Are you looking to discover the authentic desert of Morocco? Our 6-day desert tour from Essaouira to Casablanca is the best option for you!
You are going to see a lot of beautiful things on this trip. One of these places is Marrakech, where you will have a local guide who will show you around the old city and show you the best sights. Also, you will cross the Atlas Mountains and see Berber towns and old Kasbahs, such as Ait Benhaddou. Furthermore, you will go east into the desert to ride camels and camp under the stars. Eventually, you will discover the cultural city, Fes, before we finish the tour in Casablanca.
Here are the tour highlights:
We start our 6-day desert tour from Essaouira by driving to Marrakech, the red city of Morocco. Once we arrive, we will meet our knowledgeable guide to show us around.
Since most sights are in the Madina (old city), the tour will be mostly on foot. To start with, you will visit the Koutoubia mosque, famous for its towering minaret. It was built in the 12th century, and it’s the largest mosque in Marrakesh. After that, you will visit Saadin Tombs, built in the 1500s for kings of the Saadian Dynasty. Then, you will discover the busy square of Jamaa El Fna, Marrakech’s beating heart. It’s a busy, colorful square with music, food, and street performers.
Later, we will take you to visit Majorelle Garden, famous for its pretty flowers and bamboo plantations. Overnight in a Riad. Finally, you will have free time to walk around by yourself.
We will continue our 6-day tour of Morocco from Essaouira after breakfast at the hotel. First, you will enjoy a beautiful drive through the High Atlas Mountains. Here, we will take a few breaks along the way to enjoy the view. One of them is going to be at an altitude of 2260 m above sea level.
At the tip of the Atlas Mountains, you will discover the Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO Kasbah that is famous for its mudbrick buildings and appearances in many movies. After lunch, Ouarzazate is our next stop. As a result of its unique charm, this city is sometimes called the Hollywood of Africa because it is famous for its Atlas Studios. Moreover, you will have about an hour if you want to explore one of these studios and see which movies were made there.
In the afternoon, we will take the road of Thousand Kasbahs until we reach the Rose Valley. There, our driver will take you to a cafe to stretch a leg and visit one of the cooperatives of the rose products (optional).
Finally, we will get to Dades Gorges and check into our hotel.
Following breakfast at the hotel, you will proceed south to Tinghir, stopping en route to see the Grand Canyons of Todgha. A river flows through these peaceful mountains. There, you will have time to relax and enjoy the views while wandering through the canyons.
Next, we will drive to Fezna, where you will visit Khettara, an old way to get water for plants. It’s a hidden underground tunnel that carries water from high places down to farms. People built it long ago, and it’s clever because the water doesn’t dry up in the sun.
In the afternoon, you will arrive at the Merzouga Desert. There, camels and their guides will be waiting to take you for about an hour’s ride on the Dunes. Eventually, you will arrive at a camp where you will have dinner, enjoy the music performed by the Berbers, and climb up the dunes for stargazing.
We suggest that you get up early to see the beautiful sunrise over the dunes. After breakfast, we will take camels back to the village of Merzouga and meet our driver. If you would rather not ride camels, you can simply take the 4×4 from the camp.
Today, our first stop is going to be Rissani, it is a city that has one of the biggest traditional markets in the area. Moving on with our trip, we will drive through the Ziz Valley. We will stop here to enjoy the beautiful view of the date palm trees.
After lunch, our path takes us through a cedar forest where friendly Barbary Macaques live. As we walk through the forest, feel free to feed these nice animals and take pictures. Next, we will travel to Ifrane, which has beautiful scenery and houses that look like they belong in Switzerland. Finally, we will end the day by checking in the hotel in Fes.
Today, a friendly local guide will help us see the most interesting sites of Fes. Through the well-known blue gate of Boujeloud, we will reach the old Medina. First of all, we will go to the well-known Al Qaraouyine University, a super old school built way back in 859 by a lady named Fatima al-Fihri. Moreover, it is known as the world’s oldest university that’s still open today! Next, we will see the lovely Al Attarine and Bounania Madrassas. If you like history, you have to visit these two places.
The Chouara Tanneries is our next site to visit, a big pit where people turn animal skins into colorful leather, like shoes and bags. We will take you to Borj Nord to end our tour of the city. From that spot, you can see the whole city in a beautiful panorama.
On the last day of our 6-day Essaouira desert tour, we will take the road to Casablanca via different sites. To start with, we will explore the city of Volubilis, an old Roman ruins. Then, we drive to Rabat, the current capital city of Morocco. There, you will visit Hassan Tower, which was supposed to be part of a giant mosque, but the building stopped a long time ago. Even though it’s not finished, the tower is still a cool sight to see. Furthermore, you will visit Les Oudayas Kasbah, an old fortress that sits on a hill overlooking the Bou Regreg River.
Rabat represents other different sites that you can visit. Depending on time, you could have some more time to explore the rest of it. Then, we will end our tour by taking you to your hotel or the airport in Casablanca.
“Amazing trip organized by Aziz for an unforgettable customized 6-day tour of Marocco for my family. What made it special, was Youssef our tour driver who was just so pleasant, friendly, and knowledgeable we learned so much about the local culture, cuisine, and cities. We cannot commend a better tour operator than Morocco Vacations for its high service quality from booking providing maximum flexibility also for last-minute changes to the actual tour itself, the charming accommodation booked for us, and last but not least our exceptional guide Youssef with whom we felt safe and in good hands.”
“We used this private tour for our honeymoon, and our guide Ahamed was kind, and the rest of the staff were just amazing and made a perfect impression. The decoration of the accommodations made us very happy. They were also very flexible with stops at the various charming spots along the way. We highly recommend trying Moroccan wine. They even accommodated our lunch requests. The delicious cuisine in the heart of the Atlas Mountains was a highlight. Traveling with Morocco Vacations was surely the best choice and they made an excellent itinerary for a 6-day tour from Essaouira.”
To book this tour, use the contact form above, email, WhatsApp, or our social networks, and provide us with your chosen tour, number of travelers, type of accommodation (standard, luxury, etc.), and your tour date (if known). To confirm your tour, we require a deposit. The rest of the payment is paid in cash when you meet your driver.
The cost of the 6-day tour from Essaouira varies depending on the number of participants and your chosen accommodation type. Generally, larger groups benefit from a more economical price per person. Request a complimentary quote today to determine your personalized rate!
Your money will be refunded only if you cancel the tour 20 days before your arrival. (20-day money-back guarantee). If the tour is postponed, your deposit will still be available for future use.
