Travel to the exotic kingdom of Morocco with its rich in history and culture, offering travelers intriguing historic sites, authentic cuisine, and changing scenery that is perfect for value-minded travelers wanting to explore and learn about a new destination. This Morocco Ultimate itinerary will take you into some of the main cities of Morocco, Casablanca, Essaouira and Marrakech as well as some more inspiring cities, such as Ouazarzate and Taroudant. You will also be enchanted by the beautiful landscapes, stunned by the beauty of the Sahara desert, and surprised by the scenery of the Atlas Mountains.
Epic Morocco tour is a fabulous journey to discover the best of Morocco from Casablanca to Marrakech. It is a magnificent exploration that covers the coastal cities of Morocco, the majestic Sahara desert of Merzouga and the imperial city of Marrakech as well as some more inspiring cities, such as Ouazarzate and Taroudant. It is a wonderful experience of lifetime.
Welcome to Morocco! Arrive to Med V airport in Casablanca where you will meet your driver and escorted to your hotel. The driver will provide a brief overview of your tour. Depending on the time of your arrival, you will explore the city starting from the mosque of Hassan II built by King Hassan II and shows wonderful sample of Moorish influences in Morocco. We will also take a smooth walk by the seaside of Casablanca. Casablanca is the economic capital and the largest city in Morocco, linked to the 1942 movie Casablanca, with modern architecture and white building with distinct French art deco influences. We will also visit the main square of Med V, and the Cathedral of Sacred Coeur, which blends Moroccan and European influences. We will stay overnight in our hotel in Casablanca.
Meals: Dinner included.
After breakfast departure to the coastal port city of El Jadida, which was strongly influenced by the Portuguese, visit its citadel, walls, impressive tank and another defense structure that were left behind when the Portuguese left in the 18th century. Inside the walls Old Portuguese mansions with pilasters and wrought iron balconies, mosques and churches built next to each other. We arrive to the town of Oualidia for lunch. This coastal town is known by the Oysters dishes. We drive to Safi, a city known by its Portuguese architecture, which houses one of the largest ports in the kingdom. Safi town of fishermen and is now known throughout the country for the expertise of its artisans in pottery and ceramics. Arrive to Essaouira for the overnight with dinner in a Riad or hotel.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included.
Today you will have a day at leisure to explore Essaouira, a Famous town for its fine wood- work; Essaouira is also home to the silver souk art galleries and islands. It’s easy to see why Essaouira is often dubbed the ‘Jewel of the Atlantic’. This place has earned such a following that Orson Welles filmed Othello here in 1949. You’ll visit the Skala Fortress, the port. Essaouira is a melting pot of locals and foreigners who came and stayed have created a laid back, atmospheric and intriguing resort. Windsurfers love Essaouira, clean waters and it’s the Atlantic Trade winds that have ensured the large-scale operators stay out and the character stays in. Spend the overnight with breakfast at the Riad or hotel.
Meals: Breakfast included.
After breakfast at the hotel, depart from the coastal city Essaouira towards the city of Taroudant, often referred to as a mini Marrakech, a walled city with plenty of history. Located around 90 kilometers from Agadir, it’s a conveniently close destination to glimpse into the Morocco of old. We arrive to Agadir for lunch break before we continue the journey towards Taroudant. The city served as the capital for a short period of time during the Saadian era. There’s a small leather tannery outside of the sand-colored fortifications, and the city is known for its souks and crafts. Compare and contrast goods in the Arab souk and the Berber souk, and shop for traditional items like rugs, jewellery, spices, metalwork, pottery, and clothing. Spend the overnight with dinner at the hotel or Riad.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included
Today we will drive from Taroudant south via the Anti Atlas Mountains. We will stop in the town of Taliouine known as the capital of Saffron. There is the possibility of enjoying a visit of a local Cooperative to see the production process of Saffron. Afterwards we continue the drive to visit the famous Kasbah of Ait Benhdaou, one of the most spectacular fortresses in the South of Morocco and a UNESCO world heritage site. After visiting the Kasbah and enjoying lunch, we depart to Ouarzazate where many famous movies have been shot such Alexander the Great, The Mummy, The jewel of the Nile, Kingdom of heaven Etc. We arrive to Skoura for the overnight with dinner in a Kasbah Hotel.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included
After breakfast, you will drive through the Rose valley to reach Todra Gorges where many of rock climbers come to enjoy their preferred sport. Later we continue our journey, following the ancient Bedouin trading routes parallel with the Middle Atlas, passing a series of the fortified villages with outstanding architecture. The route to Erfoud is one of the most pleasing of all the Southern routes. The town is in a dry red built of desert and was built by the French as a central administration town. It is known for its rich black fossils marble. The stone is sculpted to bring the fossils into relief on everything from ashtrays to washbasins and more. We head down to the spectacular Merzouga dunes where sand dunes signify the start of the mighty Sahara Desert. We leave our vehicle and take a camel ride into the desert to a Berber camp. To seal this as an experience of a life time, why not surf the Sahara Desert and try sand Dunes Boarding! After dinner we gather round the fire and enjoy the desert night perhaps with traditional Berber drums.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included
After enjoying a picturesque sunrise upon the stunning dunes, you will have breakfast in the camp. Then, you will ride camel back to the meeting point with your driver. You will start your day with an interesting visit to the fossils workshops followed by a stop in Rissani village. The tour continues south to reach the magnificent Draa valley with its vast palms and old villages. You will have a stop for lunch in Alnif. Then, continue via the area where once the trading caravans travelled to Timbuktu on a long trip that lasted 52 days. We arrive to Ouarzazate for the overnight with dinner in a Riad or hotel.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included
After breakfast, we visit the main sites of the Hollywood of Africa Ouarzazate whose geography and beautiful landscapes has attracted many world class movie producers. Here you may choose to visit the studios where some of the famous movies were filmed such as The Mummy and Gladiator. We stop to visit and explore Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah as a UNESCO heritage site. After that, we will begin to cross the high Atlas Mountains with many panoramic views and attractive Berber villages to reach the village of Imlil where you will be welcomed by local Berbers. Spend the overnight with dinner in a guest house.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included
Today you will set out for a hike towards the east up to the Tizi n'Tamatert (2272m) and on through fields of wheat and orchards of walnut, apple and cherry trees until you reach the village of Tamatert (1810m). Once through the village take a path which then leads up through pine and juniper woods; stop at the Tizi to admire the Imlil and Imenane Valleys, the latter with its many terraced Berber villages tucked precariously on to the slopes stretching around you. All along with Adrar n'Oukaimeden (3268m), almost as high as the Rockies, on the southern horizon, with the high peaks of the Tizi n'Eddi (2928m) and the Jbel Angour (3616m) also looming down. We continue the hike along the Tamatert Valley slopes until you reach the location for your field picnic at Amghedoul, surrounded now on all sides by the Toubkal Massif range. Once refreshed, set off back to the Douar Samra, first towards the oldest Berber village in this once-remote area, Tacheddirt, then via Ouaneskra and the other side of the Valley, passing through the villages of Tamegguist and Tinghourine with the stark Jbel Bou Iguenouane (3882m), Tizi n'Likemt (3615m), Aksoual (3842m) and the Azrou n'Tamadot (3664m) until a welcoming return to the village of Imlil for the overnight with dinner at the guesthouse.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included
Today you are free to choose your time of departure. You can choose to visit Asni Ouirgane along in the shade of nut trees and crossing mountain springs, passing by Richard Branson's Kasbah Tamadot. On the way back to Marrakech you will enjoy small villages with their mud- brick adobe houses greet your eye sight, stacked into the hillside or lining the water course shaded by the palm grove. The river gives place to the canyons and gorges and the local Berber granary towers over the landscape, a quiet sentinel guarding the silence of the valley. The road follows its course among olive or orange orchards and golf courses to reach Marrakech for the overnight with dinner in a hotel or Riad.
Meals: Dinner & Breakfast included
After breakfast, you will be escorted by a local tour guide to explore the city of Marrakech. You will visit the main historical monuments including: the gorgeous Bahia palace built in 19th century, the Saadian tombs a 17th century Royal necropolis, the Koranic School of Ben Youssef, and the Koutoubia mosque built in 12th century. You will also visit the famous Souks; a great place for shopping where you can buy presents for your family, friends or yourselves. Relax in the Majorelle Gardens, a peaceful space in the New Town with exotic botanical plants brought from all over the world. You will finish your tour in the main square of Djemaa Lefna with its story tellers, snake charmers, musicians, acrobats and open air food stalls. You will also have free time to enjoy a soft drink in one of the cafes where you can get amazing panoramic views across the square. Spend the overnight with breakfast at the hotel or Riad.
Meals: Breakfast included
Transfer to Marrakech International airport for your return flight with plenty of tales of Arabian and Berber days and nights.
Walk through cosmopolitan Casablanca, marveling at the stunning art deco buildings before heading to see the glory of the King Hassan II Mosque.
Sunbathing at the beach resorts of Essaouira. Try kayaking, water boarding and windsurfing for water sports.
Discover the hidden delights of a desert camp in the desert of Merzouga. Savor a magical sunset and dine under the stars while enjoying a musical performance by a local band.
Visit the ancient Kasbah of Benhaddou that was used as a backdrop for legendary Hollywood movies like Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia and Jewel of the Nile.
Travel through the High Atlas Mountains; enjoy the lush forest area and the sight of Berber homes.
Explore hundreds of years of history as you tour the imperial city of Marrakesh.
Feel the unique pulse of Africa in the mythical Djemaa el Fna square of Marrakesh where snake charmers, acrobats and story tellers breathe in the sweet aromas of spices wafting through the air.
Tripadvisor previous guests reviews
We were booked and had paid a deposit for a trip late March of 2020, which was canceled due to the pandemic. Said, the owner of MD, went to extraordinary lengths to refund the deposits for our travel group of six from the U.S. Apparently the Moroccan banking system is not "user friendly" when it comes to wire transfers for reasons unclear to me. Nevertheless, Said managed to refund all our money using a very creative approach. We would DEFINITELY travel with MD in the future given this level of honesty and effort; but we do hope that MD will accept credit cards rather than wires in the future. Thank You Said & Morocco Discovery!
Three of use booked a 19-day with Moroccan Discovery Holidays for March, 2020 and paid a 50% deposit. When Morocco closed its borders due to Covid. Initially we put our trip on hold and asked Said to hold our deposit. Said agreed to this. When it appeared holiday travel would likely go on for many months we asked for a refund. Said again agreed but the Moroccan banks, being what they are, refused to release all of our deposit. With some pressure on the bank from us and Said's help we did receive 100% of our deposit.
We planned our April-May 2020 trip to Morocco in the late fall of 2019 and worked with Said at Morocco Discovery. We were taking our adult children and their partners and Said was patient and added everything we wanted and more. One month prior to travel we were surprised by the pandemic, with flights cancelled, borders closed and no idea when we could travel again. Said remained as diligent, helpful and honest throughout the arduous process of refunding our downpayment. We were thrilled with Said, and his company's commitment to customer service and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone travelling to Morocco. As soon as it is safe again it is our intent to rebook with them!
From their already outstanding reviews when I started working with Sayd, this was an amazing experience. I got prompt friendly responses to every question I had and as this was our first trip to Africa I had a lot of questions. The price was incredibly reasonable - I don’t know how they can put the trip together on this budget. We stayed at amazing Riads in every city with excellent food every evening and great breakfasts - our driver was AMAZING- he was always ready wherever we were 1 minute before we needed him. The prearranged guides were the best. If you are going to Morocco - you want to go with Morocco Discovery and you definitely want a driver.
I have to admit, when I first started looking at using a local Moroccan tour company for our trip I was very nervous. After having toured Morocco for 11 days with Morocco Discovery Holidays, I would HIGHLY recommend them without any hesitation. Said worked with me for over a year to come up with a customized trip that included everything we (2 couples) wanted to see and more. Every change I made to the itinerary was completed within hours of my request.. and I made many. Said is very prompt at responding to e-mails and questions. Having a private driver was definitely the ideal way to see Morocco. Our driver, Mohamed was amazing. From the minute he met us at the airport (with sweets to welcome us) until he dropped us off at the port for our journey to Spain, Mohamed could not do enough for us. Mohamed is funny, engaging, very knowledgeable and was totally flexible and I felt very safe at all times, even on the curvy, narrow road. If I wanted him to turn around so I could take a picture, he would…and Did!! LOL Our Riads were beautiful and the meals that were included were some of the best meals we had in Morocco. I cannot say enough about the 5* service and attention we received from Morocco Discovery Holidays and Mohamed during our trip.
Mr Said provided us with a very pleasant and safe driver (Mustafa) as well as a new van, so we had a very enjoyable round trip Casablanca-Rabat-Fes- Marrakech-Casablanca. Local guides accompanied us in Fes and Marrakech, and we could have had other tours but we opted to spend more time walking around the towns. The Riads selected for us were very satisfactory and service all round was great. No hesitation at all in recommending Morocco Discovery.
Said arranged an excellent holiday for us. We began with one of the standard trips as our starting point and adapted it to better suit our needs with an added night here and there and starting in Marrakesh rather than Casablanca. Everything went very smoothly from start to finish.The choice of the Riads in which we stayed was great, as were the guides that were arranged for us. Abdoul proved to be a first rate driver - safe, dependable, friendly and very professional. We felt very comfortable being driven by him and we enjoyed his company.