7 nights / 8 days · Kingdom of Morocco

Imperial Cities and Marrakech

Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes and Volubilis, two nights in Fes, then three in Marrakech with a day in the Ourika Valley.

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Duration: 7 nights / 8 days
Where you stay: Casablanca → Rabat → Fes → Marrakech
Style: Multi-city
From: AED 7,235per person

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About this trip

The classic north-to-south run, and the package most first-time visitors should take. It opens with the Hassan II Mosque and the Habous quarter in Casablanca, crosses to Rabat for the Oudayas kasbah and the Hassan Tower, then takes the Meknes road with a stop at the Roman ruins of Volubilis on the way to Fes.

Fes gets a full guided day in its eighth-century medina. Then a long drive south through Ifrane and the Berber villages of the Middle Atlas to Marrakech, where three nights cover the Koutoubia, the Saadian Tombs, the Bahia Palace, the souks, Jemaa el-Fna, and a day up the Ourika Valley to the waterfalls at Setti Fatma.

What you go for

Volubilis and Meknes on the road between Rabat and Fes
A full guided day in Fes el-Bali
The Ourika Valley and the first waterfall at Setti Fatma
Marrakech: Koutoubia, Saadian Tombs, Bahia Palace and Jemaa el-Fna

The route

Day by day

Times are the operator's planned schedule. They shift with the season, the light and the traffic on the day.

Day 1
Arrival in Casablanca
Overnight: Casablanca
On arrival
Mohammed V airport
Met by your driver and English-speaking escort guide and transferred into Casablanca.
Check in at your hotel.
Evening
Dinner at an Indian restaurant. Overnight in Casablanca.
Day 2
Casablanca, then Rabat
Overnight: Rabat
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
Morning
Hassan II Mosque
The city’s defining building, its minaret standing 210 metres over the Atlantic. The guided visit covers how it was built and what it says about modern Casablanca.
Quartier Habous
The new medina, laid out under the French: a deliberate mix of Moroccan and French architecture that works far better than the description suggests.
Afternoon
Rabat
Lunch at leisure in a local restaurant, then the road to the administrative capital. An orientation tour takes in the Royal Palace, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the Hassan Tower, the Kasbah of the Oudayas and Chellah, and finishes in the medina and its souks.
Evening
Dinner at an Indian restaurant. Overnight in Rabat.
Day 3
Rabat, Meknes and Volubilis to Fes
Overnight: Fes
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel, then the road east.
Morning
Meknes
The Ismaili capital, known for forty kilometres of walls, the Bab Mansour gate, the royal stables and the Jewish quarter.
Afternoon
Volubilis
The ruins of the Roman city on their hillside, on the way through to Fes.
Evening
Continue to Fes, check in, then dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 4
Fes, full day
Overnight: Fes
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
Full day
Fes el-Bali
A guided day through the oldest cultural and spiritual city in Morocco, starting in the medieval medina founded in the eighth century — the Andalusian mosque, al-Qarawiyyin, the madrasas that served as the universities of the Middle Ages, and the Nejjarine fountain.
Afternoon
The craftsmen’s quarters
After a traditional Moroccan lunch on your own account, the walk continues through the old medina past craftsmen still working to the old methods.
Evening
Dinner and overnight in Fes.
Day 5
Fes to Marrakech
Overnight: Marrakech
Full day
Across the Middle Atlas
A long day on the road south, through the Berber village of Immouzzer Kandar and the town of Ifrane, which its cottages and ski station have earned the nickname of the Moroccan Switzerland.
Afternoon
Optional lunch at a local restaurant on the way, then on to Marrakech.
Evening
Dinner at an Indian restaurant. Overnight in Marrakech.
Day 6
Marrakech, full day
Overnight: Marrakech
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
Full day
The red city
The second-oldest imperial city after Fes, founded by the Almoravids at the end of the eleventh century. The tour takes in the Koutoubia Mosque, the Menara Gardens, the Saadian Tombs and the Bahia Palace.
Afternoon
Souks and Jemaa el-Fna
Lunch at leisure, then the souks and the craftsmen’s quarter, finishing at Jemaa el-Fna — best seen twice, once in daylight and once after the food stalls go up.
Evening
Back to the hotel. Dinner at an Indian restaurant. Overnight in Marrakech.
Day 7
The Ourika Valley
Overnight: Marrakech
Morning
Breakfast at the hotel.
1100
Into the Atlas foothills
A short drive out of Marrakech and then up the Ourika valley through a run of villages clinging to the hillsides, stopping for the views on the way.
Setti Fatma
A weekend favourite for Moroccans, and the reason is the water — streams, seven waterfalls, cliffs and green terraces farmed the way they have been for centuries. A local guide walks you up to the first waterfall.
Afternoon
Lunch at a restaurant looking over the mountains, then back to Marrakech by around 1700.
Evening
Dinner at an Indian restaurant. Overnight in Marrakech.
Day 8
Departure
Early
Early check-out.
Transfer to Mohammed V airport in Casablanca for your onward travel. It is a long transfer, so the pick-up will be set against your flight.

Where you stay

Hotel options

Pick a line and the whole trip is costed against it, so you can see what the difference actually buys.

3★
- Campanile, Casablanca
- Mercure Shehrazade, Rabat
- Atlas Sais, Fes
- Red Hotel, Marrakech
AED 7,235per person
4★
- Oum Palace, Casablanca
- Onomo Terminus, Rabat
- Barcelo, Fes
- Opera Plaza, Marrakech
AED 7,345per person
5★
- Movenpick, Casablanca
- Dawlize, Rabat
- Les Merinides, Fes
- Adam Plaza, Marrakech
AED 8,227per person

Per person, twin share. Land only — international flights are not included. Rates move with the season, the number of you travelling and the hotel line you choose, so we confirm the final figure against your dates before anything is booked.

The detail

What is included

Included

Seven nights at your choice of the hotels above — one in Casablanca, one in Rabat, two in Fes, three in Marrakech.
Seven buffet breakfasts.
Two dinners at the hotel, buffet or a three-course set menu.
Five dinners at an Indian restaurant.
Lunch in the Ourika Valley.
Deluxe vehicle at your disposal from arrival to departure.
Through English-speaking guide from arrival to departure, from fifteen travelling.
Entrance fees to the monuments and sites named in the day-by-day.
One free place in a single room on bookings of fifteen to thirty-five travelling.
Taxes and service charges.
A coordinator from the ground operator’s team runs the trip end to end, from check-ins to the quality of the meals.

Not included

International and domestic flights.
Travel insurance.
Meals not listed above, including all lunches.
Drinks.
Extras and expenses of a personal nature.
Tips.
Anything not set out under the inclusions above.

Meal upgrades

Dinners in a local restaurant: The dinners booked at an Indian restaurant are served in a local Moroccan restaurant instead for travellers of other nationalities. No supplement is quoted for the change.
Dinner at Chez Ali, Marrakech: USD 70 per person, added to any evening in Marrakech.

Entry rules, tourism taxes and health requirements change without notice and depend on your passport. Everything above is confirmed by our operations desk before your booking is finalised.

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