Itinerary

Day 1 Rabat

Rabat is the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. It is also the capital of the Rabat-Salé-Zemmour-Zaer region. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg. On the facing shore of the river lies Salé. Together the two cities with Témara account for a population of 2 million. Rabat is the second most important city in the country after the larger and more economically significant Casablanca.

Private car, guide & driver at your disposal for the day. (Mercedes Viano/Vito or similar)

Welcome to Morocco! On arrival at Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca you will be welcomed by your English speaking guide and will be transferred by private car to the capital city of Rabat. The ride usually takes about 1.5 hours. Upon arrival you will visit the Royal Palace, the wild gardens of the Chellah and a 14th-century Merinid necropolis. You'll also take a walk in the Andalusian Gardens, within the walls of the kasbah of the Oudaya. Before checking into your hotel you'll also have a stop at the Hassan Tower, a huge unfinished minaret, built mostly at the end of the 12th century.

Enjoy time at leisure to explore at your own pace, or relax at your hotel.

The Riad Kalaa is a Kasbah which dates back to the Almoravide dynasty was built in 1815, in the heart of the ramparts of the medina and only a few steps away from the ocean. The hotel has undergone a thorough and lengthy restoration, using artisan workmanship traditional to Morocco. The architecture of the riad is quite unique, with nooks and crannies, terraces, alcoves and salons, ensuring intimacy and a cozy, harmonious and restful ambiance for all the guests.

Overnight at Riad Kalaa.
    
Day 2 Fes

Fès is the most ancient and impressive of the imperial cities. Built in the eighth century, it has more history and mystery than anywhere else in Morocco. The medina (market) in Fès El Bali is one of the largest in the world and is also on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. It is a huge maze of winding streets and covered bazaars where you can buy almost anything. It is particularly good for carpets, rugs and ornate metalwork.

Travel today between Rabat and Fez with private vehicle and english speaking driver.  This morning you'll drive to Meknes and embark on a city tour. The Ismalian capital famous for its 40 km long walls. Visit Bab Mansour, the Royal stables and the Jewish quarter. Continue to Fes, visiting en route the ancient Roman ruins of Volubilis and the holy city of Moulay Idriss. Upon arrival to Fes, transfer to your hotel.

Riad Laaroussa is a gorgeous riad in the heart of Fez medina. Riad Laaroussa offers a haven of peace by a team invaluable care and efficient services, making your stay unique.

Overnight at Riad Laaroussa.

Day 3 Fes

Private car, guide & driver at your disposal for the day. (Mercedes Viano/Vito or similar)

Full day private tour to explore the city of Fez. Fes el Bali, a UNESCO World Heritage Site was founded in the 9th century and is home to the oldest university in the world. Fez reached its height in the 13th–14th centuries under the Merinids, when it replaced Marrakech as the capital of the kingdom. The urban fabric and the principal monuments in the medina – madrasas, fondouks, palaces, residences, mosques and fountains - date from this period. Although the political capital of Morocco was transferred to Rabat in 1912, Fez has retained its status as the country's cultural and spiritual centre. Artisan workshops in the medina are as active today as 100 years ago, and strongly contribute to the city’s industrial economy. Trades such as metal and leather working, ceramics, silk, tapestries, and sculpting are still practiced in these workshops. Original ramparts still protect the ancient city and its 9000 passageways and narrow streets.

Dinner not included in tour price.

Overnight at Riad Laaroussa.

Day 4 Merzouga

The dunes of Erg Chebbi are a spectacular natural formation, the highest dunes in the country rising up to 300 meters at their highest point and best appreciated for watching the sun rise or set. They are approximately 28 kilometers in length and stretching away from the dunes, east and south towards Algeria, is a vast expanse of barren, rocky plains known locally as ‘hammada’.

Private car, guide & driver at your disposal for the day.

A 4x4 vehicle will be waiting for you to continue your adventure by heading towards the dunes of Erg Chebbi, possibly the largest dunes in the Sahara desert. The dunes of Erg Chebbi are a strikingly strange natural formation. On the top of the flattest area you could imagine, suddenly a long mountain of sand rises. This mountain is surrounded by flat and desolate nature on all sides, and you could end up wondering if it really is real. But so it is, even if its existence is so weird that it has given rise to legends and myths among the locals. Upon arrival at the camp you will witness the sunset from over the desert dunes and be astounded by the peace and calm as well as the changing colours of the landscape. If you're up to it you can also ride a camel!

Enjoy your special night under the stars at this beautiful Oasis in a premium tented camp. Experience a camel ride at sunset and sunrise from the top of the dunes. Your desert experience includes an authentic Moroccan dinner under the stars and breakfast in the morning.

Overnight at La Belle Etoile Bedouin Camp.

Day 5 Ouarzazate

Ouarzazate is the capital of Ouarzazate Province in the Souss-Massa-Draâ of southern-central Morocco. As of 2004 it had a population of 56,616. It's located at an altitude of 1,160 m in the middle of a bare plateau, south of the High Atlas Mountains. To the south of the city is the desert. The town is chiefly inhabited by Berbers, who constructed many of the prominent kasbahs and building for which the area is known for.

Private car, guide & driver at your disposal for the day.

After breakfast you'll transfer to the oasis town of Tineghir via the J'bel Sahro Range (at about 4,500 - 5,000 feet). Visit the most spectacular natural environments: the Todra Gorge. Craggy and colorful rock walls up to 1,000 feet high loom over a lush narrow valley dotted with oasis-like date palmeries and irrigated fields of grain. In contrast to the much-anticipated Sahara, these gorges may be the most unexpected pleasure of the trip. You can walk to explore its depths. Then to the Gorge du Dadès,distinct from the Todra Gorge with its fields of fig and myriad vegetation. Continue to Ouarzazate which you will reach late afternoon.

On the edge of the desert at Ouarzazate where the stunning light shines on a setting of natural beauty, Hotel Riad Ksar Ighnda opens its doors for you onto the Atlas Mountains: a rendez-vous for discerning lovers of luxurious sensations and relaxation.

Overnight at Riad Ksar Ighnda.

Day 6 Ouarzazate

Private car, guide & driver at your disposal for the day.

You'll depart at around 10:00 this morning for an off road excursion in a 4x4 with driver and guide to visit Skoura and the Palm grove Oasis with mud architecture Kasbahs that have an amazing view to the Atlas Mountains. The palm groves were laid out in the 12th century by the Almohad sultan Yacoub el-Mansour and named after its original inhabitants, the Berbers of the Haskourene tribe. The most beautiful kasbahs in southern Morocco can be found here. Many of them are still partially inhabited. The entrances to the palm groves in Skoura can be explored on foot if you prefer. Skoura is referred to as the “Valley of One Thousand Kasbahs”: The Ben Morro Kasbah stands on the left of the road above Skoura. It was built in the 17th Century and now completely restored, has been converted into a guest house. The most imposing of the kasbahs in this area that you will tour is 17th Century Amerhidil Kasbah. This fortified residence once belonged to the most powerful family responsible for protecting the village and its lands called the Glaoui. Today it is owned by the Sheikh of Amerhidil. Finally, the Kasbah of Aït Abou, built in the 1800’s and the oldest Kasbah in the palm grove, is six stories with walls 25 m high. Its surrounding buildings have been turned into a garden filled with pomegranate, apple, pear, fig, quince and olive trees that provide the necessary shading for growing crops.

Overnight at Riad Ksar Ighnda.

Day 7 Marrakech

Marrakech, founded over 1,000 years ago, is also known as the ‘red city’, from the natural red-ochre pigment that colours its walls and buildings, and is perhaps the most famous city in Morocco. A combination of the old (the Medina) and the new (Guéliz), Marrakech is an exotic cocktail of sights and sounds. Its roots are Berber, rather than Arab, having developed as the metropolis of nomadic and Atlas tribes (from the plains and Sahara desert). Once upon a time, Marrakech was the marketplace for goods of all type (slaves, gold, ivory) brought by caravan from distant Southern empires, a commerce which shaped its souks and carnival way of life.

Private car, guide & driver at your disposal for the day.

The route through Ouarzazate to Marrakech offers wonderful photo opportunities like the UNESCO World Heritage Centre of Aït Ben Haddou, where movies such as Gladiator and Jesus Of Nazareth were filmed, and the dramatic Tizi n'Tichka mountain pass. You will arrive in Marrakech late in the afternoon.

Dinner not included in tour price.

La Maison Arabe, a legendary hotel located in the romantic medina of Marrakech, includes 26 rooms and suites, three restaurants, a swimming pool, spa and cooking school.

Overnight at La Maison Arabe.

Day 8 Marrakech

Private car, guide & driver at your disposal for the day. (Mercedes Viano/Vito or similar)

After breakfast you will be met at your hotel and taken on a full day guided tour of Marrakech. Your tour usually starts at the 12th century Koutoubia Mosque but you can discuss all of the options with your guide. The mosques beautiful minaret dominates the skyline of Marrakech and can be seen from almost every approach to the city thanks to a long-standing planning ordinance that forbids any other building in the old city to rise above the height of a palm tree. You will also visit the El-Bahia Palace, this 19th century palace is elaborate in its decoration and was built over a period seven years for Ba Ahmed, the son of the Grand Vizier Si Moussa, there are row after row of apartments—that once housed Ahmed's harem—a trapezoidal garden, a huge tiled courtyard, and many hidden treasures, both in the form of antique objects d'art and the palace's convergence of Andalusian and Moorish architecture. One of most visited sites in Morocco is the Saadian Tombs which were only accessible via the mosque next door. However, in 1917 they were opened to the public and can now be accessed via a narrow passage that leads to an enclosed garden watched over by two mausoleums that include more than one hundred mosaic decorated tombs. The Koranic School Medersa Ben Youssef which is a Theological college founded by the Merenid Sultan Abu Hassan in the 14th century, and restored in 1564 by the Saadians who made it the largest theological college in the Maghreb and a rival to the important Medersa Bou Inania in Fés.

Overnight at La Maison Arabe.

Day 9 Marrakech

Private car, guide & driver at your disposal for the day. (Mercedes Viano/Vito or similar)

Morning excursion to the High Atlas Mountains and Kasbah du Toubkal. Head south from Marrakech along the hairpin bends which eventually leads to one of only two passes through the High Atlas Mountains. Perhaps make a brief stop at the Berber villages of Tahanoute or Asni and continue to the village of Imlil, where you will take a ten minute walk up to Kasbah du Toubkal. Mules will be available if you prefer to ride! Situated on a hilltop with commanding views of the surrounding valley, the Kasbah du Toubkal was built as a summer palace for the Pasha El Glaoui. It is now a wonderful place to experience Berber hospitality and a great base from which to explore the High Atlas. Enjoy a traditional Berber lunch on the terrace overlooking the snow-capped peaks or a picnic lunch on the trail. You may wish to take a stroll to a nearby Berber village, where an invitation to share mint tea with the locals can be arranged. Kasbah du Toubkal has been heavily involved in sharing its prosperity with the local mountain villages, sponsoring much-needed health and educational projects. Back to Marrakech at your leisure and the remainder of the day is free for more exploration of Marrakech.

Overnight at La Maison Arabe.

Day 10 Casablanca

Depart from Casablanca International airport - end of itinerary.

Overnight at Depart.

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