12 days Signature Morocco Tour

On your arrival at Casablanca airport, you will be greeted by a Marrakesh Journeys tour manager who will assist you with your luggage and transfer you to your hotel in Casablanca.
In the afternoon we will have an Orientation tour of Casablanca, including the Habbous quarter, the United Nations square, the exterior of the Royal Palace, and an interior visit of the Hassan II mosque, one of the Islamic world’s stunning monuments.
Suggested dinner at Rick’s cafe and overnight at your hotel
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Begin the day in the port city of Casablanca, Morocco’s largest metropolis and its commercial hub. Visit the stunning Hassan II Mosque, which accommodates up to 25,000 worshippers; its minaret stands as the tallest religious structure in the world. Then, travel to the Moorish city of Rabat, capital of Morocco, to visit the Mohammed V Mausoleum, dedicated to the founder of modern Morocco, grandfather of the current king. View the Mauresque-style Hassan Tower and Oudaya Kasbah, along with its palm-dotted Andalusian garden. Continue to Fez for an evening at leisure.

The third day of this Signature Morocco tour is dedicated to explore Fez el-Bali (Old Fez), the cultural heart of Morocco. Founded in the eighth century by Moulay Idris I, this imperial capital was a renowned center of medieval learning. Stroll the lanes and souks of the labyrinthine old quarter. Proceed to the intricately detailed Karaouine. Built in 859 AD, it is one of the oldest still-functioning universities in the world. You also visit Nejjarine Square before continuing to Fez el-Jadid (New Fez) where you see the Royal Palace, madrasas and mellah (Jewish quarter).

Spend the day exploring Fez, the oldest of the imperial cities and the country’s religious and cultural heart. See the old medina, the largest living Islamic medieval city in the world, before visiting the Kairaouine mosque, where a meeting with a senior cleric in the private library has been arranged. Continue through the Jewish quarter to the Nejjarine Museum of Woods & Crafts and the nearby fountain. After lunch, visit the Bou Inania madrassa, an excellent example of Marinid architecture and one of the few religious sites accessible to non-Muslims. Finish the day with a short drive to the Merenid tombs. Formerly a 16th century palace and necropolis, the ruins offer panoramic views of the city ramparts.

Travel to desert-fringed Erfoud, passing Berber villages, endless date palm plantations and the majestic Atlas Mountains en route. After today’s scenic drive, settle into your hotel, spending the rest of the day at leisure. Dinner this evening is prepared with locally sourced, organic ingredients.
We will drive through fertile valleys and into the cedar forests and beautiful lakes of the Middle Atlas Mountains. Stop for a picnic lunch at the nature reserve of Midelt before descending into the impressive palm groves and fortified villages of the Ziz valley arriving at Erfoud around 4 pm.

This morning, discover the fortified desert town of Rissani. Continue to the desert dunes of the Sahara by four-wheel-drive vehicle, where a reception with mint tea and pastries awaits at your nomadic tented camp. The stunning reddish-hued sand dunes can reach up to 500 feet high, creating an otherworldly landscape. Experience it like a local on camel back. Then, return to your camp for a traditional meal before a campfire. Slumber tonight in comfort, as the sounds of the desert lull you to sleep.

This morning, discover the fortified desert town of Rissani. Continue to the desert dunes of the Sahara by four-wheel-drive vehicle, where a reception with mint tea and pastries awaits at your nomadic tented camp. The stunning reddish-hued sand dunes can reach up to 500 feet high, creating an otherworldly landscape. Experience it like a local on camel back. Then, return to your camp for a traditional meal before a campfire. Slumber tonight in comfort, as the sounds of the desert lull you to sleep.

After breakfast, we will continue our drive toward the city of Marrakech, one of the most popular destinations in the country. En route, we will drive through the oasis of Skoura, the City of Ouarzazate, before we arrive at the Unesco world heritage center of Ait Ben Haadou Kasbah. The entire route offers wonderful opportunities for photos, especially the Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, where the various films took place, such as Gladiator, The Mummy, Laurence Arabia, and Jesus of Nazareth. After Ait Ben Haddou, we will drive across the peak of Tizi Ntichka and into Marrakech, arriving in the afternoon. Check In to your Hotel or Riad and enjoy the rest of the day.

Today, begin to unearth the secrets of Marrakech, starting in the medina, the old walled section of town that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Marvel at its architectural jewels, including the soaring Koutoubia Minaret. Afterward, visit Djemaa el-Fna, Marrakech’s main square, which is filled with orange juice stalls and vendors, along with acrobats, dancers and street musicians performing at every turn. You may also wish to stroll the city’s fabled, labyrinthine souks.

This is a marvellous trip during which you will discover the most spectacular valleys of the area. Ourika Valley, Sidi Fares and Asni Valley.
Your guide will pick you up at 9am from your hotel or riad, and leaving Marrakech, east of the city direction of the high Atlas, will cross several villages before driving along the Ourika Valleys, stretches for about 30 miles across the foothills of the High Atlas.

This is one of the most picturesque drives where the road follows the rushing Ourika River, which although the levels cary, never runs dry and provides wonderful whitewater rafting in the summer months. Somewhere in the valley we will have a mint tea pause by the mountain stream, before heading off-road on the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. We will take that route at leisurely pace, and if happen to be a day where it is local berber market in one of the villages, we would stop in the morning to visit it. We will drive trough villages and will able to stop whenever you want for photos or to get information. We also encourage our clients to bring with them unwanted spare clothes or shoes, as well as school furniture that you can distribute yourself once you travel with us, will be lot's of the berber kids on the way.

We will continue to climb upwards until you leave the main road at an altitude of over 2000 meters. Then we will follow an ancient, partly paved Berber track to reach the Sidi Fares valley an authentic area famous for apple tree, here where you will have lunch in a berber house in a village overlooking the Atlas Mountains.
The food will be homemade and organic food : tomato salad, chicken tagine, couscous and fruits. If you are vegeterian, this can be cater for with 24 houres notice.
After the lunch we head off for the greener Asni valley where orchards lined the route. You can also admire the Mount Toubkal : the highest peak in Northern Africa culminating at 4167 meters, and often snow capped.

Begin your day at Jardin Majorelle, a picturesque garden created by French painter Jacques Majorelle and later restored by design legend Yves Saint-Laurent. Stop at the Yves Saint-Laurent Museum nearby for an up-close look at some of the famed designer’s creations. This afternoon, enjoy one of these Design Your Day activities:

Learn to Cook with Moroccan Spices with a cooking demonstration and tasting.

Explore the Souks of Marrakech with an expert guide, walking narrow streets lined with centuries-old shops.

Enjoy a Guided Walk of the Historic Jewish Quarter, once a thriving center of religious freedom and tolerance.

Return to your hotel for an evening at leisure.

Transfer to the Marrakech or Casablanca airport and board your international flight home.