Morocco Family Adventure

A private vehicle with English speaking driver will be at your disposal for the day.

This morning meet with the Maison bleue Moroccan chef, Tariq Hadine to discuss the dishes that you would like to learn. Learn the correct preparation of Moroccan mint tea. Shop in the Medina in the morning to collect the day’s ingredients.  Head back to class and were you will learn and preparing three authentic dishes. You will then enjoy your meal and saver what you have learnt with a glass of local wine.

Enjoy an afternoon’s guided tour of the labyrinthine souks of the city. Amongst the many shops and stalls are artisans’ workshops and studios where traditional skills, passed down by the Moorish émigrés from Andalucia, are still practised by master craftsmen. Trades such as metal and leather working, ceramics, silk, tapestry, and sculpting remain current.  Highlights of the tour will be observing the vast tanneries from a family home for this unique view, and the spice souk, El Attarine, without doubt the most vibrant in Fes. The henna and wood working souks are located in the Nejjarine neighborhood and the scent of cedar wood is noticeable. The main plaza is planted with trees and provides a shaded haven from the warm sun. Various natural products derived from henna are sold here. Nejjarine is also where the fabric dyers are located; wool and cotton are treated and you can see the colours used floating along the streets after the rinsing.

A private vehicle with English speaking driver will provide a transfer between Fes and Erfoud. Travel through the scenic cedar forest and across the Middle Atlas Mountain range to Midelt, where a lunch break is scheduled.  Continue onwards towards Erfoud through the Ziz Gorge passing en-route the ancient, holy city of Rissani and the ruins of Sijilmassa, a once capital stopping locale for the old caravan routings of the 8th century. The approximate travel time is 7 hours.

A 4x4 vehicle will be waiting for you to continue your adventure by heading towards the dunes of Erg Chebbi, possibly the largest dunes in the Sahara desert. The dunes of Erg Chebbi are a strikingly strange natural formation. On the top of the flattest area you could imagine, suddenly a long mountain of sand rises. This mountain is surrounded by flat and desolate nature on all sides, and you could end up wondering if it really is real. But so it is, even if its existence is so weird that it has given rise to legends and myths among the locals. Upon arrival at the camp you will witness the sunset from over the desert dunes and be astounded by the peace and calm as well as the changing colours of the landscape. If you're up to it you can also ride a camel!

Enjoy a traditional Moroccan lunch at the hotel Taddarte in Midelt.

Travel today between the Boumalne/Dades area and Erfoud with private vehicle and driver. 

On the way to the date-palm oasis town of Tineghir, crossing the Jebel Sahro mountain range, lunch will be taken at a local home, the ideal opportunity to enjoy famed Berber hospitality and to gain an insight into a way of life far removed from the West’s. Expect to taste a rather special dish of Saharaoui stuffed bread. Just beyond Tineghir, visit one of the most striking natural sights in Morocco, the Todra Gorge. Craggy and pink-coloured rock walls of up to 1,000 feet loom over a lush narrow valley dotted with oasis-like date palmeries and irrigated fields of grain. Walk to explore its depths; it is also a haven for rock-climbers. Continue to overnight accommodation near to the town of Boumalne Dades.

Travel by a privately driven vehicle westwards to the date-palm oasis of Skoura, via the route of ‘1,000 Kasbahs’, to your overnight accommodation. En route, enjoy a short walk through the Dades river gorge, to the village of Ait Youl. Marvel at the natural beauty of the unusual rock shapes and colours that enclose the lush farmland on the banks of the river. View the ruined splendour of the abandoned Kasbahs perching on vantage points along the gorge.

A private vehicle with English speaking driver will provide a transfer from Boumalne/Dades to Skoura.  The approximate travel time is 2 hours.

Take a two hours exploration of the palm grove, or of the environs by horse, bike, or quad. The views of the High Atlas from here are simply wonderful.

Travel today between Skoura and Marrakech in a private vehicle with an English speaking driver.

Relax as a private vehicle with English speaking driver provides a transfer to Marrakech, for a visit to the village of Ait Ben Haddou.  Located approximately 60 kilometers from Skoura this fortified village (or ksar) is ideally positioned along a once frequented, ancient caravan route linking the Sahara and Marrakech. Ait Ben Haddou has been used in numerous Hollywood film productions for its distinctive architecture. In 1987 this famed location was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Next, travel to the village of Telouet, located approximately 1 hour north of Ait Ben Haddou. Telouet hosts one of the area's most recognized structures, the palace of the 'Lord of the Atlas.'  This palace was the residence of the once Vizier of Marrakech, back in the early 20th Century. An evocative relic of the time when the Glaoui clan ruled over the Atlas and Marrakech, the palace was the family’s Headquarters and was situated in a dramatic location, on a broad mountain valley, providing sweeping views of the peaks on all sides. Continue from here back onto the main road back to Marrakech, crossing on the dramatic Tizi n'Tichka passage through the High Atlas Mountains range on the way. Whilst passing take time to notice the many beautifully-terraced valleys and adobe villages perched precipitously on the hillsides.

A private vehicle with English speaking driver will be at your disposal for the day.

After breakfast you will be met at your hotel and taken on a full day guided tour of Marrakech. Your tour usually starts at the 12th century Koutoubia Mosque but you can discuss all of the options with your guide. The mosques beautiful minaret dominates the skyline of Marrakech and can be seen from almost every approach to the city thanks to a long-standing planning ordinance that forbids any other building in the old city to rise above the height of a palm tree. You will also visit the El-Bahia Palace, this 19th century palace is elaborate in its decoration and was built over a period seven years for Ba Ahmed, the son of the Grand Vizier Si Moussa, there are row after row of apartments—that once housed Ahmed's harem—a trapezoidal garden, a huge tiled courtyard, and many hidden treasures, both in the form of antique objects d'art and the palace's convergence of Andalusian and Moorish architecture. One of most visited sites in Morocco is the Saadian Tombs which were only accessible via the mosque next door. However, in 1917 they were opened to the public and can now be accessed via a narrow passage that leads to an enclosed garden watched over by two mausoleums that include more than one hundred mosaic decorated tombs. The Koranic School Medersa Ben Youssef which is a Theological college founded by the Merenid Sultan Abu Hassan in the 14th century, and restored in 1564 by the Saadians who made it the largest theological college in the Maghreb and a rival to the important Medersa Bou Inania in Fés.

Travel in a privately driven vehicle, with an English speaking driver between Marrakech and Essaouira. The approximate travel time is 2 hours.

Essaouira offers a great variety of optional activities. Choose between mountain biking, hiking, horseback, fishing, sailing, surfing, wind surfing, kite surfing, camel rides, visits to vineyards, trekking, visits to Argan oil production, rural tourism.

Learning to surf is one of the most rewarding activities holidaymakers could undertake. Morocco is one of the best places to start your surfing adventure. The country has developed a great reputation as a leading surfing destination, largely because of the great spots the destination offers along with the best surfing conditions.

The surf school offers lessons all year round with a fully qualified team and multilingual instructors. Whether you are an absolute beginner or an experienced rider looking, we will advise the best spot for you to fit with your level and needs. Surfing lessons are run every day to help you capture the awesome feeling of riding the lip of the waves and get the most out of this experience. Essaouira beach is the perfect surf spot for beginners where the conditions are perfect for those starting out on their surfing adventure. For the more intermediate and advanced riders, the school offers lessons and surf trips to the great local spots of Sidi Kaouki, The Cave, Imessouane and Taraghazout for any group size. Everyday lesson schedule : 10am / 12.30pm / 3pm and 4.30pm

Enjoy time at leisure to explore at your own pace, or relax at your hotel.

A private vehicle with English speaking driver will provide a transfer between Essaouira and Casablanca.  The approximate travel time is 5 hours.