Morocco: Marrakech & The Sahara

Arrival Day. Make your way to the joining hotel for a brief welcome meeting before driving to Ouarzazate for an overnight stay at our accommodations there. Please arrive at the hotel meeting point before 2:30PM. Please plan for your flight to arrive at the airport in Marrakech no later than 12:30PM.

Included Experiences

• Welcome Meeting - Meet Your CEO and Group: Your opportunity to meet your CEO and fellow travellers, and learn more about your tour. Don't forget to see the notice in the lobby (or ask reception) for the official time and place to meet up with the group.

In the morning before leaving the group will explore the famous atlas film studios in Ourzazate and learn a bit about the film making in Morocco. Drive to Zagora and then to Mhamid. From there head out into the Sahara desert for two nights of camping under the stars. The walk will take about two hours and we will arrive at the camp around sunset. Enjoy a cup of tea and watch the colors change in the sky as the sun slips below the horizon. From Ourzazate we drive to Zagora along rural roads. In Mhamid (Oulad Edriss) we meet the local crew and start the desert journey to Erg Lihoudi. Any luggage will be brought to camp by jeeps. Dinner will be served fireside. The camp is in Erg Lihoudi. Our camps will be comfortable, but still somewhat basic. You’ll see some spectacular night skies.

Included Experiences

• Atlas Film Studios Tour: Discover the sets of blockbusters from years past at Atlas Film Studios, the largest film studio in the world. Get behind-the-scenes access to the sets and props used in the making of films like Raiders of the Lost Arc and Gladiator (2000), as well as TV show Game of Thrones. Wander past jetplanes, through a colosseum, and into a tomb as your guide reveals the scenes that they were used in and how they were built.
• Desert Walk: Head out into the vast landscape of the Sahara, one of the world's largest deserts and walk along the sand dunes around you. Make sure to bring your camera for some fantastic photos of the desert's formidable landscape of sand.
• Overnight at a Desert Camp: After travelling by foot into the desert enjoy some tea and watch the sunset near our desert camp for the night. Eat dinner around the fire and enjoy a quiet night beneath the starry skies.

Wake up to a stunning sunrise, enjoy some breakfast at camp and then start the day. This is our second day of the Berber desert journey. Then you have a choice of walking or riding a camel to our lunch stop. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the Sahara as you travel like people have for millenniums. After lunch we’ll enter the 21st century again and travel to the next desert camp by 4x4. Arrive at the oasis of Bertam to catch sunset before having dinner fireside with stories and music.

Included Experiences

• 4x4: Roads? Where this rough-and-ready vehicle's going, we don't need roads.
• Berber Desert Journey: Today you have the choice to walk or ride a camel. Its about a two to three hour walk or ride ride until we reach our lunch stop. Enjoy the sights and sounds of the Sahara as you travel like people have for centuries.
• Bertam Oasis Overnight: After travelling by foot, camel, and 4x4 we'll arrive at the Bertam Oasis. This temporary overnight camp is more basic, and has been set up just for the group. Catch another desert sunset, enjoy dinner and stories around a fire and spend another night in tents under the stars.

After another sunrise out in the desert and some breakfast at camp the group will travel to Zagora by 4x4. Enjoy some free time to shower, freshen up, and relax by the hotel pool after our Sahara adventure. After lunch continue on to Skoura. Explore this oasis city famed for its date palms. Have dinner as a group in Skoura.

Included Experiences

• 4x4: Roads? Where this rough-and-ready vehicle's going, we don't need roads.
• Free Time: Wander the town, visit the palm plantations, visit the markets, and imagine discovering this haven after days or months travelling through the desert.

Travel back to Marrakech and enjoy free morning to see the city. In the afternoon the group will attend a cooking demonstration and learn how to make tanjia, a different form of tagine. We'll make the dish and seal it in the clay pot to cook overnight in the hamman. Then, explore the various food vendors in the Medina with your CEO and learn about the different ingredients. End the day with evening tea on the rooftop terrace overlooking the main square of Jemaa El Fnaa.

Included Experiences

• Free Time: Marrakech's lively and bustling atmosphere is just waiting to be enjoyed. Wander through the Medina searching for the best North African flavours and spices to add to your home collection. You can shop for a carpet, a lamp, or pottery while trying Moroccan delicacies along the way. You could visit Jardin Majorelle, Bahia Palace, or Saadian Tombs.
• Tanjia Cooking Class: Not to be confused with the popular tagine, "tanjia" is distinct to Marrakech and one of the best local experiences for any traveller. Learn the history and culture behind this dish, then head to the market to pick up a clay vessel called tanjia - which the dish is named after - and the ingredients you will need, traditionally some meat and spices. Drop off your tanjia at the neighbourhood "furan" or communal oven to have it cooked in the ashes that heat the nearby hammam. The next day, pick up your tanjia and enjoy a delicious meal with the group.

Optional Experiences

• Musée de Marrakech: Wander around the salons of the ornate Mnebhi Palace displaying various collections of Moroccan art forms.
• El Badi Palace: Visit the ruins of what was once the most ornate palace of the 16th-century. Its sunken gardens and pools give a glimpse into its former glory.

Visit the important sites within the medina this morning. Make stops to Jardin Secret and Bahia Palace. End the morning adventure with a trip to the bakery to learn a brief introduction into Moroccan bread making, then have a taste. Collect your tanjia lunch on the way back to the Riad. Enjoy your own cooking as lunch on the terrace. The afternoon and evening are free for you to explore Marrakech on your own. Don't miss a chance to visit Jardins Majorelle with their vibrant blue garden houses and thriving plants.

Included Experiences

• Marrakech Medina Guided Tour: Enjoy a guided tour of the Medina in which you will make stop to Jardin Secret and Bahia Palace. End the tour with a stop at the bakery to grab some Moroccan bread to go with your tanjia lunch.
• Free Time: Explore Marrakech on your own. Go back to the food stalls in the Medina, or visit the Djemaa El Fna Market in search of souvenirs.

Optional Experiences

• Musée de Marrakech: Wander around the salons of the ornate Mnebhi Palace displaying various collections of Moroccan art forms.
• Jardins Majorelle: Visit this enchanting garden in the heart of the city designed by French painter Jacques Majorelle (1886-1962). Follow the pathways through trees, exotic plants, streams, and pools while watching the numerous birds who call this peaceful paradise home. (Please note that the entrance fee to Musée Yves Saint Laurent is an additional 30 MAD.)
• Djemaa El Fna Market Square Walk: Wander past fresh orange juice stalls and water sellers in colourful costumes reminiscent of an era past. See storytellers, magicians, and peddlers of traditional medicines as the day progresses. When the sun sets, the square fills with dozens of food stalls, and is packed with locals, entertaining chefs, and waiters.
• Koubba Ba’adiyn: Visit one of the lasting relics preserved after the destructive Almohad rule - a 12th-century shrine displaying the sophistication of earlier Almoravid architecture and design.
• El Badi Palace: Visit the ruins of what was once the most ornate palace of the 16th-century. Its sunken gardens and pools give a glimpse into its former glory.

Set out on a full day excursion to Ouzoud, a beautiful oasis waterfall near the Atlas Mountains. Walk up the stairs to the top of the falls and enjoy breathtaking views of the flowing water. After a delicious lunch right near the falls the group will travel back to Marrakech. Enjoy a local dinner in the heart of Jamee Lafna Square.

Included Experiences

• Ouzoud Waterfalls Visit: Travel to North Africa's highest multi-tiered waterfalls. At a height of 360ft (110m), the Ouzoud Falls are named after "the act of grinding grain" in Amazigh culture.

Depart at any time.

Optional Experiences

• Hot Air Balloon Marrakech: Get an early start and watch the sunrise over the red dust, palm groves, and majestic open landscapes of Marrakech from a hot air balloon. After soaking up the sights, refuel with an authentic Amazigh breakfast in a Moroccan tent. *Please note if you purchase the Marrakech Hot Air Balloon ride on the final day of your tour you will not finish until 10am. We recommend booking your departing flight no earlier than 1pm to ensure you have enough time to make it to the airport.