Best of Morocco 2019

Overview

Itinerary at a Glance

• 1 Depart USA
• 2 Casablanca
• 3 Rabat, Meknes, & Fez
• 4 Fez
• 5 Volubilis & Fez
• 6 Fez, Middle Atlas Mountains, Erfoud
• 7 Rissani & Full Day Desert Excursion
• 8 Tinghir Oasis, Todra Gorge, Dades Valley
• 9 Ouarzazate, Ait-Ben-Haddou, Marrakesh
• 10 Full Day sightseeing in Marrakesh
• Optional Excursion: Home-hosted Dinner, $85
• 11 Free day in Marrakesh
• Optional Excursion: Essaouira Full Day Tour, $145
• 12 Return to USA

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 Depart USA

• Your journey to Morocco begins this evening as you depart from the USA

Day 2 Casablanca

• Upon arrival in Casablanca, following customs and immigration formalities, meet our representative and transfer to your hotel
• Afternoon sightseeing tour of Casablanca, including the Great Hassan II Mosque
• Join your fellow travelers for a welcome dinner with wine

Hotel Sheraton Casablanca or similar Breakfast & dinner

Full Day Itinerary

Welcome to Casablanca, the modern heart of Morocco, and home to quite likely the most popular gin joint in all the towns of the world. After completing customs and immigration formalities, you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel Enjoy some time to relax, freshen up, and enjoy breakfast. Though the city’s reputation precedes it, Casablanca has much more to offer than just bars and lost love. This afternoon, you’ll discover its gems for yourself on a guided tour of the city, including the Great Hassan II Mosque. You'll see Mohamed V Square, the United Nations Place, the Habous Quarter, Notre Dame de Lourdes Cathedral, and the residential area of Anfa. Your tour concludes with a stroll along the Ain Diab coast, dotted with restaurants and cafes.

This evening, join your fellow travelers for a welcome dinner with wine at a typical Moroccan restaurant.

Day 3 Rabat, Meknes, & Fez

• Tour of Rabat
• Enjoy a visit to a local winery with a tasting
• Visit Meknes, the Moroccan Versailles

Palais Ommeyad or similar Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Full Day Itinerary

After breakfast, depart for Fez. En route, stop for a tour of Rabat. Drive through the palm-fringed boulevards of Morocco’s charming capital city, past the Hassan Tower (an unfinished minaret from 1199, at the time, intended to be the largest minaret in the largest mosque in the world), Mohamed V Mausoleum, and the Kasbah of Oudayas. A Kasbah is a traditional Moroccan citadel where the local leader would often live, and it would serve as defense under attack, as well as community market and gathering place. You will encounter many beautiful Kasbahs during your time in Morocco! Continue towards Meknes, to visit Les Celliers de Meknes for a tour of the castles and wineries, followed by a wine tasting. Nestled in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, this regions, with its altitude, sunshine, and mild temperatures, is the heart of wine production in Morocco. After lunch at a local restaurant, visit Meknes, the fourth imperial city of Morocco, including Bab Mansour Gate.

Arrive in Fez and check-in to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 4 Fez

• Sightseeing in Fez
• Lunch in the old city and henna session
• Explore the medina of Fez

Palais Ommeyad or similar Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Full Day Itinerary

After breakfast, enjoy a day of sightseeing in Fez, the country’s ancient cultural capital. Visit the theological college of Medersa, the Karouine Mosque and the famous Nejjarine fountain. Stop for lunch in the heart of the old city and enjoy a henna session. Then, experience one of the true highlights of any trip to Morocco: the medieval medina of Fez. The medina quarter is the old Arab section of many North African towns, often walled, with narrow labyrinthine streets. Walk under the ancient Arab arches and discover a new world of commerce and culture: dried fruits and nuts, colorful and aromatic spices, tangerines and fresh cuts of meat at the butcher, lights and textiles and genie lamps, maybe even the tanneries quarter, where they prep and dye leather in huge earthen vats of colored liquid. A trip to Fez’s medina is a treasure trove of photo ops and an experience you won’t soon forget.

Day 5 Volubilis & Fez

• Explore the Roman ruins of Volubilis
• Join a pottery workshop this afternoon

Palais Ommeyad or similar Breakfast & dinner

Full Day Itinerary

This morning, head out to explore the Roman ruins of Volubilis, one of the most well preserved archaeological sites in Morocco. You'll be able to see the Triumphal Arch, original mosaics, the thermal baths, and much more. Return to Fez for some free time and lunch on your own.

Later this afternoon, participate in a pottery workshop at a local ceramics factory!

Day 6 Fez, Middle Atlas Mountains, Erfoud

• A memorable scenic drive from Fez to Erfoud
• Along the way, travel through the Middle Atlas Mountains and the Ziz Valley

Kasbah Hotel Xaluca or similar Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Full Day Itinerary

After an early breakfast, depart for Erfoud on a fascinating drive that is sure to be a highlight in itself. You’ll journey through the Middle Atlas Mountains to Midelt via Azrou. After lunch, travel through the scenic Ziz Valley. Following the turquoise Ziz River, with towering rock formations sheltering palm populated oases and small sand colored fortified towns, you’ll feel like you’ve traveled back in time. Upon arrival in Erfoud in the late afternoon, check-in to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 7 Rissani & Full Day Desert Excursion

• Spend the day journeying through the Sahara by 4x4 vehicles
• Visit an open-air market in Rissani
• Enjoy traditional mint tea and a dance performance at the Khamlia Village
• Go by camelback through the Sahara to admire the sunset over the dunes of Grand Erg Chebbi

Kasbah Hotel Xaluca or similar Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Full Day Itinerary

After breakfast, prepare for another Bucket List day in Morocco: your trip to the Sahara desert. Board your 4x4 Jeep, your special transportation for the day, and travel to Rissani, where you will visit a local open-air market specializing in dates, see the gardens of Moulay Ali Cherif Mosque, and explore Ksar Oulad Abdelhalim. Visit a Bedouin tent and learn about their customs. See the abandoned mines of M’Ifis to learn how fossils were found and mined. Next, proceed to the Khamlia Village, a desert community and gateway to the sand dunes where inhabitants live very much today the way they have for centuries. Enjoy a traditional mint tea (ubiquitous in Morocco) while watching a special dance performance by the villagers. Stop at Tisserdmine, where scenes from the film Sahara were shot. Relax at an oasis during a homemade grilled lunch under the palm trees. Later, head to Hotel Tombouctou where you can relax while awaiting the approaching sunset. While here, take a dip in the pool, relax at the poolside bar, or retreat to the indoor lounge. Then, comes the coup de gras of your journey. You’ll continue to Grand Erg Chebbi (Desert of Dunes) where you will exchange jeeps for camels and ride intrepidly into the dunes to witness one of the most spectacular ends to earth’s daily second act: the desert sunset - a grandeur you’ll never truly understand until you see it for yourself! Return to your hotel in Erfoud for dinner and overnight.

Day 8 Tinghir Oasis, Todra Gorge, Dades Valley

• Enjoy panoramic views of the stunning landscape on a scenic drive through the Dades Valley
• See the desert oasis of Tinghir
• Marvel at the Todra Gorge canyon

Hotel Xaluca Dades or similar Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Full Day Itinerary

After breakfast, depart your hotel for the Dades Valley. Enjoy a brief visit to a fossil factory where you'll hear an explanation of the different types of fossils, how they are excavated, and how they are transformed into many decorative products and have a chance to shop. Along the way, stop to learn about khettara, an ancient system of underground water irrigation. Follow the desolate but starkly beautiful Tinejdad road to Tinghir, a breathtaking red-stoned oasis rising from the parched valley floor. In the heart of the High Atlas Mountains and built around a rock outcrop, Tinghir welcomes traveling pilgrims with its flowered gardens and ornate Kasbahs. Continue to the canyon of Todra Gorge where the Dades River has carved out a narrow flat stony track, at times only 10 meters wide, through the towering cliffs. You’ll have the opportunity to marvel at this natural wonder. After lunch, continue on to Boumalne Dades and check-in to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 9 Ouarzazate, Ait-Ben-Haddou, Marrakesh

• Visit the Taourirt Kasbah in Ouarzazate
• Travel along the Thousand Kasbahs Road
• Visit the ruins of the ancient Ait-Ben-Haddou Kasbah

Radisson Blu or similar Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Full Day Itinerary

After an early breakfast, depart for Marrakesh. En route, stop in Kelaat M’Gouna, known as the Valley of the Roses, a colorful flower bejeweled valley and the country’s largest manufacturer of rose water and rose oil. These decadent liquids are used worldwide for their antioxidant and anti-aging properties as well as to scent or flavor food and drink. You'll have time here to shop or enjoy a coffee in a local café. Continue to Ouarzazate, passing by the Tifoultout Kasbah and visiting the Taourirt Kasbah. Travel along the Thousand Kasbahs Road, named appropriately for the stunning walled citadels along the way, to Ait-Ben-Haddou for lunch, followed by a chance to explore the ruins of this ancient citadel. Later today, arrive in Marrakesh.

Day 10 Full Day sightseeing in Marrakesh

• Discover Marrakesh on a full day tour
• Explore the souks and Djemma El Fna place

Radisson Blu or similar Breakfast

Full Day Itinerary

After breakfast, head out for your full day exploration of Marrakesh, the second oldest imperial city in Morocco, known as the Pearl of the South. Visit the Menara gardens, established in the 12th century by an ancient dynasty. Stroll through the mellah to the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs and the Koutoubia. This afternoon, experience another of Morocco’s quintessential traveler offerings: some time to wander through Marrakesh’s souks, or markets. Along the narrow, winding streets that open to the plaza of Djemaa El Fna place you’ll witness the bustle, charm and rhythm of every day local life that makes Morocco, Morocco. Storytellers, snake charmers, fire-eaters and seemingly everything under the sun for sale. The souks are one place where you can discover the real Morocco, and they won’t disappoint. 

Optional Excursion: Home-hosted Dinner, $85

This evening, enjoy a simple home-hosted dinner with a local Moroccan family in the palm groves of Marrakesh. This excursion requires a minimum number of passengers to operate.

Day 11 Free day in Marrakesh

• Spend your final day in Morocco at leisure, or join an optional excursion
• Enjoy a final evening with your fellow travelers over a farewell dinner with wine

Radisson Blu or similar Breakfast & dinner

Full Day Itinerary

Today is yours to explore Marrakesh at leisure. Or join an optional tour to the seaside town of Essaouira.

This evening, join your fellow travelers for a farewell dinner with wine in a local restaurant.

Optional Excursion: Essaouira Full Day Tour, $145

This morning, join an optional tour to Essaouira. En route, visit an Argan cooperative to see how Argan oil is produced. Then, stop at a winery for a tour and tasting. Along the way, be on the lookout for tree-climbing goats on the boughs of the Argan trees! Later, arrive to Essaouira, a typical Portuguese harbor town with fine examples of both Moorish and Portuguese art. Essaouira is famous for its wood-working handicrafts, the silver souk, art gallery, and the harbor and islands. This excursion requires a minimum number of passengers to operate.

Day 12 Return to USA

• This morning, transfer to the airport for your return flight via Casablanca
• Arrive in the USA later today

Breakfast

Hotels

Hotel Sheraton Casablanca

Tourist Class

Feel the buzz at the heart of the capital when you stay at the Sheraton Casablanca Hotel and Towers.  The hotel is conveniently located within walking distance of the Old Medina, Place Mohamed V, Arab League Park and a short drive to the imposing Hassan II Mosque and beaches.

More information

Palais Ommeyad

Deluxe

The Palais Ommeyad is situated in the most lovely medina of the Arab world, Fez.  The Madarsa Bou Inania Ancient School is just a 10-minute drive away.  With Karaouiyne, Batha Square, the Royal Palace Fez, the Borj Fez Mall and other attractions close-by, guests are sure to find the area lovely.

More information

Kasbah Hotel Xaluca

First Class

The Kasbah Hotel Xaluca in Afroud is a unique hotel in Morocco because of its distinctive traditional Moroccan bricks and its unforgettable architecture. The Royal Palace of Erfoud, the Zerktouni Mosque, and Ziz Valley Overlook are some of the attractions in the area. 

More information

Hotel Xaluca Dades

First Class

Hotel Xaluca Dades is situated at 5,288 feet in the valley of the Majestic Atlas range. The hotel has a panoramic view of the Dades Valley and the impressive Altas Altas peaks. Just a short walk from the hotel is the Buomaine Dades Portico, Mosque, and Stadium. It is a mountain paradise.  

More information

Radisson Blu

Superior First Class

The Radisson Blu Hotel Marrakech Carre Eden is located in the heart of Marrakech. With plenty of restaurants, shopping, and entertainment in the area, each guest is sure to find something to do on their down time.

More information

In the unlikely event that a particular hotel is not available, a similar or better hotel may be substituted.

Reviews & Photos

Trip Details

• What should I know before I go? We've compiled a comprehensive checklist, including information on how to pay your balance due, flights & transfers, packing & luggage, and more.
• Do I need a visa or other documents? Are there any entry requirements? Please review the visa & entry requirements.
• Can I make changes to my trip? Want to upgrade your seats? Stay a few extra days? Something else? Just ask!
• Can I bring my kids? Are there any age restrictions? To book this package, you must be 18 or older. Your traveling companions must be 8 or older at time of travel.
• Should I purchase travel insurance? Yes! We recommend you purchase travel insurance to help protect you and your travel investment against the unexpected. For your convenience, we offer a plan provided by Travelex Insurance Services.
• What's the fine print? Review the terms & conditions for this package.
• What should I know about Morocco? Check out our guide for practical travel tips, the best time to go, videos, and more.