Compare Morocco: Sahara & Beyond by G Adventures vs Morocco Overland Group Expedition by Morocco Discoveries

Day 1 Casablanca

Arrive at any time. Arrival transfer is included.

Please note that this tour does not spend any time in Casablanca. You may wish to come a day early in order to explore Casablanca, and take some time to see its medina, beachfront, and classic examples of Art Deco architecture. Be sure to also visit the spectacular Hassan II Mosque. Entrance is only permitted via guided tours, which operate from Saturday to Thursday at 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, and 15:00, and on Fridays at 9:00, 10:00, and 15:00. These times are subject to change (particularly around Ramadan), please double check times with your hotel. Tickets can be purchased at the mosque. In the evening, there will be a brief meeting where you will meet your CEO and fellow group members to go over the details of the tour.

Please note that if you are traveling to Morocco between November and February, your tour will have a level of flexibility based off of winter weather conditions on roads in the mountains. Heavy snow is not uncommon, so plan on packing warmer clothing to suit conditions.

Day 2 Casablanca to Fez

Set out on a guided tour of two UNESCO World Heritage sites. venture to Volubilis and discover the soaring columns and remarkably well-preserved mosaic floors of this ancient Roman outpost. Then, visit the remains of the medieval city of Meknès, which served as Morocco’s imperial capital in the 17th century. Then, enjoy lunch at a G Adventures–supported women’s cooperative. Continue to Fez and check in to our hotel.

Meknès is one of the four Imperial cities and its name and fame are closely linked to that of the Moroccan Sultan Moulay Ismail, who made Meknès the centre of his empire and built many of the monuments that remain today. Continue through the rolling hills to the Roman ruins of Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman ruins in Morocco. Once an important Roman town situated near the westernmost border of Roman conquests, Volubilis was listed as an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. After lunch, Continue to Fès to spend the night. Stay in the new city of Fès, built by the French during their Protectorate of Morocco.

This is a long and busy day. The times listed are actual driving times and do not include stops. We will stop to explore Meknès and Volubilis, and not arrive in Fès until the evening.

Day 3 Fez

Step back in time on a walking tour of the medina of Fez, a spellbinding World Heritage site dating back to the 9th century. Skirt past donkey carts as you take in the dazzling sights, from colourful mounds of spices to vividly painted ceramics, and observe Fez’s famous tanners treating and dying hides in the traditional manner. Pay a visit to the breathtaking Madrasa al-Attarine, a masterpiece of intricate Islamic architecture, and pass by the famed Al-Karaouine Mosque—home to the longest continually operating university in the world. We’ll meet a local calligraphy expert at a café later this afternoon for a demonstration of Arabic writing.

Day 4 Fez to Marrakech

This morning, travel to Marrakech, a melting pot of Amazigh, West African, Mediterranenan, and Arab influences. Immerse yourself in the colour and chaos of Djemaa el-Fna, the city’s main square, where storytellers and magicians captivate passersby and vendors of all kinds peddle their wares. Enjoy mouthwatering street food for dinner: consider sampling harira, a traditional Moroccan soup, or tangia, a slow-cooked meat stew.

Day 5 Marrakech

Set out in the maze of tiny streets and alleyways and view the Koutoubia Minaret; then head to a spice shop to discover an array of Moroccan spices. After, visit a converted riad or traditional house for a hands-on cooking class, learning how to prepare a delicious tagine and a variety of salads, and enjoy your creations for lunch.This afternoon, take a historical walk of the ancient medina with our local guide, including visits to the enchanting Bahia Palace and the Saadian Tombs, the 16th-century mausoleum where the Saadian dynasty ruler Ahmed al-Mansour and his family are interred.

Day 6 Marrakech/Aït Ben Haddou

Drive to Aït Ben Haddou, an ancient mudbrick settlement and UNESCO World Heritage site located in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Explore this fascinating ksar, or fortified village, and compare the vistas of the city with scenes from the Game of Thrones series, Lawrence of Arabia, and Gladiator—parts of which were filmed here.

Day 7 Aït Ben Haddou/Erg Chigaga

Travel through the Draa Valley towards the Sahara. Venture into the desert on 4x4s, making your way to the great dunes of Erg Chigaga. Settle into our comfortable desert camp and set off on a desert walk. Climb to the top of the dunes to catch an unforgettable sunset over the Sahara, the world’s largest desert. Enjoy a traditional dinner back at the camp and gather around a fire beneath the stars for an evening of storytelling and traditional music.

Spend the night in a simple desert camp which provides a peak into traditional desert living. Each tent is outfitted with sheets, pillows, a raised bed, towels, and covers against the desert cold and it has a separated ensuite with simple portable toilette and wash basin. While the accommodation is basic, it is quite comfortable and offers a truly unique experience.

Day 8 Erg Chigaga/Zagora

After breakfast, head out from the desert and pause at the small town of Tamegroute to visit a library of ancient Islamic texts. Then drive to the oasis town of Zagora, where a colourful regional market is held twice a week. Enjoy a talk on the history of the Draa region, centered around the Draa River—the longest river in Morocco—and unwind at our beautiful riad. Take a dip in the swimming pool, or relax with a drink on the patio.

Day 9 Zagora/Taroudant

Head off the beaten path towards the Anti-Atlas or Lesser Atlas mountains. Stop at the town of Taliouine, a thriving centre for harvesting saffron—the world’s most expensive spice—and continue to our stunning riad in Taroudant.

Day 10 Taroudant

Concealed within striking red walls and framed by snow-dusted peaks, the market town of Taroudant is often called “Little Marrakech.” Wander through the old town at leisure and browse its lively shops. Spend the afternoon at our riad, exploring its flower-laden paths or enjoying a book by the pool.

Day 11 Taroudant/Tafraout

Venture deeper into the Anti-Atlas region, known for its spectacular natural rock formations and stark, lunar landscapes. Visit Aït Mansour Gorge, a stunning valley of pink-hued cliffs that harbour lush palm groves. Take a walk through the valley in the shade of towering palms and have lunch at the home of a local family. Later, hike to the rock formation known as Le Châpeau de Napoléon, or Napoleon’s Hat, before continuing to Tafraout for the evening.

Day 12 Tafraout/Essaouira

Travel to the beautiful port town of Essaouira on the Atlantic coast. Stroll the windy beaches, soak in the leisurely atmosphere of the medina, and watch the hustle and bustle of fishermen at the port. Opt to check out the city’s happening live music scene.

Essaouira is also famous for its music scene and offers a great chance to check out a live performance.

Day 13 Essaouira

Enjoy a day of leisure in this charming coastal city, where Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, and Frank Zappa all famously travelled for inspiration. Walk along the 18th-century ramparts overlooking the Atlantic, and buy fresh fish from the market, which we’ll take to a local restaurant to cook up for our lunch. Opt to browse the colourful shops and art galleries that line the white-washed streets of the medina.

Day 14 Essaouira/Marrakech

Return to Marrakech and visit the ornate 12th-century Menara Gardens and the Majorelle Gardens, once owned by legendary French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent. Opt to view the beautiful collection of Amazigh artifacts at the Berber Museum, or visit the nearby Yves Saint Laurent Museum. Enjoy a farewell dinner with the group tonight.

In the afternoon, have free time to further explore the fascinating city of Marrakech and dive into the labyrinthine souks. Visitors and locals alike find everything they desire here, whether it’s spices, traditional jalabas and slippers, or famous Moroccan lanterns. The selection is exhaustive. Don’t forget to bargain. It's definitely part of the fun. Once you’ve tired yourself out, relax at one of the tea houses around the square, indulge in the ubiquitous sweet mint tea and watch life go by from a shady spot.

Day 15 Marrakech

Depart at any time.

Day 1: Arrival To Tangier

Arrival at Boukhalef Airport in Tangier or one of its ports, Your guide will be waiting for you to greet you then transfer to the hotel.  The morning will be at leisure. You will meet the rest of your small group and begin your Morocco adventure trip. The afternoon will be devoted to exploring the marvels of Tangier.  Time mostly will be spent in the Kasbah and El grand Soco.  Mershan quarter in the old city and M’sella quarter.  Dinner and overnight are at Solazure Hotel.

Day 2: Tangier – Asilah – Larach – Chefchaouen

Today we will take you to the picturesque city of Asilah, then Larach to explore the marvels of white towns of Morocco, traditional fishing ports, Rif Mountains evergreen red cedar forests, Berber villages unique to this undiscovered region.  Endly, you will find yourself in  the Marvelous Chefchaouen Mountain town and its vibrant aura of beauty and charm. Your adventure tour will take to the ancient Roman city of Volubilis and the first Islamic city Moulay Idriss before you reach the Marvelous city of Fez. Enjoy a comfortable night in your hotel to be ready for your guided walking tour of the Medina.

Day 3: Chefchaouen – Volubilis –Meknes – Fes

Your driver will take you on a day trip visiting historic sites and interesting towns on the road to Fez.  Visit the highlights of Meknes via Volubilis and Moulay Idris, an excursion which  embodies much of Morocco's early history:  Volubilis as its Roman provincial capital and Moulay Idris in the creation of the country's  first Arab dynasty. Continue on to Fez, dinner and accommodation at Hotel Merinides.

Day 4: Historic Visit Of Fes

The most ancient of imperial capitals, and the most complete medieval city of the Islamic world, Fez is undeniably unique.  Culturally, spiritually stimulating with its haunting and beautiful sounds, infinite visual details, and unfiltered odors, Fez seems to exist suspended in time somewhere between the Middle Ages and the modern times. Besides its electricity it owes absolutely nothing to the West.  As a spectacle, this is an entirely satisfying experience and a learning process about the sophistication of the Moroccan artisan.  Visiting in the morning some of the important sightseeings such as the Bouinania Medersa, the Moulay Idris Mausoleum,  the Karaouiyine Mosque, the Attarine Medersa, and the Nejjarine museum.   We will break for lunch in a typical Moroccan restaurant,  continue exploring the Medina in the afternoon with our best guide who will introduce you to the hidden treasures of the Medina of Fez and its workshops.  Dinner and accommodations are at your Hotel.

Day 5: Fes – Sefrou - B’hallil – Fes

We will start the day by an excursion to the ancient city of Sefrou.  The city that has thrived in the Phoenician and Roman time, an out post that has linked Africa to Europe as trade Caravans use to meet there to exchange goods and Vehicle from camel to mule.  An old trade outpost of sub-Saharan, it is also a three thousand yeas old spiritual center with lot of Judaic roots.  Shrines and notable places around the city are pilgrimage sites to Moroccan Jews today.  After a little Middl atlas hiking to explore these landscapes we will proceed to Bhallil to visit the troglodyte dwellings that have existed from Neolithic time and still serve the purpose.  Return back to fez for dinner and accommodation.

Day 6: Fez – Azrou – Midelt – Erfoud

After breakfast we will start our overland trekking up to the Atlas Mountains. The first hills you see of the Middle Atlas seem oddly un-Moroccan. Evergreen pines, tall cedar trees on the peaks and poplars stand copiously on the foothills, laced with flowing streams and plowed plots.  The road across is almost ceremonial.  Azrou, Our small group expedition continues on its track hiking across the best Morocco landscapes. The first real town of the Middle Atlas, stands at a major junction of routes, it's an important market center for Berber tribes in the vicinity, and it has long held a strategic role in controlling caravan trade from Saharan desert and the Berbers of these mountains.  The Middle Atlas cease at Midelt, where suddenly, through the haze, appear the much greater peaks of the High Atlas formidably rising behind the town to reach a massive range, the Dgebel Ayashi at over 12,000 ft.  The drama of this sight, tremendous in the clear, cool noon, is the most compelling reason to stop over for lunch.  Erfoud, one of the most pleasing of all southern routes: a dry, red belt of the desert, and then suddenly, a drop into the valley filled  with date palm groves. Dinner accommodations are at camp with the Tuaregs over the dunes of Merzouga. You can ride your camel to camp or simply hop in our Land Rover to cruise these gigantesque dunes.

Day 7: Merzouga Dunes – Rissani – Erfoud

An experience not to be missed is to watch the sun rises from the spectacular Merzouga dunes of the Sahara, so beautiful that no word can describe. Breakfast with the Touaregs and continue on to explore the holy ancient city of Rissani in your 4X4 Land  Rover.  Dinner and accommodations are in Erfoud.

Day 8: Erfoud – Tineghir

The highest the narrowest gorges in the region are Todras, only 15 km from Tineghir. Traveling through the Dades valley in spring you will find the bloom of thousands of Persian roses filling up the air with an ethereal aroma certainly from heaven - cultivated as hedgerows dividing the different plots. Thousands of Kasbahs scattered in a surreal fashion as sand castles standing erect in the shadow of time along the Dades river. Dinner and accommodation at Hotel Bougafer in Tineghir.

Day 9: Tineghir – Ounif – Zagora

Travel in the morning to Zagora exploring the marvels of the Anti Atlas mountains and the beauty of the Draa valley oases and Kasbahs, stop in Agdez and other sun baked mud hamlets of small villages among this largest belt of continuous oases in the world.  Dinner and lodging at Tinsouline Hotel.

Day 10: Zagora - M'hamid – Tinfou – Tamegroute

A very interesting full day excursion to the real gateway of the Moroccan Saharan Desert. We will drive through the lowlands and then along the mountain passes to Tamegroute.  There, we will stop to visit the famous Moorish Koranic Library, with rare books and documents, some are written on gazelle hide from the 13th century.  Return to Zagora.

Day 11: Zagora - Foum Zguid – Tata Oasis

Travel between the Sahara and the Atlas mountains across some of the most remote and breathtaking landscapes in the Sahara desert to reach the Oasis of Foum Zguid where the horizons stretch the imagination to a feeling of vastness and isolation of the Sahara desert.  After lunch we will cruise to Tata where we will enjoy a night in a typical Kasbah raised from the ground to challenge the tallest palm trees. 

Day 12: Travel From Tata Oasis To Guelmime

After breakfast we will travel Bedouin Caravan Trails west to Guelmime, an ancient trade outpost, the exotic oases of Goulimine.  Caravans still gather once a year to buy, sell and barter from major sub-Saharan countries of the Sahel and West Africa.  Sometimes even from East Africa, a journey that takes months to sail the vast desert of the Sahara.

Day 13: Goulimine – Tiznit

Travel in the morning from the best oasis of Goulimine to the Jewel of southwestern Morocco, the magnificent Tiznit.  Named after a woman who has marked the Moroccan myths,  the “Seductive”,  Tiznit still lives up to the reputation of its founder.  Lunch on the road in some of the best eateries this well cultured region of Souss has to offer in its varied staples of Berber tagines cooked as in earthen pots in the same way ancient ancestors did.  Dinner and accommodation are at hotel Tiznit.

Day 14: Hike From Tiznit To Tafrout

Travel from the stark desert to the lush plateaus of the High Atlas Mountains where this ancient village is nestled among groves of almond groves.  The afternoon will be devoted to the natural sites and Neolithic rock carvings this region is so known for.  A natural library scattered all over these slopes with a rich collection of archives of mankind ancient history.  Dinner and Lodging are at hotel Les Amadiers.

Day 15: Trekking Trails From Tafrout To Taroudant

We will travel across great Berber villages known for their distinguished beauty, especially Through Ait Baha that overlooks a valley with unique rock formation.  Reach the walled medieval city of Taroudant at the gate of the rich valley of Souss.  Dinner and accommodation at a dignitary dwelling converted in our days to an atmospheric and intimate guesthouse Riad Ennakhil.

Day 16: Guided Tour Of The Walled City Of Taroudant

Explore the city surrounded by regal, red-ochre walls, often referred to as “Little Marrakech”.  With its authenticity and conservative style, today Taroudant surpasses the charm and beauty of Marrakech in the eyes of many discoverers,  a day to enjoy the colorful pallets of a typical Moroccan city.

Day 17: Hiking Up The High Atlas Mountains From Taroudant To Imilil

Depart to Imlil via Asni and Tizi n’Test pass at an elevation of 11,000 ft. in an impressive site dividing these mountains in two distinct aspects.   One side acts as a shield to protect the hinterland from the Sahara harsh and dry expansion, the other side collects the moisture of the Gherbi winds from the Atlantic ocean, soft and evergreen.  Such is the life of the Berber dwellers,  a day of mountain hiking through the high peaks and deep valleys.  This is an experience to treasure for a lifetime. Overnight and dinner will be at a guesthouse.

Day 18: Imilil – Marrakech

Morning will be devoted to trekking in the Toubkal plateau.  After lunch we will proceed to Marrakech visit cliff hanging villages and wards like Asni and Tahnaout. Arrival in Marrakech the "Morocco City" as the early travelers called it for it has always been something of a pleasure city, a market place where the southern tribesmen and Berber villagers bring in their goods, spend their money, and find entertainment.  For tourists, it's an enduring fantasy  - a city of immense beauty, low, pink, and tent-like before a great shaft of mountains, and immediately exciting.  Visit of the famous Jemaa El Fna square. Dinner will be in a typical Marrakesh  restaurant,  Overnight at the hotel.

Day 19: Marrakesh Guided City Tour

Morning devoted to discovering the historical sites, visiting at the Menara irrigation pools, Bab Agnaw Gate, the Saadian Tombs, the Bahia Palace, the Badia Palace, Dar Si Said museum.   Explore the vibrant souks of Marrakech in the afternoon. Dinner Fantasia, will be reserved for you at a typical festivity of neighboring tribal dances and spectacular displays of horsemanship. Overnight will be at the Hotel.

Day 20: Travel From Marrakesh To Essaouira

Travel to Essaouira (Mogador), apart from the immediate impact of sea air and the friendly animation of the town, the predominant images of Essaouira are of the Atlantic - of the ragged coast and offshore islands, the vast expanse  of empty sands trailing back along the promontory to the south, and the almost Gothic scenery of the eighteen century fortifications. Lunch will be at Chalet de la Mer restaurant overlooking the ocean.  Dinner and accommodations are at Hotel Des Iles.

Day 21: Explore The Scenic Road From Essaouira To Casablanca

Travel to Casablanca via El Jadida with a stop at El Oualidia for a seafood lunch.  Drive along the coastline to El Jadida to visit the citadel, a vestige of the Portuguese occupation during the 11th century.  Continuation to Casablanca with an accomplished feeling that you have traveled in the same footsteps of antiquity, leaving you with an immediate  nostalgia for this hospitable land.  Goodbye dinner and overnight at Zohor Restaurant.

Day 22: Casablanca Airport - Home

Morning Departure to Mohamed V Airport  to connect to your flight back home