Intrepid Best of Morocco

• Meals: 14 breakfasts, 2 lunches and 2 dinners
• Accommodation: hotel (8 nights), guesthouse (2 nights), campsite (1 night), gite (1 night) and riad (2 nights).
• All transport
• Included activities

• Rabat orientation walk
• Entrance and guided tour Volubilis
• Guided walking tour Fes
• Walk and visit of Berrem village
• Kasbah Myriam
• Museum El Khorbat
• Horizon Association for People With Disabilities visit
• Half-day hike in the Atlas Mountains
• Guided walking tour Essaouira
• Dinner at Djemaa el Fna

Day 1: Casablanca

Welcome to Morocco. Your adventure begins today with a welcome meeting at 6pm – check with hotel reception to confirm the time.

Day 2: Rabat/Meknes

Today take an early morning one-hour train to the historical town of Rabat. Rabat’s history is long and colourful, having been host to Roman settlements, pirates and more recently the Moroccan parliament.

Day 3: Volubilis/Fes

This morning is free to explore Meknes. In the 17th century Sultan Moulay Ismail turned Meknes from a provincial town to a spectacular Imperial city – visit his immense Heri es Souani Granary, a mammoth architectural feat, and the city’s now crumbling imperial palaces. Try a camel burger for lunch at friendly local restaurant in the medina.

Day 4: Fes

Take a guided group walking tour of the old city, known locally as Fes el Bali. Step back into the Middle Ages in the labyrinth of the Medina, which is alive with craftsmen, markets, tanneries and mosques.

Day 5: Midelt

Board the private minibus and leave the intensity of the city behind for the simplicity of the scenic Middle Atlas Mountains (approximately 4 hours). Drive south, inland through a variety of spectacular scenery – fertile valleys, cedar and pine forests and barren, rocky landscapes.

Day 6: Sahara Camp

Today it’s a five-hour drive towards the mighty Sahara Desert. Since we’ll have the convenience of our own private minivan, there will be many opportunities to stop and admire views of Kasbahs and palmeries (valleys lush with date palms, fields and orchards) along the way. Drive through changing scenery, from barren mountainsides to fertile valleys, pausing in frontier towns like Erfoud and Rissani, before reaching the end of the road at the small Saharan settlement of Merzouga.

Day 7: Todra Gorge

Return from the desert and begin the drive to Todra Gorge. On the way visit the oasis museum of El Khorbat, before continuing on to the beautiful Todra Valley (approximately 5 hours in total), which follows the foothills of the Atlas Mountains and is dotted with mud-brick villages perched on hillsides.

Day 8: Todra Gorge

Today enjoy free time to explore the Todra Valley. A guided hike through the gorge and over a nearby mountain pass is highly recommended. There are a couple of circuits to choose from, but the most popular choice, and the one we recommend, is a 10 kilometre circuit that will take about four hours.

Day 9: Ait Benhaddou

Today travel south for four hours to Ait Benhaddou. The scenic drive will take you past ancient kasbah ruins, former colonial military outposts, austere mountains and valleys of palm trees and irrigated fields. Pause for lunch in Ouarzazate, where productions such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Sheltering Sky and Black Hawk Down were filmed.

Day 10: Aroumd

Bid farewell to the Sahara and journey over the spectacular Tizi n’Tichka Pass (2,260 metres above sea level) to Toubkal National Park (approximately 5 hours), photographing snow-dappled mountains and valleys in full flower along the way. At the end of the road in Imlil, store your main luggage and load a daypack onto a pack mule. Walk into traditional mountain village life with a one-hour trek up to the peaceful village of Aroumd, far from the reach of the modern world.

Day 11: Essaouira

Take a morning walk through the valleys and trails of the stunning Atlas Mountains (weather dependable). Afterwards, head westwards for five hours towards the Atlantic Coast and the old fishing town of Essaouira, a city where the medina brushes up against the Atlantic Ocean.

Day 12: Essaouira

Today, join a local guide for a walking tour through the old medina, Jewish mellah, port and skala (sea wall). Afterwards, use your free time to get under the skin of the town. The narrow streets of Essaouira are ideal for casual exploration.

Day 13: Marrakech

Chat with locals on a shared bus ride to Marrakech (approximately 3 hours), an ancient, exotic city wrapped in European modernity. Marrakech is a feast for the senses. Be enticed by the alluring scents and brilliant colours of the spice markets, the sounds of the musicians, the rich folds of carpets, delectable foods, acrobats and perfumed gardens.

Day 14: Marrakech

Today is free for you to explore. Explore the Medina for some last-minute shopping, where every step brings a new smell, a new sight or a new gift to buy. In the seemingly endless mosaic of souqs, each is devoted to a separate trade: pottery, woodwork, copper, leather, carpets and spices.

Day 15: Marrakech

Your Best of Morocco adventure comes to an end today. Check-out time is usually around midday and you are free to leave at any time.

Please note, prices listed are guide prices only and are based on 2 people sharing and don’t include any additional supplements. Holiday prices are fluid and dynamic and may be changed at a moment’s notice, prior to booking, at which point they are confirmed. Please call the team free on 0800 707 6229 for more departure dates available and a quote.