Grand Morocco Tour

We refer to this one as our BIG Morocco tour and you can see why.  You will visit the imperial cities, the mountains, the valleys, and the desert in this tour.  Although you visit a lot of places, the pace is slow enough that you will actually be able enjoy the sites (not just take a picture and go) and leaves room for you to truly experience the Moroccan way of life — not just observe it from a bus window.

NOTE:  Like all of our tours, this one is customizable to your interests and arrival/departure cities.  Optional extension to Chefchaouen is available upon request.

Day 1: Marrakech

Upon your arrival at the airport, your personal driver will greet you and transfer you to your riad in Marrakech for the night where you will have an opportunity to rest and recuperate from your travels.  Depending on your time of arrival, you may wish to explore a little and your driver will be at your disposal should you need him.

Day 2: Marrakech
Meals included: Breakfast

After breakfast, your adventure will begin as you spend the day with a local city guide who will show you the sights and sounds of Marrakech. Marrakech, also called the Red City because of the pink walls of the medina, served as the capital city during the rule of the Saadian Dynasty who ruled Morocco from 1554 to 1659.  Your tour will include visits to the old Ben Youssef Madrasa, El Badi Palace, the Saadian Tombs, and the beautiful Koutoubia Mosque.  After you’ve visited these monuments, your guide will escort you to the souks of Marrakech to see how artisans still use traditional methods for their handicrafts today.  After your tour, you will be driven outside of the medina to enjoy the tranquility of Marjorelle Garden which were created by the French painter Jacques Marjorelle over the course of 40 years.  When you finished your stroll among the exotic plants and trees of the lush gardens, you will be taken back inside the medina to visit the famed square of Jemaa El F’na.  This is the busiest square in all of Africa and it only comes alive after dark.  Here, you will truly experience the sights, sounds, and even smells of Marrakech before returning to your Riad for the evening.

Day 3: Marrakech to Ait Ben Haddou
(Approximate Travel Time: 5 hours)
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

You and your driver will depart from your riad in Marrakech after breakfast to travel over the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n’Tichka path, reaching an altitude of nearly 7500 feet above sea level.  They say that life is about the journey and not the destination and this is certainly true when you are on this road.  There will be plenty of stops for tea and photographs as you take in the breathtaking vistas before arriving to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ait Ben Haddou.  If this impressive ksar looks familiar, it is because it has starred (or at least made an appearance) in many movies and TV shows including Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia,  and Game of Thrones.  You’ll have plenty of time to explore, since this is also your resting stop for the night.

Day 4: Ait Ben Haddou to Kelaat M’Gouna
(Approximate Travel Time: 1 hour)
Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today after breakfast, you will make a short drive into the heart of the Valley of the Roses.  If the roses are in bloom, you can try your luck (and patience) picking the petals to sell at market.  Even when the roses aren’t in bloom the Valley is always beautiful.  Enjoy a walk in the oasis and a traditional couscous lunch before heading to your kasbah for the evening.

Day 5: Kelaat M’Gouna to Dades
(Approximate Travel Time: 1 hour)
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

Another day of light day of driving today!  After breakfast, you’ll make your way to nearby Dades Gorge.  You’ll have an opportunity to explore the area by your choice of transportation: hiking, mule trekking, or driving.  Whichever method you choose, you will be immersed in the natural beauty of the valley and enjoy the hospitality of the people who live there.

Day 6: Dades to Merzouga
(Approximate Travel Time: 4 hours)
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast, you will depart from you hotel in Dades Gorge and continue your journey towards the dunes of Merzouga, but not before experiencing the gorge from above and below. On your way to the dunes, you will stop in Rissani, the last sizable town before the dunes, where you will search for fossils before you complete the final stretch of the journey to one of the great sand seas of the Sahara, Erg Chebbi.   Tonight, you will stay at a kasbah on the edge of the dunes enjoying a delicious dinner and maybe taking a dip in the pool before bed.

Day 7: Merzouga
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

Today you will take a 4×4 tour of Erg Chebbi, home to the highest dunes of the Sahara.  You will visit a nomad family and the village of Gnawa musicians, Khamlia.  Enjoy the music while you eat Berber pizza for lunch.  Afterwards you will head back to the kasbah to relax and prepare for your camel trek.  Before sunset you will take your camels into the dunes to your Berber bivouac accommodations for the night.  Watch the sunset and the stars come out.  Dinner will be served before you retire to the warmth of your Berber tent.

Day 8: Merzouga to Midelt
(Approximate Travel Time: 4 hours)
Meals included: Breakfast, Dinner

Today your camel guide will wake you before dawn so that you can watch the sunrise over the giant dunes.  Afterwards, you will once again take to your ship of the desert (i.e.  your camel) and trek back to the kasbah on the edge of the sand sea where breakfast will be served and you will have an opportunity to shower and prepare for the day.  After breakfast and showers, you will leave the desert and return to the mountains as you travel along the Ziz Valley Gorge to Midelt which is located in between the High Atlas and Middle Atlas Mountains and will be your stop for the night.

Day 9: Midelt to Fes
(Approximate Travel Time: 4 hours)
Meals included: Breakfast

After breakfast you will continue in the Middle Atlas Mountains passing through the lush cedar groves of Morocco, home of the Atlas monkeys (aka Barbary Apes).  You may have seen one or two of these monkeys in Jemaa El F’na, but now you will get to a chance to see them in their natural habitat before continuing the rest of the way to the imperial city of Fes.

Day 10: Fes
Meals included: Breakfast

No driving today!  Your day will begin, as always, with breakfast after which you will explore the imperial city of Fes. This ancient city was actually originally two separate ones.  The first, Fas Elbali, was founded by Idriss I in 789 AD and the second, Al-‘Aliya was founded by his son, Idriss II, in 808 AD and under his rule this city served as his seat of power thereby replacing Oulili as the capital of Morocco.  In 1070 AD, the two cities were combined and renamed to Fes.  The tour will take you into the medina of Fes through Bab Boujloud (the Blue Gate), where you will discover the ancient streets and neighborhoods, as well as Al-Qarawaiyin University.  Founded in 864 AD and still in operation today, it holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest continually operated university in the world.  After discovering all that the Medina has to offer, you will be taken to get a high up panoramic view of the old city before returning to your riad for the evening.

Day 11: Fes to Casablanca
(Approximate Travel Time: 4 hours)
Meals included: Breakfast

You will start your last full day of your Grand Morocco Tour after breakfast.  You will bid farewell to Fes and make your way to the Roman ruins of Volubilis.  Before the Romans came, Volubilis was an Amazigh city known as Oulili (pronounced wa-lee-lee) which dates back to the 3rd century B.C.  Although severely damaged by an earthquake in the 18th century and subsequently further damaged by Moulay Ismail’s architects, it is still “an exceptionally well preserved example of a large Roman colonial town on the fringes of the Empire”, according to the UNESCO World Heritage listing.  After exploring the ruins, you will continue on to another imperial city: Meknes.  Your visit will begin by entering the old medina through the beautiful gate of Bab Mansour, which incorporates marble pillars that were moved from the Roman ruins of  Volubilis.  Once inside the medina, you will visit the tomb of  Sultan Moulay Ismail.  It was under his ruler’s reign from 1672 to 1727 that Meknes served its time as the capital of Morocco.  Next you will visit the impressive Agdal reservoir (built under the reign of Moulay Ismail) and Heri es-Souani, a former granary and stable that lay alongside the reservoir.  After exploring these sites, you will have a little free time in El-Hadim Square before continuing the rest of the way to Casablanca where you will stop for the night.

Day 12: Casablanca
Meals included: Breakfast

Departure day.  Your driver will transfer you to the airport where he will see you off and bid you bon voyage and au revoir until your next visit!