DAY 1: Departure from USA
- Board your international flight from the USA to reach Morocco in the next day.
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DAY 2: Arrive in Casablanca Airport – Hotel
- Upon arrival in Casablanca, after proceeding through immigration customs and collecting your baggage, our representative is waiting for you outside of the Terminal 1 with a sign under your name. Transfer to your hotel for overnight.
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DAY 3: Casablanca
- Breakfast at the hotel. At 9AM, meet your guide for a half day city tour. The tour begins with an inside visit of the Hassan II Mosque. It is the largest mosque in the country and the seventh largest in the world. You then continue to the Ain Diab Corniche for a pleasant stroll along the coast. Your next stop is Mohammed V Square in the city center. The city tour includes also the Habous Quarter, one of the oldest areas in Casablanca. The district was built by the French in the 1930s as an attempted solution to the ongoing housing shortage. It marries the best of traditional Moroccan architecture with modern facilities and French ideals - even the mosque fronts onto a strip of grassy lawn just like a village church. Around 3PM, drive back to your hotel for leisure time and overnight.
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 4: Casablanca – Marrakech
- After breakfast, drive to Marrakech via highway. Upon arrival, enjoy a charming horse ride around the majestic ramparts of Marrakech and the crowded streets of the Medina until you arrive at the enchanting Majorelle Garden. The sedate pace of the horses and the clip-clop of their hooves provides a relaxing way to visit the city. Take your time for a stroll in the famous garden created by the orientalist-painter Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s. The Garden houses a collection of plants from the four corners of the world which flourish amidst elegant ornamental ponds and an Art Deco villa of which the special shade of bold cobalt blue is named after the artist "Majorelle Blue". The garden also hosts more than 15 bird species that are prevalent to North Africa and has an amazing collection of cacti. This garden has been owned by the French designer, Yves-Saint-Laurent. We will visit the beautifully designed Berber Museum displaying Yves-Saint-Laurents personal collection of Berber antiques to learn some fascinating facts about the Berbers of Morocco and admire marvelous treasures of local antiques. At 5PM, we will head to a traditional Hammam, a place where space and time speak an ancient language. You will be immersed in total relaxation listening to your own body in reconciliation with yourself in an atmosphere filled with water, oils, essences and perfumes. Enjoy a 30-min. scrub with black soap or spices to eliminate the toxins from the body.
- Then you will sway into a massage room where you will enjoy a tonic Moroccan traditional massage to reduce tensions and regain energy and vitality. A tea is served in the relaxing room before you leave. Overnight at the hotel.
- Meal: Breakfast
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DAY 5: Marrakech (City Tour)
- After breakfast at 9AM, enjoy a guided tour of Marrakech. We start at Djemaa el Fna, the central square and Marrakeshs heartbeat surrounded by bazaars, mosques, terraced cafes, snake charmers, fire-eaters, and fortune-tellers. After the visit, we stop at the Koutoubia Minaret, the oldest of the three great Almohad towers, and the Bahia Palace, a marvelous display of painted wood, ceramics, and symmetrical gardens. Continue to Dar El Bacha Museum of Confluences, built in 1910. It was the residence of Thami El Glaoui, named Pasha of Marrakech by Sultan Moulay Youssef in 1912. It is one of the medinas finest examples of Riad architecture, dripping with Moroccan zellige (colorful geometric tilework), intricate white plasterwork and heavy carved cedar-wood lintels. Then enjoy a walking tour through the old medina and the labyrinth of souks. After lunch (own expense), head to the New city Gueliz the heart of the modern part of Marrakech for a brief tour of this area where many foreigners choose to live. Continue to the Menara Gardens, apart from the spectacular gardens and the wonderfully charming pavilion, you will encounter beautiful orchards and olive groves, and a huge water basin, originally created to irrigate the gardens. It is replenished by an impressive 700-year-old hydraulic system and a complex network of underground channels that bring water from the Atlas Mountains roughly 30km away. Visitors can enjoy fantastic panoramic views with the pavilions reflection on the mirror-like water and the peaks of the Atlas Mountains covered with snow. Return to your hotel to freshen up before heading to a local restaurant to enjoy your dinner. Back to your hotel for overnight.
- Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
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DAY 6: Marrakech – High Atlas Mountains – Marrakech
- After breakfast, we start a rich program in Amazing (Berber) landscapes. The full day excursion covers the High Atlas Mountains and three valleys. We will start with the Asni Valley. famous for its fruit trees (apple, walnut, almond, peach). In Asni, you will admire the sight of the snowy summits of the High Atlas Mountains and enjoy a typical lunch with a local family. Then continue through different countryside and spectacular views to Oukaimden Valley. On the way, you will have the chance to visit an argan oil cooperative run by women, the unique Moroccan oil Taking a secluded mountain road route standing at 1,800m above sea level, you will pass through traditional Amazigh villages built from adobe and stones.
- Then, Ourika Valley, famous for its waterfalls (it is a sometimes steep 90-min. trekking to get to the waterfalls). We will stop at The Bennounas Farm for a cooking class and unique gastronomic experience. It takes placee on the terrace of the modern Berber-style villa in a spectacular decor with the Atlas Mountains in the background. The New York Times 3-stars Executive Chef will unlock the secrets of the Moroccan recipes. You will leave with an inside perspective on one of the worlds most highly cherished cuisines. This activity includes a tour of the property with picking fresh produces from the garden if season permits a traditional welcome tea session a bread-making demonstration done by a native Berber woman and the preparation of a Moroccan dish. While the food is cooking, you are welcome to jump in the pool -if season permits After dinner, back to your hotel for overnight.
- Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
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DAY 7: Marrakech– Agafay – Marrakech
- After breakfast, morning at leisure. At 2PM, embark a 4x4 vehicle to drive by the serene Lalla Takerkoust Lake. We will pause for refreshments at a lakeside terrace before driving along roads dotted with Berber villages as we reach the Agafay Rocky Desert. On site, a ~1-hour ATV ride activity is included (single seater). Then, enjoy this secluded desert hideaway overlooking the vast rocky Moroccan wilderness. This magical place offers you the opportunity to commune with nature. The ATV ride will be followed by a camel ride. After a safety briefing, wear your Nomad dress with the shesh (turban) and climb onto the saddle on the back of the camel. Take your camera out to snap some photos of the beautiful sunset as the sky changes colors through the stunning views. When your ride is complete, head to the camp to enjoy your dinner then back to Marrakech for overnight.
- Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
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DAY 8: Departe Marrakech – Airport – to USA
- After breakfast, we will assist you to Marrakech or Casablanca airport for your return flight.
- Meal: Breakfast
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