Choose to stargaze beneath Erfoud’s desert skies, away from the bright lights of a large city. Settle in for an evening focused on the constellations visible above this Sahara-edge oasis.

Hear how Berber nomads used the stars to help navigate trade routes across the desert. This is one of two included Insight Choice activities in Erfoud; travellers select it instead of the traditional hammam experience.

• 10 Breakfast (B)
• 8 Dinner (D)
• 3 Lunch (L)

• Dades Valley: Meet the locals at their home and enjoy Berber tea with traditional pancakes.
• Marrakesh: Visit Dar El Bacha, a beautiful palace that has been standing since the 18th century and is a symbol of the city’s rich history and culture. 

• Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for you to use throughout the day.

Insight Vacations

• Business class coach with extended leg room
• Top-rated dining, from farm-to-table to local restaurants
• 4 & 5-star stays

View the Hassan II Mosque from outside, its minaret rising above the Atlantic shoreline, and take in Casablanca’s coast along the Corniche. The mosque’s immense scale makes it a defining landmark of modern Morocco.

Completed in 1993, it showcases Moroccan craftsmanship in carved stone, wood and intricate tilework. This included sightseeing experience is an exterior viewing; entry to the mosque is not specified.

Discover Morocco’s capital through an exterior view of the Royal Palace and a visit to the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, where the revered monarch rests alongside his sons. Nearby, view the unfinished Hassan Tower.

The 12th-century Hassan Tower was intended for a vast mosque that was never completed. Together, these monuments reveal Rabat’s royal and spiritual heritage across centuries of Moroccan history.

Admire Bab el-Mansour on Place El-Hedim, at the entrance to the medina of Meknès. Its monumental arch and patterned decoration speak to the ambitions of this former imperial city.

Look for the gate’s intricate tilework and imposing scale, even while restoration work is underway. The stop offers a focused introduction to the architecture that marked Meknès as a centre of royal power.

Enjoy a traditional Moroccan feast in an ancient palace near the Fes medina, with local dishes served amid live music and folkloric entertainment. This is a hosted cultural evening rather than a routine hotel dinner.

The palace setting and performances bring together Fes’s food and musical traditions. Savour the aromas of Moroccan cooking while experiencing the convivial atmosphere of a celebration shared with fellow travellers.

Visit the American Fondouk, a non-profit veterinary centre in Fes, and speak with the volunteers who care for working animals. Learn why that care matters to the families who depend on animals for their livelihoods.

Founded in 1927, the fondouk offers a perspective on the relationship between animal welfare and everyday life in Morocco. This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experience supports the UN goal of Life on Land.

Explore the Fes medina with a Local Expert, winding past workshops, courtyards and souks selling food, leather goods and lanterns. Visit a carpet cooperative to see examples of traditional Moroccan handiwork.

Pass Al Quaraouiyine, among the world’s oldest centres of learning, and visit Medersa El Attarine, founded in 1325. Its ornamented architecture offers a quieter counterpoint to the working bustle of the surrounding streets.

Take in a changing landscape of Atlas mountains, Azrou’s cedar forests and the Ziz Gorges. Look out for Barbary macaques in the forest and for palm-fringed settlements as the terrain becomes drier.

Explore Erfoud’s red-walled oasis setting, where earthy buildings stand against the edge of the Sahara. The contrasts between mountain woodland, carved gorge and desert town make this a distinctive scenic experience.

Choose to enter a traditional Moroccan hammam in Erfoud for a cleansing ritual in steam-filled chambers. Experience an invigorating scrub using Beldi black soap, a longstanding part of Moroccan bathing culture.

The ritual offers a hands-on introduction to a communal wellness tradition practised for generations. This is one of two included Insight Choice activities in Erfoud; travellers select it instead of the desert stargazing evening.

Discover the desert town of Rissani, seeing the Tomb of Moulay Ali Cherif and visiting Ksar Oulad Abdelhalim. These sites connect the town with the history of the Alaouite dynasty and the fortified settlements of southern Morocco.

Visit nearby marine fossil quarries to encounter traces of life dating back roughly 360 million years. The contrast between dynastic heritage and ancient geology gives this desert excursion its particular depth.

Taste Madfouna, often called ‘Berber pizza’, during a traditional lunch in the Rissani area. This covered, filled bread brings seasonal ingredients and spices together in a dish closely associated with Morocco’s desert region.

Madfouna was traditionally baked in the sands of the Sahara. Sampling it where the dish has local roots offers a more specific taste of regional food traditions than an everyday restaurant meal.

Explore the Todra Gorge, where high orange limestone walls rise above a narrow passage near Tinehir. Visit a traditional oasis farm to learn how local produce is cultivated in this arid landscape.

Enjoy a farm-to-table Moroccan lunch at Restaurant Yasmine, with dishes such as chicken tagine, vegetables and fragrant soup. The combination of dramatic geology, oasis farming and seasonal cooking offers a grounded introduction to the region.

Take in the Dades Valley’s mudbrick houses and green oases, with figs, olives and date palms set against rugged slopes. The valley’s castellated buildings reflect local approaches to building with the earth at hand.

Visit a traditional nomad home to share Berber tea with local people. This hosted encounter adds a personal perspective to the landscapes, connecting the valley’s scenery with the people who live there.

Explore Ouarzazate’s red-earth streets on a city orientation and learn why this southern Moroccan town became a centre for filmmaking. Its surrounding desert and kasbah landscapes have provided settings for major productions.

Often called Morocco’s film capital, Ouarzazate offers a meeting point between local architecture and screen history. The orientation introduces the town itself, rather than promising entry to a film studio.

View and photograph the ksar of Aït Benhaddou, a UNESCO-listed group of earthen buildings enclosed by defensive walls. Its towers and tightly gathered houses form one of southern Morocco’s most recognisable architectural scenes.

Take in the mountain scenery of the Tizi n’Tichka Pass, where the High Atlas opens onto villages and valleys. The itinerary specifies viewing and photography at the ksar, rather than an interior tour.

Visit Dar El Bacha, a palace in Marrakesh that reflects the city’s tradition of richly detailed Moroccan architecture. Take time to observe the craftsmanship and the contrast between its composed interior spaces and the energy of the medina outside.

The palace offers a focused cultural visit within Marrakesh, where decorative design helps tell the story of the city’s urban heritage. It is a distinct landmark experience alongside the wider guided walk.

Walk the Marrakesh medina with a Local Expert, taking in its tangled streets and souks. See the Koutoubia Mosque’s minaret above the skyline and experience the activity of Jemaa el-Fnaa square.

Watch for storytellers and performers among the square’s many characters. The guided walk brings together monumental architecture and the living traditions of the medina, helping make sense of a place experienced through sound, movement and crowded market lanes.

Explore Essaouira with your Travel Director and take in its working fishing port and medina streets. Atlantic air, market activity and the town’s slower coastal rhythm offer a marked contrast with Morocco’s larger inland cities.

The orientation introduces a port shaped by trade and maritime life. Spend time observing the boats and bustle of the harbour; a seafood meal is a personal choice, not an included part of this experience.

Join your Travel Director for a four-course dinner with drinks at Rick’s Café in Casablanca. The restaurant recreates the atmosphere associated with the 1942 film Casablanca, making the setting part of the evening’s appeal.

Enjoy a hosted meal amid cinematic décor and familiar musical references, including the possibility of hearing ‘As Time Goes By’. It is a themed dining experience rather than a visit to an original film location.

Travel by four-wheel-drive vehicle into the Sahara landscape near Erfoud to watch the light change at sunset. This optional outing adds a closer encounter with the desert beyond the town and its oasis.

Pause for sunset views across the sand, when low light brings out the terrain’s colour and contours. This experience is at additional cost and is bookable on tour.

Choose an evening at a restaurant on Jemaa el-Fnaa, enjoying classic Moroccan dishes while taking in the square’s lively atmosphere. The meal is paired with belly-dance entertainment, including a performance with lit candles balanced overhead.

Marrakesh’s celebrated gathering place provides the backdrop, with its long tradition of public performance and evening activity. This optional dining experience is at additional cost and is bookable on tour.