Arrival to Tangier

Tangier - Welcome to Morocco!
Whether you arrive by plane or ferry, our shuttle will be waiting with a card bearing your name to take you to your hotel.
NOTE: For an exhilarating experience, consider arriving by ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar, transitioning from Europe to Africa.

Tangier City Tour

Cap Spartel - Welcome to Morocco!
Our tour begins at Tangier, the gateway from Europe to Africa, named after the goddess Tinge, Hercules’ lover, who, according to legend, separated Europe from Africa to form the Strait of Gibraltar. A scenic drive through La Montagne leads to the Cap Spartel Lighthouse, located 14km west of Tangier. Just 5km further, you’ll reach the Grottes d’Hercule, offering a much-photographed view from within the mythical cave of Hercules, resembling a map of Africa. Returning to the Medina, you’ll spend a few hours exploring its 15th-century Portuguese fortress walls, visiting the Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Culture. You can also visit St Andrew’s Church for some gravestone reading and view the latest art exhibition at Centre Culturel Ibn Khaldoun.

Caves of Hercules - 5km further, you’ll reach the Grottes d’Hercule, offering a much-photographed view from within the mythical cave of Hercules, resembling a map of Africa.

Medina of Tangier - Returning to the Medina, you’ll spend a few hours exploring its 15th-century Portuguese fortress walls, visiting the Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Culture. You can also visit St Andrew’s Church for some gravestone reading and view the latest art exhibition at Centre Culturel Ibn Khaldoun.

Tangier - Chefchaouen - Fes

Chefchaouen - Departing from the famously decadent Tangier with its Europe-facing Medina, we head into the Rif Mountains. Chefchaouen, with its bright blue, Andalusian-tiled medina and grand red-hued Kasbah overlooking the main square of Outa Hmam, continues the European influence. Nestled beneath the raw peaks of the Rif Mountains, the “Blue Town” boasts a mystical blue-washed Medina, arguably the prettiest and smallest in the country. The town, with its Andalusian character architecture, remained isolated and is a delight to explore randomly. In the afternoon, we head to the Imperial city of Fes, known for its ancient Medina.

Walk and Talk Fes Medina Tour

Medina of Fez - Don’t worry, your guide will show you the must-see sites. With your private Fes-born and bred guide, you’ll discover the ancient breeding ground for scholars and artisans and the world’s largest medina. You’ll visit the America Fondouk, Nejjarines, the Tanneries, the Medersa (Theological college), and Karauine, the world’s oldest university. Your guide will share many tales and 1200 years of history of this UNESCO-protected Medina. After your medina visit, we’ll drive out of Fes to enjoy a delicious local meal at Lalla Fatiha’s house in Sefrou.

Fes - Meknes - Rabat - Casablanca

Meknes - Leaving the mesmerizing Medina of Fes with its mysteries and secrets of the 9000 alleyways, we head west to Casablanca. Our first stop is the imperial city of Meknes, where we start our exploration from the famed gate Bab El Mansour, Dar Jamai Palace and Museum, the royal stables, Hedim square, and Moulay Ismail tomb. We navigate through the narrow lanes to the Mellah, where Jewish families once lived.

Rabat - After Meknes, Rabat, the administrative capital, awaits you. Greet the soldier-knights on horseback in front of the gate to the monumental Hassan Tower, with the pillared stumps of its mosque being all that remains from the 1755 earthquake. Nearby is the Mausoleum of the royal family.

Hassan II Mosque - We take the highway to Casablanca, Morocco’s economic capital. After an hour-long drive (if time permits), you might want to explore some of its sights, including the architectural masterpiece, Hassan II Mosque. Completed in the 90s, it overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and features a retractable roof to let in sunlight. It is one of the few mosques that non-Muslims are allowed to enter.

Casablanca - El-Jadida - Safi - Essaouira

El Jadida - Around 8:00 am, we head southwest of Casablanca to the 15th-century Portuguese fortified city of Mazagan, now known as El-Jadida. Nicknamed “the Deauville of Morocco,” its Portuguese structures, fortified ramparts, and defense system surrounding the Medina, which extends into the sea, evoke the city’s historical past. (Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO), this ancient coastal town is an impressive testimony to Portuguese architecture.

Safi - Leaving El-Jadida, we head to Safi, known for its sardines and pottery. Much of its old medina was built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. From Safi, we continue to the most laid-back beach city in Morocco, Essaouira, a muse and inspiration site for Jimi Hendrix.

Essaouira City Tour

Essaouira Ramparts - Today, you’ll have ample time to explore Jimi Hendrix’s town. After breakfast, you’re free to roam the city, once and still a haven for hippie backpackers and Gnawa musicians. You can book a local guide or start your visit at the ramparts, a series of forts built in the 15th century around the Medina of Mogador. Inside the Medina, you can visit The Mellah (former Jewish quarter) and Morocco’s 3rd fishing port, where you can enjoy a delicious fish meal. For sports-oriented travelers, Essaouira offers excellent wind and kitesurfing schools.

Essaouira - Agadir - Tiznit - Sidi Ifni

Agadir - An early-morning start is recommended for this day. Head south along the Atlantic Ocean with its white sandy beaches. Stop to visit Agadir, a city completely rebuilt after a devastating earthquake in 1960, with its busy port and beach resort sprawling beneath its Kasbah.

Mirleft - Continue to the rich and lush lands of the Souss-Massa National Park. Mirleft is a charming place to stop for a cup of mint tea. Continue onward to the most romantic Art Deco military town ever built on a cliff-top site, Santa Cruz del Mar Pequeno (“Holy Cross of the Small Sea”), built in 1930.

Sidi Ifni - Tafraoute

Tafraoute - From Sidi Ifni, head to a village nestled in the gorgeous Ameln Valley, surrounded by red-granite mountains and rock carvings. Tafraoute, with its stone-built villages and around five thousand hardy souls, is one of the must-see relaxed destinations in Morocco. It’s worth a walk around to see curious rock formations such as Napoleon’s Hat or the Pierres Pients, painted blue and pink by a Belgian artist.

Tafraoute - Akka/Tata

Tata - Erg Chigaga Desert

Erg Chigaga Desert Roam

Erg Chigaga - The best way to experience nomadic life and explore the desert is by riding a camel. Today, you’ll have the chance to fully immerse yourself in a real desert experience with your camel driver, discovering the fauna, flora, and history of the desert. Lunch will be served in the middle of nowhere among the 300-meter-high dunes.

Erg Chigaga - M’hamid El Ghizlane - Todgha Gorges

Todgha Gorge - Wake at dawn to watch the sunrise, starting its daily arc with a cool blue morning sky, replacing the Sahara shadows before becoming a glowing ball of fire. Exit Erg Chigaga and head north to see Todgha Gorges by daylight, with its gigantic rock walls changing color to magical effects as the day unfolds.

Tamegroute - Before reaching Todgha Gorges, we’ll stop at an unusual place that was once the most important settlement in the Valley of Draa, known for its green pottery. The Zawiya Naciria is still a site of pilgrimage and refuge for the mentally ill and houses a working Quranic school with a library that was once the richest in Morocco, containing 4000 ancient illuminated texts.

Todgha Gorges - Imilchil - Bin Elouidane

Imilchil - Today, we head to Imilchil, crossing the Middle Atlas Berber Villages. This dizzying trip winds through Boutfarda and Taglaft to Bin Elouidane Dam, one of Morocco’s earliest and most ambitious irrigation schemes, which has transformed much of the surrounding land. Recently, many hotels have sprung up on the lake’s shores, offering a scenic retreat beside the deep-blue waters.

Bin Elouidane - Ouzoud Waterfalls - Marrakech

Ouzoud Falls - This morning, we head south of Bin Elouidane, around 167km from Marrakech, to the spectacular Cascades d’Ouzoud. These waterfalls form an amphitheater, cascading into pools in a lush valley that remains hidden until the last moment. The view improves as you descend into the cool canyon, and in the late afternoon, a rainbow often appears in the mist around the falls. At the bottom, you can enjoy a short hike along the riverbed, where Barbary Apes clamor for attention. For longer treks, follow the river valley to the Gramâa Nakrouine caves. By 5 pm, we head to Marrakech for the night.

Walk and Talk Marrakech Medina Tour

Medina of Marrakesh - Good morning from the land of jokes and fun!
Marrakech is the final stop on our Morocco Cultural Tour. With your private Marrakech-born and bred guide, you’ll explore the Red City, starting with its old Medina’s narrow lanes leading to lavish sites, tombs, and religious monuments adorned in marble. Your targets will be the Bahia and El-Badii Palaces and the Saadian Tombs. Afterward, your driver/tour guide will take you to visit the Majorelle Garden, Museum Saint Laurent, and Berber Museum. In Marrakech, you’ll encounter thousands of motorcyclists and horse-carts, some of which gather at the vast square of Jemaa El-Fnaa, where a nightly carnival features musicians, acrobats, storytellers, and slapstick acting troupes, capturing the Medina’s frenetic pulse.

Departure

Marrakech - Whether you depart from Marrakech or Casablanca, rest assured that your driver/tour guide will coordinate your departure time with you.

• Private transportation
• Camel ride through the desert
• 2-hour hike at the impressive Todgha Gorges
• Authentic local experiences
• Meals with local families
• In-vehicle air conditioning
• On-board WiFi
• Visit to local women cooperatives
• Opportunities to support the community
• All meals included: breakfast, lunch, and dinner
• Fuel surcharge included
• Parking fees covered

• Gratuities