You've hit on the advantages of an organise trip. You pay someone to deal with all the hassle and split the cost with a group of other riders.
The disadvantages are that they set the pace, decide where you can go when, where you'll stay, when you'll eat and so on. You've also got all the usual hassles of dealing with large group (there is always one rider who thinks it's a GP, another you wouldn't trust to go to a supermarket in Leeds and buy milk without some major disaster and another who'll take three hours to fill up. Sometimes you can combine all this in one rider!). Finally, you'll be treated like a tourist by the locals, they won't talk to you they'll be used to dealing with the guides and view you as trade.
I'd do a shorter organised trip first. Try a week in Morocco, it's less cash and you'll be able to make an informed decision about which advantages outweigh which disadvantages for you.
Andy
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