Caught Mapping...in Montreal

Our recent Real Deal on Morocco for Less really ticked off an ex-pat who lives in Morocco and blogs at Cat in Rabat. In a post titled, Morocco for More, she writes that it's outlandish for us to consider $125 a day per person to be a "budget" trip. She says $125 a day isn't budget travel, especially for a place that's not as expensive and popular as, say, many Western European destinations. Cat in Rabat makes a larger point, too: Even if we had really wanted to plan a budget trip to Morocco, we'd be hard pressed to succeed. Here's why: Morocco is not a cheap country. And not that it should be--although it would be nice if it were--but there is an expectation that, as a developing nation, it is. Or ought to be. In truth, some things are cheap: rent is cheap (although rents are on the rise), local transportation (with the exception of domestic airfares) is still cheap, and anything made of leather is risibly inexpensive, but it pretty much ends there. Between holiday housing developments sprouting like poisoned mushrooms along the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines and the Western predilection for building guest houses and renovating derelict ryads in Morocco's medinas, real estate is starting to go through the roof. All this, in conjunction with the hoards of cash-carrying tourists disembarking from cut-throat European airlines, is serving to not only test the local infrastructure but to ensure that prices will go up up up. Meanwhile...the blogger Morocco Savvy makes the following comment: Worse yet, their site says "The Real Deals." Travel around Morocco, even for my slightly older and slightly picky parents, still averaged around $125 a day--FOR TWO! As for myself--unless I'm stuck in a 4-star hotel paid for by the conference I'm attending and forgot to eat dinner so must order the nasty 75dh chawarma that isn't even really a chawarma but more like chicken and cabbage in a baguette--travel around Morocco is more like 125 DIRHAMS [$15] a day. Hmm...Well, as the guy who wrote the Morocco for Less piece, I was surprised by these reactions. Here's my response: 1) As always, "budget" is in the eye of the beholder. Not every package Budget Travel's editors recommend will be right for everyone. We know that some travelers are willing to pay a little more for an escorted trip to avoid having to research reputable companies that offer activities such as a mountain-bike ride or a nine-hour hike through the mountains of the Tamatert Valley. And some travelers like the idea of a tour company using its size to make sure that an activity, such as a valley tour, will happen at an appointed day and time. Yet if you're an independent soul who prefers simple, or ineffable, pleasures, by all means, know that you can enjoy many aspects of Morocco for as little as about $10 a day. Many travelers have done it, and if you're one of the travelers who have, feel free to share your travel suggestions by posting a comment below. 2) If this package costs too much per day at $990 for eight-nights (plus airfare and some meals), then consider instead a 20-night tour of Morocco that costs only $1,218 (including a local payment of $408, but excluding airfare and all meals). This latter deal, which Budget Travel spotlighted in its July issue, works out to about $61 a day. The cheaper-per-day trip is best for travelers who feel comfortable navigating Morocco on their own. The more expensive-per-day trip will provide assistance to help you maximize your time in the country by arranging in advance for bike rides, tent stays, and sightseeing. Why does the one trip cost twice as much per day? The extra cost is to help ease your way into a country that has a very different culture than America's--and an unfamiliar language to boot. (There's additional value provided by this package, too. Keep reading to find out.) 3) I passed along the criticisms of the trip to Intrepid Travel, the company that offers the package. Spokesperson Dyan McKie offered a detailed response. Here's one point she makes: We use local operators who help us piece together some of the arrangements like our Camel Safaris into the desert, the mountain biking, etc. We could probably do it cheaper if we did it ourselves but as Intrepid's number one core value is Responsible Travel. It wouldn't be very responsible of us not to support the locals. Therefore, we use their local services, even if it costs us more money. Dyan also points out another advantage to spending a extra money on an Intrepid Travel package, instead of piecing together an itinerary as a backpacker. For a single traveler such as herself (who is female and doesn't speak Arabic nor French), getting around Morocco is not as easy as it might seem to some people. Intrepid specializes in making solo travelers comfortable in its small groups. It doesn't charge a single supplement, unlike most tour package companies. And in a country like Morocco, Intrepid's group leaders can make female travelers feel more culturally comfortable--and culturally aware of how their actions are received locally. Finally, Dyan added one relevant note. Intrepid Travel's package includes a homestay with a Moroccan family. Independent travelers can't just turn up to someones home in remote areas and ask to stay. (Though I am sure the very experienced traveler has but generally travelers wouldn't.) We offer them a once in a lifetime experience.That's cheaper than the budget hotel but we like to support the family while we are staying with them. Allowing their children to get an education, assisting in farming and agricultural support, etc. Again this is in accordance with our core values--we want to give our clients that special experience but don't take for granted that these families who are letting us into their lives. In hindsight, I realize that I should have included more of the above details when I described the value of this package. I'll know better next time. And if any reader still thinks I'm in need of correcting, please post a comment below. Thanks.

The author of the Harry Potter books will stop in three cities to give Americans readings of her latest novel. The October tour will have three announced stops: in Los Angeles, in New Orleans, and in New York City. Rowling will read from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at these events. Scholastic Books is holding a contest in which 1,000 winners will be chosen, and each winner will be given two passes to a Rowling appearance at New York's Carnegie Hall. Details will be announced July 31 at Scholastic's website. Update, July 2: There seems to be some confusion. As I've emailed the readers who posted comments below, the contest is not being run by this website or by Budget Travel. To enter, you'll need to mark your calendars for July 31 and visit the website run by Scholastic. (This post was modified since it was first published.)

Tours, shows, exhibits, and other activities are being booked by some travelers farther in advance than ever. The reason: Internet travel sites, in an effort to distinguish themselves from each other, have been adding activity and excursion options to the menu of products they sell. For example, these days many websites, such as Travelocity, allow you to book a double-decker bus tour of New York City at the same time that you book your airfare and hotel room. Generally speaking, it has become easier to plan vacation activities in advance, and more and more travelers are doing it. Eventually, an increase in the number of early bookings will make it more difficult for spontaneous travelers to book activities on the fly. Luckily, that's not a problem yet. Case in point: I recently chatted about this trend with Michel Barraud of Paris Vision, which runs more sightseeing tours in the capital of France than any other company. (Paris Vision is such a large company that the chances are high that you're handing money over to them if you do any sightseeing in the City of Light, such as a nighttime cruise of the Seine.) Michel sketched out the overall trend. In 1999, his company opened its website with booking and payment options. In its first year, only about 3 percent of reservations came through the Internet. But in the past two years, sales have doubled to about eight percent. More importantly, advance bookings coming through partner websites and agencies, such as Expedia, have also doubled. About half of Paris Vision's bookings now come from these independent operators. How early are customers booking? Michel says that about 20 percent of customers book Paris Vision's tours and other activities more than 45 days in advance. Another 30 percent of travelers book between 15 and 45 days ahead. So half of travelers are booking less than a week ahead. Michel recommends Viator.com as an online source for booking activities and tours. The site offers reservations for activities from multiple suppliers and for multiple destinations worldwide, giving the broadest range of options available. (Not surprisingly, Paris Vision supplies tours to Viator. But I'm still impressed enough with Viator that I encourage you to take a look at it before you plan your next trip. You may find that some of the activities available are so compelling--such as a sunrise tour of a red rock dome in the Australian outback for $100--that you'll want to plan your trip around them, rather than the more customary practice of booking airfare and hotel before booking activities.