Colors of Morocco

On a captivating adventure through a land of centuries-old culture and customs, discover the “Land of Sunset” and “Gateway to Africa” – the country called Morocco.
Hotel Name: Flower Town Hotel & Spa

Welcome to Morocco! After you land in Casablanca you'll transfer to Rabat, which is approximately an hour and a half journey. With no scheduled sightseeing today, spend the day as you wish, exploring the city independently. Depending on your arrival flights, you may join your local Tour Manager on a vicinity walk to get acquainted with the area around your hotel in Rabat and join in a first toast to the tour.

Visit Area: Rabat
Rabat is the capital of Morocco where you will visit the Mausoleum of Mohamed V and explore the clean and evocative Oudaya Kasbah. While there, take a look around to enjoy the sight of pristine palm lined boulevards and perfect beaches.

Come to know Rabat on an in-depth tour* with a local guide who’ll share his knowledge of this city and its architectural gems. Visit the Chellah, a walled town containing both Roman ruins and a medieval necropolis. Explore the mausoleum of Mohammed V, the epitome of modern Moroccan design. The mausoleum’s ornate woodwork, marble, and bronze ornamentations make this a tomb truly fit for a king. See the Kasbah de Oudaias and its whitewashed buildings. Enjoy free time to explore on your own in the afternoon. At the end of your day, join your fellow travelers for a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.**

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Hotel Name: Riad El Yacout

Visit Area: Fes
Once the capital of Morocco, Fes has become an increasingly popular tourist destination. Fes was founded in 789 and is Morocco’s oldest imperial city. Its “old town,” also called Medina, is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Despite its traditional character, there are some modern sections built by the French, called “ville nuvelle.” Today, Fes is a bustling commercial center. Many non-Moroccans are now restoring traditional homes as second homes in the Fes medina. The popularity of Fes has increased since the King of Morocco wed a computer engineer from Fes, Salma Bennani.

Depart Rabat for Fes this morning. On your way to Fes, make a stop at a winery estate for a tour and a delightful, paired lunch. Enjoy a guided tour through the vineyard and cellar, where you'll take in the vines' stunning views and gain insight into customs involving wine in a Muslim country. Then continue on to Fes, where you’ll spend the next three nights at a riad.

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Admittance: Sahara Desert Luxury Tented Camp
Make your way by 4x4 jeep to a luxurious tented camp for a magical two night stay in the Sahara Desert. Fall asleep under a blanket of stars, and wake up to a desert sunrise that paints the desert in orange hues.

Get ready to discover Fes, one of the holiest cities in the world. Learn about its history as a center of government, philosophy, medicine, and religion. Visit the Al-Qarawiyyin University (UNESCO), the oldest continuously operating university in the world, admiring its high arches and Andalusian influences. Take a deep breath before getting a closer look into an ancient tannery. Some Fes tanneries date back to the 11th century and continue to operate using traditional methods, offering a unique glimpse into the ancient craft of leather-making. On a walking tour of the ninth-century medina, explore the alleyways and stalls of this ancient market.

Breakfast Included
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Admittance: Camel Ride
Use a traditional mode of transportation today, trekking through the Sahara desert on a camel where all you can hear are the footsteps of the camel on the soft sand dunes. The sky is vast and clear in the day and filled with millions of bright stars at night. Set out and explore the landscapes alongside Berber cameleers.

Enjoy your day at leisure in Fes. Explore the city further, strolling through marketplaces or maybe visiting a museum, like the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts & Crafts, where you can admire displays of fine woodwork and artifacts inside a restored caravanserai. Perhaps you’ll join an optional tour to the archaeological site of Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its impressive and well-preserved Roman ruins, to then venture to one of Morocco's more remote and unique villages, where tourists rarely tread. Here, you'll be warmly welcomed by the locals and treated to an authentic local lunch.

Breakfast Included
Hotel Name: Kasbah Hotel Xaluca

Visit Area: Khamlia Music Village

Cross some of Morocco’s most breathtaking desert landscapes on the way to the Sahara. En route, pause to bask in majestic views of the Middle Atlas Mountains. Arrive in Erfoud, called the “Door to the Desert,” and where many famous movies were filmed, including The Prince of Persia and The Mummy.

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Hotel Name: Sahara Desert Camp

Visit Area: Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou
This walled city, or ksar, sits along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech. It’s an incredible example of South Moroccan architecture comprised of a fascinating complex of buildings that provide a full spectrum of pre-Saharan construction techniques.

Today, enjoy some free time in Erfoud, a fascinating oasis town known as the “Gateway to the Sahara.” You may want to relax at your hotel or take this chance to explore more of Erfoud. Consider visiting the ancient fortified village, Ksar Maadid, admiring the Royal Palace, strolling through the souk, or relaxing at a local café with some mint tea. In the afternoon, make your way into the Sahara in a Jeep 4x4 for a two-night stay under the stars in a luxury tented camp in the desert. On the way, make a stop at a date farm to explore the significance of an oasis. Learn about the traditional methods of irrigating the fields, passed down through generations. Discover how these ancestral techniques have sustained agriculture in arid regions for centuries.

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Drive By: High Atlas Mountains
Also called the Grand Atlas Mountains, the High Atlas Mountains are an impressive mountain range in central Morocco (Northern Africa). The High Atlas rises in the west at the Atlantic Ocean and stretches in an eastern direction to the Moroccan-Algerian border. This range separates the Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines from the Sahara Desert. The population of the Atlas Mountains is mainly Berbers. The mountains have been home to a number of plant and animal species unique in Africa, many of which are endangered. One of the most unique elements of the Atlas Mountains is that they are rich in natural resources. There are deposits of iron ore, lead ore, copper, silver, mercury, rock salt, phosphate, marble, anthracite coal and natural gas, among other resources.

Rise early to watch the sun illuminate the Sahara in stunning hues of orange, yellow, and red. This morning you’ll have the opportunity to ride through the dunes on the back of a camel. Continue your day by traveling to the village of Khamlia. Meet with locals for an eye-opening and meaningful discussion before experiencing traditional sub-Saharan Gnawa music. Return to your camp as the sun sets over the desert. This evening, sit with your Tour Manager and learn more about the importance of Islam in Morocco through the centuries and its impact on today’s day-to-day life in sub-Saharan Africa.

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Hotel Name: Hotel Xaluca Dades

Visit Area: Marrakech
Marrakech is a major city in the northwest African nation of Morocco. It is possibly the most important of Morocco’s four former imperial cities. The region was inhabited by Berber farmers from Neolithic times, but the actual city was founded in A.D. 1062. Like many Moroccan cities, Marrakech is comprised of the old, fortified city packed with vendors and their stalls, bordered by modern neighborhoods. Today it is one of the busiest cities in Africa and serves as a major economic center and tourist destination.

Return to the edge of the desert this morning and marvel as the sun illuminates the sweeping sands. Visit the fortified village of El Khorbat. Dating back to the 17th century, this village showcases Jewish and Muslim architecture and artifacts. Learn more about Berber culture while visiting the museum within the village. Enjoy a simple lunch at a local restaurant. This Impact Moment supports a business whose profits are used to conserve the cultural heritage and improve the living conditions of this small community. Later, arrive in Boumalne du Dades, where a golden sun lights up the gorge’s river valleys, palmeraies, and burnished mud-brick homes.

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Hotel Name: 2Ciels Boutique Hotel & Spa

Admittance: Cooking Class
Join a local women’s cooperative in an interactive cooking class. Head to le jardin to source your own herbs and vegetables and learn the secret to making the country’s most celebrated dish: the tagine.

Follow the rugged “Road of a Thousand Kasbahs,” where turreted fortresses rise up like sandcastles along this ancient trading route. Arrive at the UNESCO site of the Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou and discover the earthen buildings, defensive walls, and corner towers that make the Ksar a striking feat of Moroccan architecture. Before you reach the exotic city of Marrakech, enjoy a homemade meal, then continue along the Tizi n’Tichka Pass in the High Atlas Mountains, a scenic route through lush oasis valleys, imposing mountains, and Berber villages.

Breakfast Included
Lunch Included

Visit Area: Casablanca
Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco and is located on the country’s western coast on the Atlantic Ocean. Today, Casablanca is known as one of the most important cities in Africa, both economically and demographically, as it is Morocco’s chief port and industrial center. The area which is today Casablanca was founded and settled by Berbers in the 7th century B.C. It was used as a port by the Phoenicians and later the Romans. It currently has an up-and-coming contemporary art scene, and it has beautifully restored French colonial buildings and an authentic old part of town.

This morning, it’s your choice! Explore the Bahia Palace with its stunning architecture and gardens on a locally guided tour -OR- visit the Moroccan Culinary Arts Museum to discover the fusion of Arab, Amazigh, Mediterranean, and French influences in Moroccan cuisine. Then, wander through the vibrant streets of Marrakech and the Medina, and you may want to take a moment to delve into the world of spices and their enchanting uses or enjoy some free time for exploring the intricate alleyways, a perfect opportunity for shopping and savoring the local flavors at your own pace. This afternoon, visit the enchanting Jardin Majorelle, an iconic site beautifully showcases Morocco’s rich cultural heritage.

Breakfast Included
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Admittance: Hassan II Mosque
Gaze upon the intricate, colorful artistry of ceramic tile and hand-carved stone during a visit to the breathtaking Hassan II Mosque, the largest mosque in Morocco. It’s minaret is the tallest in the world, at 689 ft. tall.

Visit a women’s training center during today’s Impact Moment. With your visit, support a program that empowers women seeking social and financial stability through culinary training. Enjoy an interactive cooking class, gathering fresh herbs and vegetables from the garden and learning the secrets to making tagine, while also getting to know the stories of the chef trainees and the stigmas they face around women’s roles in society and the workplace. Enjoy the rest of your day at leisure. This evening, perhaps you‘ll join an optional horse-drawn carriage ride through Marrakech, followed by dinner at a local restaurant.

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Hotel Name: Barcelo Anfa

Depart Marrakech for Casablanca this morning. Upon arrival in Casablanca, visit the largest functioning mosque in Africa, the Hassan II Mosque. Learn about the history and the significance of this mosque on a privately led tour. Gaze upon the intricate, colorful artistry of the ceramic tile and hand-carved stone of this architectural wonder. Then say goodbye to your Tour Manager and fellow travelers during a farewell dinner at a local restaurant.

Breakfast Included
Dinner Included

Your tour comes to a close this morning.

Breakfast Included