Morocco is one of THE MOST COLORFUL countries in the world. And not only the nature, complexion of the people, and the colours of the facades! Above all, it is culturally colorful.
In only one country you can enjoy the eclectic mixture of the Arab world, the African roots and European (French and Spanish) cultural flavours. Hence the country is a real heaven for everybody that loves beauty, creativity, and authentic tradition, as well as ECLECTICAL CULTURAL BLENDS. This gives many faces to a Moroccan culture.
If you like the ORIENTAL ATHMOSPHERE, you won't be dissapointed. You will feel like a leading role in one of the tales of Arabian Nights exploring the old Medinas (Old Towns) with narrow alleys, sitting under the magical sky in the desert, riding a camel, or bargaining in the ancient markets- called the Souks.
Due to its rich history and its unique geographical position on the crossroads of cultures, Morocco also passes on important knowledge to its visitors. Not only that Moroccans learned well how to coexist in a multi-cultural world, but they can teach us of the values of the community, the importance of sharing and the necessity of caring for eachother.
Our Grand Tour brings the scenery, cultural boutique experiences and flavors of the country into your 13 days.
On our tour we travel through MANY DIVERSE LANDSCAPES. We start at the Atlantic coast with the famous Casablanca, and the Moroccan capital Rabat. From there we continue through the Mezeta's plain and enjoy watching the extensive olive grooves and (even!) vineyards en route to the oldest city of Fes. We dedicate 2 full days to Fes, enjoying in the city's visit for a day and indulging in a direct experience with a hands-on workshop. Continuing across the mountain passes of the Atlas mountains, we enter the land of ancient Kasbahs, palm grooves and fertile valleys amids the dry deserts. At the end of the day we enjoy a camel ride up the sandy Sahara dunes and spend a once-in-a-life-time night in a luxury desert camp and enjoy our desert dream. After crossing the High mountains once more, our last days will be spend in the most fashionable of the Moroccan cities- Marrakech, the Red Pearl of the South. We will spend 4 nights in Marrakech and relax and enjoy the unique artistic and designers athmosphere of the city. Before leaving home we will visit Essaouira, a picturesque fishing town on the shore of the Atlantic Coast and maybe catch a glimpse of the famous sunset on the ocean from the impressive ramparts.
This tour isn't just a travel through, but instead invites you into an EXPERIENCE OF THE CULTURE. We travel into the country, not only in and around the country. We do this via:
1. staying in elegant boutique Moroccan Riad hotels and Villas, and for an unforgettable night in a luxury desert camp
2. indulging in the tastes and flavors of the world famous Moroccan Cuisine and getting into a tradition of Moroccan tea drinking. We included many of the meals to the program so that you will be able to try as many new tastes as possible, and we also included a few exceptionally beautiful meals for you to feel (and eat) like a Sultan.
3. joining in some hands-on workshops, where you will learn a new skill (or two) and we are sure they will bring new creative ideas into your home living also
4. unique guiding of Alja. She is a professional tour leader and the owner of Elegant Cultural Tours and will be acompaning you on this tour. Alja has done more than 550 days of guiding in Morocco (ever since 2006 on more than 50 tours across the country, from North to South) with different groups. She is also a professor of Art History and Sociology, so you can expect a lot of beauty, interesting insights, her rich knowledge of bringing cultures from around the world into her narrative of Morocco, and a deep love for working with guests.
Your Tour Director: ALJA
Alja is a Professor of Art History and Sociology of Culture, but had only worked in the sector for a little while before deciding to bring her talent and passion for teaching and rich insights' into tourism and guiding. This happened in 2002, and she has been organising and leading groups as a full-time job to different places around the Globe ever since.
Her specialist destinations are Morocco, Cuba, Ireland and Scotland, China, Turkey (where she lived for 3 years) and Central Europe (Slovenia, Italy, Austria, and Prague where she did a part of her studies of Art History).
You can arrive on the day, or a day before and get some rest before we start the tour. We will arange 2 separate transfers from the International Airport of Mohamed V in Casablanca to our hotel on the day of arival, but we can also help you organise your own on the specific time. In the evening, we meet in the hotel lobby for a wellcome cocktail and a short breefing on our Tour, and then enjoy our first elegant dinner in an iconic restaurant.
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Overnight: Casa Particulares (private house), Havana
Meals: Dinner
You can arrive on the day, or a day before and get some rest before we start the tour. We will arange 2 separate transfers from the International Airport of Mohamed V in Casablanca to our hotel on the day of arival, but we can also help you organise your own on the specific time. In the evening, we meet in the hotel lobby for a wellcome cocktail and a short breefing on our Tour, and then enjoy our first elegant dinner in an iconic restaurant.
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Overninght: Vila Orange or similar, Rabat
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
After breakfast in our hotel we enjoy a morning in Rabat. Mornings are so refreshing in Rabat. The sea is calm and the air is clear. We take in the view from the viewing platform in the oldest part of the city and walk the blue and white streets of Kasbah Oudaya. Every now and then we stumble upon a decorated wooden door. Intriguing details of the past escort us through the Kasbah Oudaya's ancient streets.
After a short break for coffee (or even better- tea and cookies), we walk through the Andaluzian gardens of the Kasbah just before we leave the Kasbah for the highlight of the royal Rabat visit- the resting place of the two kings of Morocco. It is hard to guess what part of the Hassan mosque is older- is it the holed-out walls, the demolished columns, or the unfinished Hassan's tower? We will tell you on the spot. But it is easy to see that the Mausoleum of Mohamed V Is the latest adition.
With masterful craftmanship and a calm elegance, the first Moroccan king rests under a sarcophagus in the centre of the mausoleoum, surrounded by wonderfully polished surfaces of traditional zellige mosaics and protected by a traditional green-tiled roof, an ancient sign of importance of the building.
When we leave Rabat, we travel through the most fertile land of Morocco. We experience how the landscape changes in only 1h drive and here we are, in the heartland of the country. We stop en route in the winemaking region and enjoy in a wine presentation together with an elegant lunch at one of the most beautiful wineries in Morocco.
After lunch we enjoy a siesta on our way to Fes. Afternoon is at your leisure and our first Fassi dinner is a special welcome to the oldest of Moroccan Imperial sities.
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Overnight: Hotel Palais Amani or similar, Fes
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch (with wine) and Dinner
Overnight: Hotel Palais Amani or similar, Fes
Meals: Breakfast and a traditional Lunch in the Medina (no wine or beer)
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Overnight: Vila Orange or similar, Rabat
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
After an intensive start to our Grand Tour, it is time today to take it easy and relax. We will not have sightseeing today, so you can have a sleep in, followed by breakfast in bed and some leisure time at the pool, or out and about, walking the Ville Nouvelle (the new town) or exploring the labyrinth of the medina on your own, if you wish. But if you feel like having an easy morning and then joining in a hands-on workshop, you are more than welcome and we promise you won't be sorry!
We wouldn't want you to leave Fes without getting to know the famous Moroccan cuisine (and the most famous dishes come right from Fes!). So, today's meal will be an adventure into secrets and flavours of the traditional cooking and an insight into a Fassi kitchen. What makes the dishes so flavorful, how they are prepared and what equipment is needed? All this and more. The cooking workshop will conclude with an elegant meal of our masterpieces in a wonderful setting.
Fes has always been a center of learning. It is a place of one of the oldest and most famous Universities in the world, the University of Karaouine from the 9th century. What better place to learn some Arabic than here?! A master calligrapher will teach you to read and write Arabic, and will help you learn how to sign your name. Is it hard? A bit. Is it impossible to learn? Not at all. Plus you will have a wonderful souvenir from Fes, all made by you.
The rest of the day will be at leisure, at your own pace and in your own style, as you like it
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Overnight: Hotel Palais Amani or similar, Fes
Meals: Breakfast and (late) Lunch at a Cooking Hands-on Workshop
After our breakfast in the hotel we leave the civilization behind and head for the authentic Morocco. If we already had a feeling we know Morocco, it surprises us again! We left behind the Mezeta, the Western fertile plain, and have started our ascend into the Atlas Mountains. While crossing the mountains, we stop for tea (or coffee, of course) in the Moroccan Switzerland, breath in the crisp air of the cedar forests, and marvel on wast open spaces of the High Atlas Mountains. In only one morning drive we change the landscape and are now enetring the part of the country that the French colonisers called »The Useless Morocco«. Why is that we discover together. But this is the day when finally we enter the famous Morocco, as one imagines it: the blue skies, red desert soil and rich green palm trees, all together with ancient mud-made villages, people sitting on the sides of the roads wawing at us, and children enjoying a care free play in the palmgrooves.
This is a long drive and many kilometers await us, but we stop en route for a tea break (or three), make short pleasant walks in the natural fresh air, and also enjoy in a local lunch en route in Midelt.
Arrival to our hotel will be a bit later than normal today, but you will have a free morning tomorrow to relax and enjoy the calm and stress-free athmosphere in our hotel until after lunch.
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Overnight: Hotel Xaluca or similar, Erfoud or Merzouga
Meals: Breakfast, local Lunch and Dinner
Morning at leisure. Our 4x4 vehicles will pick us up at our hotel after lunch and will take us to an exploration of the Moroccan Sahara desert. This singular environment of the desert pushed its inhabitants to find creative ways for surviving the natural challenges. Lack of water, extreme temperatures and empty open space are just some of those.
Today we will get to know the desert people and their living in the best possible way- by a 4x4 car and from a camel’s back. The vastness of the landscape inspires, and we feel like an antient explorer who described the desert “… in the pure clean atmosphere, in the silence- there you can find yourself” (Father Dioscuros)
And there isn’t a more romantic experience in the world than a desert dinner under millions of stars. You can hear the sandy silence as the live Berber music echoes in the night. Would you like to move in the rhythm, observe the dance, or dive deeper into this culture? The desert offers all of it and more
Dinner under the stars with the live music echoing in the night will stay with us long after we fall asleep in our tents. And so will a delicious dinner cooked for us at the very camp
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Overnight: A luxury desert camp close to Merzouga
Meals: Breakfast, (light) Lunch and Dinner
After a serene desert morning in our camp and fresh-made breakfast we leave the desert, and head toward the North-West. Soon we see the High Atlas again, but the desert is still full of surprises and some of them are hidden underground in shape of water tunnels that run for as far as 70km (43 mls). We visit a small section (with no water) and then head toward the Mountains. If time permits, we will also visit a local Berber museum with traditional tools that helped people to survive in this dry and demanding environment.
The most spectacular almost 400m (1,312 ft) high limestone rocks form the Todgha George. Standing in the shade of the rocks we can’t but to feel small and respectful of the forces of nature. In the afternoon we travel under the mountains and observe ancient villages as we conquer the Valley of 1000 Kasbahs. At times it feels like a rose scent gets caught up in our nose, and indeed we can see kilometres of rose bushes planted in the Valley of Roses. They only blossom at the beginning of May, but the pink colour and many shops with rose products are an unmistakable sign that roses live here.
In the late afternoon we reach an oasis and stay the night in a boutique Kasbah in the shade of the palm trees. This is our last night in the desert, and we enjoy the silence.
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Overnight: Kasbah Kebabba or similar, oasis Skoura/ Ouarzazate
Meals: Breakfast and Dinner
After breakfast in our hotel we get to know Ouarzazate and its treasure- the famous 17th century fortress of the Glaoui family, kasbah Taourirt. We remember the movies that were born behind the walls of the Atlas Film Studios- the list is long! And soon we are standing on the site of the Gladiator movie’s first battle. We are now visiting Ksar Ait Ben Haddou, undisputedly the most famous Moroccan village. The Ksar is not inhabited at the moment, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot going on. It is also a place of artists who paint and they sell their paintings in small shops. Shopping here is sometimes quite surprising, and one can find special things that would be hard to find in other places like precious antiquities.
After a quiet lunch we are ready to hit the road across the High Atlas for the last time on our Grand Tour on our way to Marrakech.
We arrive to Marrakech in the late afternoon, just in time to relax in our hotel, sitting at the pool and enjoying in a Moroccan tea and cookies. Evening is at leisure.
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Overnight: Hotel Les Jardins De La Medina or similar, Marrakech
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Marrakech is the Berber capital of the South. It is also a red city and a fantastic backdrop to any photography lover.
We experience the eclectic vibes of the city, combining Islamic, Berber and European fashion and designs. We have been exploring the traditional Morocco for many days now, so it is time to enjoy the fusion of contemporary and modern. Marrakech is a city of design, and active contemporary art galleries with eclectical creative vibes. We get inspired on every step of the way through its kilometres long Souks (markets), lush gardens and designer’s dining venues. We indulge into the best the city has to offer and relax only for a special dinner after the sun has already set above The Red City.
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Overnight: Hotel Les Jardins De La Medina or similar, Marrakech
Meals: Breakfast
Haha region west of Marrakech is the only place in the world where Argan trees grow.
Small arts and crafts shops… thuya wood-carving
Relaxed, slow and laidback vibe of the fishing harbour town at the ocean, Essaouira attracted travellers and artists from all over the world. A Moroccan Woodstock/ Since 1998 it has also been a place of International Gnaoua Festival of World Music that brings together rock, jazz and reggae artists from all over the world every last week in June.
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Overnight: Hotel Les Jardins De La Medina or similar, Marrakech
Meals: Breakfast and (late) Lunch
Haha region west of Marrakech is the only place in the world where Argan trees grow.
Small arts and crafts shops… thuya wood-carving
Relaxed, slow and laidback vibe of the fishing harbour town at the ocean, Essaouira attracted travellers and artists from all over the world. A Moroccan Woodstock/ Since 1998 it has also been a place of International Gnaoua Festival of World Music that brings together rock, jazz and reggae artists from all over the world every last week in June.
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Overnight: Hotel Les Jardins De La Medina or similar, Marrakech
Meals: Breakfast and (late) Lunch
After breakfast in our hotel the program concludes and you will be taken to the International Marrakech Airoort Menara. We can also organize an aditional transfer for you to Casablanca International Airport (about 3h drive).
POSSIBLE OTHER UNFORGETTABLE ADVENTURES AND EXPERIENCES
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Overnight: Hotel Les Jardins De La Medina or similar, Marrakech
Meals: Breakfast and (late) Lunch
HOW TO BOOK YOUR SPOT
Contact us via our Web page contact form, or directly to our email adress contact@elegantculturaltours.com and we will send you a Booking form
Once we recieve your booking form and a request, we will send you the Deposit payment details. Only once we recieve and confirm with you your deposit, you can consider your spot on the tour to be reserved.
If we don't recieve your full payment until due date, we reserve the right to cancell your reservation, or fees might apply.
& FROM THERE ON
14 days prior to the departure and after your full payment, we will send you a detailed program and a doCument with all necessary informations.
About 10 days- 1 week before the tour we will meet online in a 45 minutes pre-tour meeting where we will discuss all the matters regarding preparation for the tour, as well as get to know eachother J
And then we start the tour...
BEFORE YOU BOOK
We will anounce a live talk dates for each of the departures via one of the online platforms where we will present our Grand Tour, and you will also be able to meet Alja as well as ask any possible questions. Instagram, FB... talk bo na Zoomu, ali kje? Google meets
ADITIONAL TRAVEL ARRAGEMENTS
Lahko jim predlagamo pre tour ali po tour extension ali le ideje, kaj lahko delajo
Ali jim pomagamo s travel insurance- naj me poklicejo po dogovoru prej
Pretour Chefchauesn, post tour Royal Mansour stay, ali La Mamounia/ a omeni da ;e pride kralj (in th erare events of a royal visit by Moroccan king, the hotels might cancell the booking... we will provide a substitute)
TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
Za vec info kaj zahtevamo od potnikov (travel insurance), fitness level, fees and charges, tour canvellations, payment schedule, refer to our GT&C here (link)
Boutique elegant small hotels (Riads) with a unique athmosphere.
Great dining that covers all of the flavors of Morocco, as well as a few elegant meals for that special experience of Morocco.
Comfortable high quality transportation (we can't guarantee an AC on the dromedary, but apart from that there will always be a coach with AC)
The program covers Moroccan aspects and best sites, as well as ads 2 hands-on workshops for an even deeper experience and exploration of the culture.
The athmosphere on our tours is informal, friendly, and personalised so that each of the guests can relax and decide if (and how) they want to participate in conversations and activiteis, or weather they maybe prefer to experience more to themselves.
Morocco is quite big and the distance will sometimes demand longer days with more driving (check the program for that), but we like to take things slow, and so we balance out the longer days with those that allow an afternoon with only time for yourself to relax and enjoy the moment, swim in the pool, have a massage, do the people watch, take photographs or write a diary, or simply just stop, have a Moroccan tea and smell the roses (or orange blossoms).
Our topics are cultural and we aim at bringing you the Moroccan culture
We learned from Moroccans in helping the society, so each of our tours also contruibutes to a Women's Cooperative of your choice. As we visit them, you will be bale to decide on the spot who to donate your share to.
We encourgae you to observe, ask questions, understand and learn about Morocco and its people. We believe that travel is the best possible learning and so we aim at bringing understanding and knowledge, but we always do it in an entertaining and relaxed way. No long hours of dry academic knowledge and long listening while standing outdoors.
We travel boutiuque and elegant, but we keep our travel real and don't travel in a bubble. We aim at understanding the local culture and their challenges and meet them half way. If a culty ???? happens we aim at resolving things peacefully and with understanding the visited country and their culture. Some things are different on travel than at home and we find it a part of the experience to adjust and grow with every new experience.
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