Absolute Morocco
Absolute Morocco 12 - 21 DAYS
This itinerary takes you on an ultimate experience through Morocco`s Rif Mountains, Imperial Cities, Desert, mountains, and coast. It`s an on the go journey for an encompassing adventure of nearly the whole country.
DAY 1 : Arrive CASABLANCA, RABAT or TANGIER
Today really depends on your arrival time, after you got picked up by your driver from the airport & you’ve got checked in, you might like to see some sights of the city which you start the tour from, whether is Casablanca, Rabat or Tangier. We will absolutely take you out after your relaxing time.
DAY 2 : BLUE CITY OF CHEFCHAOUEN
The Real adventure Morocco Tour begins with a jump start today. You`ll be picked up by your English-speaking driver/guide and will travel to the Blue City Chefchaouen. This little city is a visual pleasure in blue. Well! everything is painted in blue which comes from Indigo. You’ve got walls, doors and windows. Stairs, alleys, archways – everything is a mixture of shiny and dark blue, more powerful colors. We will arrange a local tour guide for 2 hours walking this afternoon but you are free to explore at your own pace or simply relax. The main square is Outa el-Hammam, the place to watch the world go by. Walk up the tiny higgledy-piggledy alleys & you will find the everyday life of Chefchaouen.
DAY 3 : BLUE CITY OF CHEFCHAOUEN
Hang around the supernatural blue city, which despite the shops prepared for tourists is still real and residential. Especially because it provides the twenty-year community with its daily needs; Shoe repairs, groceries, stationery and sweets, elegant jellaba tailors, butchers, bakers (one utility in each quarter) though candle makers did not seem to survive – the Moroccan presence as it lived during Chaon’s courtyard. And don’t forget the New Town, which has some great examples of Andalusian architecture and a wonderful park at the end of Avenida Mohammed V.
Today we will meet with you any time you want at your accommodation. So you simply can Spend a private time just relaxing/exploring by your own this unique indigo blue-washed town. Optional guided tour for the morning or afternoon. As well as a mountain hike of the Rif Mountains & National Park.
DAY 4 : VOLUBILIS - MEKNES - FEZ
We will say goodbye to Chefchaouen and head south towards the Roman ruins of Volubilis, which occupies a prominent historical position, where there are many important Roman sites in the Maghreb and North Africa. Historians agreed that its history dates back to the first two centuries AD because of the Roman monuments it contains, such as the public square, the triumphal arch, and the ancient Roman court.
Meknes is one of Morocco’s Imperial Cities but less-visited when it comes to tourism. This city was built by the Alawi king Moulay Ismail at the end of the seventeenth century to be the capital of his kingdom. which he tried to make it like European capitals, to the extent that it was likened to French Versailles, but the city lost its importance in the eighteenth century by losing its status as the political capital of the Alawites, where the city of Fez took This privilege instead. We will visit the water reservoir of Heri Essouani, The Gate of Bab Mansour and Lehdim square.
Overnight in Fes Medina.
DAY 5 : FEZ MEDINA GUIDED TOUR :
After breakfast, your tour guide will meet up with you in your Riad and give you an idea about the day schedule. Here we go! we start exploring the Medina of Fez. The founding of the city dates back to the end of the eighth century AD; Where the city arose on the right bank of Wadi Fez in the Andalusian neighborhood in 789 AD. The Medina has nine thousand streets and alleyways! but your Fes born-bred guide will reveal the city’s most special parts. You will get to visit the King Palace, The Mellah Jewish Quarter, The Ceramic Complex, The Koranic School Mederssa Bou Inania, Fondouk Nejjarine, the tanneries and the various craft souks.
DAY 6 : FEZ - IFRANE - MIDELT - MERZOUGA
Departure at 8 am. The first stop is Ifren, a colonial alpine resort built by the French in 1929. You are almost … maybe in Switzerland. The surrounding countryside is dotted with apricots, walnuts and plum trees, and as you approach Midelt, you’ll see beautiful images of rural life in the Berber region. A few hours after crossing the Middle Atlas Mountains, we arrive at Erfoud, the capital of Morocco’s major date-growth region. As you get closer to Sahara, the changes in the landscape become noticeable. Overnight in Kasbah hotel facing the sand dunes.
DAY 7 : 4X4 TOUR AROUND THE DUNES - CAMEL TREKKING & OVERNIGHT LUXURY CAMP
Exploring day around the sand dunes, morning stop at the Slaves village of Khamlia and assist at the local Gnaoua music performing, mint tea will be served for everyone. Stop at the Kohl mine near Mephis village.
Lunch at Nomad family place, Local Berber Pizza (Madfouna) will be served. Getting back to the hotel around 2 pm. Free time to use the pool or enjoy the magnificent views and atmosphere.
Later we meet our Camels for a 1hour trek or 20 min on a 4×4 into the Dunes to reach the Luxury desert camp at Erg Chebbi. Camel for everyone and additional Camels are provided to carry your luggage. The Camel trekking is usually prior to the sunset, allowing you to enjoy the sun setting over the landscape from the top of the Dunes. Once we arrive at the Luxury Desert camp, we are greeted with a cup of delicious hot mint tea and we spend the evening under the stars, on the dunes, also beside the warmth of the campfire built by the local Touareg especially for you. Get to enjoy locally cooked meals (special diets are catered for), a drum party, and story swapping.
Overnight in private Double or triple Luxury tent with toilet and shower in.
DAY 8 & 9 : TODRA VALLEY & MT GORGE - DADES VALLEY - ROSE VALLEY - SKOURA
An unparalleled morning as the sun rises over the desert. After your breakfast at the camp, we will make it back to Merzouga by Camel or 4×4. We will drive through unique geological landscapes in order to get to the Todra Valley and Mountain Gorge. Explore the gorge on foot before sipping refreshments under the hanging rocks. Trek deeper into the Dades Valley for panoramic views and unique rock formations. We continue through the beautiful Rose Valley. Lunch on the road in Dades Valley is known for the Thousand Kasbahs Trail and the Rose Valley. Overnight at the Palm grove oasis of Skoura very known as the Valley of Kasbah.
On your second day in Skoura, it will be a free day to relax in this oasis, enjoy a walk and reflect on the experiences you have had so far.
DAY 10 : OUARZAZATE - KASBAH AIT BENHADDOU - TELOUET - MARRAKECH :
Leaving the oasis of Skoura, you will head to Ouarzazate. Africa’s Hollywood, home to Atlas Studios, considered one of the largest film studios in the world. Although many travelers prefer not to visit a movie studio, Kasbah of Taourirt is well worth it in the city. Once owned by the Glaui family, one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the region, his vast fortune was derived in part from taxes levied on camel caravans passing through their territory while transporting gold, spices and slaves from Timbuktu. has been Road to the market Marrakech and beyond.
The most vivid memory of the day is a visit to Ait Ben Haddu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ait Ben Haddu is the best surviving example of a walled urban area protected by the Kasbahs, home of the rich and powerful.
Ait Ben Haddou is a great example of one of the few UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Morocco. If you’ve seen Gladiator, Alexander, or Lawrence of Arabia, the setting for all these movies, might sound familiar.
The Castle is built on the side of the mountain so as to control the most precious good of the area: the river flowing beneath. Its adobe houses intertwine with each other giving place to mysterious passageways and intricate light patterns.
A hide-and-seek paradise, the summit can be reached via a variety of narrow cobbled paths. The views from the granary at the top are breathtaking.
After the visit we head to Unila Valley to reach Telouet. The beauty of the valley winding down the road is indescribable. Once the principal residence of “Lord of Atlas” Pasha el Glawi. Telouet housed his courts, stables, mosques, and numerous slaves at the time Pasha was having tea with W. Churchill. He founded the first bus company in Morocco. A visit is highly recommended if you want to admire the splendor of this modern dynasty and the contrast between the abandoned exterior and the lavish interior.
Then, this time embark on the journey back across the High Atlas. The French Foreign Army has paved a route through these mountains. The route zigzags through steep valleys and mountain peaks. Arriving to Marrakech around 6 pm.
DAY 11 & 12 : MARRAKECH MEDINA & NEW TOWN GUIDED TOUR
Full-day sightseeing tour in Marrakech to explore the Medina, souks, monuments, and Gardens. We will provide you with a guided tour of the `Pearl of the South` escorted by your driver and our professional local guide to see all its highlights: The main square of Djemaa El Fna, the constant flow of show biz celebrities owning properties here, its massive foreign residents’ community or its geographical location, Marrakech is smaller, yet much more famous than its counterpart Fes. There is no other Moroccan city that boasts such a demographic diversity: Arabs, Europeans, and Berbers have always blended with the Touareg populations north of Sahara and the Black Africans whose ancestors worked at the court of the Sultan in a city always known for being a passage point for caravans coming through its gates from the 4 corners of Africa. Highlights include Bahia Palace, Koranic school Ben Yussef, Souks, Saadian Tombs, the legendary Hotel Mamounia, or the Majorelle Gardens (once the property of a certain Yves Saint Laurent).
DAY 13 : ESSAOUIRA
Essaouira, the city of wind, the land of love and coexistence in Morocco. Once referred to as Mogador because of its story through the Portuguese along the fifteenth century.
We start a journey of 2 hours from Marrakech to Essaouira, driving through the Largest Argane forest Worldwide, a great opportunity to visit one of the Women Argan oil cooperatives.
Essaouira was Morocco’s main harbor for centuries where gold, precious wood, sugar, and slaves were traded internationally.
The African slaves left their music behind and its streets still resonate with the hypnotic rhythms of Gnawa. Even local people still talk about the short visit of certain Celebrities like Jimi Hendrix and Cat Stevens in the ’70s.
Essaouira is an ideal place to relax, wander in the Medina or by the beach, admire the different crafts and activities. Essaouira’s real charm comes from the fact that tourism hasn’t yet spoiled the town, which remains a hive of activity; where fishermen and boat builders get on with their daily activities as they have done it for centuries. In the afternoon we recommend visiting the Skalas (sea bastions): Skala de la Ville and Skala du Port with their impressive collection of 18th-century European brass canons.
DAY 14 : ESSAOUIRA
DAY 15 : CASABLANCA
We say goodbye to each other after 4 hours journey from Essaouira to Mohamed V Casablanca airport. We may spend a night in Casablanca according to your outbound flight time.. We hope you enjoyed your Morocco Tour with us!