Departure Tour From Casablanca ...
15 Days Morocco Vacation Tour, Imperial Cities, Desert And Kasbah From Casablanca
15 Days Morocco Vacation Tour, Imperial Cities, Desert And Kasbah From Casablanca
Introduction
With our dedicated guides, you’ll get to any attention-grabbing view, see what it's like to live the Moroccan style, experience their traditions, and have a taste of their special cuisine recipes. you'll cross pathways with nomads in remote stretches of mountains and desert, be hosted by locals for homemade meals and have a friendly unforgettable conversation with the locals, and discover the beauty of Moroccan ancient buildings, including Casablanca's Hassan II mosque. Along the way, you'll enjoy intimate stays in authentic Riads, Moroccan homes converted into elegant and ornately-tiled hotels with open-air, as well as Andalusian-style courtyards.
At the meantime, you'll benefit from the expertise of our local Trip Leader who will share valuable knowledge and deep insight of the Moroccans’ lives. Moreover, you will get the chance to step on the hills of the mighty Sahara that has so decisively shaped Moroccan culture to its roots. you’ll also camp under its starry skies in tented camp, and even explore its tides by camel tours.
Highlights
- Visit the biggest and largest Mosque of Hassan II.
- Explore the city of Chefchaouen the pearl of the north..
- Rabat with its monumental ramparts and gates.
- Meknes and Volubilis - Two remarkable sites, rich in history and culture.
- The atmospheric medina of Fez also known as Mecca of the West.
- The impressive sand dunes of the Sahara Merzouga.
- Walk in Toudra Gorge, Morocco’s Grand Canyon through spectacular rock formations.
- Visit the world heritage site of Ait Benhadou.
- Discover the city of Taroudant and the sea side of Essaouira
- Marrakech - Discover Morocco's vibrant Red City.
- The Atlas Mountains - The highest and most scenic mountain range in North Africa.
Itinerary of the tour
Day 1 : Casablanca arrival, Overland to Rabat
After landing in Casablanca, you'll have the chance to sit for lunch on your own. Then, you travel to Rabat. Then, in the afternoon you walk through Medina of Rabat to discover more by foot. you will converse with locals and have a taste of some Moroccan traditional food. Then, you will have a group meeting with trip leader and followed by group dinner. Meals: D
Day 2 : Exploring Rabat, learning from locals by the interactions
On the second day morning, right after having your breakfast, you will have a brief introduction in the Arabic language before heading out on a guided tour in Rabat. you will see the exterior of Rabat's Royal Palace and its impressive Bab ar-Rouah (Gate of the Winds), and visit the ruins and wild gardens of the Chellah, a 14th-century Merinid necropolis. you'll also stop at the Hassan Tower, a huge unfinished mosque, built mostly at the end of the twelfth century. On the opposite side of this mosque there is a beautiful Mausoleum of the king Mohammed the fifth. It contains the tomb of Moroccan king and his sons, late Hassan second and prince Moulay Abdallah. Meals: B, D
Day 3 : Overland to Chefchaoouen
After sniffing the morning breeze, you will head towards the city of Chefchaouen known for its distinctive blue-washed buildings. Chefchaouen was founded in 1471 as a small kasbah (fortress) by Moulay Ali Ibnou Rachid. Many Moriscos and Jews settled here after the Spanish inquisition. So, you might feel like you're in the hills of Spain. After making it to the town in the afternoon, you'll check into our Riad. Then, you'll take a walk through the narrow streets of the surrounding neighborhood. Meals: B, D
Day 4 : Moroccan Cooking Lesson (Home-Hosted Lunch; Chefchaouen walking tour)
Right after having your breakfast, you’ll head to the nearby village to meet a local family for a hands-on cooking lesson in the countryside, enjoying the beautiful scenery of towering mountains. Your hosts will tell you about farming in Northern Morocco as you select our ingredients from their garden, and then you’ll join them in the kitchen to prepare a regional, seasonal meal, like harira, a traditional soup served during the month of Ramadan, or tagine, a slow-cooked savory stew.
After that, you’ll return to Chefchaouen for a walking tour of its medina. you'll also enjoy a great discussion on Mountain Berber culture of the North with a local woman who will tell us all about anything that concern our curiosity. Meals: B, L
Day 5 : Overland to Fes. Visit Volubilis, having lunch with a family in Meknes.
After breakfast, you leave the beautiful town of Chefchouen and heading south. you will first stop to see archaeological site of Volubilis, enjoy the tour of the ancient hilltop ruins and discover the town’s fantastic mosaics along the Decumanus Maximum. continue to nearby city of Meknes. will enjoy a lunch with a local family and interact with this happy family. After that, you enjoy the sightseeing of Meknes with the local guide. In the 17th century Sultan Moulay Ismail turned Meknes from a provincial town to a spectacular Imperial city. You will visit the huge granary of the founder Moulay Ismail (lahri swani), then admire the beautiful gate all over Morocco known as Bab Mansour. You might have look to the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. After looking around, you head to Fes. Meals: B, L
Day 6 : Explore Fez
After having your breakfast, you'll begin our full-day exploration of Fez. Led by our Trip leader and a local city leader, you will leave our mini bus and all previous conceptions of urban design behind as you enter Fez's medina, often considered the world's most well-preserved medieval city, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You will kick it off by exploring the traditional Jewish quarter, called the Mellah, where you'll visit a 17th-century synagogue. Then, take a walk around the souks (markets) of Fez. Every inch of space is filled with bazaars, cafés, shops, donkeys, and people. You can't help it, but be amazed by the vibrant display of old age urban tradition, and the intensity of life bursting around every corner. The thrill of it must be experienced to be understood.
Right after having your lunch in a local restaurant, you will further explore the medina before returning to our Riad. Early in the evening, you will have a bit of free time to continue exploring Fez. Meals: B
Day 7 : overland to Erfoud/ visiting a nomadic family/ home hosted meal.
Your Sahara odyssey begins today, as you drive across the range of Middle Atlas Mountains before you stop for café and facilities in the beautiful town of Ifrane. After that, you drive through the beautiful plateau of Middel Atlas where the berbers graze their animals. On the way you might stop to enjoy a fresh mint tea with the berber semi-nomadic family. You will interact with the family and learn from them. Afterwards, you continue to Zaida village where you will stop to enjoy a home hosted meal with the berber family. You will have a lamb tajine which is the main dish of the berbers.
In the late afternoon, you will descend into Erfoud, a small trading village that is the gateway to the vast Sahara Desert. In the evening, you'll enjoy dinner in our hotel. Meals: B, L, D
Day 8 : Discover Rissani, visit a fortified village, off-road to sahara.
Your day starts by following the meandering Ziz River towards Rissani, the last sizeable community and the end of the vegetation belt before the dunes of the Sand Sea begin. The settlement is the homeland of the Alaouite dynasty, which reigned in this region for 300 years, and this morning you'll have an opportunity to visit the founder's Mausoleum and explore something of the local ksour (fortified villages). You stop to enjoy a local food known as MADFOUNA, bread stuffed with meat and spices, you then drive on to the settlement of Merzouga, which lies on the edge of Erg Chebbi, an area of spectacular high dunes that are amongst some of Morocco's most spectacular natural landscapes.
Afterwards, you will take the lead to our tented campsite, located close to a sea of sand dunes near Merzouga. In this particular place, experience the remote environment of the Sahara, with no roads, and the sound of the wind in the dunes as we navigate the sandy waves.
After arriving at our campsite in the late afternoon, will get around the dining tent for hot mint tea. Then, you may set for enjoying some time in leisure, or join your Trip Leader on an optional hike where you can enjoy the sun setting over the sandy dunes
Meals: B, D
Day 9 : Sahara Desert walk, visit the nomad family, visit the Kamlia, enjoying gnawa music, learning about desert life.
On this particular day, you will experience the feeling of the extraordinary desert environment. You will be camped where few foreigners venture, along routes known only to the camel and goat-herding Tuareg nomads, the original Morocco travelers. If you wish, you can wake up before dawn to watch the sunrise in the Saharan tides, then stretch your legs during a guided walk.
You will return to camp for breakfast, and then set off in 4x4 vehicles to visit a local farm, where you learn about the local production and vegetation. After that, you will head to Khamlia, a remote desert village. This region is known for the spiritual songs of its Gnawa musicians, and will get the chance to hear their melodic chants during a live performance. You'll learn more about everyday life in the desert as you visit nomadic families. Meals: B, L, D
Day 10 : Overland to Skoura(Visit Berber Museum)/ Todra Gorge)
On our tenth day, you leave the open desert behind and hit the road to town of Tinghir, making a stop in Tinejdad. There, arrive at the Ksar of El Khorbat and take a walk inside one of the unique and ancient fortified ksars (walled villages). You 'll then visit a Berber museum and learn more about the history, architecture, and daily life of Berbers in this region. After that, you drive to the beautiful gorge of Todra, a massive trench that rises over 150 meters to form one of the most dramatic and spectacular natural sights in Morocco. You will take a walk through this beautiful gorge. Then you continue to the Rose valley, famous for its roses, the town lies blanketed under a landscape of scented blooms each spring, which are then harvested in May during the famous Festival of the Roses and processed into rosewater to be sold throughout the Islamic world. Your arrival to Skoura will be at late afternoon. Meals: B, L, D
Day 11 : A Day in the life
Each Day in the Life is specially tailored to showcase daily life in your destination—in this case, Toundout, a mountainside community. You’ll get to know the local people through conversation, visiting a women’s development center, and sharing a meal together, gaining an authentic glimpse of what life is really like here—and not just the typical tourist’s version.
Today you will have the opportunity to experience A Day in the Life of several aspects of the community in Toundout, starting with meeting some of the local men and women who work in the fields, cutting the grass and plowing the land. Next, you'll learn more about the life in this town. Will split the group and let them buying some vegetables from the local market and take it to the berber family for a couscous demonstration. Meals: B, L, D
Day 12 : Skoura- Ait Benhaddou- Marrakech/ food testing trail
After breakfast; you leave Skoura and drive to Ouarzazat “the Hollywood of Africa” you will have time if you are interested to visit the museum of cinema, before you drive to the famous Ait Ben Haddou kasbah, the largest Kasbah in Morocco. Walking tour with your guide takes 1 hour to see and visit the most beautiful Berber Village. After lunch, you will drive for four hours through the winding roads of the Atlas, bound for Marrakech, an ancient, exotic city wrapped in European modernity. There’s no rush as the scenery through the High Atlas Mountain passes is magnificent, and there will surely be calls for several photo stops along the way. On arrival in Marrakech you will check in to your hotel. This evening, you head for a food testing. You will test some Moroccan donuts with some tea, some nuts, olives, roasted lamp, you end your testing food at the main and great square of Jemaa el Fna one of the largest public spaces in the world and unique to Marrakech. Meals: B, D
Day 13 : Explore Marrakesh/Meeting Locals
After breakfast today, meet your local guide and explore the city of Marrakesh on foot, seeing different places, such as the Koutoubia mosque which built by Almohad dynasty in the 12 th century. You will visit also the beautiful Bahia palace. Following our tour, you'll have time for lunch on your own as you explore the famous medina of Marrakesh, one of the ancient crossroads of North Africa and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Afternoon of this day is free. Meals: B, D
Day 14 : Marrakesh -Women’s Solidarity Association - Casablanca
Today you leave Marrakech to Casablanca. on your arrival, you stop for lunch at the Women’s Solidarity Association. Founded in 1985, this non-profit organization provides professional experience to single women, mothers, and victims of abuse by training them to develop the skills needed to work in restaurants, bakeries, and hammams. At the restaurant, you’ll be treated to traditional cuisine prepared by the women of the association, and have the chance to get to know one of the women training there. This is a great opportunity to get a true sense of what life is like for women in Morocco, and you encourage travelers to interact, ask questions, and come away with a better understanding of local life. Then, in the afternoon you will visit Hassan II Mosque. This mosque is the largest in Morocco with the tallest minaret in the world. You’ll have about two hours at the mosque to admire its marble columns, intricately designed dome, and mosaic tiles. While here, you may even hear the call to prayer emanating from the towering minaret. After, you’ll check into our hotel for the night. In the afternoon, you'll set off for a discovery walk through the city center where you'll encounter some of its gems—particularly its impressive colonial architecture. Meals: B, L
Day 15 : transfer to the Airport.
After breakfast, you leave your hotel, 35-45 min drive to Mohamed V airport for your return flights. Meals: B
Good to Know
Included
- 14 Nights' accommodation in selected Hotels and Riads.
- Mineral water in the Van.
- comfortable 4WD or Minivan.
- 15 Days of Car services.
- Fuel and all car expanses, taxes and road tolls.
- Professional English-speaking guide/driver.
- Professional Local guides in Rabat, Meknes, Volubilis, Fes, and Marrakech.
- Entrance fees.
Not included
- Tips.
- Soft and alcoholic drinks.
- Travel Insurance.
- Anything not mentioned above.