Where and When: Morocco, January 2025
Early this year, I went on the Highlights of Morocco tour with Explore. I will do day by day posts in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, here is the itinerary and highlights.
Itinerary
- Day 1: Arrival in Marrakech.
- Day 2: Visit Ouzoud falls, en route to Bin El Ouidane lake.
- Day 3: Visit Meknes and the Roman ruins at Volubilis, continue to Fes.
- Day 4: Exploring Fes
- Day 5: Travel to the Sahara – camel ride and desert camping at Erg Chebbi.
- Day 6: Drive to Tinehir, and Todra valley.
- Day 7: Drive through Dades Valley, the Road of 1000 Kasbahs. Visit Ait Ben Haddou.
- Day 8: Drive back to Marrakech via the Tizi n’Tichka mountain pass in the Atlas Mountains. Sightseeing in Marrakech.
Trip Highlights
Marrakech: Marrakech was the start and end point of the tour and it was a heady mix of spices, donkey carts and pandemonium. But, also great weather, delicious food and lovely and welcoming people.
Fes Medina: The old town of Fes, thr oldest surviving medina in the World is everything you expect it to be. Narrow streets, markets for everything; spices, fruits and veg, meat, clothes, carpets, mirrors, pots and pans. Also, home to some of the oldest surviving tanneries in the world.
Chebbi Dunes: A little slice of the Sahara. Sand dunes just like you see in the films, and a camel to carry you over them. Spectacular sunsets and sunrises.
Ait Ben Haddou: A historic ighrem or ksar (i.e. a fortified village) along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh. One of the best examples of Moroccan earthen clay architecture and the backdrop to many films, including Lawrence of Arabia.
Atlas Mountains and Scenery: Never did I expect to see desert sand dunes and snow capped peaks on the same day when I went to Morocco, but that is exactly what I got. The Atlas mountain ranges made the backdrop to most of our days, which meant that the long hours of travelling on the coach was never an issue.
Stay tuned for day-by-day posts coming up….
Diary of a Tourist 
This sounds great, especially the desert camping. (By the way, if you go to Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado you will see huge sand dunes with a snow-capped mountainous backdrop as well. Ditto for Death Valley in California.) Looking forward to your day-by-day posts.
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Thank you! I’ll remember that about Colorado and Death Valley! (I did go to death valley about 10 years ago, but it was a very quick drive by, on the way back from Las Vegas)
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