Join a guided tour into Marrakesh’s old medina, where Jemaa el-Fnaa hums with storytellers and spice merchants and the Koutoubia Mosque anchors the skyline. Navigate the bustling souks—lanes stacked with leatherwork, brass lamps, saffron, and cedar—while your expert shares tips for bargaining and exploring.

Absorb the city’s layers, from Almohad minarets to palace courtyards and hidden caravanserais. The scent of cumin and orange blossom mixes with drumbeats and chatter, revealing why Marrakesh has inspired traders, dynasties, and artists for centuries.

Explore the blue-washed medina of Chefchaouen, set high in the Rif Mountains. Your orientation threads through stepped alleys to Plaza Uta el-Hammam, past the ochre-walled kasbah and Grand Mosque, with guidance on the prettiest viewpoints and best cafés for mint tea between photo stops.

Hear how Andalusian influences shaped the town’s architecture and how its blue hues—said to symbolize the sky and spirituality—create a serene, cooling ambience. Rustic doors, painted stairways, and terracotta pots turn every corner into a ready-made frame.

Walk with your Local Expert from Bab Bou Jeloud (the Blue Gate) into Fes el-Bali’s intricate warren of lanes. Pass bustling souks and centuries-old craft workshops—coppersmiths, weavers, and woodcarvers—while picking up essential bearings for exploring on your own later.

Discover how this UNESCO-listed medina preserves guild traditions and scholarly heritage. Glimpses of madrasas, the scent of cedar, and views toward the tanneries’ color pans reveal a city that still beats to artisan rhythms and sacred learning.

Explore the UNESCO-listed ksar of Aït Ben Haddou, a red-earth fortress of mud-brick towers and narrow lanes rising above a palm-lined riverbed. Wander stepped alleys and climb to the agadir (granary) as the pisé walls take on a golden-hour glow.

Learn how caravans once plied this old trans-Saharan route and why filmmakers—from epic historical dramas to fantasy sagas—are drawn to its timeless silhouettes. Earthen architecture, carved doors, and rooftop views connect desert lifeways with cinematic legend.

Visit a women’s rug cooperative to see weaving on traditional looms and hear how cooperative models support fair pay and training. Watch patterns emerge—diamonds, chevrons, and talismanic Amazigh motifs—as recycled textiles and natural wool become durable, beautiful pieces.

Meet artisans who share the meaning behind colors and symbols tied to family, landscape, and protection. Purchases directly benefit the makers, sustaining heritage techniques while providing vital income for households and community projects.

Cross the High Atlas via Tizi n’Tichka Pass, a ribbon of misty mountain passes and sweeping switchbacks that crest at 2,260m. Look out to terraced fields, argan groves, and terraced villages clinging to rust-red slopes—prime moments to pause for photos and reflection.

Built in the 20th century to link Marrakesh with the Sahara side, this route reveals dramatic geology and seasonal contrasts—snow-tipped ridges in winter, sun-baked valleys below—showcasing Morocco’s striking verticality in a single journey.

Learn the art of the line in an Arabic calligraphy class focused on the flowing grace of Maghrebi script. Practise pen angles and rhythm with a qalam reed pen, then compose your name or a short phrase to take home.

Discover how proportion, breath, and geometry underpin this refined tradition across North Africa and Al-Andalus. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; all materials and expert guidance are provided.

Go deeper with a guided tour of Fes el-Bali, navigating scholarly quarters and artisan districts to panoramic terraces above the Chouara Tannery. Trace corridors of knowledge near the venerable Al-Qarawiyyin University (exterior) and admire exquisite zellij at historic caravanserais.

Hear stories of guilds, endowments, and courtly patronage that shaped this intellectual capital. This enhanced visit is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Gather for Moroccan hikayat storytelling, where a master narrator holds a halqa circle with voice, rhythm, and gesture. Tales move between Arabic and Darija, drawing on an age-old oral tradition of heroes, tricksters, and wisdom.

Discover how public squares and coffeehouses kept these narratives alive as communal entertainment and cultural memory. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Roll up your sleeves for a hands-on Moroccan cooking class. Learn the balance of fragrant spices—ras el hanout, cumin, paprika—and craft a slow-cooked tagine brightened with preserved lemon and olives, plus simple salads like zaalouk.

Hear culinary stories that link trade routes, home kitchens, and seasonal markets, then share the fruits of your work together. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Unwind with a traditional hammam ritual: warm steam, exfoliation with savon beldi black olive soap and a kessa glove, followed by a soothing argan-oil massage. Emerge relaxed, refreshed, and ready for the city’s color and sound.

Learn how bathing customs blend Roman legacies with local wellness traditions in Morocco’s social life. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

• 7 Breakfast (B)
• 1 Dinner (D)

• Chefchaouen: Get your bearings in Chefchaouen, weaving through the blue-washed medina set in Morocco’s Rif Mountains. Expect winding lanes, photo-ready corners, and a pass through Plaza Uta el-Hammam, the main square where you’ll spot the kasbah and the Grand Mosque before heading off to explore at your own pace.
• Fes: Kick off with an orientation walk in Fes. You’ll see the Bab Bou Jeloud (the Blue Gate), then wander past souks and workshops where craft is still very much a daily thing, with historic sights woven in between. Your TM will help you get your bearings, point out key spots to come back to later, and share the context that makes Fes feel like stepping back a few centuries.
• Merzouga: Saddle up and get ready for a sand-filled adventure atop an actual camel. A total bucket list moment! 
• Aït Ben Haddou: Explore Aït Ben Haddou on a short orientation walk through this UNESCO-listed ksar (fortified village) of earthen houses, high defensive walls, and corner watchtowers. Built along an old caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh, it’s one of Morocco’s most famous examples of southern clay architecture. Keep an eye out for familiar film backdrops too.
• Marrakesh: Meet the women behind a local rug cooperative turning recycled textiles into beautiful, functional pieces, all made by hand. You’ll see the weaving process up close and hear how the cooperative supports fair employment, skills training, and a strong community. Many of the weavers are widows or primary earners for their families, and the co-op model means they can set prices, earn a fair share from each sale, and build real financial independence.
• Marrakesh: Dive into Marrakesh with a local expert leading the way. You’ll wander the old medina’s maze-like lanes and move through the bustling souks, where stalls spill over with spices, crafts, colours, and everyday local life. It’s the best way to get your bearings and pick up a few insider tips for exploring later on your own.

Contiki

Traverse Morocco’s great sand sea as you trek through the dunes on camelback across the tawny ripples of Erg Chebbi. Watch the light shift to amber and indigo, then arrive at a torch-lit camp to share an included dinner at a Berber desert camp beneath a sky glittering with stars.

Hear how ancient caravans once threaded these routes and learn the rhythms of Amazigh hospitality over mint tea. Gentle drumbeats, cool night air, and the scent of spice bring the desert into focus, creating a calm, elemental atmosphere far from city lights.