10 Days from Casablanca: Imperial Cities, Chefchaouen and the Sahara
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Duration
Tour Type
Description :
Ten days from Casablanca through the imperial cities, Chefchaouen and the Sahara, ending in Marrakech. Built for travellers landing at Casablanca airport.
Most long haul flights land at Casablanca, and this route starts there instead of making you transfer to Marrakech first. It runs north to Chefchaouen, east to Fes, south to the dunes and finishes in Marrakech, so nothing is retraced.
Day 1: Casablanca
Airport pick up and visit of the Hassan II mosque, one of the few in Morocco open to non Muslim visitors, with its minaret standing over the Atlantic. Night in Casablanca.
Day 2: Casablanca – Rabat – Chefchaouen
Rabat in the morning: the Hassan Tower, the mausoleum of Mohammed V and the blue and white lanes of the Kasbah of the Udayas. Then north into the Rif mountains to Chefchaouen.
Day 3: Chefchaouen
A full day in the blue city, with time to walk the medina and the Outa el Hammam square, see the kasbah, and climb to the Spanish mosque for the view at sunset.
Day 4: Chefchaouen – Volubilis – Meknes – Fes
South to the Roman city of Volubilis, where the mosaics are still in place, then Meknes, the imperial city of Moulay Ismail, with its Bab Mansour gate. Arrival in Fes in the evening.
Day 5: Fes, guided day
The medina with a local guide: Al Quaraouiyine, the Bou Inania and Attarine medersas, the tanneries and the craft workshops of the old city.
Day 6: Fes – Ifrane – Azrou – Midelt – Merzouga
A long but beautiful day across the Middle Atlas, through Ifrane and the cedar forests where the macaques live, down the Ziz Valley and out into the desert. Arrival at Merzouga for a camel trek at sunset, dinner and a night in the camp.
Day 7: Sunrise – Khamlia – Todgha Gorges – Dades
Sunrise over Erg Chebbi, Gnaoua music at Khamlia, then west to Tinghir and the Todgha Gorges, and up to the Dades Valley for the night.
Day 8: Dades – Skoura – Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou – Marrakech
The rose valley and the Skoura palm grove, Ouarzazate and its film studios, then Ait Ben Haddou before crossing the Tizi n Tichka pass to Marrakech.
Day 9: Marrakech, guided day
The Koutoubia, the Bahia Palace, the Saadian tombs, the Majorelle Garden and the souks, finishing at Jemaa el Fna in the evening.
Day 10: Marrakech – departure
Free morning for the medina or the hammam, then transfer to Marrakech airport, or onward to Essaouira if you are extending your stay.
Included/Exclude
- Private air-conditioned 4x4 or minivan with your own experienced driver
- Pick up and drop off at your hotel, riad or the airport
- Accommodation in riads and hotels along the route, in double or twin rooms
- One night in a desert camp in Erg Chebbi, in a private tent
- Camel trek at sunset and again at sunrise in Merzouga
- Breakfast every day, and dinner on the nights in the desert camp
- Fuel, road taxes and all transport costs
- English, French or Spanish speaking driver
- Bottled water during the drives
- International flights and airport taxes
- Lunches and drinks
- Entrance fees to monuments, museums and kasbahs
- Local city guides in Fes, Marrakech and Ait Ben Haddou (available on site, not mandatory)
- Tips for the driver and the camp staff
- Travel insurance and personal expenses