DAY 1 - Marrakech - Daily Year Round - This is a private tour - Choose your own arraival date:
Our local staff will meet you at Marrakech Menara airport and escort you to your accommodations at Riad Malika, where a traditional welcoming mint tea and a fruit basket await you. Your personal requirements and relaxation are foremost. The formality of check-in can wait. This luxurious yet delightful Riad is a former palace restored to 1930s grandeur. Its substantial walls and orientation to a central patio with venerable trees provide a haven of peace in the midst of bustling Marrakech. Guests are accommodated in only five guest suites, each with sitting area and the finest oriental appointments, fireplace, air conditioning, and European-style dining room. The private terraces of Riad Malika provide a secluded window on the active life of romantic and mysterious Marrakech.

DAY 2 - Marrakech- Leisure (BL)
Full day Marrakech, including lunch : Tour the Koutoubia, the landmark mosque of the city. Perhaps you'll note its similarity to its sister tower, the Giralda of Seville, in Spain. You'll continue to the Saadian Tombs, and the Bahia palace, built in the nineteenth century, with room after stately oriental room with intricate plaster work and finely detailed columns, and sedate hidden gardens. In the afternoon, you'll discover the old city and always-lively Djemaa El Fna Square, populated by water sellers, magicians, peddlers, politicians, and animal tamers, who carry on an endless flurry of activities straight out of the middle ages. Lunch is included at a local restaurant .

DAY 3 - Marrakech - Home Hosted Dinner Sunday (B)
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel. Morning at leisure. Later in the day , just before sunset, we'll call on you to take you for your sunset camel ride, in the 13,000 acres of palm groves around Marrakech. You'll finish the day with a memorable experience of Moroccan hospitality, dinner in the home of a Marrakech family in the old Medina.

Complimentary Dinner is included at a local home:
Meet the locals, you may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family ( T shirt , small souvenirs of your home town):
This evening we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right into the homes of some of the people of Marrakech ! You'll be invited to a family dinner, and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties, you'll learn about and appreciate the outlook, aspirations, and way of life of your hosts. Be assured, as curious as you may be about your new friends, they're sure to have questions about your own background. Once the ice is broken, you'll enjoy a lively evening, and find that you have more in common than you ever suspected. Of course, you may enjoy a quiet evening with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.

DAY 4 - MARRAKECH, CASABLANCA, RABAT, MEKNES, FEZ Monday (BL)
We'll pick you up in the morning and take you to the Marrakech railroad station. Tickets in a first-class compartment and lunch are provided. You'll roll in comfort through stunning mountain scenery to Casablanca. Once you detrain, we'll escort you to visit the Hassan II Great Mosque, a monument to Moroccan artisanry and architecture. Then we'll continue to Rabat, the capital of the kingdom, where we'll stop at the mausoleum of Mohamed V, built in the Spanish-Moorish style, and at the nearby Hassan Tower. We'll continue by way of Meknes to arrive in the evening to Fez, and your accommodations at one of the charming Riads. A welcome mint tea and a fruit basket await you, usually In the heart of the Medina, the old city of Fez. A Moroccan-style breakfast is included.

DAY 5 - FEZ, Leisure Tuesday (BL)
Full day at leisure or join on of our local tours :
Optional tour : Full day to Volubilis including lunch:
We'll set out in the morning for the site of Volubilis, once the capital of the Roman province of Mauritania Tingitania. We'll have lunch en route, and continue to Moulay Idriss, the picturesque shrine village named for the founder of the kingdom, who is interred here. Late afternoon return to Fez ( cost$60 per person)

DAY 6 - FEZ Wednesday (B)
Put on your walking shoes this morning for a trip in time back to the ninth century, as you explore the old city of Fez. Its Medina and its labyrinth of souks have been declared a world cultural treasure. Your afternoon is free for relaxation or shopping or further exploration as you wish.

DAY 7 FEZ - MIDLET - ERFOUD - MERZOUGA Thursday (BLD)
We'll call on you early in the day and start or trip south through the Middle Atlas range, lunch is included at Kasabah Asmaa, in Midlet at the foot of Djebel Ayachi.

We drive through the famous Legionnaires Pass, Rachidia and the Tafilalet Valley. Upon arrival at Erfoud, board a our motorized caravan ( Turbo four-wheel -drive Land Rover), to continue on to Merzouga on the edge of the Sahara. Accommodation: Bedouin Tent, -foam mattress- billow, sheets, blankest will be provided, toilet tents available. Your stay includes a sunset or a sunrise camel ride, as you prefer !

Evening bonfire as well as folk dance by the villagers from nearby oases. Dinner included with one bottle of mineral water for each person.

Tonight we enjoy our desert sunset and night sky, not to mention the cool, pure breezes that waft through our tents. We camp in the shadow of the Erg Chebbi dunes south of the Tafilalet Valley. The sand mountains of the erg hide scattered oases marked by groves of date palms and other greenery.

DAY 8 ERFOUD - OURZAZATE Friday (BLD)
Early morning spiritual sunrise experience with a 1,000 stars as the sun comes up over the Sahara Dunes.
After breakfast , we ride our ( four wheel drive Turbo Land Rover) , and head back for Erfoud where we change our mode of transportation to a Mercedes Sedan or a an air conditioned van depending on the numbed of guests.

We stop briefly at Tinerhir , a former military outpost built on terraces above a magnificent palmgrove , we head into the Todra Pass for lunch at Yasmina restaurant , at " The ends of the Earth" famous point at the Gorge snuggled between 300 meter high cliffs. Reach Ouarzazate in time for dinner and a relaxing evening.

DAY 9 - MARRAKECH - Saturday (B)
Early Morning we drive across Atlas mountains and through Tizi N'Tichka Pass heading north for Marrakech at escort you to Marrakech Menarah airport, where you'll board your flight to begin your journey home.If you plan to fly out from Casablanca , then we 'll be glad to arrange for a flight back to Casablanca , at no additional charge and with our compliments . Add an extra night in Morocco . Click here if you plan to extend to Tangiers & leave by ferry to Spain.

This tour operates weekly starting on Fridays in Marrakech, year round.

Rates per person in US $

In Triple Occupancy	US$ 3790.00
In Double Occupancy	US$ 3850.00
In Single Occupancy	US$ 4760.00

 

Your tour includes:

• Accommodation as described, suite at Riad Malika, Riad Kaiss in Marrakech, and traditional room at Mabrouka Riad, Dar Ghalia or Arabesque Riads in Fez, breakfast included. Dinner hosted in a local home in Marrakech . Meridien Berber palace ( subject to availability) or Kenzi Belere Hotel in Ourzazate , Riads & Hotels are subject to availability at the time we receive your booking , we keep the right to use similar facilities.
  
• Sahara Oases camp: one night accommodation , with breakfast & dinner, one bottle of mineral water, in a Bedouin tent, foam mattress, sheets, blankets.
  
• Camel ride to the dunes , you have the choice of a sunrise or a sunset ride.

• Continental (cB) or full breakfast (B) daily; set-menu dinner (D) as shown in the itinerary.

• Escorted guided sightseeing tours by air conditioned private motor coach as indicated in the itinerary, including all entry fees . Camel ride in Marrakech palm grove. Other car/van/ Land Rover transportation as indicated.

• All transfers within Morocco.

• Lonely Planet guidebook to Morocco

• Tea, mint tea or coffee upon arrival at your hotel in Casablanca on Day 1.

• Hammam session ( Steam Room ) , at your Riad /Hotel , subject to availability .

Not included:

• International airfares or domestic airfares in Morocco
• Drinks at meals Personal expenses
• Gratuities for local personnel
• Trip interruption and cancellation insurance

TRAVEL/MEDICAL INSURANCE:
Travel and medical insurance is not included in the rates. We will send you the necessary forms and information, upon request.
We highly recommend travel insurance for any trip that includes sailing , active sport, adventure ad Sahara.

For the camp : SANITARY FACILITIES:
To ensure your utmost comfort, showers /toilets are always available

Henna party ( For ladies only ) :
One of the "insiders" excursions into Moroccan culture, a chance to attend a henna party, the painting of hands and body r with this natural red dye is a symbol of joy at weddings and regarded as a way to enhance one's beauty , if interested in attending a Henna party , please let's know in advance.

 

Luxury stay & Spa Experience at the new & luxurious Sofitel Essaouira