Imperial cities and desert tour
This 7-day Morocco tour is one of the finest in our repertoire in terms of monuments. Cities and architecture that will leave you speechless will pass before your eyes and camera throughout the week of travel. This is the case with the Imperial Cities, so named because they served as the capital for centuries. Rabat, Meknes, Fez, and Marrakech have all been designated as Unesco World Heritage sites. Other historical-artistic monuments along the road, such as the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou and the Roman archaeological site of Volubilis, are given the same treatment. The Hassan II mosque in Casablanca, at the start of the journey, is equally impressive.
Day 1: Casablanca – Rabat
Our 7-day Morocco tour begins at Casablanca airport or another agreed-upon location in this Moroccan metropolis, the country’s largest and most significant. An English-speaking driver from our agency will meet you there with a private vehicle to take you to the center.
We will stop at Casablanca to see the Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest in the Islamic world. This well-deserved halt is notable not only for its stunning design, but also for the fact that it can be seen inside, which is unique in Morocco. This manner, we’ll know what it’s like inside a temple with these traits, where monumentality meets spirituality.
After touring the mosque, we will travel to Rabat, which is about 90 kilometers away by car. Although it is not as large as Casablanca, it creates a massive metropolitan area with Salé on the other side of the Bu Regreg river. What’s more, it’s a city with an interesting historic core that Unesco has designated as World Heritage. It is also the country’s capital and one of the legendary Imperial Cities.
The visit to Rabat will be free, so you can spend the afternoon at your leisure, taking in the city’s great monuments, including the Hassan Tower from the Almohad period (late twelfth century) and the Kasbah of the Oudayas, which dates back to the same century but underwent major reconstructions later. Not far from these and other landmarks is the lovely riad where you will spend the first night of your 7-day Morocco trip.
Day 2: Rabat – Meknes – Volubilis – Fez
The second day of our tour will begin with breakfast included at the riad of Rabat, and then we will depart for the day’s key points of interest. Meknes, the earliest of them, is another Imperial City and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many of Meknes’ historical monuments are dedicated to Moulay Ismail, the sultan who designated the city to be the capital at the end of the 17th century. His tomb and the magnificent wall gates are examples of this.
Following a leisurely stroll in Meknes, we will continue on to Volubilis, a Roman archaeological site. Columns, mosaics, arches, and other ruins will remind us of the importance of this city during the Roman Empire, when it experienced glory under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Caracalla, among others. For this reason, Unesco designated it as a World Heritage Site.
In the afternoon, we’ll travel to Fez, another Imperial City and the day’s third World Heritage Site. Because of its magnificence, it is one of the most essential destinations on this 7-day Morocco trip, thus we will go in depth the next day. For the time being, you will have the opportunity to go around the center and become acquainted with its ambiance and popular culture. In the evening, you’ll retire to a beautiful riad in the medina.
Day 3: Fez
If there is one city that should be explored with a guide, it is Fez. And so it will be on this day of our 7-day Morocco tour: after breakfast at the riad, you will meet our official local guide for a walking tour of the old center.
The path will not pass over any significant monuments or neighborhoods. For instance, the Karaouine Mosque and University, one of the world’s oldest educational institutions. Or its prominent madrasas (Bou Inania, Attarine, etc.), as Fez preserves its centuries-old status as a spiritual and intellectual hub. Touring the neighborhoods and souks of craftsmen, such as tanners who do traditional leather work in the medina, will be as memorable.
Although the walking tour will be customised, certain locations will have to be skipped in the morning. However, you will be able to get to know them in the afternoon since you will have the afternoon free to deepen your knowledge or live authentic experiences in the city. Many people are drawn to the Jewish district, or Mellah, and its surrounding Royal Palace, which has beautiful Golden Gates. The same as the Borj Nord Museum, the El Glaoui Palace, or the wall gates, of which Bab Boujloud is one.
Of course, the free afternoon will be ideal for shopping, as Fez is one of the cities in the country with the most and best crafts: leather, wood, jewelry, ceramics, and a plethora of traditional products that can serve as an excellent souvenir of this 7-day Morocco tour. To round up the day, you’ll spend the night in another medina riad.
Day 5: Merzouga Desert – Rissani – Todra Gorges – Dades Valley – Ouarzazate
Another highlight of our 7-day Morocco tour is the dawn on the fifth day: we will observe how the sun arises on the horizon and bathes this sea of sand dunes with a magnificent light in the middle of a stirring quiet from the dunes of Erg Chebbi. After that, we’ll return to the camp for breakfast and to board our camels for the ride back to Merzouga. We will also make time in the morning for a pleasant shower, either in the tents or at a hotel in Merzouga, depending on the package selected.
Back on the road, we’ll have a drive packed with attractions ahead of us. The first is a trip to Rissani, the birthplace of the Alaouite dynasty. We may view actual sceneries in its medina and surrounds, such as a typical market shrouded in exotic fragrances or a donkey parking.
The drive from Rissani to the Todra Gorges will take us past little communities nestled between dry hills and scattered palm plantations. Climbers will love this rocky canyon, which boasts 200-meter-high natural cliffs. It is also a destination that will astound any visitor, since its gorge can be explored on foot. The twisting twists of the route are certainly worth a photo stop.
Following the Todra Gorges, we will go via the Dades Valley, which is part of the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, so named for the numerous Berber strongholds that line the route. We will also drive through the Valley of the Roses, where this flower is abundantly farmed and has a significant economic worth.
Finally, we’ll arrive in Ouarzazate, renowned as the ‘Hollywood of Morocco’ because to its film studios, which have served as a site for spectacular productions in the seventh art. We will be able to tour its studios depending on our schedule and desire. The Taourirt Kasbah, located on the outskirts of the city is notable for its adobe external military design as well as its unusual interior ornamentation. Finally, you will eat supper and sleep in a hotel in Ouarzazate.
Day 6: Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou – Telouet – High Atlas – Marrakech
After breakfast at the hotel in Ouarzazate, we will take our vehicle to travel the 25 km that separate us from the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou. This fortified complex, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, is one of the best examples of Berber defensive military architecture. And not by chance, because it was a key point on the caravan route linking Timbuktu and Marrakech. In more recent times it has become a perfect film set for movies and series, such as Game of Thrones.
After a leisurely visit to Ait Ben Haddou, we will return to the route, which will continue to ascend: we will enter the High Atlas, which has the country’s highest mountains. We’ll stop on the way up to see the kasbah of Telouet, the’sister’ of the kasbah of Taourirt since it was the home of the Lord of the Atlas, Thami El Glaoui.
We will soon arrive at the Tizi n’Tichka Pass, a natural pass at an elevation of almost 2,220 meters. As a result, the High Atlas offers a spectacular panoramic vista, with snow-capped peaks for much of the year and little Berber communities dotting its slopes.
We will arrive at Marrakech, Morocco’s last city, around 100 kilometers from the pass, over a route that descends continuously. The Kutubia Mosque, the Jemaa el-Fna plaza, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, the Bahia Palace, and a lengthy list of monuments and institutions of significance are all open to the public throughout the afternoon. All of this, by the way, will be near to your lodging, which will be a riad in the city center.
Day 7: Marrakech – Airport
The seventh day concludes our 7-day Morocco tour. As a result, after breakfast at the riad, and if the program permits it, a final tour about the city to do some shopping, for example, would be conceivable. In any event, our chauffeur will arrive on schedule in a private vehicle for the airport transport.
Our services will conclude at the terminal, with the goal that we will be able to accompany you again on another trip of Morocco in 7 days, but in different sections of the country: the Atlantic coast, the northern Mediterranean…
- Transfers to and from Casablanca and Marrakech airports.
- English-speaking driver with private vehicle throughout the tour
- Night in riad in Rabat, on breakfast only basis
- Two nights in Fez, on breakfast only basis
- Night in a tent camp in the middle of the desert of Merzouga, half board (dinner and breakfast)
- Night in hotel in Ouarzazate, half board (dinner and breakfast)
- Night in a riad in Marrakech, breakfast only.
- Dromedary excursions in the dunes of Erg Chebbi (one per person)
- Guided tour in Fez, with official local guide
- Flights in and out of the country
- Dinners in Rabat, Fez and Marrakech, but we will help you to find a place that suits your tastes.
- Lunch at noon
- Drinks
- Entrance fees to museums and monuments
- Tips