Tangier to Casablanca: Private 12 Days Imperial Cities, Mountains & Desert-Tour

Tangier Pick up at the airport of Tangier or at Tangier port and transfer to your Hotel or Riad in the Medina of Tangier. Free time for the Rest of the day.

Tangier After breakfast in your Riad we’ll meet the local city guide at 9:30 am for your walking tour in Tangier Medina and Kasbah.
Musee Kasbah Museum about the historical role played by Tangier in linking Africa and Europe due to its strategic geographical location.
Place du Grand 9 Avril 1947 The Place du 9 Avril 1947 is named after the momentous speech of independence of King Mohamed V.
Moshe Nahon Synagogue Constructed by Moise Nahon from an important bankers family
Petit Socco Petit Socco was once one of the greatest souks of Morocco, home to many artists, businessmen, diplomats and bankers. Located around the square are cafes, hotels and casinos.
Tangier Casbah A complex of castles on top of the hill overlooking the city built by Sultan Moulay Ismail. The gardens are part of his 17th century palace called Dar el Makhzen.

Hercules Cave After Breakfast we’ll have time to visit the fantastic Hercules caves before we drive to Tetouan and further to Chefchaouen. This popular tourist attraction is situated 14 km west of Tangier, just next to the King’s Palace. The cave is part natural and part man-made, and the entrance to the sea has the shape of the continent Africa.
Tetouan We’ll continue our drive along the Mediterranean Ocean for about 2 h until we reach Tetouan, where we’ll stop for lunch. Before the city’s foundation in the late 13th century, small fortifications existed here with the name Tittawin. You can have a short stroll around the city centre before we continue in direction Chefchaouen.
Chefchaouen the « blue city » in the Rif mountains, is famous for its photogenique Medina with the houses in all shades of blue. Stroll around the small alleys and discover this little jewel.

Volubilis After breakfast in your Riad we head in direction of the Roman Ruins of Volubilis. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is the largest of its kind in North Africa and very well preserved. It lies in a strategic position about 33 km north of Meknès and is famous for its mosaics. The best time for a visit is in springtime, when the wild flowers are in full bloom among the old stones. The roman city is over 2’000 years old and was destroyed in 1755 by an earthquake. You can explore this fascinating site by your own or with a local guide (not included). There is also a museum on site.
Meknes After the visit of Volubilis we continue about 30 min to Meknes, which is famous for its luxurious palaces and beautiful mosques as well as one of the most important souks of Morocco. Enjoy a guided tour here together with a local city guide. Meknès, once capital of Morocco is a historic city full of life. The souks are spacious and ideal to explore. See the beautiful gate of Bab el-Mansour at the Place el Hedim, maybe the most beautiful of all the gates of the imperial cities. Visit the mausoleum of Mulay Ismail and his corn attics and stables that are called Heri es-Souani, which once accommodated up to 12,000 horses.
Fes After the city tour in Meknes, we continue our trip to Fes, where we’ll stay for the next 2 days.

Royal Palace of Fez Today we’ll spend the whole day exploring the impressive city of Fez with its huge Medina «Fes el-Bali» together with a local guide. Outside the medina lies the Royal Palace with its large plaza lined with palm trees.

Bab Bou Jeloud Bab Boujloud is one of the gates which leads into the Medina. Here, we’ll start our walking tour together with the city guide.
Museo Nejjarine Visit the Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts and discover traditional tools, carpets, furniture and musical instruments in a beautifully restaurated caravanserai.
Chouara Tannery After lunchbreak in one of the hunderts of restaurants in the medina, we continue our tour to the famous tanneries, where the leather is processed still the same as hunderts of years ago. You can observe the workers from a lookout and they will be glad to explain you the different workings steps if you are willing to bargain for a bag or new belt afterwards. But be aware of the bad smelling of the furs and coloring goods!

Medina of Fez Last but not least we will drive up a hill to the cementary where we’ll enjoy the panoramic view over the white sea of houses of the Medina.

Ifrane We start our journey in the morning and head for the Middle Atlas Mountains. Stop for a coffee in Ifrane, also known as «Switzerland of Morocco» with its chalet like houses.
Middle Atlas From here we are heading south through several typical villages and you will have the opportunity to spot nomad families living in their tents along the road.
Midelt After lunch in Midelt we continue our drive and enjoy panoramic views crossing the Tizi N’ Talghoumt pass.
Erfoud In Erfoud, you can enjoy a fantastic view of the valley of the river Ziz lined with thousands of date palms.
Hassilabied Now we’re almost at the dunes! After arriving in Merzouga, we will enjoy dinner in the desert lodge where we’ll spend the night.

Erg Chebbi Today will be devoted entirely to enjoy the desert. We’ll cross the dunes with our 4×4, visit nomads for tea in their tents, explore an oasis and ride through the dunes of Erg Chebbi.
Khamlia Visit the famous village of Khamlia and enjoy its folk music.
Erg Chebbi After arriving back in Merzouga in the late afternoon, you will experience a one hour camel ride to reach the desert camp while the sun sinks down behind the dunes. Enjoy your evening dining in a berber tent, look for shooting stars at the camp fire and sleep in a nomad tent!

Erg Chebbi Wake up by the first strays of light to watch the sunrise over the Sahara before you enjoy your typical breakfast. We return on the camel’s back or 4×4 to the village of Merzouga.
Rissani In Rissani we will have the opportunity to visit the local market with the «donkey parking» and have a look at some fossils outside the city.
Gargantas del Todra After lunch break, we will follow the road along the river to reach the gorges of Todra, where you can take a short but spectacular hike between the up to 300 m high rock walls.
Boumalne Dades Before arriving at our Riad for the night in the Dades valley, we head to Boumalne Dades where you can make some nice pictures of the special rock formations which look like monkey hands.

Kasbah Amridil Today we will see a lot of different landscapes on our way to Marrakech. Admire the views of the Valley of a thousand Kasbahs (Skoura Valley) and the famous Valley of Roses along the road. Visit the historic Amridil Kasbah, one of the biggest and most important Kasbahs in Southern Morocco.

Atlas Film Studio In the desert city Ouarzazate, also known as «Hollywood of Morocco», we start our visit at the old kasbah of Ouarzazate named Taourirt where you have some time to explore the narrow pedestrian streets on your own and visit the palace with its countless rooms which seem like a labyrinth. Afterwards, you can have a look at the movie museum just on the other side of the road. Continue to the Atlas Corporation film studios, where you can discover the diverse sets and listen to the anecdotes of the multiple movies and actors. Several famous movies like Gladiator, Babel, Prince of Persia, and recently The Physician have been shot in those studios.

Ait Ben Haddou A little outside of Ouarzazate lies Aït Ben Haddou, the fortified clay city with its numerous ksars and kasbahs, where several famous movies such as Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven and Prince of Persia have been shot. This photogenic city is also listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Telouet Kasbah Continue through the breathtaking landscape to Telouet. This fortress was occupied by Thami el Glaoui before he was expelled by independence efforts. One section has unfortunately disintegrated into red sand, but you can still visit the beautiful rooms with mosaic tiles and wood carvings.

High Atlas Mountains After the visit, we pass the High Atlas mountains over the Tizi n’Tichka pass with scenic views along the road and many opportunities to take photos. Evening arrival in Marrakech.

Marrakech Today we’ll spend the whole day in the beautiful red city of Marrakech together with a guide.
Bahia Palace In the morning, you’ll visit the famous Palais de Bahia, with its fantastic courtyards and mosaic walls built for Bou Ahmed.
Mellah Stroll through the Jewish Quarter and notice the difference in architecture in this district.
Saadian Tombs Visit the hidden Saadian tombs built during the reign of Sultan Ahmed El Mansour in 1557.
Jemaa el-Fnaa You’ll arrive at the Koutoubia mosque and the Djemaa el Fna-square, where you can drink some fresh pressed orange juice while observing the bustle of the snake charmers, henna tatoo artists and water sellers.

Jardin Majorelle After lunch in a restaurant overlooking Jemaa el Fna, you’ll visit the beautiful Majorelle Garden. This botanical garden is a quiet oasis and the former home of the famous french designer Yves Saint Laurent. Nowadays, the bright blue villa contains a Berber Museum.

Casablanca After breakfast in your Riad in Marrakech we continue in direction Casablanca over the highway.
Hassan II Mosque We start with the visit of the spectacular Mosque of Hassan II situated directly at the ocean. A must see for every visitor of Casablanca! There is the possibility to join a 1-h guided tour inside the mosque. Continue to the Corniche, Casablanca’s famous Boulevard along the beach with its numerous restaurants and bars as well as shopping centers.

Casablanca Free time in Casablanca and depending on your departure time, transfer to either Casablanca Airport, Casablanca Port or Casablanca Train station.