Your Day-by-Day Itinerary for a Deluxe, Two-Person Private Tour of Morocco

Day 1 – Arrive to Casablanca | Rabat
Airport Transfer (2hrs)

On the first day of your Morocco journey for our Frontliner Morocco Vacation Giveaway, you’ll be met at the airport (either Casablanca or Rabat) by your English-speaking driver. Your driver will be with you throughout your tour and is so much more than someone who takes you around. He will be your translator and cultural attaché, answering your questions and taking care of things for you along the way. After clearing customs and meeting your driver, you’ll have the rest of the day to explore Rabat, the political capital of Morocco, or Casablanca, should you choose. Depending on your time of arrival, you might like to see some of the sights of Casablanca, in particular the Hassan II Mosque with the tallest minaret in the world. Our Insider’s Guide to Casablanca tells you all you need to know. A lovely dinner featuring the traditional cuisine of this coastal region will be included at your accommodation this night.

Day 2 – Meknes | Volubilis | Fez
Transport (4hrs), Breakfast, Dinner

After a good night of sleep and a hearty Moroccan breakfast, you’ll hit the road for the incredibly preserved medieval city of Fez. Along the way, you’ll have the opportunity to visit the Roman ruins of the ancient city of Volubilis, once the Roman capital of this region of North Africa. Depending on your time and energy, you’ll also have the chance to explore the imperial city of Meknes as well as Moulay Idriss, both off-the-beaten trek sorts of destination with plenty of authentic local highlights and incredible history.

Meknes was literally built on the backs of tens of thousands of slaves by the tyrannical Sultan Moulay Ismail and was conceived to be the ‘Versailles of Morocco’. Overlooked as it may be by many travellers, should you decided to take an optional guided tour, you will find charms that make your visit worthwhile — Heri es-Souani, where Moulay Ismail stabled his 12,000 horses; his tranquil tomb, which he had built during his reign to ensure it would equal the glory of his imperial city; and the Bab Mansour, said to be one of Morocco’s most fabulous gates.

Volubilis, is the most impressive Roman ruins site in Morocco, and one of the former Empire’s most remote outposts, as the tough legionnaires were held back from further expansion by the Amazigh Tribes. Once a thriving provincial city, it takes only a little imagination to see toga-clad senators and scurrying plebeians filling its streets.

Dinner will be served in a wonderfully restored riad, your architecturally authentic home while you’re in Fez, the historic center of arts and sciences in Morocco.

Day 3 – Fez Guided Visit
Private Guided Visit, Breakfast, Lunch

You’ll be with our head Fez guide today on a private guided walking tour of this medieval gem. Explore the tanneries and souks, the 600-year-old Bou Inania Quranic school, Jewish neighborhoods and newly restored synagogue, and much, much more. Your guide will accompany you through the labyrinthine streets and corridors, opening up the doors of Morocco as only a local can. To unravel the intricacies of the nine thousand streets and alleyways of the UNESCO-protected Fez Medina would take a lifetime, but your Fez born-and-bred guide will reveal the city’s most special parts.

Do you know why the bakery is also a de facto marriage bureau? Probably not, but your guide will explain why, and tell many other tales of this fascinating city.

The tour lasts from 9:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. with lunch included. You can prepare more for your visit by reading our Fez travel guide. Some other sites of interest in Fez are the King’s Palace and Mellah/Jewish Quarter, the Pottery Complex, and the Batha Museum.

Day 4 – Ifrane | Ziz Valley | Sahara Desert
Transport (7hrs), Optional Walk, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

A long drive today, but one that shows the visual wealth of Morocco. You’ll depart around 7am and head for Ifrane, developed during the French Protectorate as an administrative center and escape from the searing summer heat, before continuing onward through Midelt. En route, you’ll have the opportunity to visit the Ziz Valley, the largest producer of dates in Morocco. Look closely and you will see that not all the palm trees are tall, as the height depends on the variety, of which there are 283 recognized ones grown in the country – the most delicious (and expensive) are the oldest, which are known as Mejhoul. One of the highlights of your trip will be lunch with the family of Journey Beyond Travel’s local coordinator. His home is a traditional kasbah shared by his extended family, with a charming garden where they cultivate much of the produce used in their kitchens. Either before or after your meal you can take a short walk through the date palms and farms that surround this small village. Then, it’s onward to the Sahara Desert for the night!

You’ll have the chance to pack an overnight bag before choosing your ‘ship of the desert’ (your favorite camel) who will take you into the sandy seas. After your half hour-long camel ride, you’ll have the chance to watch the sun set over the Saharan dunes. Your home for the night will be a  luxury Bedouin-style tent in a private tented area, complete with beds, blankets and sheets, as well as rich Moroccan carpets covering the sand and western-style bathroom facilities. Nothing can beat this night under the desert stars!

Day 5 – Tinejdad | Skoura (Valley of the Kasbahs)
Transport (5hrs), Breakfast, Dinner

This morning, you’ll be able to rise with the sun as it begins its glorious passage for another day. Make sure you grab some photos before climbing back onto your newfound camel friend for the short ride out to the nearest dune. Feeling invigorated by a hot show and a hearty breakfast, you’ll take the road to Rissani, where, if time allows, you can marvel at the million-year-old fossils that the area is famous for. Then it’s onward to Tinjedad for lunch to an extraordinary ksar (a completely walled-in village) where you can also see a local Berber cultural museum and even enjoy a walk in the oasis.

There are plenty of things to discover in this region, from the local roses prized by French perfumers, used throughout Morocco in rose water and essential oils, to ceremonial daggers made as they have been here for hundreds of years.

You’ll then continue onward to Skoura, known as the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs, where a warm dinner awaits. You’ll have a calm night in the palm groves, tuck in for a lovely dinner, and, weather holding, enjoy another amazing night under the stars.

Day 6 – Ouarzazate | Ait Ben Haddou | Telouet | High Atlas Mountains
Transport (5-6hrs), Breakfast, Dinner

After leaving Skoura, you’ll travel to Ouarzazate, home to the Taourirt Kasbah, one of the strongholds of the Glaoui family who once ruled the south of Morocco. You’ll then make your way to Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best preserved Kasbahs in the entire Atlas region. Don’t be surprised if you feel as if you are stepping into another, more ancient world, as the Kasbah has been the backdrop to many historical films, including Lawrence of Arabia, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Gladiator.

You will also have the opportunity to visit Telouet, a lesser-visited Kasbah and the once rich and powerful throne of the Gloaui family whose vast wealth came, in part, from the levies charged to the camel trains that passed through their territory. This will add one hour to today’s travel time.

They say that there are 340 bends on the Tizi n’Tichka pass, but in reality there are only two, left and right, although they are repeated an awful lot of times. This amazing zigzag feat of French engineering that climbs to 2,260m (7,400ft), replaced the ancient route of the camel trains on their arduous journey from Timbuktu to Marrakesh, bearing gold, spices and slaves. Your journey takes you over the Tizi n’Tichka pass in the High Atlas Mountains.

Find your home for the next few nights in a magical kasbah overlooking the Haouz Plain, home to Marrakesh, as well as the surrounding heights of Toubkal National Park. Enjoy a lovely dinner and the kind of a night sleep that only fresh, cool mountain air can bring.

Day 7 – High Atlas Mountain Hike | Marrakesh
Private Guided Hike, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Following a hearty mountain breakfast, you’ll meet our head mountain guide. He will talk to you a bit about his culture, the Amazigh (Berber) culture, and its importance in Morocco. The Amazigh were the first people who called Morocco home, long before Arabs and Muslims, to say nothing of the Romans!

You will hike fairly deep into these remote mountains. Follow mule trails and cut through bits of pastoral land that have served has  homes for these indigenous Moroccans for thousands of years. Much of this area is remote with no car access and you’ll likely pass villages that haven’t seen “outsiders” in quite some time.

You’ll tuck in for lunch at a local family’s home, peek behind the curtain of these traditional, often private, very remote mountain people.

With your trusty Amazigh mountain guide, you’ll can then head out to some different regions of Toubkal National Park and the surrounding area that few foreigners are able to explore. You might consider making the hike to a distant synagogue, thought to be a thousand years old, perhaps more, once used by the ancient Jewish peoples who hailed from this region. You could also consider a visit to the Tin Mal mosque, a non-functioning mosque non-muslims are able to enter and an important piece of archaeology that informed the grandest mosques of distant Sevilla and, more nearby, Marrakesh.

Following, you’ll head down the mountains and into the “Red City” of Marrakesh, the last city on your tour, where a lovely dinner awaits in a lovingly restored riad that has stayed true to its Moroccan roots.

Day 8 – Marrakesh
Private Guided Walking Tour, Breakfast, Lunch

Your Morocco adventure continues today with a private guided tour to discover the secrets of the Marrakech Medina. Meandering the arms-width streets of the souk with your guide, the centuries roll back as he regales you with the history of the city’s glorious monuments (and their often not-so glorious past), telling you tales of a culture whose daily rhythm has changed little over the centuries. 

This is an expansive area, so you won’t be able to cover everything, though you’ll get a great sense of the various particular markets of Marrakesh as well as some of the better known sites, such as the gorgeous Saadian Tombs and Bahia Palace. There is a Jewish Quarter with a functioning synagogue and much, much more. You can read more in our travel guide to Marrakesh that will help you get a feel of what this ancient city has to reveal.

Day 9 – Marrakesh
Transport (on demand), Breakfast

You’ll be able to enjoy a leisurely morning in your luxury lodgings. There are lots of optional activities to consider, from adrenaline-inducing sidecar rides racing through the palm groves to the highs of hot air balloon rides, distinctive food tours, luxurious Moroccan hammam (spa) treatments, and more.

Of course, you could take a moment to relax in your stellar traditional Marrakeshi riad featuring lots of local charm and plenty of boutique, luxurious touches that can only happen in Marrakesh. Conversely, you can head out and explore on your own steam.

Make Marrakesh Yours!

Day 10 – Depart Casablanca or Marrakesh
Airport Transfer

We say goodbye today. But before going, we wanted to thank you again for everything you do. We look forward to showing you the best of Morocco and hope you enjoyed your well-earned Morocco vacation for Frontline Health Workers.

Thank you for entering our 2022 Morocco Tour Giveaway for Frontliners!