ABOUT US

Helen Ranger

“The most exciting thing about Morocco is its enormous diversity,” says travel writer, Lonely Planet and Fodor’s author and Morocco expert, Helen Ranger.

“There are ancient cities full of the history of a distinctly different culture, there are desert sands, national parks, major mountain ranges, verdant winelands, and a truly beautiful coastline with pretty gnarly surf. But what makes it all sing is the people: whether they’re city slickers, medina artisans, rural women or desert nomads – they’re friendly and hospitable and enormously proud of their country.”

Helen is perfectly placed to design a trip tailor-made for you. Lured to Morocco by the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in 2002, she lived in Fez for sixteen years and has travelled extensively across Morocco during research trips for Lonely Planet – and recently, Fodor’s, as well as magazine and blog articles.

Helen set up Fez Riads in 2006 and has helped thousands of people find exactly the right guesthouse in Fez. For the last 12 years, her insider knowledge is being put to greater use, and Helen will help you make the most of your time in this diverse country.

Whether you have a few days or a few weeks, we’ll make sure that you discover your Morocco, whatever your interests.

Helen has contributed to six Lonely Planet books on Morocco: the little Fez Encounter (now sadly out of print), four editions of the country guide and Pocket Marrakech. The latest edition of the guidebook and Pocket Marrakech are published in November 2023. She contributed the Rabat, Casablanca and Atlantic coast chapter for Fodor’s Essential Morocco, published in 2022.

Ethical travel

Supporting Local Businesses

We make sure that we utilise Moroccan-owned businesses as far as possible rather than foreign-owned ones: transport companies, hotels and riads, guides and providers of activities.
While some companies are foreign-owned, local staff are Moroccan. We encourage our guests to engage with local people as they are one of the main reasons why Morocco is such a pleasure to visit. Often, though, it is more difficult to interact with Moroccan women as they are less visible in the tourist industry than men. With this in mind, we work with as many Moroccan women as possible and encourage our guests to get to know them.

Sustainable Tourism

Morocco has an excellent record worldwide for sustainability: the world’s largest concentrated solar farm, Noor, is near Ouarzazate. It’s the size of 3500 football fields and produces enough electricity to power a city the size of Dallas, Texas, or twice the size of Marrakech. Noor saves the planet from more than 760 000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

Wherever possible, we work with companies that embrace sustainable practices. For example:

• we don’t encourage dune-buggy riding in the Sahara as this can damage delicate desert ecosystems.
• we only use accommodation options in the Sahara that dispose of their waste in a sustainable manner (ie don’t tip it in dry riverbeds) and who use water sparingly.
• we favour hotels and riads that are part of La Clef Verte (the Green Key) programme.