10 Days Privately Guided Desert Tour

Welcome to Morocco! Arrive at Med V airport in Casablanca where you will meet your personal English-speaking driver. You may expect a fast rundown of your New Year's Eve tour from your driver. After that, you'll travel to Casablanca, the country's commercial hub and largest metropolis. The breathtaking architecture, the majesty of the Hassan II Mosque, and the gardens and terrace cafés that stare out over the Atlantic Ocean are likely to leave you awestruck. Then it's on to Rabat, Morocco's capital. Overnight with supper at the hotel or Riad.

We'll be driving to Chefchaouen today. On our grand tour of Morocco, we'll take little breaks along the way to the blue city. Finally, spend the night in a genuine riad in the Medina. Enjoy this Privately Guided Desert Tour 10 Days.

Today we travel from Chefchaouen to Meknes for a guided tour of the city. We'll travel across the countryside to view Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the best-preserved Roman ruins in Northern Africa, set in the undulating hills. As you peer inside historic bathhouses, marveling at the still-present mosaic flooring and gazing up at the towering marble pillars, your licensed local guide will tell you about life in the Roman Empire. We leave Rome in quest of the city of Meknes. We begin our tour of Meknes' imperial city with a visit to Sultan Moulay Ismail's 18th century Bab Mansour, the city's majestic entry gate. We continue our 10-day desert tour from Casablanca to the small but stunning Moulay Ismail Mausoleum. Then we'll go through the Meknes Royal Palace's gate and arrive at Moulay Ismail's massive Heri Es Souani. This private stable and granary housed his 12,000 horses. We leave Meknes on our trip to Fes. The price includes one night's lodging in Fes.

After breakfast at your Riad, you will embark on a guided tour of the medina, one of the world's largest walled-in towns dating back to the 9th century, through its alleys and small alleyways. The tour begins with a visit outside the Royal Palace Gate at the 16th-century Jewish administrative complex known as "Mellah." Among the different craft areas we visit while in the medina are souks for brass, copper, and wedding jewelry. Carpenters, bakers, and butchers all have their own section of the medina to call home. A highlight is a visit to the famous Fes tannery, where we get panoramic views of the people hard at work processing and dyeing the various hides. We'll also get a glimpse of its religious and historical heart when we visit Moulay Idriss II's Mausoleum (Fes's founder), the 9th century Al Karaouine University, and one of the countless Medersas (Koranic schools) (Koranic school). Overnight stay at the Riad, including breakfast.

Continuing our tour from Casablanca, we left Fes for Erfoud today. En way, you'll travel through a magnificent cedar grove and via the Middle Atlas Mountain range to the mineral mining settlement of Midelt, where a lunch break is provided. This journey continues via the scenic Ziz valley, which is famous for its palm trees and the length of the oasis. Along the way, there are several ksars, or small communities. From here, we travel to Erfoud, which is famous for its date festival and fossils. You will reach at your final destination, Merzouga Sahara Desert, after around 7 hours of travel. Dinner and overnight stay at a Kasbah hotel.

Begin your Saharan tour in Merzouga with a visit to a Nomad settlement and lunch in a Kasbah hotel among the Erg Chebbi sand dunes. You'll spend some time relaxing by the pool before continuing on your tour. As the sun sets, you will walk or ride a camel across the sands, and when you reach the famous Erg Chebbi sand dunes, you will see them become a wonderful scarlet color. As the sun goes down, listen to the intoxicating beat of Berber drum music and singing while relishing a Moroccan home-cooked feast before sleeping under the stars in your own Luxury tent with a private bathroom and hot shower. Today you'll spend a magnificent night camping in the middle of the desert, complete with a dinner.

Your day begins with a beautiful dawn followed by a delicious lunch. After that, you return to Merzouga to re-join your automobile and continue your journey via the beautiful gorges of Todra Gorge through the challenging Road of a Thousand Kasbahs. This area has long been a popular filming site for Hollywood productions such as The Last Temptation of Christ and Jewel of the Nile. We arrive at the stunning Todra gorges, where springs of water flow between the rocks, and marvel at the natural beauty. Visit the Todra Gorge, which is surrounded on all sides by high pink and grey granite walls. Our next destination is the Dades Valley. Dinner and overnight stay at a Kasbah hotel.

Today, visit the Valley of the Roses, Kelaa M'Gouna, a center for Moroccan roses and rose products. Then continue your trip to Ouarzazate through the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, passing through the Skoura palm oasis. After a lunch break in Ouarzazate, continue to Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Leave the kasbah and begin your journey towards the stunning Atlas Mountains through the highest road pass, Tizi Tichka (2260m), which provides breathtaking views of valleys, mountains, and various Berber towns nearby. Arrive in the evening in Marrakech. Dinner and overnight stay at a hotel or riad.

Following a substantial breakfast, you will be led on a walking tour of Marrakech by an expert guide. The tour begins with the exquisite Koutoubia Mosque, which has influenced later works such as the Giralda in Seville and the Hassan Tower in Rabat. Your next stop should be to the Bahia Palace and the Saadian Tombs. Marrakech's Saadian tombs originate from the reign of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur. When the tombs were discovered in 1917, the Beaux-arts service refurbished them. At the tomb, around sixty members of the Saadian Dynasty, descended from the valley of the Draa River, are interred. After lunch, proceed to the world-famous Jemaa el Fna Square, which has a variety of specialties, snake charmers, local performers, and fortune-tellers. The major plaza of historic Marrakesh, the Jemaa el Fna, can be found nowhere else on Earth. You will also go around the souks, inspecting hundreds of handicrafts. The Riad is where you'll spend the night and have breakfast.

Transfer from Marrakech to Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport for your return trip, filled with stories of Arabian and Berber days and nights.