Morocco Media Trip

Itinerary

• Day 1: Overnight Flight to Morocco

  Board your overnight flight to Marrakesh, one of Morocco’s oldest cities and home to the largest market in the country (eat your heart out, Trader Joe’s).

• Day 2: Arrive in Marrakesh + Welcome Dinner

  Welcome to Morocco, the product of some mad-scientist-level cultural fusion. Start with a long history of traditional Islamic life, mix it up with nomadic desert tribe vibes from the indigenous Berbers, sprinkle in the remnants of Spanish and French colonialism, and you’re only beginning to understand this great African melting pot (or melting tagine, for you soon-to-be Moroccan cookware experts).

  In the evening, enjoy a Welcome Dinner of local cuisine and drinks with your group at an authentic local spot. Afterwards, you’re free to take the party elsewhere!

  Today's highlights:

  • Meet an EF representative at the airport.
  • Transfer to your accommodation and check in.
  • Receive the latest schedule from your Tour Director.
  • Meet your fellow travelers as they arrive.
• Day 3: Explore Marrakesh

  Marrakesh IS Morocco. Literally. In many languages, the name for Morocco is just “Marrakesh.” The Red City is easy to get lost in, but fear not, there’s excitement around every corner, and your local guide is here to ensure you get to see it all. Follow them today for your first real taste of Morocco—both metaphorically and culinarily. You'll start the day with a guided sightseeing followed by an included lunch. Afterwards, you will have walking tour through the Marrakesh souk and Jemaa el-Fnaa square, followed by a tea break at etoile du musée rooftop and food tour at Jemaa El Fena Square.

  Today's highlights:

  • Feast your eyes on the pseudo-European floral beauty of the Gueliz District—designed by the French while feeling homesick for Paris.
  • Pay respect to your elders when you see Koutoubia Mosque—it’s over 800 years old, but doesn’t look a day over 799.
  • Bask in the gloriously geometric architecture of Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, and the Medina (old city).
  • Prepare to have your definition of “supermarket” blown out of the water as you haggle your way through the Marrakesh Souk, the city’s premiere market and meeting-place.
  • Enjoy a tea break & walking food tour at Jemaa El Fena Square.
• Day 4: Moroccan Cooking Class + Explore Marrakech

  While most of Marrakesh is awake in time for the early Call to Prayer, we’re guessing you’re up early, too, in anticipation of the crazy day to come. Yesterday you saw the “must-see’s” of Marrakesh, and today is all about cooking & the hidden gems. Start your day with a Moroccan cooking class and learn the ins and outs of Moroccan cuisine as you prepare and consume your own authentic lunch. In the downtime while your food cooks, tour "little Morocco", a complex full of artwork and replicas that will help you learn more about the country's culture and history. Then, spend the afternoon exploring, eating, or for the truly daring, learning to charm snakes.

  Today's highlights:

  • Treat your taste buds with a lunchtime Moroccan cooking class.
  • Catch a whiff of organized chaos as you spend time weaving in and out of Marrakesh’s spiraling alleyways mingling with the nearly one million city residents.
  • Spend the afternoon crafting puns on the word “souk,” meaning “market,” as you bargain for souvenirs at any of the hundreds of vendors around the city.
  • Enjoy an included dinner with your group in the evening.
• Day 5: Travel to Ouarzazate via Aït-Ben-Haddou

  Ever seen a movie? Of course you have. Ever seen a movie with a scene that took place in the desert? Probably, right? That desert scene was most likely filmed at Aït-Ben-Haddou, which is a series of Saharan mud huts built into a hillside that you get to explore today on your way to Ouarzazate.

  Today's highlights:

  • Board your bus from Marrakesh bound for Ouarzazate.
  • Stop for an included lunch in Aït-Ben-Haddou, and take some time to reenact your favorite Game of Thrones/Gladiator/Lawrence of Arabia desert scene.
  • Stare at the imposing High Atlas Mountains—nothing to shrug at.
  • Feast upon couscous—the food so nice, they named it twice—and other foods at an included dinner with your group upon your arrival in Ouarzazate.
• Day 6: Explore Ouarzazate + Sightseeing En Route to Erfoud

  When in Ouarzazate, be like a Berber. Or at least get to know your indigenous hosts in this Moroccan vacation town. Today is a day of desert sightseeing, so make space on your camera roll, stuff your pockets with olives, and stock up on sunscreen—you’re headed to Erfoud with several crazy-beautiful stops along the way.

  Today's highlights:

  • Walk the kasbah on your morning stroll through Ouarzazate’s fortified palace, the Taourirt Kasbah.
  • Enjoy lunch in the quaint town of Tinghir
  • Gawk at gorgeous gorges at Todra Gorge, featuring 500-foot high limestone walls on either side of a narrow canyon.
  • Gorge yourself (today is a day of gorges) on an included dinner once you settle in Erfoud.
• Day 7: Travel to Merzouga via Rissani & Erg Chebbi Sand Dunes

  Oasis is more than just the band that wrote “Wonderwall.” It’s also an area in the desert with enough vegetation and water to support life. A prime example of which is Merzouga, your next desert destination. Tonight, you'll stay at a desert camp fit for Ultimate Break royalty.

  Today's highlights:

  • Enjoy a morning excursion, off-the-beaten path, to Rissani to see the spectacularly decorated Mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif, and the Ksar El Fida—a gigantic desert castle.
  • Set out for the Erg Chebbi sand dunes.
  • Stop at a traditional Bedouin tent for a musical performance (for watching), snacks (for eating), and classic Moroccan mint tea (for sipping, not spilling).
  • Travel to Merzouga and enjoy an included dinner upon arrival.
• Day 8: Travel to Fez

  You’re going to Fez today—home to over one million people, and the namesake to that tassled hat that Aladdin wears. Along the way to the “Athens of Africa,” you’ll see the quaint apple-country town of Midelt, mountains, monkeys and more.

  Today's highlights:

  • Board your private motorcoach bound for Fez.
  • Say “Ziz Louise” as you have your mind-blown while passing through the lush and extremely photogenic Ziz River Valley and Atlas Mountains.
  • Insist that your fellow travelers refer to you as “the Johnny Appleseed of Morocco” as you stop in Midelt—known for its abundant fruit trees—for some free time to grab lunch.
  • Enjoy an included lunch en route to Fez & included dinner upon arrival.
• Day 9: Explore Fez

  You think your Great Aunt Edwina is old? Just wait until you see how old Fez is. Hint: over 1,200 years old. Follow your Tour Director for an in-depth look at how the oldest Imperial City has shifted and morphed in its millennium-plus of existence.

  Today's highlights:

  • Be dazzled by Fez’s ornate Moorish architecture like that of the Royal Palace Gate and the Bab Bou Jeloud, and realize you certainly don’t want… less-ish.
  • Visit the Old Jewish Quarter, known as the Mellah, and learn about the rise and fall of Fez’s once-numerous Jewish population.
  • Attend a ceramics demonstration.
  • Get down and dirty at one of the world’s oldest tanneries and learn that leather is traditionally soaked in cow urine and pigeon feces—just don’t tell that to your motorcycle gang.
• Day 10: Travel to Casablanca via Rabat + Farewell Dinner

  You deserve the presidential treatment, which is why you’re going to white house today. Or as it’s more commonly known, Casablanca. Along the way, you’ll have a chance to explore Rabat, the country’s coastal capital. Once filled with pirates, these days it’s mostly filled with great seafood. Speaking of which, tonight in Casablanca, you’ll feast on a farewell dinner to commemorate the end of your spicy/sweet/exhilarating/pool-chilling/selfie-taking/history-learning/unforgettable 10-day desert odyssey.

  Farewell Dinner
  Share some last laughs (and maybe shed a few tears) at an included farewell dinner with the group at the popular restaurant, Rick's Café, inspired by the movie Casablanca.

  Today's highlights:

  • Kiss Fez goodbye (not literally—those are some old, old buildings) and board your private motorcoach en route to Casablanca via Rabat.
  • Let out the occasional “ooh” and “aah” as you tour Rabat, visiting sights such as the emerald-roofed Mausoleum of Mohammed V, Kasbah of the Udayas, the Andalusian Gardens, and an Atlantic-coast beach that puts the Jersey Shore to shame.
  • Reflect on how #relatable the Hassan Mosque is, envisioned to be the largest in the world before construction ceased in 1199—procrastination is real, people.
  • Arrive in Casablanca and finally get around to declaring “quite frankly my dear I don’t give a damn,” but we won’t tell anyone that that’s from Gone With the Wind, not Casablanca.
• Day 11: Fly Home

  Wadaeaan ya aisdiqa'
  Translation: Goodbye friends. Your next destination awaits—home. Before you head to the airport, enjoy your last few moments together. Take one more group photo. Grab that final drink. (Fine, maybe a couple of drinks.) But this isn’t goodbye. It’s “See you later.” The only question is, where?