Private 12-Day Grand Tour From Casablanca

We look forward to seeing you and extending a warm welcome to you in our beautiful nation, which we are glad to show and share for your benefit. Once we have met, we will drive you to your hotel in Casablanca.

After breakfast, we'll see Casablanca, the country's commercial hub, and see the spectacular Hassan II Mosque, which was opened in 1993. It is one of the few places of prayer accessible to non-Muslims along the lovely Corniche seaside and has a capacity for 25,000 people. After that, we will drive you to Chefchaouen. On this 12-day tour of Morocco, one of the best Morocco Sahara tours, afterward, we will then briefly stop at a few Rabat sites, such as the Hassan Tower, before continuing to the blue city of Chefchaouen. Lastly, spend the night in a typical riad in Medina. 

Departing for Fes at 10:00 am. We will travel across wheat fields, open lands, and lush hills. We break for lunch close to Ouazane before continuing to Volubilis. It is Morocco's best-preserved Roman ruin. Through the magnificent mosaic, streets, columns, and baths, a guided tour of the Roman site will transport you back to the stories of ancient Rome. The first Arab Islamic dynasty in Morocco's history was founded in the nearby old village of Moulay Driss Zerhoune, and its founder is buried there. Before heading to the hotel/riad in Fez, we may, if time allows, stop in this town for mint tea and overnight in Fes.

We’ll start the day exploring the oldest city in Morocco, snaking through its alleys and narrow streets. Fes consists of three different parts. Fes el Bali (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) is the oldest of the three with more than 9000 narrow streets and alleys fortified by a large wall, Fes-Jdid “new Fez” (home of the Jewish quarter), and the “Ville Nouvelle”, the newest sector of Fez constructed during the French occupation. As well as we will visit the Tanneries, the Attarine museum, and the Moulay Idriss mausoleum, and then we will take you to visit the royal palace of Fes from outside and the fantastic panoramic view over the whole Medina of Fes, overnight in Fes.

As you make your way south toward your destination outside the desert village of Merzouga, you'll be traveling a long distance today. Cross the Col du Zad pass as you ascend the Middle Atlas mountains through scented cedar groves. Stop in the "Apple City" of Midelt, renowned for its fruit orchards, to stretch your legs and enjoy lunch next to the Moulouya River. Continue across the Tizi n'Talremt pass to the palm-fringed Ziz Valley, observing the numerous fortified ksars that traders constructed to safeguard and store their priceless wares (gold, salt, and spices). When you arrive in Erfoud, a city famous for its fossils and dates, stop by a local artisan collective to learn everything there is to know about the different kinds of fossils that can be found there. Turn in the direction of Erg Chebbi's sand sea, where some of the dunes tower more than 600 feet high. Meet your camel at Merzouga, get on it, and travel to your nighttime lodging—a tent in the Bedouin style—on foot. After watching the desert sunset over the dunes from the top of a nearby dune, sprint back to your campsite for dinner and a campfire under the starry night sky, and overnight in a hotel.

After breakfast, we will drive you deep into the Sahara Desert region. We'll make a trip around the desert dunes, where you'll have the chance to see the nomads’ way of life and the amazing changing contrasts of the desert. We'll visit the ‘ black townlet ’ of Khamlia to see the Gnawa musicians. We'll have a classic Berber Pizza for lunch in the old capital of Rissani. After lunch, you can visit the traditional sites. After that, we will return to the Hotel to be ready for departure on the camels. As the evening over the desert dunes will ride the camels for 90 minutes to the desert camp. We'll have a traditional Moroccan food regale and succulent mint tea while watching the stars and the rising moon in the amazing desert. We'll spend the night in a traditional nomad tent.

Try to get up early to see the sunrise; it is quite spectacular. Return to the Merzouga kasbah's kasbah by the dunes for breakfast ( you can also have a shower here at the hotel if you slept in a basic tent). Our itinerary leads us first to Rissani after breakfast; until a century ago, Rissani was a caravan trading post. Even in the 1800s, there were auctions here for gold and slaves. Before it, Sijilmassa, whose ruins are located across the street from Rissani, was the center of the Moroccan caravan trade and the largest city. Ibn Battuta and Leo Africanus departed from its gates to begin their renowned adventures over the Sahara into African nations. At a time when Sijilmassa served as the crossroads for trade between Europe and Africa, and the court of Timbuktu highly valued Arab purebred horses from Morocco, we'll investigate a nearby ksour before Tinerir (a fortified traditional village). Only 15 kilometers from Tinerir, the breathtaking Todra Gorges offer an impressive sight with their crystal-clear river rising from them and their enormous walls magically changing color throughout the day. As we travel through Tinerir, an important center for the Berber nomad tribes with its huge palm grove, the crumbling ksours, and the 19th-century adobe mosque, we are once again in the Atlas highlands. The Dades Gorges, which are less popular with tourists and offer excellent hiking opportunities, are worth the detour and, overnight stay in Dades Valley.

We continue our drive west along the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs, many of which are in ruin due to being constructed of pisé clay (rammed earth). We will drive through Boumalne Dades until you come to the property plots in Kela'a M'gouna, which are surrounded by perfectly maintained fresh flowers. Roses are grown for their rose oil and rose water, which are used in the cosmetics business.

Continue west until you reach Ouarzazate, a well-known desert hub and shooting location.

If there is time, we can visit the filming locations in Ouarzazate, where some of the most recent Game of Thrones episodes were just produced. After 30 minutes, our group makes a right turn and soon arrives at the picture-perfect UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ait Benhaddou. Although there is always someone prepared to lead the way, getting lost in the city's laneways is the finest option. There is always a new route to get to the top, where you can take in the snow-capped Atlas Mountains and the indigo sky. If the ascent hadn't been done so already.

The Kasbah is made famous by the slave scene in "Gladiator," and the valley that snakes beneath the road is breathtakingly beautiful. Your journey continues to the northwest as you ascend the High Atlas mountains, pass through the Tizi n'Tichka, and then descend the High Atlas until you arrive at a plain. The sensual and sleepy Marrakech lies ahead in the night, its walls and 18 gates enclosing hundreds of soldiers that were formerly used to guard the caravans and their precious cargo, arriving in the evening in Marrakech overnight.

After your delicate breakfast, you will start exploring Marrakech, "the red city of Morocco". Your local guide will ensure that you see the most important places of cultural and historical interest, including the Saadian Tombs, the El Bahia Palace, and the Ben Youssef Koranic school. Lunch is in a restaurant near the Jamma Lfna square, then in the afternoon, you can visit the "Majorelle gardens" and the Koutoubia tower. Overnight at our hotel/riad.

After breakfast, we go to Essaouira over a picturesque inland route through a forest of Argan trees, which are unique to this region of the world. En route, we stop to take pictures of goats harvesting Argan fruits. After that, stop by a local women's cooperative for Argan oil. You can go on a tour to discover the process used to make argan oil, interact with the women, and purchase delights like homemade soap or "Amlou," a typical Moroccan jam, to take home. We next proceed to Essaouira. Stay the night in a hotel or a riad.

After breakfast, we'll go to Safi, the nation's primary sardine fishing port and ceramics capital. We will proceed to Oualidia via the scenic coastline route so that we can have lunch in a nearby restaurant. We will travel to El Jadida in the afternoon, which is renowned for its beaches and resorts. The historic citadel, a legacy of the Portuguese occupation in the 16th century, is one of the stops on our journey. We'll keep going to Casablanca after the tour to spend the night.

We will drive you to the airport for your flight back home, the end of our service.