In a feast of colour, commotion and a great surge of bustling activity, this trip to Morocco will bewitch your senses. Favoured for the climate, the spices, Riads & Kasbahs, this little piece of Africa will have you hooked. Although the city life is often what makes Morocco famous, there’s so much more out there to discover…
In a feast of colour, commotion and a great surge of bustling activity, this trip to Morocco will bewitch your senses. Favoured for the climate, the spices, Riads & Kasbahs, this little piece of Africa will have you hooked. Although the city life is often what makes Morocco famous, there’s so much more out there to discover. Hop on a camel in the stunning Sahara dunes; explore the Atlas Mountains’ impressive peaks and valleys. On this circuit you’ll get out into Morocco’s amazing lesser-known sites- but not less beautiful, and you’ll be talking about it for years to come…
You’ll be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. Take an optional half day tour to Ourika Valley to see the traditional Berber villages. On Day 2, take a traditional horse carriage tour visiting the tombs, the palace, the medina and of course the famous Djemaa el-Fna square. In the evening, rest in a street side cafe with a cup of sweet mint tea or a freshly-squeezed orange juice.
Make an early start on your way towards the iconic seaside town of Casablanca where you have a guided tour around the impressive Hassan II Mosque. After lunch, head to Rabat to visit the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and Kasbah des Oudaias perched above the rugged Atlantic coastline.
Today will take you inland, first stopping at Volubilis, Morocco’s largest and best-preserved Berber – Roman ruins. Close by you’ll visit Meknes, the third imperial city. More laid back than some of the bigger Moroccan cities, it has a combination of winding streets and palatial buildings. From here it’s only a short drive to Fes, the oldest of the imperial cities.
Take in the vibrant atmosphere of Fes on a full-day tour. Visit the Medersa Bou Inania, the most beautiful of Meremides monuments, the El Quaraoiyin Mosque & university. Visit the Nejjarine Square with its 18th Century fountain and then Fes Medina – a maze of more than 9,000 small narrow cobbled streets, and a world away from modern Fes.
Heading south east, make a stop at Ifran, the ‘Lion City’ before continuing over the Middle Atlas Mountains with the cedar forests for a stop at Midelt. After time for lunch, continue to the Deep South stopping at Erfoud overnight.
Arrive at the desert late morning and relax on the edge of the sand dunes and take in the spectacular scenery. It is an amazing experience swimming in the hotels’ pool while looking at the vastness of the desert stretching as far as the eye can see. Lunch is included at the hotel, and then you have free time to set off into the dunes or take an optional desert trek by camel. In the evening, have dinner around the campfire and sleep in authentic Berber tents for a true desert experience.
Make the journey back to the real world as you leave the magical desert behind you. Watch the landscape change again as you travel through the open countryside. Local conditions permitting, visit the very impressive Todra Gorge, before continuing on to Dades Gorge.
Make it to Ourzazate, now famous as ‘Hollywood in the Desert’ due to the number of famous films that have been made here. Then check out the ancient Kasbah of Aït Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Climb over the 2,260m Tizi n’ Tichka Pass and then drop down to the plains arriving into Marrakech by late afternoon. Your trip will finish at the hotel after breakfast on Day 10.