Welcome to Morocco! Today you arrive in Casablanca and meet your guides at Mohammed V International Airport. After collecting baggage and introductions, you’ll be given a short driving tour of the city to get acquainted with your surroundings, time permitting, before turning in for the night.

Your journey begins this morning, to the town of El Jadida. Best known as the setting for Orson Welles’ film Othello, spend the morning strolling the 17th century battlements and exploring the underground water cisterns of the city. After lunch, head to the ceramics capital of Morocco, Safi. Spend the afternoon visiting this renowned ceramic-makers quarter, and take in the sights of the Great Mosque and the Portuguese chapel, a stone’s throw from one another. Your day is capped off by traveling the short distance to Essaouira, to spend the night.

The city of Essaouira has long been a haven for artists, musicians and writers and you will see why as you independently explore its quiet streets flanked by blue trimmed white buildings, sidewalk cafes and well preserved Portuguese ramparts. From the working fisherman’s wharves to the seaward battlements and along the streets where myriad craft worker shops host local painters, carpenters and wood carvers, you’ll discover that the European architects who designed Essaouira created a pleasant old town much different from elsewhere in Morocco. You may choose to spend the day exploring independently, or arrange to take time to enjoy the surf and warm sea breezes at the nearby beach of Sidi Kaouki, where camels can be hired to take you along the long strand of scenic beach. There is a free dining night scheduled for you on this day in which you have a chance to choose from the numerous menus of Moroccan and international restaurants that Essaouira has to offer.

After breakfast, travel from one unique coastal city to another as you pass through the region of Morocco known for its argan trees. You may even spy a herd of goats that have climbed its way into the branches to nibble at the flesh surrounding the argan nuts. Arriving at Agadir, you find a city unlike any in Morocco. Rebuilt after an earthquake nearly demolished it completely in 1960, Agadir is a distinctly modern city in both architecture and attitude, crowned with some of the best stretches of beach in the country. Stroll along the golden beaches, or visit the Nouvelle Talborjt, the city center, to do a little shopping or have some tea at a café. Or you may choose to visit the Folk Art Museum, or the open-air zoo right in the center of town, the Valley of the Birds.

Arise at your leisure and enjoy breakfast before leaving the peaceful coast for Morocco’s Pearl of the South, Marrakech. It is a relatively short drive to Marrakech from Agadir, and yet, it is a world away. Although not on the shores of the Atlantic, Marrakech has nonetheless been protected by an encompassing wall throughout the centuries, with the minaret of the Koutoubia mosque standing sentinel above the city. This afternoon, familiarize yourself with the city, and have your evening meal at the main square, Djmaa el Fna. In addition to dozens and dozens of food vendors, you will find musicians, story tellers, henna artists, snake charmers, magicians, and acrobats to provide you with seemingly limitless entertainment.

Founded in the 11th century, Marrakech has a much different ambiance than any of the other Imperial Cities, as you discover upon taking a guided walking tour of its souks and monuments. Your visits include the Koutoubia Mosque, artistically beautiful Bahia Palace, the ruins of the Baadi Palace with giant stork nests amidst its crenelated battlements, and the once hidden Tombs of the Saadian Kings. Other visits include the Ali Ben Youssef Mardrasa, the Museum of Marrakech, and many of the souks were workers and craftsmen produce artisan goods in leather, metal and wood. After your tour of the medina, you have time to relax on your own or explore independently. Your day finishes with an evening meal at Djmaa el Fna.

Today is a day of travel, and indeed, arriving in Fes feels as though you’re arriving in a different world than that of Marrakech. As you wind your way through the Atlas Mountains, you will stop often at small towns for food, photo opportunities, or just to stretch the legs. These breaks often provide the most memorable parts of the tour, since interaction with the Berber peoples that populate these towns is so prevalent. Families of macaque monkeys, called Barbary Apes, may even make an appearance! When you arrive at Fes, enjoy a quiet dinner before resting for the night.

Today, explore the intellectual and artistic capital of Morocco, and the oldest of the Imperial Cities. Fes is very much a medieval city, little changed despite the passage of several hundred years. Your walking tour starts after breakfast at the beautiful Bab Boujloud, following a guide into the heart of the medina. There, you have the opportunity to visit historical and cultural sites, such as the Al-Karaouine Mosque and the Tomb of Moulay Idris, as well as observe artisans as they masterfully create their wares. End your tour at the tombs of the Merinid Kings, which overlook the city. Your evening meal is in a beautifully restored, 19th century palace restaurant, Al Fassia.

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast and then head to Meknes, an Imperial City that lies squarely in the middle of Morocco’s ‘breadbasket.’ As you journey there, see fields of wheat and mint, vineyards, and acres of olive groves. Meknes was once the capital of Moulay Ismail’s 18th Century empire, and so you will visit the infamous sultan’s mausoleum, as well as the ruins of his capital, once hailed as the Versailles of Morocco. After lunch, continue your northward journey to the port city of Tangier, to spend the night.

Awake this morning in a city once deemed an ‘International Zone’ that played host to such jet-setters as Barbara Hutton, writers like William Burroughs, and artists like Eugene Delacroix. Explore the medina, the Grand and Petit Soccos, and maybe do a little souvenir shopping. From Tangier, journey to Rabat, stopping for rest and refreshment at the seaside town of Asilah. Once home to the tyrannical Ahmed er Raisuli, whose rule over the northern Berber tribes was so fierce that the encroaching Spanish simply left him alone, Asilah is now a quiet town that boasts a tempting stretch of beach and a charming, quintessential Moroccan medina. Continue on to Rabat, the second largest city in the country, its capitol, and home to the royal family.

Rabat is a pristine city, with many gardens and monuments worth seeing. One of the most famous is the uncompleted Hassan Tower. Its construction was begun by Yacoub al-Mansour, who managed to finished the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, but not the Hassan Tower. Of course, no trip to Rabat would be complete without a visit to the Kasbah of the Oudaya. Once a fortified military outpost to keep tabs on the traffic streaming past on the river, the Kasbah is now home to nearly 2,000 of Rabat’s citizens, and houses a museum, mosque, garden, and café. In the afternoon, travel the short distance to Casablanca to visit the second-largest mosque in the world, the Hassan II Mosque. Taking in the sight of this majestic building and its nearly 700 foot tall minaret at sunset is not to be missed.

Your adventure draws to a close! Today you will head to the airport to check-in for your onward flights.