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 to check in and take a quick tour of Casablanca:

• Hassan II Mosque: A view of this magnificent mosque, built right on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and the result of a monumental feat of engineering and architecture!

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

Departurefor Rabat, the country’s administrative capital, and a tour of its landmarks:

• The Royal Palace (viewed from the outside), the former residence of the royal family, which now serves as the seat of the Moroccan government.
• The Hassan Tower, a true symbol of the city and a remnant of a project for a grand mosque that did not survive the death of its initiator. The tower was intended to serve as its minaret.
• The Mohamed V Mausoleum, a royal tomb built in the 1960s and located on the Hassan Tower esplanade.
• The Kasbah Oudaya, a former fortified military camp dating from the 12th century and overlooking the Bouregreg River.
• Continue along the Atlantic coast toward Assilah, a charming little coastal village known for its pretty white houses, its tranquility, its fishing industry, and its vibrant arts scene.
• Stop at Cape Spartel, where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic meet.
• Visit the city of Tangier with its international past and its European and Oriental character. Located on the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier is the African continent’s closest 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 the Rif mountains.

• Explore Tetouan, home to one of Morocco’s most authentic medinas. Its bright, richly decorated houses with wrought-iron grilles are a fine example of medieval Andalusian architecture with Moorish influences.
• Onward to Chefchaouen, the central city of the Western Rif region. A stroll through its charming medina with its narrow streets lined with blue-hued buildings housing various artisan shops. Explore its major mosques and Outa El Hamman Square, which offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and, closer by, the red walls of the city’s kasbah, another historic site well worth visiting.

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

Departure for Moulay-Idriss :

• Visit this major pilgrimage site, followed by a stroll through the Roman ruins of Volubilis (located near Moulay-Idriss) to explore its famous mosaics.
  Continue on to Meknes, a city with an imperial past and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Explore the monumental Bab el Mansour gate, with its arches and mosaic tiles, and the Mausoleum of Sultan Moulay Ismail with its fountains, mosaics, and cedar ceilings, and the medina with its massive ramparts, souks, and Lahdim Square—a public square always bustling with various performances by artists (storytellers, jugglers, etc.).
• Continuation to Fez.

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

Departure in an air-conditioned vehicle to explore Fez, the “city-museum” and spiritual capital of the country:

A stroll through its medina, with its medieval architecture, which is home to important religious schools, the Bou-Inania and Al Attarine madrasas—buildings magnificently decorated with mosaics and carved cedar panels and constructed in the purest Islamic style during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. Visit the Karaouine Mosque, one of the most important spiritual and cultural centers in the Islamic world at the time of its construction (9th century), which made a significant contribution to the intellectual golden age of this civilization. Explore the tanners’ quarter, a section of the city where workshops for processing animal hides are concentrated, complete with their tanning and dyeing vats. Nearby leather shops (selling slippers, bags, etc.) and other artisanal stalls. Discover the Moroccan tea ceremony.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Accommodation: Tented camp / Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Departure for a day of discovery:

• Stop in Ifrane, a charming mountain town nicknamed “Little Switzerland.”
• Drive to the edge of the magnificent Gouraud cedar forest, home to macaque monkeys.
• Continuation to Midelt, Errachidia and Erfoud, through the Ziz valley (magnificent views of gorges and palm groves).
• Onward to Merzouga: a unique opportunity to go on a camel ride, witness a memorable sunset, take a 4×4 jeep tour, and spend the night in a luxury camp in the Moroccan Sahara. Here, you’ll get a taste of the freedom enjoyed by the people of the desert and discover the vastness of the night sky and the tranquility offered by this landscape of dunes and sandy plains known as Erg Chebbi.

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

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

• Drive via Tinejdad and Tinghir toward the magnificent Todra Gorge, renowned as a climber’s paradise. We’ll stop for a short walk to admire up close these imposing limestone cliffs, which reach heights of up to 300 meters in some places and stretch for 25 km.
• Continue on to Ouarzazate, through the Valley of Roses and via El Kelaa M’gouna and Skoura (with views of numerous kasbahs, fortified Berber houses, and palm groves).

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

Departure for a day of discovery:

• Tour of the fortified town of Ksar Aït Ben Haddou, an imposing complex of mud-brick buildings surrounded by walls and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• We continue on to Taroudant for a brief tour of this town, known as “Little Marrakech,” where we find, on a smaller scale, the same architectural and commercial landscape as in Marrakech (souks, medina, and kasbah).
• Arrive in Agadir for a quick tour of this seaside town.

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

• Free day in the seaside resort ofAgadir to relax by the pool, enjoy the hotel’s amenities, and unwind by the Atlantic Ocean.

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

• AM: Free morning in the seaside resort of Agadir to relax at the pool, take advantage of hotel amenities and unwind by the Atlantic sea.
• PM: Drive to Essaouira.

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

Departure for a day of discovery:

• Tour ofthe ancient Portuguese settlement of Mogador in Essaouira (a fortified city), which bears witness to the presence of these seafarers along the African Atlantic coast during the Age of Discovery. This place has retained all its charm with its harbor, ramparts, the Sqala of its kasbah (former arsenal), and its narrow streets scented with cedar.
• Drive to Marrakech.

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

Let’s set out for a day of exploring Marrakech, one of the country’s major commercial hubs:

• Explore the medina, whose first ramparts were built in the^12th century and which, with its countless souks, serves as the city’s true commercial heart. The medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and this designation applies to several of the monuments it contains:

-The Koutoubia Minaret, standing 77 meters tall, is the symbol and visual landmark of Marrakech. It is attached to the city’s largest mosque and dates back to^{the 12th century}. Its architecture, which incorporates numerous geometric shapes, perfectly embodies the austere and minimalist style of Almohad architecture—a Berber religious group that ruled the region at the time.

– The Bahia Palace isa masterpiece of^19th-century Moroccan architecture, built for the grand vizier of Sultan Hassan^I, who ruled the country at the time.

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

Continuation of the tour of Marrakech :

• Jemaa el-Fna Square is a bustling commercial hub and entertainment district popular with the residents of Marrakech; for centuries, it served as the public court where defendants were tried and their sentences announced.
• Near the medina: The Majorelle Garden , which encompasses a collection of buildings and gardens created by the 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 Majorelle Garden is a museum-garden open to visitors and belongs to the Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent Foundation.

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

• Transfer to Casablanca airport and departure for Montreal.

• Casablanca: Hotel SUISSE 4* (or equivalent)
• Tangier: Hotel BOUTIQUE FREDJ 4* (or equivalent)
• Chefchaouen: Hotel GHARNATA 4* (or equivalent)
• Fès : Hotel FÈS INN 4* (or equivalent)
• Merzouga: XALUCA BIVOUAC LA BELLE ÉTOILE (or equivalent)
• Ouarzazate: Hotel KARAM PALACE 4* (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 (including baggage allowance of 23 kg per person, maximum)
• Shuttles to and from airports
• Transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle with a 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
• 4X4 jeep tour in the Moroccan Sahara
• Overnight in a luxury bivouac
• Dromedary trekking
• A seaside holiday in Agadir
• 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.