Morocco Highlights to Casablanca - 9 Days

Welcome to Morocco – we meet you on arrival in Marrakech and transfer you to your hotel. In the afternoon we take a traditional horse–drawn carriage to the legendary Jemaa el–Fnaa Square for a first taste of the city’s colour and energy. Dinner is included.

Today we explore Marrakech – the city that gave Morocco its name. We tour its mighty walls, the vibrant Jemaa el–Fnaa, the Medina, the Koutoubia Mosque and the Bahia Palace, with entrance included. Afterwards, we include lunch, then you can relax by the pool or in the garden, or browse the souks at your own pace. In the evening you can opt to join the Fantasy Party, an optional excursion.

We set off across the High Atlas, leaving Marrakech’s palm groves for snow–tipped peaks and Berber villages perched above dramatic gorges. We stop at the fortified ksar of Aït Benhaddou, famed for its film appearances, and pause in Ouarzazate with its impressive kasbah. Continuing through the Valley of Roses, we arrive in Boumalne Dades – dinner included. Note: in winter, mountain roads may close due to snow; if required, we will adapt the route, and access to the Sahara depends on road conditions.

An exhilarating desert day – we follow the Valley of the Kasbahs, where riverbeds lined with palms give way to rocky plains, oases, adobe villages and ancient fortresses. We visit the awe–inspiring Todgha Gorge, its cliffs soaring over 100 metres. En route we stop at a small adobe town near Khorbat to learn about life in a desert community, subject to weather conditions such as river flooding. We continue to Erfoud. If you wish, you can take an off–road excursion to the Sahara dunes for sunset. Lunch is included.

We depart early from Erfoud to cross the Atlas once more through striking gorges and sweeping scenery, then a high, chilly plateau where nomadic shepherds roam and the commercial town of Midelt sits. We pause in the Middle Atlas for an included lunch by a lakeside setting. Forests thicken as we head north – snow is common here in winter. In Azrou’s national park we may see lively monkeys, and in Ifrane – the ‘Switzerland of Morocco’ – you will have free time to stroll. We continue to Fez, stopping for a panorama of the old city from the Marinid Tombs. Dinner included.

We include a guided tour of Fez – entering through the Bronze Gates of the Royal Palace, then the Jewish quarter, bustling souks and the tannery district. As the country’s cultural capital and home to the oldest university, Fez preserves an incomparable traditional Arab atmosphere in its vast Medina. We end with lunch, included, in an ancient palace in the Medina. Afterwards, entrance is included to the archaeological site of Volubilis, a World Heritage Site founded in the 3rd century BC and later a key Roman outpost rich in monuments. We then visit Moulay Idriss, a holy town and pilgrimage centre – burial place of the great–grandson of Muhammad and founder of Morocco’s first royal dynasty – once closed to non‑Muslims until 1912 and, until 2005, off‑limits for overnight stays. We continue to Meknes for accommodation – dinner included.

We visit Meknes, a World Heritage city founded for military purposes in the 11th century by the Almoravids and later the capital under Sultan Moulay Ismail (1672–1727). His Spanish–Moorish city is encircled by high walls punctuated by monumental gates – we admire the vast Bab el Mansur and the lively El Hedim Square, evoking Marrakech’s Jemaa el–Fnaa. Admission to the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail is included. After the visit you will have free time, then we continue by coach – lunch time in a service area – and reach Rabat for a tour of the capital: the powerful fortress of the Oudaia, the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the Walls of the Andalusians, the outer enclosure of the Royal Palace and the modern embassy quarters. After some free time we continue to Casablanca, arriving towards day’s end. Dinner included.

This morning we begin with a guided tour of Casablanca – Morocco’s largest city and economic centre. We stroll grand avenues, see the elegant Mohammed V Square with its fountain, Moorish–style buildings and palms, and walk through Arab League Park and the little Medina. Our tour includes entrance to the magnificent Hassan II Mosque – the only mosque in Morocco open to non‑Muslims – set by the Atlantic with a 210‑metre minaret whose laser points towards Mecca. After the visit you will have free time for lunch along La Corniche. Free afternoon.

After breakfast our journey concludes in Casablanca – leaving you with wonderful lasting memories.