Morocco Tour – Sahara Charm

Morocco Tour – Sahara Charm

Culture, History & Venture

8 Days | 7 Nights


Tour Schedule

After your pick up from Casablanca airport, head to the red City Marrakech. Check-in and overnight at your hotel in Marrakech.

Enjoy a full-day tour with your expert guide, private driver, and vehicle. Marrakech is recognized as one of the world's great cities. With the design flair of Paris, the ethnic diversity of New York, and a history to rival any city in Europe, Marrakech is above all a city of heart and soul – a city of sunlight on rough pink walls, of fragrant, richly-hued spices, and rose petals floating in slowly trickling fountains. 

Begin your exploration by the defining landmark of Marrakech is the 12th Century tiled minaret of the Koutoubia mosque, the ideal place to begin your journey into this fascinating city. From here, you will start to explore the ancient pink-walled medina. Visit the medieval Medersa Ben Youssef (Koranic university) – one of the finest Islamic monuments in North Africa. 

Architecture lovers will enjoy the delicate dome of the 12th Century Koubba. Explore the colorful souks (marketplaces) of Marrakech. Each trade −spices, carpets, jewelry, enamel, copper brass, and cedar −is situated in its unique quarter. You might see villagers bringing in their hand-made rugs to sell to the merchants, or you may observe artisans hand-tooling crafts the way it has been done for centuries. Overnight in Marrakech

After a delicious breakfast, you'll depart for Ouarzazate, visiting the town of Ouarzazate, including the Kasbah of Taourirt and the Atlas Studios movie studios, the largest and most famous of all Africa. You will stop in ait ben haddou. You can visit the famous Kasbah, declared UNESCO World Heritage, and the scene of films like The Gladiator, Babel, Lawrence of Arabia.

After Breakfast, head to Merzouga desert; upon arrival, travel by 4WD vehicle into the desert, reaching Merzouga in the afternoon. You will be welcomed with the camels that will take you across the dunes to Erg Chebbi. Watch the sunset from the back of your camel. Enjoy the staring sky. Check-in in the hotel or the tent and overnight in Merzouga

Breakfast. Pick up from your hotel and departure to Fes. Pass through the cedar forest of Azrou and look for the resident monkeys before your drive across the Middle Atlas Mountains. Wind your way through beautiful forests, mountain springs, jagged rocks, and Berber villages. Continue through the winter ski resort of Ifrane, built by the French in the 1930s to look like a Swiss village. Check-in and overnight in Fes.

After your breakfast, your driver will pick you up, and you will start your sightseeing in the fantastic Fes city. 

Today you will step back in time to the 8th Century when you visit Fes EL Bali, The largest living medieval medina with more than 80 thousand houses (shops) and also the cultural heart of Morocco. It is believed to be the most extensive car-free urban area globally, and this medieval medina is also known as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Attarine Medersa (Koranic college) is the neighboring building, a jewel of Hispano-Moorish architecture, a gem built in the 14th Century. 

Your sightseeing also includes visiting the Nejjarine Square, Fondouq (Caravanserai), Dar Batha, and the Museum of Moroccan Arts. Continue your visit to Fez El Jedid (New Fez), built in the 13th Century. Here you will see the Royal Palace, mosques, medersas (schools), souks and the city wall.

Breakfast. You will head on to the imperial Meknes (about one h from Fez). Its spectacular city gates are among the finest in the Arab world. Here, also, is the tomb of the once-feared Moulay Ismail, who modeled his capital of Meknes in the image of Versailles. Other sites of interest are the underground granaries and the vast imperial stables, which once held 12,000 horses.  

After lunch, you will continue to Rabat. Your tour begins at the ancient necropolis of Chellah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A thriving city for nearly 1,000 years, Chellah's ruins date from the Roman through the Islamic periods. They are a particular favorite of bird-watchers. Visit the picturesque, labyrinthine Kasbah des Oudayas overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the lovely gardens outside the Kasbah. 

If time allows, visit the compound of the Royal Palace – assuming that King Mohamed VI is not in residence. End your visit at the majestic Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohamed V. Check-in in Rabat overnight.

Breakfast and head to Casablanca Airport (117 Km) airport from Rabat for your flight.