Please note the tour price reflected on the brochure is subject to change. Due to seasonality, and taxes prices of the tour are subject to change without due notice. Please consult with the operator directly for the recent price.
Imperial Cities & the Desert

Overview
Short Description
Taste Morocco’s spice-scented cuisine at a private cooking lesson in Marrakesh. Bargain for a hand-knotted wool rug while sipping sweet mint tea in a noisy medina. Hike among the ancient villages and winding tracks of the High Atlas Mountains. Unwind in the windy-swept port town of Essaouira. Watch the stars from a tented camp in the deep, echoing silence of the dessert.
The fortified kasbah of Ait Benhaddou. Roman ruins at Volubilis. The blue-washed village of Chefchaouen. What excites you? Travel at your own pace, in your own style, with the confidence that we’ll show you the best options, wherever you go.
Itinerary
Day 1 : Marrakesh
Today you begin your journey by boarding your international outbound flight to Marrakesh. On arrival in Marrakesh, you're met by a private driver and transfer to your hotel in the city. Once you've settled into your accommodation, spend the rest of the day relaxing or begin your exploration of Marrakesh, perhaps heading out to visit the souq or sampling some of the city's delicious street food.
Day 2 : Marrakesh
In the morning you have a privately guided tour of the main sights of the city, including the intricately decorated 16th-century Saadien Tombs, the Bahia Palace and the Koutoubia Mosque, which dominates the city's skyline. This afternoon explore the souqs, where you can watch men and women at work on their crafts and learn about the techniques used by dyers, tanners and coppersmiths. The afternoon ends at Djemaa El Fna, Marrakesh's main square, where street performers entertain the crowds and you can sample all manner of food.
Day 3 : Marrakesh
You have today free to spend as you wish. You might like to try your hand at bartering in the souqs, visit a traditional hammam for a spot of relaxation, or take a day trip out to the High Atlas, enjoying lunch at one of the luxurious properties set in the mountains.
Day 4 : Skoura
Leave the city behind and set off over the High Atlas to Skoura. As you wind through spectacular scenery, look out for tiny villages clinging to the mountainsides. Part of your journey is by 4WD, allowing you to visit the more remote areas on your way south. You can stop at the historic kasbahs of Telouet and Ait Benhaddou and learn about their history, before driving along the lush Dades Valley to your accommodation in Skoura.
Day 5 : Skoura
Today you might want to relax at your hotel or explore the nearby kasbahs and palmeraies. The green of the palm trees contrasts with the orange stone of the kasbahs and surrounding landscape, making for some excellent photo opportunities. The most impressive kasbah is the 17th-century Kasbah Amridil, which appears on the 50-dirham note.
Day 6 : Erg Chebbi
Continuing along the Dades Valley, visit the Todra Gorge en route to Erfoud, on the edge of the Sahara Desert. From here you can travel into heart of the desert on a short camel ride, stopping to watch the sun set over the dunes before settling into your desert camp for a night under the stars.
Day 7 : Fez
A long but interesting journey today as you're driven for around eight hours to the north of the country. You can observe the country's wide range of landscapes as you travel up the Ziz Gorge with its steep canyon walls scattered with green palm trees, across the barren and rocky Middle Atlas plateau and through the Alpine Middle Atlas, where many buildings have a Swiss or Austrian style. You finally arrive in the ancient city of Fez, where you can settle into your accommodation.
Day 8 : Fez
Explore Fez on a private guided tour of the city and its ancient, maze-like medina. Visit the tomb of the city's founder, Moulay Idriss II, admire the architecture and intricate decoration of mosques and madrasas (Islamic colleges) and gaze over the centuries-old tannery, where you can watch men carrying out the complex process of turning animal hides into leather. End the day relaxing on the roof terrace of your riad, listening to the evening call to prayer echo around the city.
Day 9 : Fez
Spend the day visiting the Roman ruins of Volubilis and the imperial city of Meknes with your private guide. The extensive ruins show how large the Roman city would have been, and there are still lots of incredibly well-preserved mosaics on the ground. The impressive ruins of the courthouse and the Capitoline Temple suggest this was once a prosperous city. Meknes was once a capital city within the kingdom, but has gradually faded into ruin. Your guide will tell you about its turbulent history and you can see remnants of its former glory in the city walls' monumental archways.
Day 10 : Casablanca
Your private driver will pick you up this morning for the four to five hour journey to Casablanca. You may have time to pay a visit to the Hassan II Mosque, the second-largest mosque in the world after Mecca.
Day 11 : International return flight
Today your driver will pick you up from your accommodation for the short transfer to Casablanca Airport, where you then board your onward flight. Your return flight will arrive the same day.
Availability
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3,322 Audley Travel Travel Reviews & Ratings
Imperial Cities & the Desert
Company Reviews
I’ll use Audley for all my travel moving forward
The locations were perfect and the activities made the experience extra special.
I would definitely recommend Audley and especially Ewan to anyone looking for a more bespoke experience.
Unresponsive
I contacted Audley as they came recommended by Wilderness Travel, the company we traveled with previously.
I left multiple messages for their regional specialist Adam -- voice messages through his co-workers (Alec and Jacky), email, website inquiry -- he didn't reply. I finally spoke to another specialist at the office (Lydia) and pressed her to not take yet another message for Adam, but tell me honestly if they are interested in working on our itinerary or we should move on. She then told me that they are busy. Well, wish they had some integrity to tell me on the first call, so I didn't have to loose time on trying to contact their "specialist".
p.s. They sent their automated marketing message with ALL their trips listed in response to my website inquiry. In this message they included: "When you are ready...". I replied that, indeed, we are ready, as I explained in my inquiry -- ready, know where and when we want to travel and are inquiring if you are interested in creating a private journey for us. No reply! Instead, they sent another marketing message the next day (and after Lydia already told us that they are very busy and won't be able to make reservations.) The second marketing message had no option to "unsubscribe". Again, I replied to that message and asked them to stop spamming me with marketing materials.
UPDATE: Audley's Client Experience Executive reached out to me in response to this review. She apologized profusely and wanted me to know that my "feedback is being heard". She said that she spoke with the employees' manager to "ensure mistakes like this don’t happen again and provide additional training to support their growth." She also promised to ask the marketing to delete my name from their marketing list. I took her at her word.
I don't know if this interaction with the client experience executive convinced me to seek Audley's services in the future, but I promised her to include in my review this "status update".
There are much better travel companies than Audley
I’m booking for South Africa and they simply can’t accept that another company can provide a better itinerary at a lower price - even to the point of asking for the other quote and saying this is usual practice in the industry!! ( rubbish) . Totally unprofessional behaviour. Furthermore , sending me emails knocking my choice of hotel and safari park while at the same time promoting hotels that clearly have issues as evidenced by poor ratings on the major sites
I use another well known travel provider that actually provide high quality at a decent price
Audley are simply interested in selling the highest price hotels etc that give them the maximum profit rather than what is right for you
They love themselves and keep on saying nonsense such as “ I’m really pleased with what I’ve come up with and hope you are too “
They need to get real
I won’t reveal the name of the agent dealing with me as that’s probably unfair
Amazing Trip of a life time
Christmas in Thailand
Mark Hotham at Audley Travel helped us to put together the holiday of a lifetime. He helped us through the complexity of different start dates, advised on a suitable hotel and arranged a terrific trip to the Elephant Hills camp in the jungle.
The arrangements worked splendidly, the hotel in Khao Lak was first class and the Elephant Hills trip was magical.
Nothing was ever too much trouble for Mark and every effort was made to deliver the holiday we were looking for.
We have already recommended Audley travel to our friends and they will be our first choice of travel agency from now on.
Our California Trip
Details
Flight & Transport Inclusions
All internal ground transport
Group Size
Intimate Group - 12 max
Trip ID#:
audley-travel-39899
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