DAY 1

Travel to Casablanca

Begin travels today with a flight across the Atlantic to arrive in Casablanca, Morocco no later than 10:30am on the following day. Participants book their own flights.

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DAY 2

Casablanca / Fes

Arrive at Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca, meet your tour guide, and transfer to our luxury van for a beautiful drive through vast and diverse landscapes to the ancient city of Fes.

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DAY 3

Explore Fes

Morning departure for a guided tour to explore one of Morocco’s most historic and important cities - Fes. The visit will take us into the medina (“old city”) to see some of its many sections. Each section specializes in certain types of handmade arts and crafts such as embroidery, weaving, and ceramics, etc.. We will have an opportunity to see artisans making exquisite items using centuries-old traditional techniques. Of special interest are the ancient leather dyeing vats in the heart of the city. We will sample a wide variety of local cuisines for lunch. Along the way we will note repetitive or unique patterns, textures, and designs that play a part in Fes’ identity.

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Tonight, we have a special group dinner at a local restaurant specializing in authentic Moroccan cuisine with a show featuring a variety of musicians and dancers representing different areas and ethnic groups. As a special treat, we will enjoy a theatrical presentation of a Moroccan wedding ceremony with our group members participating to get very close to the culture, including dancing for all.

 

DAY 4

Fes - Volubilis - Midelt

After a yoga treat and breakfast we go visit the Jnan Sbil gardens and have an art painting and sketching session in the gardens to capture some of the scenes of Fes.  Afterward, we depart to Volubilis, an ancient Roman site that still preserves its original mosaics. We will enjoy lunch at a nearby holy town before continuing to Midelt, crossing the Cedar Forest.

 

DAY 5

Midelt - Tafilalet Oasis

Drive south through the Middle Atlas Mountains with their cedar forest and the Ziz Valley to the Tafilalet Oasis/ Plam grove. This ride is beautiful and we will be making stops to explore and do art. Dinner and overnight in Rissani or at a nearby village depending on the group size. Participants make an overnight bag for tomorrow’s camel ride and night in the Sahara camp.

 

DAY 6

Village Mezguida - Rissani - Sahara (camp overnight) 

After a morning yoga session and breakfast, we start our day with a walking tour of the Village of Mezguida, a nearby seventeenth century adobe village. We will then continue to Rissani for a visit, learn about spices and how they are used in Moroccan cuisine, this an opportunity to purchase your authentic spices to take home. We will enjoy lunch and have a presentation on different types of Amazigh (Berber) textiles. In the afternoon, we head out into the Sahara for a camel ride experience and overnight at a nomadic camp in the middle of the golden sand dunes. Dinner with local music. When drumming starts, anyone can join with clapping, dancing and drumming with locals.

 

DAY 7

Return from camp - Rissani - Tafilalet Oasis

After returning from our camel excursion, we will enjoy downtime by the gardens and the pool.  This is another opportunity to do yoga and or art. For lunch, we will have a demonstration and learn how to make a local specialty of stuffed bread baked in the sand, this will be our lunch accompanied with a tasty mint tea, just like the nomads have done it for centuries. The afternoon will be spent exploring other parts of this desert region including a Saharan oasis and gardens, witnessing how locals extract water from the dunes for drinking and irrigation using an ancient underground system called khuttaras.  Our day will be topped with a special visit to a local community with Sub-saharan origins to experience their unique spiritual music and chanting.  Overnight at our guest house in the Tafilalet Oasis.

 

DAY 8

Todra Gorge - Dades & Rose valley

Start the day with a yoga session and breakfast before rolling. Today’s ride is full of unique scenes. We will start our day by exploring a nearby seventeenth century adobe village.  We will wander through the Todra Gorge (canyon) after passing through a lush valley surrounded by many villages and filled with date palm trees. Then we continue our spectacular ride to go through the Dades valley and end the day in the rose valley to spend the night at a guesthouse with a spectacular panoramic view.

 

DAY 9

Kalat M’Gouna - Ouarzazate

Today, we will have a special and an amazing experience overlooking the lush valley and kasbahs. We will be introduced to a totally different style of native music and dance unique to this region. Participants will have a chance to join the dance.  After lunch we continue west to Ouarzazate.  Maybe, a session of yoga or art to open the appetite for dinner.. Overnight in Ouarzazate.

 

DAY 10

Ouarzazate - Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou - Marrakech

Ouarzazate is a town known for film production.  Today we will cross the amazing High Atlas Mountains. The scenery in the mountains is striking and unique, as dozens of Amazigh (Berber) villages accented with terrace gardens can be seen. One of the highlights for today is the world heritage site Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou. We will visit a women’s cooperative that specializes in making famous Argan Oil. Overnight in Marrakech.

 

DAY 11

Explore Marrakech

Yoga stretch, breakfast then go explore Marrakech, including a lush hidden garden (“Le Jardins Secret”), created on the grounds of a historical site. We will visit the 19th century Bahia Palace, and the 11th century Koutoubia Mosque and gardens. We will then enter the lively souks (“markets”) to experience its colors and its smells.

 

DAY 12

Marrakech - Essaouira

Go on a short drive outside of Marrakech to visit the stunning Anima gardens with endless of flora and sculptures. Lunch on your own at the Garden Cafe. We will take time to do art at the gardens. In the afternoon, we continue  our journey westward toward the Atlantic Ocean, to the seaside town of Essaouira for overnight.

 

DAY 13

Explore Essaouira

Essaouira is an historic small town on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, dating back to the middle ages. Originally named Mogador in the 1500’s. it has been occupied by the Portuguese, Spanish, French. The present day city of Essaouira was built during the mid-18th century by king Mohammed III.

Today we will take a walking tour of the intense markets within the ancient walls of the Essaouira Medina, visiting the fishing port, and a possible hammam (Moroccan bath) experience.

 

DAY 14

Essaouira - Casablanca

Free time to further explore Essaouira or enjoy a moment on the beach or by the pool. After lunch we drive up to Casablanca for overnight.

 

​DAY 15

Depart

We will transfer to the Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca for our return flight.