MARRAKECH to MARRAKECH (8 days) Marrakech and Sahara Teen Tour

Welcome to Morocco! After a short transfer from the airport, you will have a free day to explore this vibrant city. Tonight you will meet your fellow travellers at your pre-departure meeting at 6pm, organised at the joining hotel in the heart of town.

After breakfast we travel to Ouarzazate. For centuries Ouarzazate has been the place where people from the Atlas Mountains, Draa and Dades Valley have converged to do business. The modern town we see today was built as a French garrison in the 1920's and the movie business took off here in the 1950's. The region has since built quite a resume as a body-double for Tibet, Rome, Somalia and Egypt. Following lunch, there is an optional tour of the Film Studios, famous for films such as Gladiators, The Last Temptation of Christ and the Living Daylights. There is also an option for Quad Biking in the desert, or just exploring the town and Kasbah, which featured as a backdrop in Star Wars.

Today we enjoy a stunning drive where we will stop to visit traditional irrigation wells. This intricate network of canals, dates back to the 14th Century and covers more than 300km. We stop for an optional lunch, and in the summer - a relaxing swim before heading towards the great desert dunes of Erg Chebbi, Merzouga, where we transfer to our camels for a trek into the Sahara to our authenic Berber Camp. We enjoy local food, music and an amazing night out under the Saharan stars.

After a wonderful breakfast in the Dunes we leave the desert and stop along the way to visit ancient irrigation wells. We can see how they were created from an intricate network of underground canals, running from the Atlas to the Sahara, more than 300km and dating back to the 14th century. We move on to Todra Gorge. We have lunch at our hotel on arrival here. The stunning gorge, set amongst the Palmeries and hemmed in by 300m cliffs changes colour throughout the day, as the sun moves from east to west. We have time to explore the gorge or, go for some optional rock climbing. We go to Tizgui, one of the old villages of Todra and visit a local carpet cooperative where we learn how to make Moroccan tea and a Berber rug.

We have a leisurely depart from Todra this morning as we head off to Ait Benhaddou. On the road also known as the road of a thousand Kasbahs we will make a stop at Kasbah Amridil. This is one of the best Kasbah examples in Morocco and once featured on the Moroccan 50 Dirham bank note. We arrive at Ait Benhaddou a UNESCO World Heritage site for lunch. We will make a guided tour of the Ksar of Ait Benhaddou this afternoon, a traditional pre Saharan habitat of earthen walled dwellings fortified by surrounding walls and guarded by 4 corner towers. This evening we will enjoy dinner and soak up the atmosphere of this inspiring place.

We will depart this morning traversing the mighty and impressive High Atlas mountains en route to Marrakech.There is a chance to go on an optional guided tour of Marrakech in the afternoon which takes approximately 3 hours and includes Bahia Palace, The Medina, pharmacy visit and a walk around the Katoubia Mosque or you can just explore for yourself. You can enjoy a free night in Marrakech, enjoy the hussle and bustle of the medina, eat in Djamma el Fna square, shop, visit a club or if you prefer a quieter time, why not enjoy a nice meal at the hotel and bar?

There is time today to take an optional hot air balloon ride before breakfast, consider any optional excursions in the region or just explore more sights and soak up the incredible atmosphere of Marrakech. The hotel pool is a welcome sight for you at the end of your day in town. The day ends with our last group meal in the Djemaa El Fna ,the legendary main square full of acrobats, snake charmers, juice sellers and various open air restaurants.

Your adventure tour ends after breakfast. For those flying out of Marrakech on this day you can arrange airport transfers with your guide, and these can be booked any time for this day – there is luggage storage at the hotel should you need to check out before your go to the airport.