Morocco has seen a long history of Berbers, Roman invasions, Islamic conquests, and European colonization, all of which have left their mark on its food, architecture, and traditions. This 12-day grand tour to Morocco gives pride of place to the Medinas of Morocco, from the cultural Fes to Tangier the cosmopolitan, through the mountains of Rif, Chefchaouen, Tetouan, and Asilah. Medinas of the North are still little known and yet so beautiful! With the Medina of Fez, a labyrinth that the mules find it difficult to cross, Meknes opens wide perspectives. Further north, waiting for the Medinas of the North still unknown: Chefchaouen the coquette, Tetouan white Andalusian, Asilah discreet. And Rabat, with the kasbah of Udayas and the Andalusian garden.
Imperial cities, Ouarzazate, Kasbahs, north, Sahara desert, and more
Your accommodation in Marrakech
Your accommodation in Marrakech
Please arrive by 07:45 AM for a prompt departure at 08:00 AM
Casual, comfortable athletic clothing & shoes, hat and sun glaces
Depends on the number of people
12 Days – 11 Nights
Upon your arrival at Marrakech airport, you will be welcomed and taken care of by our team, then transfer by an air-conditioned and comfortable vehicle to your accommodation. Dinner and night.
You will leave Marrakech in the morning towards the High Atlas and Ouarzazate. Our route will take you through the Tizi n’Tichka pass, one of the highest roads passes in Morocco at 2260 m altitude. On our way, you will cross several Berber villages. Your driver will stop for a visit to Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou and you will pass the remarkable palm grove of Skoura. The trip continues to Dades gorges through the valley of roses, the village of Kelaa Mgouna. Dinner and overnight at the hotel or riad in Dades gorges.
After breakfast, departure for Todra Gorges. You will then take the road to Erfoud through Tinejdad and several Berber villages. At Erfoud, stop to admire the remarkable fossilized marbles. The adventure will continue towards the big dunes of Erg Chebbi in Merzouga. You will abandon your vehicle for the benefit of the dromedary to reach your camp in the desert. The opportunity to witness a beautiful sunset in the dunes. Dinner and night under the tents of nomads. An experience to live at least once under a sky full of stars and in the extraordinary silence of the desert.
Wake up early in the morning so as not to miss the sunrise over the dunes and return to the slow pace of the dromedaries to the hotel where you will have breakfast. The trip continues to Fez through Erfoud, Errachidia, Azrou, Ifran. Stop at Azrou in the cedar forest. Arrival at Fez at the end of the afternoon. Dinner and overnight at the hotel or the guest house.
A cultural and spiritual capital, a thousand-year-old city, one is easily carried away through its history, thanks to its numerous mosques, Medersas, walls and ramparts, fortified gates, mausoleums, palaces, and squares. Guided tour of The Marinids necropolis, the El Attarin Madrassah, the Moulay Idriss zaouïa, the Andalusian quarters and the admirable Karaouyine will provide you with the points of reference necessary for a look at the historical and religious heritage of the Fassie city. Lunch in a Moroccan restaurant with your guide. Dinner and overnight in a guest house. Fez is also a haunting city that lives through the atmosphere of the souks! Lose yourself in the colorful maze, noisy, with tasty or delicate perfumes and let yourself be carried by your senses … Do not miss the henna souk to discover all the traditional secrets of oriental beauty. For the feast of the senses, go through the souk el-Attarine, a magnificent concentrate of all the colors and scents of spices. And to escape the stubborn odors of the tanners’ district, go up the terraces of the leather goods stores, from where the view is panoramic of the multicolored dye pools so photogenic. Free dinner and Night in a guest house.
Departure for Meknes, the imperial city of Sultan Moulay Ismail, contemporary of Louis XIV. To discover with your guide: the Palace of Jamaï, Bab El Mansour, the tomb of Moulay Ismaïl, Hri Essaouani, the royal stables, and the Medina, classified as that of Fès with the inheritance of UNESCO. Do not forget the big covered market which is a feast for the senses with its baskets of spices, its multicolored stalls of olives, its mountains of oranges, its piles of scented mint. Lunch in a Moroccan restaurant. Dinner and overnight in a guesthouse in the middle of the Medina.
You leave Meknes to the north. At less than 30 Km, the site of Volubilis offers the most beautiful Roman remains of Morocco, remarkable for its mosaics. To visit with, continue to see the Rif. Chefchaouen delights with its alleys tinged with a green, blue, mauve, architectural charm that reflects the footprints of Andalusian civilizations. Its inhabitants, descendants of “Moriscos”, take pride in their wonderful city. Dinner and overnight in a guest house in the heart of the Medina.
To reach Tangier, we will go through Tetouan, the Arab-Andalusian, nicknamed “the White”. Built in the time of the Marinids in 1307, it was the starting point for privateers, given its strategic position. The city reached its peak at the time of Sultan Moulay Ismail in the 18th century. The Muslims of Andalusia, the Andalusians, have fled from Spain since the beginning of the 16th century and have recreated in Tetouan the refinement of the cities of Muslim Spain. She has kept her Andalusian soul that makes her the most Spanish-Moorish Moroccan cities. To visit the souk El Hot known for its beautiful pottery; that of the tanners or the market of the fabrics where women Rifians dressed in their traditional costume, sell their pieces of striped fabrics red, white and blue, typical of the Rif. Do not miss the Hassan II Square (FEDDANE) the royal palace built in the seventeenth century and restored in the 20th century. Lunch before continuing on to Tangier, where we will settle for 2 days in a historic site built by Eastern Telegraph Company, in the Kasbah district. With the development of the telegraph, the English connected Tangier and Gibraltar by a telegraph cable. They built in 1884 the current building to install its offices and welcome their guests.
The Herculean legend gave it the name of Tanga, the woman, or daughter of Ante because Hercules would have rested in the caves of Cape Sartel. Land of passage, because Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, all the peoples of the Mediterranean followed one another in Tangiers. Carrefour maritime, Tangier, will be the diplomatic portal of Morocco in the early twentieth century. With its “special” status of the free city, it will be the place of all traffics. Tangier the mythical, has also attracted many artists and writers, such as Delacroix, Saint-Saëns, Pierre Loti, Matisse, Van Dongen, William Tenesse, Paul Morand, Jean Genet, Joseph Kessel, William Burroughs, or Paul Bowles; she invites you to discover her muses. Follow in their footsteps, enter Tangier through the big gate, that of Bab Erraha; it leads you to an unforgettable panorama of the city and the bay. Listen to the rumor of the port and the kasbah.
After breakfast departure to Rabat, on the road you will enjoy the landscapes of Morocco forests, the lunch will be served in a restaurant in Rabat. The administrative capital of the Kingdom, the city of Andalusia, owes its name to the rock of the Udayas. Rabat-Salé is an old Carthaginian and Roman counter. Salted, the port city on the right bank of Bou Regreg is a vast Medina enclosed behind its ocher-pink ramparts. One of its doors, Bab El Mrisa – the door of the small Port – was built to let the privateer boats in the heart of the city. Dinner and night at a riad or at a hotel in Rabat. Enjoy your evening to discover in all freedom the Kasbah of Udayas and its beautiful Andalusian gardens nearby, reminiscent of the time when the city has served as a refuge to Moriscos hunted Andalusia.
Take the morning to explore Casablanca the largest city in Morocco, Casablanca is a modern city with major French influence. An architectural treat, visit the popular Hassan II Mosque and admire its exquisite craftsmanship. Sitting pretty on an outcrop over the Atlantic Ocean, the Hassan II Mosque is estimated to house 25,000 worshipers inside with additional room for 80,000 in its courtyard. Unique to Morocco, Hassan II is one of few mosques where non-Muslims are permitted to enter. Feast your eyes on the intricate marble work, wood and stone carving, and gilded cedar ceilings, stop for lunch at the Cornish then continue to reach Marrakech. If the time permits, we will visit the blue botanic gardens of Majorel. Dinner and overnight in a hotel or Riad.
According to flight schedules, transfer by an air-conditioned and comfortable vehicle from your accommodation to Marrakech airport. Assistance with check-in formalities for the return flight. End of the tour program.
