JOURNEY TO MOROCCO

DISCOVER THE BEST OF MOROCCO ON A 10-DAY ADVENTURE WITH A SMALL GROUP OF CURIOUS TRAVELERS

• Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

  Stay on top of a mountain in Imlil Village and hike through the Atlas mountains

• Experience Childlike Wonder

  See why the northern town of Chefchaouene is called the Blue Pearl of Morocco

• Explore a New, Beautiful Culture

  Sleep under the stars in the Sahara desert camp and engage with the people that live and work here

• Find a Sense of Stillness

  Get to know Morocco beyond the cities in the peaceful Skoura Valley

• Unplug from Your Daily Routine

  Get busy on the beautiful streets of Marrakech and visit such gems as Ben Youssef Madrasa, YSL Museum, Jemaa el-Fnaa and more

• A solo traveler?

  Meet interesting people with stories to tell from all over the world and leave the countless hours of planning to us, expert travelers and organizers who have a deep admiration of the Moroccan culture and knowledge about its best, untrodden paths

We arrive to Casablanca airport and take a short tour of the city and the Hassan II mosque before heading to Rabat, Morocco’s capital. After a walk and lunch, we continue on to the artsy town of Assilah on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. We drop off our bags at our riad and go explore the colorful murals lining the streets of Assilah’s medina.

Overnight: ✰✰✰✰ Riad Alba

Meals included: none

This morning, we explore Fes, the intellectual and religious center of Morocco and the capital of craftsmanship. We visit the medieval medina, a labyrinth of around 9,500 alleys, narrow cobbled streets that teem with ancient mosques, medreses (Koranic schools) and foundouks (ancient trading houses). We visit Mellah, the Jewish quarter, and enter the famous tanneries (at our own risk). We visit the Fes tiles cooperative and experience a beautiful panoramic view over the Medina of Fes.

In the afternoon, we leave Fes and drive towards Midelt via the Tizi Ntalghamt pass and along the magnificent Ziz Gorges carved through volcanic rock.

Overnight: ✰✰✰ Ksar Timnay

Meals included: Breakfast, dinner

After breakfast, we continue our drive south, to the Sahara desert! We stop by Khamilia village known for gnaoua music, then we meet with our camels and ride into the majestic sand for sunset in the Erg Chebbi, the highest sand dunes in North Africa. We stay overnight under the stars in our desert tent camp.

Overnight: desert luxury camp

Meals included: Breakfast, dinner

Today we get up early to watch the sunrise in the dunes, then take our camels back out of the desert. We travel through the steep cliffs of the Todra gorge and visit the road of 1,000 kasbahs and the colorful Valley of Roses. We arrive to our hotel in the Skoura Valley in the afternoon. Skoura is considered the “pearl of the south,” a calm and beautiful valley. We’ll stop in the village of El Kelaa, known for its rosewater products before settling in for the night.

Overnight: ✰✰✰✰ Les Jardins Skoura Guesthouse

Meals included: Breakfast, dinner

Today we leave Skoura Valley and drive to Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, the most preserved ksar in the south of Morocco. We continue on through High Atlas mountains to arrive at Imlil village. We stay in a small guesthouse overlooking the village and visit the village hammam (optional).

Overnight: ✰✰✰ Riad Jnan Imlil

Meals included: Breakfast, dinner

After breakfast, we go on an easy morning hike in the nearby mountains. We work up an appetite just in time for lunch: a cooking class with a local woman. After lunch, our journey continues through the majestic Tizi-n-Tichka pass that reaches an altitude of 2,260m over the High Atlas Mountains. We stop by at an argan oil cooperative before arriving to Marrakech in the late afternoon.

Overnight: ✰✰✰✰ 2Ciels Boutique Hotel & Spa

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch

After breakfast, we’ll explore the spectacular city of Marrakech. We visit Koutoubia mosque, the Saadian tombs and the Bahia Palace, and walk through the many souks of the old medina. We get lost at Jemaa el-Fnaa, the heart of the city crowded with snake charmers, storytellers, musicians, barbers and sellers of fruit, water, spices, food, and just about anything else. In the afternoon, we visit Majorelle Gardens and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum in the Marakech new city. We finish the night (and our trip!) with a celebration at NOMAD, an old carpet store above the famed Rahba Lakdima spice square turned modern fusion restaurant with terraces overlooking the surrounding medina and the Atlas mountain range.

Overnight: ✰✰✰✰ 2Ciels Boutique Hotel & Spa

Meals included: Breakfast, dinner

Today we leave Morocco (transfer to Marrakech airport included) and prepare to miss it as soon as the plane takes off.

Meals included: Breakfast

DepartureS:

• Spring 2022 (Exact dates TBD)

Journey price:

• Early booking: $2,687 per person (ends two months before departure)

• Regular booking: $2,887 per person (within two months of departure)

• Payments are accepted by credit card or by ACH / bank transfer

• Payment plans are available; contact us for details

All accommodations are in three-star hotels or higher (double-occupancy rooms; if you'd like some privacy, single-occupancy rooms available for an additional lump sum payment of $370).

What's included:

✔ 9 nights accommodations in three-star hotels or higher, including 1 night in a desert bedouin camp, 3 nights in the traditional Moroccan-style riads, 3 nights in guesthouses and 2 nights in the deluxe 2Ciels boutique hotel (double-occupancy rooms; if you'd like some privacy, single-occupancy rooms available for an additional lump sum payment of $370).

✔ 9 breakfasts, 1 lunch, 5 dinners (including a farewell dinner on Day 9)

✔ All in-country transportation (we will have our own driver and explore Morocco at our own pace!), including airport transfers on days of arrival and departure

✔ A professional driver to accompany us throughout the trip

✔ All excursions:

• Guided tour of Fes

• Guided tour of Marrakech

• Khamilia village visit

• Camel ride into the Sahara desert

• Hiking and guide in Imlil

• Cooking class in Imlil

• Argan oil cooperative and carpet weaving collective visit

What's not included:

• Airfare to Casablanca/from Marrakech

• Personal expenses + drinks

• Lunches on Days 1-2, 4-10 | Dinners on Days 1-3, 8-10

• Tips for service personnel (driver, local guides, etc)

• Mandatory travel insurance

• Entrance fees to sites (Fes Medrassa Bou Inaania, Marrakech Majorelle Garden, Ben Youssef Madrasa, Bahia Palace, Koutobia Mosque, YSL Museum), plan ~$52 total if you would like to visit all sites

  • Note that we are not including cost of entrance fees on this itinerary to give us some flexibility with the pick-and-choose approach. Particularly in Marrakech, we will have an intense schedule if we want to visit all sites, so we'd like to provide an option for us to decide on the ground.