Morocco

Departure from Montreal airport (P.E. Trudeau) on a flight to Casablanca.

Note: Arrival at the airport at least 3 hours before departure.

❖ Meals included : Supper / Lodging : 4* Hotel / Transport : Air-conditioned vehicle

Arrival in Casablanca. Welcome and transfer to the hotel for check-in.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Accommodation: 4* hotel / Transport: air-conditioned vehicle.

Departure for Rabatthe country’s administrative capital, and a tour of its monuments:

• The Royal Palace (seen from the outside)the former residence of the royal family, now the seat of the Moroccan government.
• The Hassan TowerThe Hassan Tower, a true symbol of the city and a vestige of a grand mosque project, did not survive the death of its instigator. The tower was to be the minaret.
• The Mohamed V mausoleumbuilt in the 1960s and located on the esplanade of the Hassan Tower.
• La Kasbah Oudayaa ^12th-century fortified military camp overlooking the Bouregreg river.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Accommodation: 4* hotel / Transport: air-conditioned vehicle.

Departure for Tangier :

• Drive along the Atlantic coast toAssilaha charming coastal village renowned for its pretty white houses, tranquility, fishing and artistic life.
• Stop at Cape Spartel where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Arrival in Tangier and check-in at your hotel.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Accommodation: 4* hotel / Transport: air-conditioned vehicle.

• Visit TangierTangier, a city with an international past and both European and Oriental flair. Situated on the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier is the closest African city to Europe (33 km as the crow flies from Tarifa in Spain). Its geographical position, long considered strategic for trade, has meant that it has been highly exposed to foreign influences throughout its history.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Accommodation: 4* hotel / Transport: air-conditioned vehicle.

Departure for Fezthe city-museum and spiritual capital of the country.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Accommodation: 4* hotel / Transport: air-conditioned vehicle.

Fez Discovery Day:

• Stroll through its medina medieval architecture, home to important religious schools, the Bou-Inania Medersas and the Al Attarine MedersasThese buildings, magnificently decorated with mosaics and carved cedar panels, were erected in the purest Islamic style during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. Visit to the Karaouiyine Mosqueone of the most important spiritual and cultural centers of the Islamic world at the time of its construction (^9th c.), and a major contributor to the intellectual golden age of this civilization.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 4* / Transportation: air-conditioned vehicle.

• Moroccan-style cooking workshop. Participate in the preparation of Moroccan dishes and learn the secrets of this delicious, spicy cuisine.
• Discover the tanners’ districtThis area of town is home to a concentration of animal hide processing workshops, with their tanning and dyeing basins. Nearby leather stores (babouches, bags, etc.) and other traditional craft shops.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Accommodation: 4* hotel / Transportation: air-conditioned vehicle

Departure for a day of discovery:

• Stop in Ifranea charming mountain town nicknamed “Little Switzerland”.
• Drive to the edge ofAzrou ‘s magnificent Gouraud cedar forest, home to macaque monkeys.
• A pleasant journey of discovery into the interior of the country, with its mix of green oases and rocky landscapes.
• Arrival in Midelt and check-in at the hotel.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Accommodation: Luxury bivouac / Transportation: air-conditioned vehicle.

Management, desert :

• Continuation to Midelt, Errachidia and the immense Erfoud oasis, along the Ziz valley (magnificent view of gorges and palm groves).
• Continuation to Merzouga a unique opportunity to take excursion in a Jeep 4X4a camel trekkingwitness a magnificent and memorable sunset and spend the night in a luxury luxury bivouac in the Moroccan Sahara. A promise to taste the freedom of the desert people, to discover the immensity of the sky and the tranquility of this setting of dunes and sand plains stretching to infinity.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 4* hotel / Transportation: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Wake up to watch the sunrise in the desert and set off for a day of discovery:

• Drive to Erfoud.
• Visit to the Mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif (Rissani), cradle of the Alaouite dynasty and an important city for trans-Saharan caravan trade in the Middle Ages. Moulay Ali Cherif has always retained its commercial vocation, given its geographical position at the crossroads between the north and south of the country.
• Rest of the day free to stroll and relax in the atmosphere of the Erfoud oasis. Places of interest: remains of a kasbah, ramparts and monumental town gate. You can also visit workshops featuring important collections of fossils dating back 500 million years, when the Sahara was submerged by the sea.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 4* Hotel /Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Departure for a day of discovery:

• Head for Tinghir. On the way, view of the magnificent Todra Gorgefamous for its climbing. Stop for a short stroll, to admire these imposing limestone cliffs up to 300 meters high in some places, stretching for 25 km.
• Visit to theoasis of Tinghir, an oasis of lush palm trees, situated between the High Atlas Mountains to the north and the Little Atlas Mountains to the southeast.
• The rest of the day is free to wander around Tinghir, wandering through its palm grove, the flower gardens surrounding its ksour and kasbah, and soaking up the authentic atmosphere of a southern Moroccan village.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 4* Hotel /Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Departure for a day of discovery:

• Continuation to Ouarzazatethrough the Valley of the Roses, passing through El Kelaa M’gouna and Skoura (view of numerous kasbahs, fortified Berber houses and palm groves).
• Visit to the fortified town of Ksar d’Aït Ben Haddouan imposing group of walled earthen buildings listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 3* Hotel /Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Continuation to Taroudant :

• Tour of TaroudantTaroudant, also known as “Little Marrakech”, features the same architectural and commercial ensemble on a smaller scale as Marrakech (souks, medina and kasbah).
• Free time to stroll, store and discover.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 4* Hotel /Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

• Arrive in Agadir for a quick tour of this seaside town.
• Rest of the day at leisure in the seaside resort of Agadir to relax at the pool, take advantage of hotel amenities and unwind by the Atlantic sea.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 4* Hotel /Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

• Free day to relax at the pool, enjoy the hotel’s amenities and unwind by the Atlantic Ocean.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 3* Hotel /Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

• AM : Drive to Essaouira.
• PM: Visit to the old Portuguese Mogador of Essaouira (fortified town), which bears witness to the passage of this seafaring people along the Atlantic coast of Africa during the era of the great explorations. A place that has retained all its charm, with its port, ramparts, the Sqala of its kasbah (former arsenal) and alleyways scented with cedar wood.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 4* Hotel /Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Off to Marrakech, the country’s major commercial center.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 4* Hotel /Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

PM: Discover the medinaThe medina, with its countless souks, is the commercial heart of the city, whose first ramparts were built in the ^12th century. The medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and many of its monuments are listed as such:

• The minaret of the KoutoubiaThe 77-metre-high Koutoubia minaret is the symbol and visual landmark of Marrakech. It is attached to the city’s largest mosque and dates from the ^12th century. Its architecture, which incorporates numerous geometric shapes, perfectly represents the austere, uncluttered style of Almohad buildings, a Berber religious group that ruled the region at the time.
• The Bahia Palaceis a masterpiece of ^19th-century Moroccan architecture, built for the grand vizier of Sultan Hassan^I, who ruled the country at the time.
• La place Jemaa-el-Fnais a commercial and entertainment area much frequented by Marrakesh’s inhabitants. For centuries, it was the public court of justice where defendants were tried and their sentences announced.
• The Majorelle Gardenis a collection of buildings and gardens created by French painter Jacques Majorelle, an artist influenced by the Art Deco movement of the 1920s who fell in love with Morocco, its climate, vegetation and oriental architectural style. Today, the Jardin Majorelle is a museum-garden open to visitors and belongs to the Pierre Bergé-Yves St-Laurent Foundation.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast /Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle and international flight

• Transfer to Marrakech airport and departure for Montreal.

• Casablanca: Hotel SUISSE 4* (or equivalent)
• Rabat: Hotel BELERE O.S. 4* (or equivalent)
• Tangier: Hotel BOUTIQUE FREDJ 4*(or equivalent)
• Fès : Hotel FÈS INN 7 SPA 4* (or equivalent)
• Midelt: Hotel TADDART 4* (or equivalent)
• Merzouga: XALUCA BIVOUAC LA BELLE ÉTOILE (or equivalent)
• Erfoud: Hotel CHERGUI 4* (or equivalent)
• Tinghir: Hotel BOUGAFER 4* (or equivalent)
• Ouarzazate: Hotel KARAM PALACE 4* (or equivalent)
• Taroudant (Oulad Berhil) : Hotel RIAD HIDA 3* (or equivalent)
• Agadir: Hotel AGADIR BEACH CLUB 4* (or equivalent)
• Essaouira: Hotel RIAD ZAHRA 3* (or equivalent)
• Marrakech: Hotel IMPERIAL PLAZA 4* (or equivalent)

• International flights
• Shuttles to and from airports
• Transportation in air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver
• All 3 and 4 star accommodation
• 2 meals a day
• All activities and admissions to sites shown in red on the program and accompanied by a local guide
• Certified French-speaking local guide present with the group at all times, except during the beach stay
• Overnight in a luxury bivouac in the Moroccan Sahara
• Jeep 4X4 tour of the desert
• Dromedary trekking in the desert
• A seaside holiday in Agadir
• 1 Moroccan cooking workshop
• All taxes
• 24/7 support
• Organization and research from A to Z

• Visa (if required)
• Some meals
• Beverages
• Tips
• Personal expenses
• Optional activities

• Please note that the itinerary may change at any time for logistical reasons, but that the list of activities and visits on the program is always respected. Please also note that the version of the program appearing on our website takes precedence over any printed version.