11-Day Imperial Cities and Merzouga Desert Tour from Casablanca

11 Days Duration

Experiences

About This Tour

Discover Morocco's old medieval imperial cities on a journey from Casablanca to Rabat, Meknes, Fez, and Marrakech. Visit major landmarks including the Hassan II...

Duration: 11 Days · Tour type: Private · Activity level: Easy · Accommodation: Included · Standard · Transport: Included · Wheelchair access: No · Cities: Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Meknes, Rabat, Ouarzazate, Zagora, Beni Mellal, Merzouga, Todgha Gorge, Erfoud, Aït Benhaddou, Tizi n'Tichka, Erg Chebbi, Ifrane · Languages: English

Know before you go: Possible to sleep twice in the desert camp.

About Beni Mellal

Morocco

Beni Mellal

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What's Included

Transport in 4x4 or minibus
Driver
Gas
Camel trek
Night in desert camp with dinner and breakfast
Half-board hotels: dinner and breakfast
Entrance fees to kasbahs in the southeast

Not Included

Drinks
Lunch
Tickets (monument fees)
Tips
Personal expenses

Itinerary

1

Day 01

Arrival in Casablanca

Arrive at the airport and transfer to the hotel.
2

Day 02

Casablanca City Tour

After breakfast at your hotel, we will start the city tour of Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco and a very modern city full of life and industrial importance. Visit the exterior of the Royal Palace with its immense doors, the elegant district of Anfa, and the Corniche, then visit the Hassan II Mosque, the biggest mosque after Mecca. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
3

Day 03

Rabat and Meknes on the Way to Fez

After breakfast, we will leave to visit the political capital of the country, Rabat. We begin with the Mausoleum, a prestigious building built in memory of His Majesty Mohamed V, made of white marble and cedarwood and adorned with chiselled bronze. We will also visit the mosque and the Hassan Tower, with its 200 columns and minaret made of pink stone of great beauty. We will visit the Royal Palace, if time allows, and the old Kasbah Odaya. Afterward, enjoy free time for lunch. Next, we will drive to the city of Meknes. The vast palaces, the forty kilometres of walls, and the bastions beside its monumental doors give this city an immense aspect. The visit ends at the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, the city's founder. After the city tour of Meknes, we will head to Fez. Dinner and accommodation at the hotel.
4

Day 04

Full-Day Guided Tour of Fez

After breakfast at your hotel, we will start an explorative guided city tour of Fez, spending a full day visiting the oldest of the imperial cities. Fez was founded in 808 as the first political, religious, and cultural capital. The visit begins at the Golden Gates of the Royal Palace. Later, we will climb to a high place from where you can see the walls and the inside of its impressive Medina. We will then continue the city tour on foot to discover a thousand sensations, mosques, medersas, and religious places until we reach the tanners. Enjoy free time for lunch, and then visit the artisans' workshops, where their knowledge is used to create the finest handicrafts that give Fez its well-deserved name as the city of artisans. Dinner and accommodation at the hotel.
5

Day 05

Through the Middle Atlas to Marrakech

After breakfast, we will travel through the Middle Atlas, passing villages, mountains, and agricultural landscapes that form a beautiful setting where Morocco's most famous rivers are born. Arrival in Ifrane, a very clean small city called Little Switzerland for its houses with pointed black-slate roofs and its lake in the centre. Next, we will go to the city of Beni Mellal, with free time for lunch and time to explore it. Then, we will continue to Marrakech. Arrival, dinner, and accommodation in a riad or hotel.
6

Day 06

High Atlas, Telouet and Aït Benhaddou to Ouarzazate

Departure after breakfast through the High Atlas Mountains by the Tichka Pass at an altitude of 2260 m. We will take an off-road route through these mountains to reach the Kasbah of Telouet and Aït Benhaddou, marked by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In this spectacular setting, films of such renown as Gladiator and Jewel of the Nile were shot. Free time for lunch. Then, we will go to Ouarzazate, considered the gateway to the great desert and the place from which the great expeditions started in the past. Here, the Kasbah of Taourirt stands out, along with the main palace of the Glaoui, the great Pacha of southern Morocco. Dinner and overnight in a riad.
7

Day 07

Todra Gorge, Erfoud and Merzouga Desert Camp

After breakfast, we drive along the road of 1000 Kasbahs. After several stops for photos, including a visit to an old kasbah from the 16th century, we will reach one of the strong points of the south: the Todra Gorges. The channel of the Todra River has formed a gorge with vertical walls of enormous proportions and great beauty. It is a paradise for climbers and a unique place. After free time for lunch, we will continue to the city of Erfoud, where we will stop to visit a fossil site to discover how the fossils are extracted and how they are made into different objects. From this town, we will drive east to reach Merzouga, where you will be welcomed with mint tea and prepare to start a new adventure, this time with camels. You will ride a camel for an hour and a half to enjoy the sunset over the golden dunes of Erg Chebbi. Overnight in a desert camp with dinner and breakfast, animated by Berber music of the Touareg.
8

Day 08

Sunrise, Ouzina and the Paris-Dakar Track to Zagora

If you want to enjoy a wonderful moment of sunrise over the dunes, wake early in the morning to experience this rare sunrise. Then ride the camel back to the hotel. After breakfast, we will drive along the Paris-Dakar track towards Zagora. We will stop to visit the ruins of an old Portuguese village, and we will pass through several Berber villages with houses built in adobe. After a stop for lunch, we will continue through the longest palm grove, stretching over 150 km, to reach the city of Zagora in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
9

Day 09

Draa Valley and High Atlas Return to Marrakech

After breakfast, we will start our journey towards Marrakech. We will pass through the green palm area and the leafy Draa Valley, known as the largest palm grove in Morocco, where we will stop at a viewpoint to take photos of the beautiful landscape. We will cross the High Atlas mountain range by the Tizi n'Tichka Pass at 2260 meters in altitude. Please keep your eyes open because along the way you will be amazed by the different Berber villages on the foothills of the High Atlas Mountains. Arrive in Marrakech, dinner, and accommodation in a riad.
10

Day 10

Guided City Tour of Marrakech

After breakfast at your accommodation, we will start an explorative guided city tour to discover Marrakech, the old capital of many empires and dynasties. We will start at the Koutoubia Mosque to discover its fantastic architecture. Then we will continue not far away to the Saadian Tombs, where the founders of the Saady dynasty rest. Then continue to Bahia Palace, the residence of the former vizier. Our journey continues through the Berber markets (souks) to explore the artisans' workshops and finishes in the famous Jamaa el Fna square, which is a grand souk in the morning and a magical spectacle at night. Dinner and accommodation in a riad.
11

Day 11

Departure from Marrakech

After breakfast, at the scheduled time, transfer to the airport for your flight back home. Check-in and boarding procedures. End of the trip and our services.