Imperial Cities and Sahara Private 8-Day Tour from Marrakech

Be picked up in Marrakech and start your big adventure! Enjoy the drive through the breathtaking Moroccan countryside with its shattered villages, olive groves and wild Argantrees. We can stop in a local co-operative run by women who extract the Argan oil from the trees and discover how it is processed into cooking oil and cosmetics. You can taste and buy the products if you like.

After arriving in Essaouira, you can explore the charming city with its portuguese character by foot. Visit the busy harbour and watch the fishermen unloading their catch of the day, take pictures of the pittoresque fishing boats and enjoy fresh fish and seafood at its best. In the former portuguese medina you can find beautifully shattered white-and-blue houses where local artists are selling their crafts and singing Bob Marley-songs. Visit the historic ramparts and imagine life in the 16th century on the fortress with its beautiful view of the shoreline. Free time in Essaouira - no meals included

Today, we start after breakfast and we will make stops along the route to enjoy the coast and see the long beaches and the small cities of this part of Morocco.

We will continue to Oualidia via the coastal road with its superb views and then to El Jadida, famous for its citadel and the cistern, reminders of the Portuguese occupation of the 16th Century.

In the evening, we’ll finally arrive to Casablanca, a modern city and home of industries and finance business as well as art galleries and fashion designers. Visit the spectacular Mosque of Hassan II situated directly at the ocean for sunset. A must see for every visitor of Casablanca!

Today after breakfast, we continue to Rabat. Rabat is the capital of Morocco, where we visit the magnificent mausoleum of Mohammed V and Hassan II and enjoy the view of the Tour Hassan and its gardens to the old town of Rabat and the neighbouring city Salé across the river. Visit the Kasbah Oudaya, the Medina of Rabat. Explore the small streets and look at the colorful fishing boats along the river side.

Explore Volubilis: This UNESCO World Heritage Site are the largest Roman Ruins in North Africa and very well preserved. Volubilis lies in a stratetic position about 33 km north of Meknes and is famous for its mosaics. The best time for a visit is in springtime, when the wild flowers are in full bloom amongst the old stones. The roman city is over 2'000 years old and was destroyed at least at a big earthquake 1755. You can explore this fascinating site by your own or with a local guide (not included). There is also a museum on site.

s for its luxurious palaces and beautiful mosques as well as one of the most important souks of Morocco. See the beautiful gate of Bab el-Mansour at the Place el Hedim, maybe the most beautiful of all the gates of the imperial cities.

After leaving Meknes, we continue our trip to Fes where we'll stay for the next 2 nights.

Today at 10:00 am after your breakfast your local city guide will pick you up and you'll spend the whole day exploring the impressive city of Fez with its huge Medina «Fes el-Bali» together.

We start the day at Bab Boujloud, one of the gates which lead into the Medina.

dersas of Bou Inania and El-Attarine (Koran schools for religious studies) and the University and Mosque of Karaouine.

Visit the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts and discover traditional tools, carpets, furniture and musical instruments in a beautifully restaurated caravanserai.

After lunchbreak in one of the hunderts of restaurants in the medina (not included), we continue our tour to the famous tanneries, where the leather is processed still the same as hunderts of years ago. You can observe the workers from a lookout and they will be glad to explain you the different workings steps if you are willing to bargain for a bag or new belt afterwards. But be aware of the bad smelling of the furs and coloring goods!

Outside the medina lies the Royal Palace with its large plaza lined with palm trees.

Last but not least we will drive up a hill to the cementary Bab Fettouh, where we'll enjoy the panoramic view over the white sea of houses of the Medina. Individual dinner in the medina and overnight in Fes.

We start our journey in the morning and head for the Middle Atlas Mountains. Stop for a coffee in Ifrane, also known as «Switzerland of Morocco» with its chalet like houses.

From here we are heading south through several typical villages and you will have the opportunity to spot nomad families living in their tents along the road.

After lunch in Zaida, we continue our drive and enjoy panoramic views passing the mountain villages.

rtunity to spot nomad families living in their tents along the road. we continue our drive and enjoy panoramic views crossing the Tizi N' Talghoumt pass.

Enjoy a fantastic view of the valley of the River Ziz lined with thousands of date palms. Here, we'll meet your local guide for a walking tour around the biggest Date Palm Oasis in the valley of Ziz.

Now we’re almost at the dunes! After arriving in Merzouga, you will experience a one hour camel ride to reach the desert camp while the sun sinks down behind the dunes. Enjoy your evening dining in a berber tent, look for shooting stars at the camp fire and sleep in nomad tent!

Wake up by the first strays of light to watch the sunrise over the Sahara before you enjoy your typical breakfast. We return on the camel's back or 4x4 to the village, from where we'll continue our journey.

In Rissani we will have the opportunity to visit the local market with the «donkey parking» and have a look at some fossils outside the city.

After lunch break, we will follow the road along the river to reach the gorges of Todra, where you can take a short but spectacular hike between the up to 300 m high rock walls.

Before arriving at our Riad for the night in the Dades valley, we head to Boumalne Dades where you can make some nice pictures of the special rock formations which look like monkey hands.

o-Mountains, a region secluded from the "big tourism". You can explore beautiful landscapes and maybe even visit a Nomad family to have some tea and see how they live with their kettle.

Have lunch in Nkob, overlooking the impressive Draa Valley with its huge palm groves.

After, we’ll continue our way through the Draa valley in direction of the "desert capitol" Zagora, where we'll spend the night.

Today we will see a lot of different landscapes on our way back to Marrakech. Admire the views of the Valley of a thousand Kasbahs and the famous movie city in Morocco and the berber Village along the road.

There, we are able to visit an old coran library and a subterranean Kasbah together with a local guide. Tamegroute is also famous for its pottery shops.

We'll continue with the drive to the village Agdz, which means “resting place” and which is located on the old caravan route from Marrakech to Timbuktu. Check out the beautiful view over the date palm groves to the characteristic mountain Jbel Kissane.

Continue to the Atlas Corporation film studios, where you can discover the diverse sets and listen to the anecdotes of the multiple movies and actors. Several famous movies like Gladiator, Babel, Prince of Persia, and recently The Physician have been shot in those studios. Guided tour of the movie studios in a group - about 60 min duration

A little outside of Ouarzazate lies Aït Ben Haddou, the fortified clay city with its numerous ksars and kasbahs, where several famous movies such as Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven and Prince of Persia have been shot. This photogenic city is also listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site. Explore it together with a local guide.

Continue through the breathtaking landscape to Telouet. This fortress was occupied by Thami el Glaoui before he was expelled by independence efforts. One section has unfortunately disintegrated into red sand, but you can still visit the beautiful rooms with mosaic tiles and wood carvings.

After the visit of Telouet, we pass the High Atlas mountains over the Tizi n’Tichka pass with scenic views along the road and many opportunities to take photos. End of your tour with drop off at your accommodation in Marrakech or at the meeting point.