14 Days Morocco Tour

You will be met upon arrival at Casablanca by Morocco tour's experienced English speaking driver and transferred to your comfortable hotel in the heart of Morocco's largest city, Casablanca, the economic capital and very modern in its attitudes and architecture. Then you can either choose to chill out for the afternoon or, if there's time, take the optional tour of the huge Hassan II Mosque, the largest in Morocco with the tallest minaret in the world and one of only a couple of mosques in Morocco open to non-Muslims. Overnight in Casablanca.

After a relaxed breakfast you will begin your Morocco Tour journey to Chefchaouen, but will stop off for a while to explore Rabat, Morocco's capital city, much smaller than Casablanca, but more sedate and peaceful. See the King's palace and usual residence, enjoy lunch and have time to wander the streets and coastline of this beautiful seaside city. In the afternoon, you will continue the journey through stunning countryside until you reach Chefchaouen. Overnight in Chefchaouen.

After having breakfast, Wander through the narrow streets, painted in blue and white, of this peaceful place founded in 1471 by Moulay Ali ben Moussa as a kasbah, or walled fortress which you can still visit today. It has a more recently added and very picturesque garden too. Moving through the blue alleys, with the bright sun reflecting from the walls is a feeling somewhat like walking under a shallow blue sea, an amazing sensation. Afterward you will drive to fabulous Fes, the beating cultural heart of the Kingdom and its spiritual capital.

When breakfast has been taken, your Morocco Tour's driver will introduice you to your local guide to discover the ancient working Medina of Fes, through labyrinthine alleyways and twisting streets lined with colourful fresh fruit and vegetable stalls, shops piled high with aromatic spices , beautiful, intricately woven Berber carpets, metalware, ceramics, wooden and leather goods and other objects of interest all hand made in Fes or the surrounding country regions. The King has another pretty palace here you will get to see and then there is a trip to the tanneries, to see the leather being produced in the traditional manner, fascinating if a bit smelly, but you may be able to pick up a bargain or two. Next, it's to the outskirts of the city where a breathtaking panorama of the medina, the largest urban pedestrianized area in the world, can be viewed, and a visit to the potteries to observe how the famous Fes ceramics are produced and you may even get the chance to make a pot yourself! Lunch will be taken in a traditional restaurant in the medina's centre. After lunch you will finish your exploration of Fes and return to your hotel for the night.

Morocco Tour offers you the choice today, to either continue your exploration of Fes and maybe do some shopping on your own or a day trip to explore Meknes and Volubilis. you will be driven by a scenic route to the ancient Roman ruins of Volubilis, a one time luxury residence and holiday resort for wealthy Romans. Spend a pleasant time examining the many wonderful mosaic floors depicting myths and legends, reading the Latin inscriptions on the Triumphal Arch and getting the feel of this 2,000 year old city. After lunch, your will drive you on to one of the holiest sites in Morocco, the town of Moulay Idris, founder of Fes, a beautiful place perched on the mountainside with stunning views of the verdant lands below. Here you will have lunch and then head for Meknes, another Imperial city with mighty walls and huge city gates, granaries and reservoirs before heading to Fes for the evening.

An early start with your Morocco tour's driver to head south through the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara Desert. It's a long journey , but a wondrous one as you travel along the twisting, turning mountain roads past rough-hewn cliff faces, dizzying drops, through almost endless cedar forests and alongside snaking silver streams. Berber mountain villages nestle in the valleys or seem to perch impossibly on the moutainsides. Lunch will be taken about halfway in

In the morning there will be time for you either to relax in the hotel or explore the quaint and fascinating desert town of Erfoud, the villagers are friendly and prices here can be lower, so local handicrafts can be obtained at a good price. After lunch, your Morocco tour air-conditioned transport will take you deeper into the desert, through the rocky, barren Black Sahara when suddenly, you'll be amazed at the appearance, as if by magic, of the mighty dunes of the Erg Chebbi. These dunes are massive, up to 50 metres in height and extend eastwards all the way to Algeria. Here, at dusk you'll find your camel awaits you, prepared to carry you off into the glorious sunset for an unforgettable two hour trek through the shifting desert sands before you arrive at a traditional Berber desert encampment, where you will spend the night in a cosy tent, surrounded by the mountainous dunes. Your guide will prepare you an authentic Moroccan repast while you just take it easy, watching the stars, so many and so bright and seemingly so near you would almost believe you could just reach out and touch them, while you listen to the sweet strains of time-honoured Berber music. A truly memorable day of your Morocco tour.
(N.B. The night in the desert is optional for those who would prefer to return to the hotel at Merzouga for the night.)

You will be awoken early for breakfast and to experience the sun rising over the sand dunes, then a sedate camel ride back to Merzouga, during which ride one cannot fail to notice the shifting and changing of the shadows cast by the dunes, lengthening and shrinking as the day progresses. Heading back to Erfoud, you then pass behind the High Atlas Mountains, that are said to hold up the sky, on the way to the Todra Gorges. After lunch, you'll have a walk up the gorge, over 600 feet high, before travelling on through the photogenic river valleys to the pretty village of Tinghir, where you will stay the night before crossing the High Atlas the next morning. The Tinghir and Todra Gorges are the highest and narrowest in all of Morocco and, some would say, the most beautiful.

The High Atlas and The KasbahMorocco tour's driver will pick you up from your hotel and the you'll embark on the fabulous journey over the High Atlas Mountains via Ouarzazate Film Studios. Your journey begins with a breathtaking drive up between the peaks, along twisting mountain roads dotted with scenic Berber mountain villages and crystal clear waterfalls, until you arrive at the area around Ouarzazate where you can take a pleasant stroll to examine the traditional Moroccan architecture that comprises the Kasbah Ait Benhaddou, the largest in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage Site with very impressive walls. It's a timeless, ancient place , used as the backdrop to over twenty Hollywood films including "Lawrence of Arabia", "Indiana Jones" and "Gladiator". This central area of the country is vibrant and exciting and surely one of the most romantic regions in Morocco, huddled between fertile green river valleys with their extensive palmeries and burnished mud-brick houses burning under the blazing Moroccan sun in dazzling colours beneath an azure sky. Lunch will be taken in Ait Benhaddou and after that you'll complete the journey over the Atlas Mountains to Marrakech and your hotel.

Following breakfast, Morocco tour's experienced guide will take you around the sights of the red City of Marrakech, so called because of the colour of its walls under the sun ,and the Pearl of Morocco. Among many delights, you will get to see the beautifully decorated sepulchres of the 16th century Saadian Tombs next to the Kasbah Mosque and then the 19th century Bahia Palace, the name meaning "brilliance", noted for it's exemplary Islamic and Moroccan mix of styles and it's prettily decorated harem built for the grand vizier's concubines. After lunch, it's time to visit the famous Koutoubia Mosque with it's huge plaza and gardens and then, perhaps Marrakech's most famous attraction, the Jemaa el-Fnaa, the great open square surrounded by restaurants and cafes and full of market traders and entertainers; story tellers, dancing boys, magicians and snake charmers. You'll finish the day with a tour of the souks to see and maybe purchase the southern produce and handicrafts of Morocco.

After breakfast, your Morocco tour's driver will pick you up to drive to the city of Essaouira, situated on the Atlantic coast, a beautiful fishing port with a wonderful beach to the south of the town , famed for its coastal winds and hence an abundance of water sports. Essaouira is also well known for the many artists, skilled wood-carvers and other artisans who have made their homes here.

Maybe you'll want to visit the surrounding countryside, explore further the souks and city, sunbathe, try windsurfing or parascending, or just relax back at the hotel, you decide!

A Last Look The morning is again free for you to do your own thing and enjoy the delights of Essaouira for one final time, then, after luncheon, you'll be driven back to magnificent Marrakech to spend the evening enjoying your last night in Morocco. Until the next time!

Departure DayOnce you've enjoyed your breakfast it will sadly be time to say goodbye to Marrakech and Morocco for now, as you're Morocco tour's driver will bid you farewell and ensure you are safely transferred to Marrakech airport for departure.