12-Day Private Moroccan Cities and Deserts Tour

Day 1 Casablanca,

1. 1

   Casablanca

   45 min

   Your arrival to Casablanca, group meeting in the hotel. Your tour-leader will give you all the informations you need about your trip.

Day 2 Casablanca

1. 1

   Hassan Tower

   2 hours

   After the visit of Hassan II mosque, we drive for about one hour and 30 minuts to Rabat the administrative capital of Morocco, then we visit the Kasbah des Oudayas, and enjoy a good view on abou Regrag river and the city of Sale, after that we go to enjoy the beauty of Mohamed V mausoleum and Hassan Tower. In the afternoon we drive for about 2 hours to Meknes one of the four imperial cities of Morocco, one night in the hotel.

2. 2

   Hassan II Mosque

   45 min Admission ticket not included

   It is built on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean under the reign of King Hassan II. the mosque has a 210 m minaret. Its construction lasted 7 years and it was inaugurated on August 30, 1993.
   The mosque can accommodate 25,000 worshipers inside and 80,000 worshipers outside.

3. 3

   Kasbah des Oudaias

   30 min

   The Kasbah des Oudayas is a fortification built by the Almoravids in the 12th century to fight against the Berber tribes of Berghouatas. During the dynasty of the Almohads The kasbah became a military camp which served as a base for the Moroccan armies leaving to conquer Andalusia.

Day 3 Meknes

1. 1

   3 hours

   Visit of Meknes medina, and drive to the capital of Mauritania Tingitana during the roman occupation of north-Africa: Volubilis, in the afternoon we continue to Chefchaouen in the Rif mountains (night in a beautiful hotel by the square Out Ahammam). 4 hours drive.

2. 2

   Heri es Souani

   30 min Admission ticket not included

   Hri Souani is the most important historical monument in Meknes. It's a granary and was mainly used to store food, and has large stables for about 12 thousands horses. It was built by Moulay Ismaïl in the 18th century.

3. 3

   Bab Mansour Gate

   30 min

   Bab el-Mansour built in 1732 by Moulay Abdallah, son of Sultan Moulay Ismaïl. It gives access to the famous Lehdim square, and it is the main entrance to the royal palace built by Moulay Ismaïl. The marble columns which adorn the gate come from the ruins of the Roman city Volubilis located about thirty kilometres from Meknes.

Day 4 Chefchaouen Morocco

1. 1

   Chefchaouen

   5 hours

   Chefchaouen is called the blue pearl thanks to it's blue houses and streets. We visit the medina, it takes usually 2 to 3 hours to wander around and buy some souvenirs. Following your local guide you explore beautiful and blue narrow streets , fountains and souks. In the afternoon we drive for about 3h30mn to Fez.

Day 5 Fes

1. 1

   Fez

   5 hours

   Included visit of the old medina of Fes, dated back to the 9 century,with a local guide, we start by appreciating panoramic view on the medina, then we visit pottery section before we go inside this huge agglomeration to visit tanneries, Koranic schools and museums.

2. 2

   Al-Attarine Madrasa

   30 min Admission ticket included

   In the medina of Fez, there are some ancient Koranic schools such as La médersa Attarine, built in the 14th century by the Berber dynasty of the Merinids.

Day 6 Midelt

1. 1

   Ifrane

   30 min

   Today we continue to the south across the middle-Atlas Mountains, we stop in few small towns like Ifrane1660m, to enjoy the beautiful landscapes; and see some Barbary apes, after getting to Midelt we have an optional activity which is a walk for about 2 hours in the north side of djebel Ayachi. From Fes to Midelt we drive for about 4 hours.

Day 7 Merzouga, camel ride in the Sahara

1. 1

   4 hours

   We continue to the south east of Morocco, we drive through Errachidia, and along the Ziz valley we to Arfoud the town of dates and fossils. On the way we will make some photo stops, then we continue to Erg Echebbi to an auberge where we leave our big bags and ride camels to attend a sun set from the top of a big dune. (One night in the camp). 4h30mn drive.

2. 2

   Erg Chebbi

   2 hours

   From our camp we ride camels to Erg Echebbi, (Erg means dunes), the landscapes are beautiful and the colors of the sand change along the way. A great opportunity to take some great photos of the dunes and the sunset.
   it's good to buy blue scarves like nomads, they protect against wind and sand in case there is a sandstorm.

Day 8 Rose's valley

1. 1

   Todgha Gorge

   20 min

   Today we drive for more than 6 hours to rose’s valley, on the way we visit Todgha gorges about 15 km from Tinghir. Located on the southern slope of the High Atlas, they attract a lot of tourists every year, and especially climbers thanks to their cliffs more than 200m high. 6 hours drive from Merzouga.

Day 9 Ouarzazete and Ait Benhaddou

1. 1

   Kasbah Amridil

   30 min Admission ticket included

   We start our journey by a short walk for about two hours in the valley, then we drive to kelaa Mgouna where a festival of roses is celebrated in the first week of May of every year. We visit the beautiful Kasbah of Amerdil built in 17 century, and we explore Ouarzazete (one night in Ait Benhaddou), 4 hours drive to Ait Benhaddou.

Day 10 Marrakech

1. 1

   Ait Ben Haddou

   1 hour

   Visit of the Ksar (fortified village), built in the 17th century, one of the most beautiful ancient villages in Morocco, recognized by UNESCO as world heritage of humanity in 1987.
   Its beautiful architecture has attracted many directors to shoot great cinema films, such as gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, prince of Persia . After we drive across the high-Atlas mountain by Tichka pass (2260m) to Marrakech (2nights in a beautiful riad in the medina).
   4 hours drive to Marrakech.

Day 11 Marrakech

1. 1

   2 hours

   Included visit of Marrakech, visit of Bahia palace, djemaa Lefna square, Koutobia mosque.

2. 2

   Bahia Palace

   1 hour Admission ticket not included

   Bahia palace is one of the main monuments of the country's cultural heritage, and one of the main tourist sites in Marrakech. It as been built by Si Moussa a black slave, powerful and extremely wealthy as Grand Vizier of Sultan Moulay El Hassan of Morocco in the form of a vast riad it was the largest, and the most sumptuous palace of Morocco of its time. Ahmed ben Moussa, son heir successor of Si Mussa as Grand Vizier and regent to young Sultan Abdel Aziz enlarged the southern part of this official palace, where he resides with his four official wives, his harem, and their children. It is said that Ahmed ben Moussa employed more than 1000 craftsmen for 6 years to built the palace to his satisfaction (bahia means brilliance)

3. 3

   Jardin Majorelle

   45 min Admission ticket not included

   It is a one-hectare botanical garden which is visited every year by more than 600,000 tourists from all over the globe. Created by the French painter Jacques Majorelle in 1931, it's a garden with an Art Deco villa and a Berber History and lifestyle museum. Bought by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé in 1980, it currently belongs to the Fondation Jardin Majorelle.

Day 12 Departure day,

1. 1

   Marrakech

   20 min

   Today is the end of our trip, and whatever your departure time we organize a free transfer to Menara airport or to the train station.