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Sport travel in Morocco"SPORT TRAVEL" Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
1/11/1998 January is the time to plan for Presidents Day weekend and spring-break holidays. Maybe you can't get sport travel airline tickets to the Caribbean (and perhaps you are bored with the islands, anyhow) and you want something less familiar, with nice beaches. You also want somewhere that has the feel of a different culture but also minimizes the hassles of travel in a foreign country. Maybe you want a sport travel place that exudes a certain cachet but without a catastrophic price, a place that has many activities and a supervised children's program, but is more interesting than a mere resort. Do what we did: Head to Club Valtur Agadir in Morocco. Morocco, we concede, did not seem like an obvious choice for a sport travel family vacation, but after spending time at Club Valtur Agadir, Morocco's west-coast resort community, we are hooked. Club Valtur is an Italian-managed chain of all-inclusive resorts in the Club Med mode. The price was what attracted us initially: six nights, including round-trip air fare from New York; food; lodging; children's programs; and most activities from $999 per person. Considering that Royal Air Maroc quoted us $890 just for round-trip airfare, Central Holidays' price for Club Valtur made us feel as if the resort stay was almost free. The exotic locale and the chance to sample the Moroccan culture proved intriguing. Kasbahs, couscous, spices, souks, minarets, muezzins, Berber tribes, hard bargaining and the pink High Atlas sport travel mountains became part of our vacation. We alternated days at the resort walking on the beach and lounging poolside with outings to Marrakech and to Massa, a Berber village near a wildlife preserve. Getting to Agadir takes about the same amount of trouble as getting to London, Paris, Stockholm or other European cities. From New York's JFK airport it's a 6 1/2-hour nonstop flight to Casablanca with a 45-minute connection to Agadir. That's the end of the hassle: Club Valtur's staff meets you at the airport, checks you in, tags your luggage and whisks you away to the resort where you are greeted by a cheering, clapping phalanx of Team Equipe, the resort's personnel. Like Club Med's GOs, the Equipe staff is exuberant, ubiquitous and prone to slapstick. Employees perform in the nightly shows and are apt to break into the club's theme song - complete with hand movements - at any moment. Although the all-inclusive sport travel format feels familiar, the site proves different enough to be interesting. On the resort's Moroccan night, local dancers and tumblers perform and musicians play traditional Arabic and Berber tunes on lutes, mandolins and tambourines. Merchants along the pool patio sell rugs, pottery, silver Berber rings and bracelets, saffron, amber, henna, cardamom, almonds and dates. Children are entranced. Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
Unlike some Club Meds, even the one in Agadir, Club Valtur's physical setting is large and lushly beautiful. Flowers are everywhere on your sport travel. Roses, an important Moroccan crop, grace the bars, tables and sitting areas. Hedges of yellow hibiscus bloom along the courtyard and purple bougainvillea cascades down the white stucco walls of the nine guest buildings, each with its own tiled courtyard fountain. The arched entrances, coffered ceilings and intricate moldings contribute to the Moorish decor. Several airy lounges are furnished with low, Moroccan-style couches, hassocks and Oriental rugs. The main property also features tennis courts, spa, theater, children's center, discotheque and adjacent casino. It's a five-minute ride by free shuttle bus to the Palmerie, the hotel's sport travel center. Rising oasislike from the scorched red dirt, the Palmerie is irrigated to a green perfection of rolling lawns and swaying palm trees. This is where guests drive golf balls, try archery, play tennis, soccer and bocce, as well as swim and ride camels, our personal favorite. Even the most blase teen-ager will say "awesome" after a two-hour camel trek through a eucalyptus forest, past a farm and into the breaking surf. For the more traditional guests, horseback rides also are available. (Rides on camels and horses cost extra). Agadir's two golf courses charge the equivalent of about $55 for 18 holes, including a caddy. The low prices make it affordable to teach your children the game. Although young grade-schoolers are generally not welcome on the course, they can get into the swing of things at the driving range. Rental clubs, however, are scarce, so bring your own on this sport travel. The brown-sand beach - extra wide and six miles long - is what makes Agadir a resort destination. Agadir claims 300 days of sunshine, low humidity and daytime temperatures ranging from 73 to 83 degrees. The evenings cool off to the 50s, so sweaters, layers and long-sleeves are a must. Agadir is also reputed to be one of the world's largest sardine ports. Along the wharf, you are likely to see sport travel fishermen weighing eels, stacking sardines and packing flounder in crates. Destroyed by a 1960 earthquake, Agadir has been completely rebuilt as a city of somewhat soulless, white, modern buildings. The beach, however, is lively. Cafes line nearby streets, and on the strand children ride bicycles. Building sand castles and strolling are time-honored traditions. For some, the Atlantic even in February is too cold for swimming; most children, however, don't mind the temperatures, at least for a little while. For extended sport travel water play, children splash in the resort's heated pools. Unlike Club Med Agadir, Club Valtur Agadir is not on the beach. An underground walkway leads from the main property to the ocean, a minor inconvenience. As at many all-inclusive resorts, the rooms are basic, but serviceable. At Club Valtur, most of the 400 guest rooms have twin beds plus a couch in a step-down sitting area. These accommodations can handle two adults and one child easily. The couch pulls out, but in some rooms, the heater gets in the way. Two small (but not picky children) could sleep on the rearranged cushions, but with two teen-agers in tow, you would need two rooms. Can't find what you need? Try a Google Web Search in the box below!
SPORT TRAVEL FOOD The food , plentiful and tasty with an Italian flare, is served buffet style. This makes it easy to feed both finicky little ones and ravenous teens. American-style coffee was available only at breakfast, though we are told this situation will be remedied soon. Coffee bars serve espresso and cappuccino, but these cost extra as do alcoholic drinks. You pay with tickets purchased in booklets and not with cash. SPORT TRAVEL FOR THE KIDS At the full-scale children's program, which operates daily for those ages 5 to 12 from about 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., children build sand castles; play tennis, bocce, soccer and volleyball; swim; and do arts and crafts. However, during our visit the few children on site eschewed the program to stay with their parents. The manager assured us that because counselors are always present, the program would operate for even one child. Summers and holidays, especially European ones, bring more children. Americans were scarce; Italians and Germans make up the majority of guests. Although Team Equipe members and many guests speak English, we missed a few jokes at the shows, but not enough to matter. Club Valtur Agadir is an interesting combination of relaxing beach vacation and exotic locale for sport travel..... Compare airline tickets for sport travel here /cheap airfares home |