Complete Morocco Private Immersion

Welcome to Morocco! Your tour manager will be awaiting your arrival at the airport in Marrakech (or Casablanca). Once you have made your introductions, you will be transferred to your riad accommodations for the night. Once you’ve checked in, you will have the remainder of the day free to relax and/or explore on your own. Your tour manager will be available to you should you need any suggestions or assistance.

After breakfast, your local city guide will meet you at your riad and show you all around Marrakech. Your tour will include visits to some important monuments of the Red City such as Bahia Palace, Ben Yousef Madrassa, and/or Koutoubia Mosque. In between these sites, you’ll explore the various artisanal sections of the souks where people have practiced their crafts for centuries.

Your tour will end around lunchtime, and then you will have the rest of the day free to explore on your own. Don’t forget to make your way to Jemaa el F’na in the late afternoon to one of the cafés overlooking the square to watch it come alive as the sun goes down!

After breakfast this morning, you and your driver will depart from your riad in Marrakech to begin your odyssey to the Sahara Desert. Your day will start with crossing 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 descending to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ait Ben Haddou. If this impressive ksar looks familiar, it may be because it starred (or at least served as a backdrop) for many films and TV shows such as Gladiator, Jewel of the Nile, Lawrence of Arabia, and Game of Thrones.

Upon your arrival here, you’ll stop first for a panoramic view of this “mud city” and then head in for a closer look. You’ll cross the riverbed to the entrance and then climb the steep and winding streets to the granary, or “bank” at the top for amazing panoramic views of the whole region.

After visiting here, you go through the nearby city of Ouarzazate, known as both the “Door of the Desert” and the “Holloywood of Morocco.” If you are interested and time permits, you can have a backlot tour of one of the active film studios here before continuing down the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs into the breathtaking Dades Valley where you will stop for the night. Dinner will be served at your guest house tonight.

Today is all about exploring how the locals live in this magical place where time seems to run slow and fast simultaneously. After a leisurely breakfast, you’ll head to the “next valley over” in the heart of the Rose Valley. On the way, 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. This area also has tons of great hiking, so if you prefer a more active day, you can choose from several options from a short hike in the unique rock formation known as the Monkey Fingers to a full-day hike through the Dades Canyon or over the mountain to the M’Goun River valley.

After breakfast, you will depart your accommodations in Dades and continue your journey towards the dunes of Merzouga. Your first stop on today’s journel will be the oasis city of Tinghir. You’ll enjoy a guided walk in the palmeraie here before transferring to nearby Todgha Gorge where you will have an opportunity to walk through the most impressive part of the canyon. In this narrow section of the gorge (as little as 33 feet wide), the rock walls climb straight up 525 feet on either side. After you’ve stretched your legs, you will make continue your journey into the desert region where you will have a chance to search for fossils in the wild and visit a small fossil museum with an impressive collection of specimens found in Morocco.

From here, you will complete the final leg of the journey to the big dunes of Erg Chebbi near Merzouga. Here, you will transfer to your next mode of transportation, a camel, and begin your camel trek into the dunes to your luxury Berber camp for the night. Dinner will be served at camp followed by traditional music. After the entertainment, the lights will be turned off and if it is a clear night, you’ll have the opportunity to gaze at the gazillion stars in the desert night sky. When you are ready, you can retire to your cozy and comfortable tent for a good night’s sleep.

This morning, you’ll want to wake up early to watch the sand change colors as the sun comes up (be sure to set your alarm!). Grab a cup of coffee and climb up the nearest dune to watch this spectacular show. After this nearly transcendental experience, you will have breakfast at camp and time to prepare for your day. When you are ready, you’ll take to your camels once again to the edge of the dunes where you will meet your tour manager and transfer back to a more conventional mode of transportation. Note: 4×4 transfer is available if one camel ride was enough!

Once you reunite with your tour manager, you’ll begin the journey to Fes by first traveling along the Ziz Valley Gorge to Midelt, a city located in the high plains between the High Atlas and Middle Atlas Mountains. From here, you will continue through the Middle Atlas Mountains passing through the lush cedar groves of Morocco, home of the Atlas monkeys (aka Barbary Apes). Just be prepared to pay a small toll in peanuts as these little guys may not let you pass without it.

After your visit here, you will travel through the alpine city of Ifraine, known as “Little Switzerland.” This city is unlike any other in Morocco and you’ll feel that you’ve been transported to the Alps. You’ll have a quick stop here to stretch you legs and maybe grab a coffee and a sweet treat from the café on the main square. After this, you’ll make the final stretch of your journey Fes. Upon your arrival, you’ll check into your accommodations and have the rest of the evening free to relax and/or explore on your own.

Today after breakfast, your local guide will meet you at your riad and together you will embark on an odyssey through this medieval city. You will begin your tour with your driver as you make your way to the Royal Palace. After this, you will walk through the old Mellah (Jewish Quartier) where you will note a change in the architecture. If you are interested in Jewish Heritage sites, let your local guide know as there are several points of interest in this neighborhood.

When you’ve finished here, you will head to one of the towers (or Borj) of the wall that surrounds the city for panoramic views of the whole medina. Fes boasts the largest pedestrian-only old city in the world with over 9000 streets and alleyways. From this vantage point, you can really appreciate the size of the city.

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, your driver will take you as far as he can towards the medina. From here, your guide will lead you through the gates of the old city where you will discover the ancient streets and neighborhoods, visit the various artisan sections (including the tanneries), and see 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 in the mid-afternoon. After which you’ll have a chance to explore on your own. Or perhaps after all of that walking, you may wish to enjoy a relaxing hammam and massage!

Today, after breakfast, you will bid farewell to Fes and make your way to the lessor known imperial city of 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. Please note, that many of the monuments in Meknes are currently closed for extensive restoration. You can still make a stop here to see the city – it is an interesting place with a fascinating history but any tour here will be relatively abbreviated. If you prefer to skip this stop (in order to arrive in Chefchaouen earlier), just let you tour manager know. After you have explored Meknes, you will continue to the Roman Ruins of Volubilis where you will have a guided visit.

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. From here, you will head to Morocco’s Blue Pearl, aka Chefchaouen, nestled between two peaks in the Rif Mountains.

Once you have checked into your accommodations and had a little rest. Your tour manager will meet you for an orientation walk in the city. Once you’ve gotten the “lay of the land”, you’ll have the rest of the afternoon/evening to explore on your own.

Today after breakfast, your local guide will meet you at your riad and together you will embark on an odyssey through this medieval city. You will begin your tour with your driver as you make your way to the Royal Palace. After this, you will walk through the old Mellah (Jewish Quartier) where you will note a change in the architecture. If you are interested in Jewish Heritage sites, let your local guide know as there are several points of interest in this neighborhood.

When you’ve finished here, you will head to one of the towers (or Borj) of the wall that surrounds the city for panoramic views of the whole medina. Fes boasts the largest pedestrian-only old city in the world with over 9000 streets and alleyways. From this vantage point, you can really appreciate the size of the city.

After a leisurely breakfast, you will head south to the current capital city of Morocco, Rabat. Upon your arrival here, you’ll check into your accommodations and then meet your local guide to embark on a tour of this modern capital city.

Your guided tour will include visits to all of the important monuments, such as the Royal Palace, the Hassan Tower, the Mohammed V Mausoleum, and the Kasbah of the Udayas.

After your tour of the city, you’ll have the rest of the night to explore some on your own. Of course, as always, your tour manager will be available to you for any recommendations or suggestions.

This morning, after breakfast, you’ll be transferred to the airport in plenty of time for your departing flight. Here, your tour manager will bid you au revoir until you next trip to Morocco!