12 Days 11 Nights The best of Morocco (starts and end in Marrakesh)

12 Days 11 Nights The best of Morocco (starts and end in Marrakesh)

With this program you have the opportunity to see the best of Morocco in 12 days. We provide high quality services and offer you over nights in selected hotels/riads through the country.

The highlights of the tour:
*Merzouga Sahara desert
* Essaouira Medina
* Mosque Hassan 2 Casablanca
*Asilah
*Chefchaouen
*Fez
*Todra Gorges
*Ait Ben Hadou
*Atlas mountains

Day 1: Marrakech Arrival

Our driver will pick you up from the airport up to your arrival time and transfer you to your hotel/riad where is in the medina. You'll have the day to relax while exploring the main square Jemaa el Fnaa and the souks. if you are already in your hotel in Marrakech you will start the next day (day2).
*Accommodation: Riad Marana(or similar up to the availability)

Day 2: Marrakech Sightseeing

After breakfast in the hotel, you will have a private guided tour of Marrakech Medina with an official guide from Marrakech. You will see the famous Mosque of Koutoubia, the Medina, and its souks, and explore some more of Marrakech’s secrets: Ali Ben Youssef Koranic school, the Saadian tombs, the Bahia Palace and Majorelle Gardens. In the afternoon the best option is to explore the medina on your own, approaching the square that in the evening is full of narrators, jugglers, diviners. snake charmers and music.
*Accommodation: Riad Marana(or similar up to the availability)

Day 3: Marrakech - the High Atlas Mountains - Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah - Ouarzazate -Boumalne Dades

Pick up from your accommodation in Marrakech at 8 a.m., and depart to the High Atlas, a subrange of Moroccan Atlas Mountains, going through Tizi N´Tichka pass with stops for panoramic views and taking pictures of the Berber small villages that camouflage in the landscape. Then we continue south to the ksar (fortified village) of Aït Ben Haddou where we will visit the famous Kasbah (declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986). Famous films have been shot in this spectacular stage, including Gladiator, Obelix, The Mummy, The Jewel of the Nile, and Sahara with Penélope Cruz…etc. Free time for lunch in town. Then we continue to Ouarzazate also known as “The gate of the desert” that in the Berber language means “noiseless or without confusion”. Here we´ll see the Taourirt Kasbah, one of the most spectacular ksars in Morocco. The next site to visit is the Rose Valley going through the big Skoura palm grove, a beautiful place to contemplate more than 700.000 palms and numerous kasbahs that are built in the surrounding area. In this Valley damascenes, roses are raised for cosmetic use such as the valued rosewater. The Rose Festival is held here annually in May, it is an important museum for Moroccan culture. Finally, we reach the Dades valley where we´ll spend the night.
*Accommodation: Auberge Panorama Dades (or similar up to the availability)

Day 4: Boumalne Dades - Todra Gorges - Jorf - Erfoud - Merzouga (overnight in a camp in the dunes of Sahara Desert)

After breakfast in the hotel, drive back through the valley to see the amazing rock formation “the monkey toes”, and the still-standing 19thcentury Kasbah of Ait Yul. Leaving the Dades valley towards Tinrghir and after some stops on the way, we´ll reach the Todra Gorges. The scenery is spectacular. At the Gorge, you’ll walk under the 300m high red cliff, where many rock-climbers come to enjoy their preferred sport. Local people live in the area and can be seen in their adobe villages. After a short walk in the Todra gorges continuing our trip to Erfoud and Rissani where we’ll have lunch and afterward we’ll leave for the village of Merzouga. In the afternoon you will have a camel ride, guided by an experienced Camel man, to explore inside the mysterious sand-sea of the Erg-Chebbi. Here you’ll spend your first night under the stars, or if you prefer, in a traditional Berber nomad tent. Dinner will be served in the tent where you will spend the night.
*Accommodation: Orient desert camp(or similar up to the availability)

Day 5: Merzouga - Rissani - Ziz Valley - Azrou - Ifrane - Fez

Very early in the morning, we have a “Date with the sunrise”. In the middle of the desert, waking up early is a “must-do” to contemplate the most spectacular sunrise you´ve ever seen at the top of a dune close to the camp. After having breakfast, we return to Merzouga on the camels and we start our trip to the north, through the Tafilalet palm grove, the biggest in the world. You´ll see thousands of palm trees along the 20km of road. This way leads us to the Ziz valley, which river comes down from the high Atlas and feeds the palm grove. Here we make a stop and from this high viewpoint, enjoy a magnificent view of the valley and the town of Aoufous. We make another stop in Midelt, just in the heart of the Atlas where you´ll have free time for lunch and rest for a while. In the afternoon we continue our way through the Cedar forest where, if we are lucky, we´ll see some monkeys. The next place we´ll visit is the city of Ifrane, situated in the northwestern slope of the Middle Atlas at 1630 meters above the water level. Its broad avenues, its urban development with perfect cleanness, the gardens, the green areas, and its architecture make this city look like a Swiss town. Ifrane feels misplaced in Morocco. That's why it´s named Moroccan Switzerland, and if that´s not enough it has an important ski resort, Michlifen. About 6 pm we arrive at Fez and check into the hotel/riad.
*Accommodation: Riad Lalla Zoubida (or similar up to the availability)

Day 6: Fez sightseeing

After breakfast, you will meet with a local tour guide to explore Fez, the most ancient and holy of the Imperial cities. Your cultural and historic tour will take you through the 2000-year-old living medina. A labyrinth of narrow streets, alive with markets and souks, craftsmen, donkeys and mules transporting their loads. Visit the Attarine and Bou Anania Medersas (Islamic universities), the Nejjarine fountain, the Moulay Idriss Mausoleum, and the Karaouine Mosque. Finish your tour with a visit to Fes Jdid, and the revered Merenid Tombs for a spectacular panoramic view of Fes.
*Accommodation: Riad Lalla Zoubida (or similar up to the availability)

Day 7: Fez - Chefchaouen

After breakfast, we depart from Fes to Chefchaouen. A scenic drive will take you through fertile agricultural land to high, in the Rif Mountains. Chefchaouen is famous for its vivid blue houses.
*Accommodation: hotel Alkhalifa (or similar up to the availability)

Day 8: Chefchaouen - Asilah

After breakfast in your hotel/riad, we will drive to the city of Asilah through the beautiful landscape. Arriving Asilah, you will have the opportunity to explore the city. Asilah is known for its annual festival for the art as most of the walls of the Medina are painted by various famous artists from all over the world. Your visit includes the Skalla fortress, where you will experience a wonderful view of the Medina and the ocean before we check into your accommodation.
*Accommodation: Hotel Al Alaba (or similar up to the availability)

Day 9: Asilah - Rabat - Casablanca

Depart to Casablanca and continue your journey up the Atlantic Coast. Your first stop will be in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Here, you will see the Hassan Tower and the Oudaya Kasbah.

Continuing to Casablanca where you will visit the impressive Mosque of Hassan II, built-in 1993 by a team of over 6000 craftsmen. Located on the shores of the city it is an imposing edifice and one of the few mosques in Morocco that foreigners are allowed to enter.
*Accommodation: Premiere classe casablanca centre Ville (or similar up to the availability)

Day 10: Casablanca - El Jadida - Essaouira

After breakfast in your hotel, we will depart and continue your journey up the Atlantic Coast. Pass through El Jadida, a small port city, formerly controlled by the Portuguese, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. Afterward, we will reach the seaside town of Essaouira, this UNESCO World Heritage-listed city. The windswept fishing port, with broad beaches and ancient walled medina with ramparts built into the cliffs, has long been a popular destination. With its relaxed feel, take in the small but lively medina, stroll along the ramparts or beach, or visit the port to see the daily catch.
*Accommodation: Riad Zahra(or similar up to the availability)

Day 11: Essaouira - Marrakech

After breakfast in the Riad, we depart for Marrakech. A relaxing drive lined with Argan oil cooperatives. Here you will have the opportunity to visit an Argan oil cooperative. Later we will reach Marrakech and check into your hotel/Riad.
*Accommodation: Riad Marana(or similar up to the availability)

Day12: Marrakech Transfer to the airport

Transfer to the airport of Marrakech up to your departure time and this is the end of our services.