Tour from Casablanca to Marrakech – 12 days

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12-day Morocco tour from Casablanca to Marrakech – overview:

If you wish to go on a journey where you tour the Imperial Cities, experience the Sahara Desert, and get away to Atlantic Coastal towns, with little of rich history, exotic culture, and this North African country’s hospitality in between, then this 12-day tour in Morocco is the perfect option for you.

Start your 12-day tour from Casablanca with a visit to the Hassan II mosque and discover Rabat’s main attractions. Tour Hassan Tower, discover the Mausoleum of Mohamed V and wonder the Ouadayas Gardens and Kasbahs. Explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Roman ruins Volubilis and tour the medina of Meknes and photograph its massive walls and ancient gates.

Go on a full day Fes sightseeing tour to explore the medina and its touristic sites of interest. Photograph the Royal Palace, tour Madrasa Bou Inania & Madrasa of al-Qarawiyyin, visit the leather tanneries and explore the vibrant medina and the bustling alleyways.

Experience camel trekking in Erg Chebbi dunes, witness the marvellous sunset from the summit of the dunes take inspiring photos of your party, and immerse yourself in the Sahara Desert. Enjoy dinners under the Sahara starlit sky and share evening music and drumming with the nomads and other guests in the desert. Sleep in comfortable nomad tents in a desert camp among the dunes of Erg Chebbi.

Enjoy a full day trekking in the wind-blown sand dunes of Merzouga and explore travelling through the magnificent Sahara Desert the nomadic way. Or, go on a half a day 4×4 tour around the dunes, sip a glass of tea with the nomads and visit Khamlia village to learn about Gnawa music.

Discover brick-mud Berber villages and learn about the daily life of the local inhabitants of the south. Explore the Dades Valley plantation and take a walk alongside the riverbank or go for a hike around the Toudgha Gorges massive canyons. Tour the beautifully Kasbah Amredhil, visit Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou and Telouet. Travel over the Atlas Mountains and via the Tizi-n-Tichka and capture photos of splendid views.

Go on a full-day sightseeing tour in Marrakech with a local guide to discover its most interesting attractions. Explore the exotic medina and stroll along the alleyways and visit the Jardin Majorelle and le Jardin Secret. Tour Medersa Ben Youssef and the Saadian Tombs, visit El Badi Palace and El Bahia Palace and explore the much-talked-about Djemaa El Fna.

Photograph goats on trees and pay a visit to the argan oil co-operatives producing argan oil products. Explore the Atlantic coastal town of Essaouira, photograph its massive ramparts, tour its windy alleyways, full of shops selling leather and wood goods. Immerse yourself in the pure peacefulness of this charming town on a free day.

Travel from Essaouira to Casablanca to catch your flight in time.

Learn about the history of ancient sites and the exotic culture of the medinas. Stay I beautiful riads and authentic guest-houses. Taste Morocco’s cuisine’s most popular and delicious dishes.

12-day tour from Casablanca – highlights:

• Visit Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca and explore Rabat’s sites of interests
• Tour Meknes medina and photograph its massive walls & gates and discover the Roman ruins Volubilis
• Explore Fes vibrant medina, ancient Madrassa, leather tanneries, Royal Palace, and its vivid alleyways
• Experience camel trekking, witness the desert sunset, taste dinner under the starlit sky, and sleep in nomad tents
• Explore brick-mud Berber villages and learn about the daily life of the local inhabitants
• Wander the Dades Valley and walk alongside the riverbank or go for a hike around the Toudgha Gorges
• Visit Kasbah Amredhil, tour the famous Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou and Telouet Kasbah
• Travel over the Atlas Mountains and via the Tizi-n-Tichka pass and capture photos of splendid views
• Explore Marrakech Sites of interests: beautiful gardens, ancient Madrasas, royal palaces, and the Djemaa El Fna vibrant square

What is included in desert tour from Casablanca:

• Transportation in an air-conditioned comfortable 4×4 vehicle or luxury minivan
• Pick-up from and drop-off at your hotel and airport private transfers
• Experienced English/French/Spanish-speaking Berber driver/ guide
• Overnights in accommodations with air-conditioned rooms/suites
• 2 Overnights in Erg Chebbi dunes luxury desert camp, with ensuite-bathroom
• All meals (except lunch and dinner in Rabat, Chefchaouen, Fes and Marrakech) with vegetarian and vegan options available
• Camel rides for an hour to an hour and a half and free sand-boarding
• Berber music and drumming around fire camp in the desert
• Option to go to and come back from the camp on camelback or by 4×4
• Entrance fees except in Casablanca, Rabat, Fes and Marrakech
• Local guides in the relevant places & guided sightseeing tour in Fes & Marrakech
• The opportunity to ask the driver to stop for breaks whenever you wish
• Soft drinks and mineral water during your stay in the desert

What is not included:

• Lunch and dinner in Rabat, Chefchaouen, Fes and Marrakech
• Entrance fees in Casablanca, Rabat, Fes and Marrakech
• Drinks, tips and extras

Good to know about Morocco tours from Casablanca

• Hassan II Mosque is not open for visits on Fridays and religious holiday

Price details

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Imperial Cities and desert tour from Casablanca – itinerary:

1st day: Casablanca – Rabat:

After breakfast in your hotel, you will visit the Hassan II mosque, the largest mosque in Africa, and the highest religious institution in the world. Decorated with beautiful tiles and Moroccan craftsmanship and offering amazing views of the ocean, the mosque is a sight to be seen.

Next, we drive on the highway for an hour to Rabat the capital city. Rabat is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to historical and cultural landmarks.

Here, you will visit the Hassan Tower, a symbol of the city, and the Mausoleum of Mohamed V, built in homage to the king. After lunch, there is time to visit the Medina, the Oudaya Gardens, and Kasbah. Dinner and overnight in a beautiful riad.

2nd day: Rabat – Chefchaouen:

After breakfast, your itinerary continues through the highway to Chefchaouen, crossing Ouazzane and the Middle Atlas Mountains to finally arrive in the blue city.

After lunch, the rest of the day can be spent wandering the beautiful blue-washed alleyways and the colourful medina. Relax in one of the many cafés with splendid views of the green hills and the valleys. Dinner and overnight in a beautiful riad.

3rd day: Chefchaouen Sightseeing:

The first half of the day can be spent enjoying a sightseeing tour with a local guide who can show you many attractions and hidden spots that you will not get to on your own. If desired, hike in the Rif Mountains to explore the diversified natural setting and admire the magically panoramic views of the blue city and the surrounding areas.

Having had lunch in one of the many local restaurants, enjoy a stroll in the Plaza Uta el-Hammam square to taste delicious street food, admire the views of the Rif Mountains, or simply chill in a cafe to get a taste of local life. Dinner and overnight in a beautiful riad.

4th day: Chefchaouen – Fes:

After breakfast, you leave the blue city to drive to Fes, the oldest Imperial City in Morocco. The journey takes us via the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Roman remains of Volubilis. Here, it is possible to hire a local get to get rich insights into the history of this interesting site.

From here, we continue to the holy town of the Moulay Idris. Even though the mausoleum is only accessible to Muslims, the main square offers beautiful views and is full of little shops selling souvenirs.

Later, we continue our journey through the hills and the countryside of the Rif region as far as Fes. Here, a beautiful riad offers dinner and night’s rest.

5th day: Fes Sightseeing:

After breakfast in your riad, enjoy a full day Fes sightseeing tour. Visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Fes El Bali “Old Fes”. Here, you will explore the old medina and its alleyways full of shops selling leather and silver goods.

Photograph Bab Boujloud gate and the massive ramparts of the medieval city. Tour the Bou Inania Madrassa and the Al-Kairaouine Madrassa, founded by Fatima Al Fahmi and recognised by the Guinness World Records to be the oldest university in the world.

After lunch, you can visit the Fes El Jdid, “New Fes”, Museum of Moroccan Arts and the King’s Palace. Pay a visit to one of the landmarks of Fes, the leather tanneries. Spend the overnight in your riad.

6th day: Fes – Merzouga

After an early breakfast, you travel past Ifrane, nicknamed the Switzerland of Morocco, because its houses have sloped roofs to cope with the seasonal snowfall. Right after Ifrane, we begin ascending the Middle Atlas Mountains, driving via Berber villages and through the beautiful cedar forest of Azrou where you can witness Barbary apes roaming around the trees.

Lunch will be in Midelt, nicknamed “the apple capital” and situated at the foot of the Ayachi Mountain. After crossing the Tizi-n-Talghemt pass, you travel along the Ziz Valley, remarkable for its huge palm groves and adobe-built kasbahs. Shortly after, you will arrive at Erfoud where you can visit the locally found artefacts workshop.

From Rissani, the beginning of Merzouga Dunes, an hour to an hour and a half camel ride to the Erg Chebbi dunes. From here, the spectacle of the sunset is an awesome sight.

At the camp, you will be welcomed by traditional mint tea and Moroccan biscuits and shown your comfortable nomad tent. At night, dinner is served under the starlit sky, followed by an evening singing and drumming around a fire camp. Spend the night in a nomad tent in a desert camp near the big dunes.

7th day: Merzouga

After breakfast, enjoy a full day of trekking in the desert of Merzouga. You can either ride the camels or walk behind them as they carry what is need for your lunch, which will be prepared by your camel-men. You will walk for three hours in the morning and another three hours in the afternoon to arrive back at the camp for the night.

The second option, you can take the 4×4 car from the camp to the Khamlia Berber village where you will visit a Nomad in their house and have a glass of tea with them. Later, you visit Sub-Saharans who perform Gnawa Music. Back at the camp, at 250m, the sunset is a spectacular sight. Dinner is served in a nomad tent which is the venue for the overnight.

8th day: Merzouga – Dades Gorges:

Get up early in the morning to catch the spectacle of the sunrise and the never-ending sand-dunes compose an awesome sight. Having had breakfast in the camp, you set out behind the High Atlas Mountains on the way to the Toudgha Gorges.

We continue driving past Tinghir Village and then the Toudgha Gorges, a hotspot for hiking enthusiasts. Here, there are plenty of opportunities for walks in the gorge itself or by the riverbank and into the gardens.

After lunch at the edge of the gorge, the journey continues towards Dades Gorges, passing by the interesting Tamnalt Hills. Dinner and overnight in the heart of Dades Gorges lined by the red and mauve rocks.

9th day: Dades Gorges – Ouarzazate:

After breakfast, there is an opportunity for a walk in the Dades Valley. From here, the journey continues to Ouarzazate, driving off-road along the Boutartar piste, where you can visit the nomads to have a glass of tea with them.

This 12-day tour from Casablanca journey continues through the Roses Valley, to Kel’aa M’gouna where we visit the co-operatives that produce cosmetics products from the flowers of the valley. Having arrived in Skoura Oasis, you will pay a visit to the beautifully restored Kasbah Amredhil.

After lunch, we drive through the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, where numerous kasbahs stand tall among the palm trees. By the end of the afternoon, we arrive at Ouarzazate, which will be the venue for dinner and overnight.

10th day: Ouarzazate – Marrakech:

Your 12-day tour from Casablanca journey continues to Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that set the scene for many Hollywood movies and the most famous kasbah in Morocco. After a one-hour visit to the Kasbah, we drive along the beautiful Ounila Valley to arrive in Kasbah Telouet.

Lunch will be served here, otherwise, it will be in the Atlas Mountains. A visit is scheduled to the kasbah, situated in the middle of the mountains, Kasbah Telouet, served once as a residential palace for the last Pasha of Marrakech and the El Glaoui Tribe.

You travel via the famous Tizi-n-Tichka and over the admirably high Atlas Mountains. At panoramic viewpoints, there will be stops to capture photos of the valleys and the beautiful Berber villages. By the end of the afternoon, you will arrive at Marrakech where an authentic riad offers night rest.

11th day: Marrakech Sightseeing:

After a traditional breakfast in your riad, enjoy a full-day guided tour of Marrakech. You will visit the following attractions:

The Majorelle Gardens: a serene garden originally designed by Jacques Majorelle and owned by Yves Sait Laurent. With its washed blue setting, Majorelle, contains fish pools, a little bridge, and paths, plenty of plants and trees as well as relaxing cafés and restaurants.

The Kotobia Mosque: one of the largest, most beautiful mosques and the country and a landmark in the red city. The mosque is built in a traditional Almohad style and the tower (69m) is adorned with four copper globes.

El Bahia Palace: “the palace of the beautiful” is an excellent and beautiful representation of Eastern Architecture from the 19th century that exemplifies the standards of the wealthy who lived at that time. This fascinating place was built by Ahmad Ibn Musa between 1894 and 1900. With its tiled walls and illuminated cedar wood ceiling, the palace is an amazing representation of Fes craftsmanship.

The Saadian Tombs: dating back from the time of the sultan Ahmed Al-Mansur (1578-1603), the tombs, were discovered in 1971 and were restored. Because of its delicate decorations and unique architecture, the mausoleum has become a major attraction to visitors of Marrakech.

Djemaa El Fna: Marrakech is probably best known for its main square with its juice stalls, dried fruits, and spice sellers, snake charmers, women applying henna, storytellers, and the myriad of nightly food stalls. Explore the souks and shops of Marrakech.

12^th day: Marrakech – Casablanca

Transfer from Marrakech to your riad in Casablanca or to the airport to catch your flight. This will mark the end of your 12-day tour from Casablanca to Marrakech!

Map of 12-day Imperial Cites and Morocco tour from Casablanca: