Kingdom of Morocco – Our Most Popular Tour

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Kingdom of Morocco (10 Days)

Day 1: Casablanca Arrival

On arrival at the Casablanca Airport, meet your escort and transfer to your boutique hotel in Casablanca. Self-transfers or other transfers can be arranged depending on your arrival time. Relax at your hotel or optional walking tour on your own. Overnight in Casablanca.

Day 2: Rabat History

After breakfast, depart via the Atlantic coast through Rabat, the administrative capital of Morocco and another important imperial city of Morocco. Rabat is known for sites that illustrate the Islamic and French colonial heritage. Visit the old town of Rabat, called Oudayas and Kasbah Oudaya, located adjacent to the Rabat medina at the mouth of the Bou Regreg River opposite Sale, a royal fort of the Berber era surrounded by formal Andalusian gardens overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Stop for lunch along the way and continue through Khemisset, and on to your guesthouse in Fes for dinner and the night.

Day 3: Fes Cultural Tour

Spend the day in the cultural capital and first imperial city of Morocco. Fes, founded in the 8th century by Moulay Idriss II, is known for the fortified medina of Fez El Bali (Old Fes) and is one of the largest preserved medieval sites in the world, with medieval architecture, lively souks, and an old-fashioned atmosphere. Explore the medina and the religious schools Bou Inania the Medersa Nejjarine, one of the most beautiful Koranic schools in Fes, dating back to the 14th century, decorated with carved cedar panels and delicate mosaics. Stop for lunch in the medina and explore historic mosques, picturesque gates, and cultural presentations in traditional Moroccan ceramic/tile (jelliz), textile items, and the city’s distinctive and colorful leather tanneries. Stop for dinner on your own and return to your riad for the night.

Day 4: Roman Ruins – Flanked by the Middle and High Atlas Mountains

Depart after breakfast for Midelt, situated in the high plains surrounding the Mlouya River, between the Middle and High Atlas Mountain ranges. Visit the Roman ruins of Voulibilis, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and filming location for Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ.  Spread out across several acres, the ruins reveal the transformation of the Roman Empire Carthaginian settlement into a typical Roman city devoted to the Roman gods. Continue through the Middle Atlas Mountains, the Berber villages of Ifran (the “Switzerland of Morocco”), Immouzar Kandar, and the Berber market town of Azrou. Stop for lunch and cross the cedar forests near Ifran and Imouzar with century-old trees and delight in feeding the Barbary macaques of Gibraltar that thrive in the nearby groves of cedar trees. Stop for a walk in the Rif Mountains and continue to your guesthouse in Midelt and relax before dinner and the night.

Day 5: The Sahara Desert

Depart for Merzouga via the villages of Erfoud, the date capital of Morocco, and Er Rachidia, and through Tizi Ntalghomt and the beautiful Ziz Valley, wedged between prehistoric cliffs dating back to the Jurassic period and scattered with ancient kasbahs and ksars lining the palmeraies, which are plentiful with dates, pomegranates, figs, and quince farmed there. Stop near Er Rachidia, one of Morocco’s most ancient and famous cities, known as the date capital of Morocco, for a couscous presentation through our local lifestyle program, which has been a part of Moroccan tradition for centuries, followed by local music and lunch. Arrive in Merzouga in late afternoon and meet your cameleers who will guide you to your desert camp for a sundowner over the dunes of Erg Chebbi. Enjoy a desert dinner followed by traditional Saharan music around the campfire and night at your luxury desert camp.

Day 6: Dades Gorge

After watching sunrise over the dunes, and a desert breakfast, depart for Dades Gorge, with its colorful rocks and ancient kasbahs, crossing the vast palm oasis of Tafilalet with many ksours. Experience landscapes alternating between huge desert plateaus and oases, such as those of Goulmima. Experience a cultural geologic presentation on pre-Cambrian life through the fossils of Morocco. Visit the ancient and now-dry khettara (aqueducts) near Er Rachidia, part of the nearly 300 km of subsurface irrigation channels excavated beginning in the 14th century and operational until the 1970’s. Stop for lunch in Tinghir and visit the traditional adobe architecture of the ancient Jewish quarter of Tinghir and the magnificent Tinejdad palm grove, which stretches 48 km (30) miles.  Continue to walk in the impressive valley of Todra Gorge with its sheer rock walls and continue to your guesthouse and relax before dinner and the night.

Day 7: Road of a Thousand Kasbahs and Crossing the High Atlas Mountains

Depart for Marrakech traveling through Tamalout, Tourbist, Ait Said to Skoura, a fertile oasis lined with huge palm groves, to reach the home of the Morocco Rose Festival, El Kelâa M’Gouna (commonly known as Rose Valley). Continue along Lake Ouarzazate through Ouarzazate to the stunning Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for a photo. Stop for lunch and continue through the beautiful Ounila Valley, a part of the main caravan route from sub-Saharan Africa to Marrakech. Visit the famous Kasbah Telouet; built in 1860, one of the former residences of Pacha Glaoui and perhaps one of the best examples of Islamic architecture in Morocco. Continue over the High Atlas Mountain pass of Tizi-n-Tichka and arrive at your guesthouse in Marrakech in the late afternoon for dinner and the night.

Day 8: Marrakech – Behind the Doors Culture Tour

After breakfast, visit Jardins Marjorelle, built by the painter Jacques Marjorelle, and the former home of Yves Saint Laurent and its spectacular Berber Museum. Visit Bahia Palace and other sites to learn about Moorish architecture. Stop for lunch and set off to explore the local culture via a tour of the daily life of Moroccan people through a “behind the doors” culture tour: a visit to a communal bakery, a walk through a local food market, and a visit to a traditional hammam and fondouk, an historic trading place for merchants from across North Africa. Take in the sites at Jemma el Fna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which for centuries has been an incredible world of native theater: snakes, musicians, dancers, storytellers, and fortune-tellers. Spend free time in the medina, stop for dinner on your own, and return to your guesthouse and relax with a traditional hammam and spa.

Day 9: Marrakech – Casablanca

Depart for Casablanca and explore the most emblematic point of Casablanca: the Hassan II Mosque, the second largest mosque in the world including a minaret 690 feet high and one the few mosques open to non-Muslims. Visit the Boulevard de la Corniche, stop for lunch and take a walking tour of Mohamed V and United Nations Squares. Optional dinner at Rick’s Café on your own and return to your boutique hotel for the night.

Day 10: Casablanca Departure

After breakfast, transfer to the Casablanca Airport for your return flight to wherever your next destination may be.