Welcome to Morocco! Your Classic Morocco Immersion begins at your riad in Marrakech (details provided upon booking). You can arrive any time, as today will be a day of leisure to recover from your travels and prepare for the journey ahead. In the evening, you’ll meet your group for a welcome dinner.

Airport transfers can be arranged by request and are complementary from Marrakech. Transfers from airport in Casablanca can be arranged for an additional fee.

Overnight: Marrakech

After breakfast, your local city guide will meet you at your riad and show you all around Marrakech. Your Classic Morocco Immersion tour will include visits to Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, and Koutoubia Mosque. After you’ve visited these monuments, your guide will escort you to the souks of Marrakech where you’ll have a chance to visit the various artisans and to learn about their crafts. Your tour will end by mid-afternoon and you’ll have the rest of the afternoon to explore on your own. You’ll regroup one last time this evening for a farewell dinner.

Overnight: Marrakech

After breakfast today, you will continue your adventure with your Classic Morocco Immersion, traveling over the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n’Tichka pass, reaching an altitude of nearly 7,500 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 at 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. After your visit here, you’ll follow the route of the old salt caravans along the Road of 1000 Kasbahs through the Valley of Roses to your accommodations for the night in Dades.

Overnight: Boumalne Dades

This morning after breakfast, you’ll make the short drive to the “next valley over” to the heart of the Valley of Roses. As part of your Classic Morocco Immersion, you can visit a local market and then go to the home of a local family where you can help to prepare lunch (or just relax) and then join the family for a traditional couscous lunch. After lunch (and a little relaxation), you can explore a little more of the Valley either by car or by foot before heading back to your hotel in time for dinner.

Overnight: Boumalne Dades

After breakfast, you’ll make your way to nearby Todgha Gorge where you will have an opportunity to walk through the most impressive part of the canyon. Next, as part of your Classic Morocco Immersion, you will continue on to the city of Tinghir, where you will have a guided walk of the palmeraie and old Mellah (Jewish neighborhood). After your visit of Tinghir, you will continue on to the giant dunes of the Sahara where you will transfer to a more traditional mode of travel and make your way via camelback into the heart of the dunes to your oasis desert camp for the night. Upon your arrival, you can climb the nearest dune to watch the sunset and the stars come out. Dinner will be served at camp followed by traditional music and more stargazing. Whether you sleep in the warmth of your Berber tent or under the gazillion stars of the Sahara, this is likely to be a night that you will remember for a lifetime.

Overnight: Merzouga

Today you will want to wake up before dawn as part of your Classic Morocco Immersion to watch the sunrise over the quiet of the giant dunes. After this transcendental experience, have your breakfast, and prepare for your day. 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.

Overnight: Midelt

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). As part of your Classic Morocco Immersion, you will have a chance to visit these little guys, but don’t be surprised if they demand a toll paid in peanuts before allowing you to pass. After making friends with the “locals” you will continue through the Middle Atlas Mountains to the Alpine-like village of Ifrane – known as “Little Switzerland.” You’ll make a quick stop here for coffee or tea and, perhaps, one of the delectable desserts offered at the main cafe. After a quick stop here, you’ll make the relatively short drive to Fes and to your charming riad for the evening. Dinner will be served here tonight.

Overnight: Fes

Today after breakfast, as part of your Classic Morocco Immersion, your local guide will meet you at your riad for a guided tour of the city. To start your tour, you will first go to the Royal Palace and then walk through the old Mellah (Jewish Quartier) of the city. From here, you will head to one of the Borj (towers) and get a panoramic view of the entire medina. Next, you’ll head to a mosaic house where you will have a demonstration of the traditional pottery methods utilized by Fassi artisans – you’ll see every step of the process from the formation of the clay to the piecing together of the mosaics. After this, the tour will take you into the medina of Fes where you will discover the ancient streets and neighborhoods, visit the various artisan sections (including the tanneries), and the important historic monuments (including the tomb of Idriss II and the Al-Qarawaiyin University – the oldest continually operated university in the world). Your tour will end after lunch, at which time you’ll have the rest of the afternoon and evening free to explore the medina. Don’t worry if you get lost – that is all part of the experience.

Overnight: Fes

After breakfast, you will depart Fes and head north towards the famous blue city of Chefchaouen. On the way, you will stop to visit the ruins of the Roman outpost 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 (who used pieces to build the gates of the city of Meknes), 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. The city was reclaimed by the local Amazigh tribes around 235 AD and it was near here in the 8th Century that Idriss I established the first dynasty of the Kingdom of Morocco.

After a guided tour of Volubilis, as part of your Classic Morocco Immersion, you’ll head to the lesser-known imperial city of Meknes. Your visit will begin by entering the old medina through the interesting 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 this eccentric 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 and Heri es-Souani, a former granary and stable that lay alongside the reservoir and which once housed 12,000 horses.

After exploring Meknes, you’ll head to Chefchaouen for the night. Upon your arrival, you will embark on an orientation walk of this charming little city and then have the rest of the evening free to explore on your own.

Important Note: The majority of the monuments in Meknes are currently under extensive restoration for the foreseeable future, so the tour here may be skipped or very limited.

Overnight: Chefchaouen

Today you will have the whole day free to explore this magical city and discover why it is called Morocco’s Blue Pearl as part of your Classic Morocco Immersion. Optionally, you can head to nearby Akchour River for a hike to the waterfall, Cascade d’Akchour. The hike to the big waterfall is a somewhat challenging 10 miles round trip, but there are several smaller waterfalls along the way, so you can do as much or as little of the trail as you’d like. If you choose to hike, you’ll return to Chefchaouen by early afternoon and have the rest of the evening free to explore on your own.

Overnight: Chefchaouen

After breakfast, you will head to the current capital city of Morocco, Rabat, where you’ll see the most important historic sites such as Hassan Tower, Mohammed V Mausoleum, and Kasbah of the Udayas. After touring these sites, you’ll have some free time to explore on your own before meeting up once again for one final dinner as a group.

Overnight: Rabat

Today after breakfast, you’ll head back to Marrakech for your flight home. The tour will end at Marrakech airport at approximately 2 PM (14:00).  To be safe, your departing flight should be after 4 PM (16:00).

If you wish to depart from Casablanca Airport, a stop can be made there on the way to Marrakech (ETA 11:00 AM) free of charge.