interest has shifted into high gear: nomading is one of the hottest choices around and Morocco is the country of choice.

Fifteen years ago, hardy souls seeking a nomad camp found themselves roughing it – sleeping on coarse, itchy sheets under smelly camel wool blankets. Today things have changed – dramatically.  While the ‘purist’ experience is still available (and surprisingly popular) today’s nomads can also choose a Caidales Tent: a large black and white affair with VIP sleeping room, exquisite linen and cozy down comforters.

Recently, SHARE TODAY spoke to Mr. Canvas himself, 48-year-old Jalil Benbiga. In 1985, Jalil, working for a French tour operator, set off to explore possibilities in southern Morocco. His adventures there lasted 12 years, including a side step to Ibiza. But for this self-made man, Morocco held the key to success. Combining catering, his second love, with tour and travel, Jalil started Terres de Fête in 2004. Today, nothing is impossible for Jalil Benbiga and his talented team.

SHARE TODAY (ST): What is your favorite location for one-night camp in Morocco?

Jalil: Definitely Palm Grove at the edge of the Lalla Takerkoust Dam. Magnificent!

ST: How many people can a camp accommodate?

Jalil: We are very flexible. We typically organize events for two to ten people, but can to do large camps, too. Our largest so far was for 450 people, and that’s not a sales story. It was a fantastic event.

ST: Ecology and sustainability are important to today’s incentive travellers. Are you able make your one-night camps ecologically sustainable?

Jalil: Terres de Fete takes a sustainable approach to all our products and services. We start with environmental safeguards: taking good care of the palm trees at the camp, and always make sure the site is left as clean as when we arrived. We take pride in the fact that all our maintenance products and amenities are organic.

ST:  Could you help us plan a nomad journey across the Atlas Mountains?

Jalil: No problem. It would be a dream to create a journey back in time through Morocco. We could start with a nomadic experience in Ouarzazate. On day two, guests would convoy cross the Atlas Mountain by Jeep and camp lakeside in Caidales where they’d meet local Berbers. On day three, let’s treat your travellers to the luxuries of modern Marrakech with a VIP farewell night in the Palmeraie Gardens featuring stays in VIP marquee bedrooms.

Are you ready to sit down to the drawing board?

Where To Go For Your Next Tent Event

Palm Grove, Marrakech
The Palm Grove of Marrakech, only a few kilometres outside of town, is one of the most popular destinations in the Red City. With 13 green hectares of restful grounds and 180,000 palm trees, Palm Grove is an oasis of coolness and serenity.

Lalla Takerkoust Dam, Marrakech

The Lalla Takerkoust Dam is a wonder. Its 7 kilometre-long lake irrigates 5000 hectares along the Plain of Haouz. Camps feature a panoramic view of the towering Atlas Mountains whose peaks are beautifully reflected in the blue lake below.

Agafay Desert Land, Marrakesh
The beautiful Agafay Desert Land is situated 20 km from Marrakesh between Lalla Takerkoust Lake, the High Atlas Mountains and the mines of Guemassa. Still untouched by tourism, Agafay is called ” desert land” because of its extreme aridity and the sand-dune shape of its landscape. Glistening white sands strengthen the impression of immensity against a backdrop of the High Atlas Mountains and of the Toubkal (explain or delete reference to Toubkal). Numerous canyons hide small oases and multiple sheepfold. Absolutely enchanting.

Inspired enough to convince your next client? Furthermore we love to hear your tented camp experiences. So please feel free and share your story with us.

Morocco’s M-factor

 Morocco’s M-factor  by Kim Alderden

Medina’s, maison d’hôtels & multi dirham dollar hotels. Is this the so-called M factor of Morocco? Well we cannot deny the exoticism of this beautiful destination. I don’t remember the exact moment when I first visited Morocco but I DO remember the night was extremely cold under my camel-hair blanket in my camel-hair tent. Was this the promised incentive land?

This first tented camp experience was overwhelming. A little later I found myself strolling through the medina in Marrakech and again I was impressed. Our local partner was a well-trusted DMC and they knew how to impress a rookie-project manager, which I was at that time. It was here and then when my love affair with Morocco started.

My Moroccan CV became an interesting one. My first camp experience was the start of numerous projects were tents played a leading role and the cherry-on-the-cake was a camp for 450 guests for one night only. Furthermore I was travelling with consultants of McKinsey, sipping a cocktail with Mrs Branson (yes the sister of) on the rooftop of her riad, shooting a movie in the desert near Ouarzazate, smoking water pipes under the stars and much much more. I think a lot of you will agree with me that Morocco has that special M-factor for events, right?

SHARE TODAY has some nice posts to share with you all. Stay tuned and be inspired.

Oeps … I forgot to share the M… from M-factor. For me the M is from Mind-blowing. Do you have another M in mind?