Day 1:
Welcome to Morroco!

Welcome to Morocco!!  Our driver will meet at the airport to welcome us to Morocco and transfer you to our beautiful riad in Marrakech, located less than 1 minute away from Jemaa El F’na. You can relax and unwind from your journey and if you are feeling up to starting your adventure, you can head to Jemaa El F’na to get your first taste of Marrakech.

Accommodation: Riad Mabrouk, Marrakech.

Meals: As per airline.

Activities: Transfer to accommodation.

Day 2:
Discover The Souks & Artisans Of Marrakech

After breakfast, our local city guide will meet us at our riad and show us Marrakech in all her beauty. Your day of adventure will include visits to the old Ben Youssef Madrasa, El Badi Palace, the Saadian Tombs, and the beautiful Koutoubia Mosque.

After visiting these monuments, our guide will escort us into the souks of Marrakech to introduce us to the local artisans who continue to use traditional methods for their handicrafts today.

The evening is left free for you to explore the Medina and Jemaa El F’na on your own. Allow the mesmerising calls to prayer, the jostling of the local merchants or the street performers take you on your own adventure.

Accommodation: Riad Mabrouk, Marrakech.

Meals: Breakfast.

Activities: Marrakech guided tour, visit souk.

Day 3:
Agadir Beach Scene & Taroudant Twin Souks

Enjoy a delicious breakfast, before we head to the laid-back surf city of Agadir.

Upon arrival, we’ll head to the ruins of Kasbah Oufella. Destroyed by an earthquake, only the outer wall remains, but the panoramic, almost aerial view of Agadir is breathtaking.

From here, head down to visit the beach and marina. Get a taste of the beach scene before heading to the largest market in the region, Souk el Had.  The souk is calmer than the souks of Marrakech and the prices are much friendlier too.

You’ll still need to haggle (it is a part of the culture after all), but not nearly to the same extent as in Marrakech.

After our visit here, we make the short drive inland to the bustling market town of Taroudant which is known for its twin souks. Enjoy a guided tour here before retiring to our riad for the evening.

Accommodation: Riad Taroudant, Agadir.

Meals: Breakfast.

Activities: Guided tour of Agadir, visit Souk el Had, Agadir beach.

Day 4:
Meet & Lunch With Female Berber Rug Artisans

Leave the coast and make your way through the Small Atlas Mountains and into the Draa Valley – known as the Valley of a Million Palms.

We travel through a region of the country where saffron is grown and a stop can be made a local cooperative to see the painstaking process involved in harvesting this precious spice. We expect to arrive in Taznakht around lunch time.

This is the regional capital of the unique and beautiful woven traditional Berber rugs. We will have one of the local women demonstrate the art behind these world-renowned hand-knotted rugs.  

This cooperative was started by the current owner’s grandmother. Each rug is tagged and catalogued with the maker’s information so that money for any purchase can be sent directly to her. If you wish, spend a little time browsing the many rugs available and be assured that if you make a purchase here, you will be directly helping the artisan and her family.

Lunch will be served here with the family who runs the cooperative and after lunch, you’ll make the short drive into the Draa Valley to the town of Agdz.

Tonight’s venue will be in an authentic kasbah that dates back to at least the 18th century. Once we’ve settled in, we will have a guided tour of Kasbah Tamnougalt and take a short walk in the lush palmeraie before returning to our kasbah for a delicious dinner.

The Draa Valley is known for its dates and they will be ripe and ready to eat in October! If we’re lucky, a local may climb up and get us some to taste directly from the tree!

Accommodation: Auberge de Tamnougalt Chez Yacob

Meals: Breakfast, lunch.

Activities: Draa Valley, stop at saffron cooperative, Berber rug womens cooperative, lunch with locals, transfer to Agdz.

Day 5:
Draa Valley & Sahara Desert Dunes

An exciting day today as we continue to travel through the Draa Valley towards the dunes of the Sahara Desert, stopping along the way to visit Rissani, the last city of size before the dunes.

If it’s one of the open market days, we will experience a slice of everyday Moroccan life and the hustle and bustle of people buying and selling goods for the week. After visiting the market, visit the mausoleum of Moulay Ali Chrif, the founder of the Alaouite Dynasty (the current ruling family of Morocco). Continuing on until we reach the very edge of the dunes.

Tonight, we stay in a small hotel that overlooks the dunes where we can relax by the pool, lounge on one of the terraces, or climb a nearby dune to watch the amazing sunset. Dinner will be served at the hotel.

Accommodations: Hotel Yasmina.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Activities: Draa Valley, Rissani market (if on), mausoleum, transfer to desert region.

Day 6:
Sand Dune 4WD & Sunset At Luxury Berber Camp

Delicious breakfast before a special 4×4 tour of the giant dunes! If the timing is right, we might have tea with a nomad family. The day will include a stop at the village of Khamlia, a community of Gnawa musicians. You’ll enjoy tea while they perform and we dare you to try to keep from moving in time to the music!

After the tour, you will head back to the kasbah where you will have a chance to relax a little where just before sunset, you’ll climb aboard your trusty camel and trek to your Berber camp.

Dinner will be served and traditional music will be played around the campfire before you retire to the warmth of your unique and cozy Berber tent for the night.

Accommodations: Hotel Yasmina. (Luxury desert camp)

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Activities: 4WD sand dune tour, Gnawa musicians, camel ride to luxury desert camp, campfire & music.

Day 7:
The Palmerie, Old Mellah & Todra Gorge

Today our camel guide will wake us early so that we can watch the spectacular sunrise over the dunes.  Afterwards, enjoy breakfast at camp, shower and prepare for the day (the tents at the luxury camp are ensuited).

Camel trek back to the hotel and then trade your camel for more modern transportation as you make your way towards Dades.

On the way, we stop to visit the ancient irrigations system that once brought water from the Saghro Mountains to the desert, before travelling to the oasis of Tinghir where you will go on a guided walk through the palmerie and the old Mellah (Jewish neighbourhood).

After exploring Tinghir, we pass through green palmeraies and Berber villages before walls of grey and pink rock close in around us. The approach is exciting and as though the doors of heaven are about to close before us.

On to the fascinating Todra Gorge, where a 300m-deep fault separates the orange limestone into a deep ravine where sometimes is just wide enough for a crystal clear river and single-file trekkers to squeeze through.

We continuing to Dades where you will stop for the night.

•  You can read more about our views on animal tourism here under ‘Our stance on animal tourism and welfare.’

Accommodations: Auberge La Vallee des Figues.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner.

Activities: Sunrise over dunes, learn the ancient irrigation systems, guided walk in Tinghir and old Mellah, Todra Gorge.

Day 8:
Monkey Fingers & Valley of Roses

You can choose to start the morning with a short hike through the nearby rock formation known as the Monkey Fingers, before heading to the Valley of Roses for a day of mingling with the locals.

We’ll explore one of the regions day markets and shop like a local, picking out all the ingredients that we might need for lunch before heading to the home of a local family, where our ingredients will be turned into a delicious traditional lunch.

You are welcome to help, watch, or just relax in the peace and tranquillity. After enjoying lunch and relaxing a little with the family, there’s an option to visit the local hammam (at own expense) to have a traditional Moroccan spa experience.  This is an experience not to be missed!

After being thoroughly exfoliated, the ladies in the group will have an opportunity to have henna tattoos applied (own expense) before returning to your Auberge for another delicious dinner and some well-deserved rest.

Accommodations: Auberge La Vallee des Figues.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Activities: Hike to Monkey Fingers, visit Valley of the Roses, local market and lunch with locals.

Day 9:
The Road Of 1,000 Kasbahs & The Spectacular Ouarzazate

This morning, after breakfast, we depart from our Auberge and make our way back to Marrakech. Travelling along the Road of 1000 Kasbahs, we pass through the Skoura oasis before arriving in Ouarzazate, known as the Hollywood of Morocco.

Made from endless red clay kasbahs, mountains and valleys, arid plains and lush oases, groves and small villages, this is an unforgettable experience!

Here, we can choose to visit Kasbah Taourirt (one of the former palaces of the powerful Glaoui Clan) or have a backlot tour of one of the local film studios.

After visiting Ouarzazate, we make the short drive to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ait Ben Haddou. If this impressive castle looks familiar, it is because it has starred in many movies and TV shows including Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, and Game of Thrones.

After exploring and having lunch, we make our way over the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n’Tichka Pass reaching an altitude of 2260 m above sea level taking plenty of stops for photographs and to admire the breathtaking vistas before descending into Marrakech in the evening.

Accommodations: Riad Mabrouk, Marrakech.

Meals Included: Breakfast.

Activities: Guided tour of Ouarzazate, guided tour of Ait Ben Haddou, Tizi n’Tichka Pass, transfer to Marrakech.

Day 10:
Mystical Marrakech Is All Yours

Today is yours to pull out your Trailblazing mindset and go explore!  Whether you are tempted by delicious aromas wafting through the medina, follow your instincts and get lost and found in the ancient alleyways, sit and sip fresh peppermint tea and people watch or indulge in a soothing treatment from a hammam, you are sure to return our riad with fascinating stories.

Accommodations: Riad Mabrouk, Marrakech.

Meals Included: Breakfast.

Day 11:
Au Revior

Depending on your flight time, you may have some time this morning to explore Marrakech on your own before transferring to the airport in plenty of time for your flight. Your driver/guide will wish you bon voyage and au revoir until your next trip to Morocco!

If you have chosen to extend your holiday and follow us to the Morocco Northern Circuit, buckle up – your next adventure begins here!