Le Grand Maghreb Tour

Northern Morocco,Tetouen, Marrakech, Fes and
The Sleepy Sea-side Essaouira - A Grand 10 Day Private Vacation in Morocco

This 10-day Friends Abroad^sm adventure to Northern Morocco, Tetouen, Chefchaouen, Essaouira, Casablanca, Fez and Marrakech allows you to go at your own pace, establishing your own itinerary.

We'll send you a copy of the Lonely Planet guide to Morocco, so you can read up on this romantic destination, and also the Lonely Planet Moroccan Phrasebook, so you can learn some useful phrases to ease your way.

International airfare is not included in the rates, so feel free to use frequent flyer tickets, or ask us about our special fares.

DAY 1 - CASABLANCA or TANGIER- Daily Arrival - Year Round
Choose your own dates .
You arrive in the Kingdom of Morocco, landing at Casablanca, our staff greets you at the airport and escorts you to your hotel. Sheraton for deluxe, or Littoral for first class. For Guests arriving at Tangier, we'll simply reverse the order of the itinerary

DAY 2 - Atlantic Coast to EASSAOUIRA (BD)

Morning tour of the Grand Mosque of Hassan II, before we drive along the Atlantic coast heading south for Eassaouira. Lunch enroute. Late afternoon arrival . With the remainder at leisure to enjoy exploring with guide at hand, this sleepy seaside town. Complimentary dinner is included to welcome you at the hotel.

DAY 3 & DAY 4 - ESSAOUIRA (BD)
Essaouira is yours for these two days , a charming fishing harbor. Renowned for generations for its production of "Murex", a small shellfish used to make the purple dye for Roman togas, Essaouira is now a very active fishing harbor , with some Portuguese character who settled here in the 16th century. Later on Sultan Mohamed Ben Abdellah used it as a base for his corsairs. Today, protected from the sea and the wind behind its commanding fortified medieval walls, Essaouira shelters a flourishing craftsmanship in marquetry, working wood with ebony, mother of pearl and silver thread to make tables, chessboards, caskets and bracelets. Enjoy a seafood lunch, before heading back to the hotel.

DAY 5 - MARRAKECH (BD)
Drive north east to Marrakech, and your hotel: Imperial Borj/Sheraton for Deluxe, Kenzi Faraha for Fist Class. . Then, this afternoon take your first plunge into this wonderful, exotic city. With your guide to tour :

Marrakech's fabulous medieval souk (bazaar)? Penetrating the labyrinthine souk, you'll see some of the age-old guilds at work, including the dyers and tanners. Save an hour--and bring your camera--for famous Djemaa el-Fna square with its circus atmosphere of itinerant dancers, jugglers, acrobats, storytellers, soothsayers, snake charmers, medicine men and public scribes.

DAY 6 - MARRAKECH (BD)
Full day tour of Marrakech :
There is much to see in this great city which Winston Churchill called "the most beautiful place in the world at sunset." Grab your guidebook and explore!

The top sights include the stately Koutoubia Minaret, the hidden tombs of the Saadian dynasty, the Menara pavilion and gardens, the ruins of sprawling Badi Palace, the Bahia Palace Museum, the Ben Yousef medersa, and the Koubba (chapel) of el-Ba'adiyn.

DAY 7 - MARRAKECH TO CASABLANCA - FEZ (BD)
Today you board the Marrakech Express bound for Casablanca! Roll across the beautiful Moroccan countryside, admiring the towering Atlas Mountains in the distance, and the timeless scenes of North African village and town life right beside the rails. When you arrive in Casablanca, our staff meets your train and escorts you by car to Fez, another of Morocco's four royal cities. When you arrive in Fez, our staff will escort you to your hotel, and the city is yours to explore, guidebook in hand. The Lonely Planet guide includes all the important things to see, and recommendations for restaurants in all price ranges, so you'll never be at a loss for advice.

DAY 8 - FEZ (BD)
Oldest of Morocco's four Imperial Cities, Fez is endlessly fascinating, and today tour cpvers the :
Top sights include the medina (old city), the 15-century Borj Nord Arms Museum, the gateway of the royal palace, the fortifications of the Kasbah, the 9th-century Karaouine Mosque and University, the medersas (theological seminaries) of Bou Inania and Attarine, the shrine of the city's founder Moulay Idris II, the Nejjarine Fountain, the monumental gateway of Bab Boujelloud, the old harem gardens, Dar Batha Museum, and the artisans' guilds in the souks.

DAY 9 - FEZ, Northern Morocco (BD)
After the fall of Granada in 1492 and during the Inquisition time in Spain, all the Moslem "Moros" and Jewish population were expelled from Spain, and seek refuge in the Northern Morocco. We head for Tetouen via Ouzzane, Chefchaouen. In the afternoon we tour the old Medina. Dinner is included at your hotel. Farah Tetouen ( 4 stars, we'll use this hotel for both of the listed price categories).

DAY 10 - DEPARTURE (B)
Depart Tetouen , traveling along the Atlantic coast. Visit Hercules Caves in Cap Spartel - the confluence of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Arrive in historic Tangiers for a quick tour , (Time Permitting & depending on your ferry schedule we may be able to tour to Asilah, the fortified Portuguese village 46 kilometers south of Tangiers on the Atlantic coast. In Asilah visit The Bab Homar, the Berber kasbah, the Palace of Raisouli and enjoy the relaxing ambiance and quaint beauty of the town. If visiting in August you will have the added enjoyment of the International Festival, a month-long cultural event encompassing art exhibitions and musical performances. En route back to Tangiers, stop at the beach for a short camel ride. Evening departure to Gibraltar or Algeciras. (Ferry ticket is not included)

Rates per person in US $

DEPARTURE DATES
Weekly, year round in Casablanca.

Your Friends Abroad^sm tour includes:

• Hotel accommodation at a carefully-selected hotel in the class of your choice (Deluxe, First Class), including tax and service

• Breakfast and dinner daily, meals as listed : B = Breakfast, (D) = dinner.

• First-class train transportation ,as per itinerary.

• Lonely Planet guidebook to Morocco, and Moroccan Phrasebook

• Consultation and referral services of our local Friends Abroad^sm representative in each city on your tour.
• Air-conditioned car/van, escorted at all times for the drive and the listed tour of Tangiers & Tetouen , with local guides, including the entrance fees.
• Tour of the Grand Mosque including entrance fees ( Not open on Fridays)

What's not included:

• International airfare to or from Morocco

• Lunch or dinner

• Escorted tours and local guides, which are always available at extra cost if you would like them

• Admissions fees to sights, museums, etc.
• Trip cancellation / travel insurance

What other guests say about our services and tours:

Honeymoon in Morocco and Egypt ( Posted on Frommer.com)

Hi Omar,

I wanted to post about my experience with Travel in Style.com. The company based in San Fran planned the most amazing trip for me and my new husband for our honeymoon. It was a trip that combined Morocco and Egypt into a 11 day trip. We signed up for a private tour and the only people with us during the trip were our guides and drivers (which was great for a initimate honeymoon vs. a tour bus with 20 plus people all waiting for each other to go places, etc).

First, we got to Morocco and already had a driver through the agency there to greet us to take us to Marrekesh (from the Casablanca airport). The drive was nice and the car clean. Our driver was really nice and was very professional. We got dropped off and brought to the cutest hotel named Riad Chergui (more like a bed and breakfast which was much more initimate and fun!) and shown to our rooms after we were greeted with tea and cookies from the staff there. They were just absolutely helpful in helping us get anything we needed throughout our stay there (i.e. dress ironed, a bag to carry home souveniers, cigarettes, etc.). The hotel itself was clean and charming, and we had a very nice room with windows that opened to the courtyard below. The pool and chairs were spotless everyday and the breakfast was always tasty and served to us when we came to downstairs to eat. I absolutely recommend this place to everyone.

While in Marrekesh, we went to do activities pre-planned by Travel in Style and everything worked out exactly as described in our itinerary. We always had a guide and driver on time when we were going around the city and our guide even came with us to help us bargain with the stores to get the best souveniers at the best prices. It was a relief to us, who were a little hesitant to visit some of these countries at first, to have a very knowledgeable guide and to have someone around when we wanted him and not around when we wanted to do our own discoveries. The trip was set up so that some days we only had plans in the morning and after our planned lunch, we would have the rest of the day to do our own things (perfectly planned in this way!). Our lunches and dinners planned in our itineraries were at beautifully decorated restaurants with the best service, and we really had a chance to experience Moroccan food. It was great.

While in Marrekesh we had a camel ride and a cooking class scheduled, which were great since we wanted to do some different types of activities while we were there. The camel ride was so fun and we got some great pictures. The cooking class was hands-on and we learned how to make a Moroccan meal with the receipe so we could take that home with us and be able to have a Moroccan dinner. We just loved it!

We continued on for the second half of the trip to Egypt which was planned just as nicely. We ate at teh best restaurants and really got the feel for the country. Here we did a lot more site seeing of course, and we always had our guide and driver there to take us around and show us the sites. They took us to a pyramid that was the first successful one created and when we went, we were the only tourists there (of course we also went to see the ones in Giza) so we really got to enjoy the scenery and pictures without a ton of other tourists around. Also, while in Egypt, we had a planned dinner with an actual Egyptian family who opened up their home to us. It was great to see the country from that perspective and really get to know what the people are like.

In summary, these are just a few great things I could say about the Morrocco/Egypt tour we took through Travel in Style and I HIGHLY recommend them for anyone looking to experience these countries without all the hassles of planning it all in detail (since they do this for you) and of trying to figure out how to get around while there (that is where the private drivers really came in). They really took out all our worry and we had an amazing experience.
THANKS!!

Tina and Vishal