Morocco with Luxury & Style (11 Days): A Sample Itinerary

ID #: DT-M-11-7-19-10-RAIJ

DavidTravel Itinerary Highlights include:

The beautiful snowy peaks of the High Atlas are a surprise to those who think of North Africa solely as a desert. Morocco holds countless revelations, large and small, and you’ll uncover many of them on this intriguing journey. You’ll explore the most elaborate and perfectly constructed monuments in Morocco - from ornate mosques to opulent palaces. You’ll discover the intriguing back streets of the medina, where residents live a fascinating ancient way of life. Become an artful bargainer in the colorful markets and bazaars lining the kasbah. Watch coppersmiths, slipper-makers and ironworkers craft their wares. Dine on Moroccan specialties in a huge Berber tent and enjoy a folklore performance and a display of horseback riding skills. Natural beauty, splendid historical wonders, ancient medinas and souks, and an air of intangible mystery make your days in Morocco a very special life-long memory.

• Explore the Kasbah of the Oudayas, whose alleyways are reminiscent of a whitewashed Andalusian village

• Discover the labyrinth of the ancient Fes Medina, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

• Visit Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage Center, with its ancient Roman mansions, monuments and mosaics

• Travel through the High Atlas Mountains around exhilarating hairpin turns before descending across the Glaoua Plains to Marrakech

• Take in the sights of the Western High Atlas Mountains and admire the surrounding snow-capped peaks, including Jbels Toubkal (13,670 feet), the highest peak in North Africa

Overview:

As you relax in your hammam (steam bath), tuck into your tagine (stew), bargain in the souks or slide into your comfortable caftan you may be surprised how easily you slip into another culture and another century. In these small signature moments of pleasure, Morocco warps all sense of time and place.

To get your bearings, just look to the horizon. You will notice refined minarets and rugged mud-brick fortifications, a sparkling coastline with silken sand and striped canyons carved out of the High Atlas Mountains.

Morocco has been staunchly independent throughout its history yet remained open to ideas, creating a heady mix of cultures, religions and languages with ancient roots and a strikingly modern outlook. The influence of Romans, Arabs and Europeans is spotted in monuments throughout the country. Though you will hear French spoken in city boulevards - a vestige of the 50-year French Protectorate - a half-dozen Berber languages and Moroccan Arabic are still widely spoken. Morocco is a unique blend of the African Berber, Arab and Mediterranean.

For centuries travelers have crossed shifting sands and braved mountain passes in search of mythic Morocco. They arrive dazzled by its royal palaces, extraordinary oases and spectacular feats of hospitality.

Modern Morocco doesn't disappoint. Whether you've come to relax in family-style riads (guest houses), shop for distinctive handicrafts, or stretch your imagination on treks to distant Berber villages, you'll meet Moroccans who go out of their way to exceed your expectations.

The people who have called Morocco home for millennia have proved themselves adaptable to Sahara Desert silences and bustling market-day medinas (old towns), mingling in Tuareg trading posts and ancient mellahs (Jewish quarters). The greeting that reaches your ears today echoes across the centuries: Ahlanwasahlan, you are welcome in Morocco.