MARRAKECH -SAHARA & FEZ FROM ONLY 369 €
6 days / 5 nights next departures
3 DECEMBER 2010
THE PRICE INCLUDES:
1 night in 4 * hotel Marrakech dinner & breakfast
1 night in 4 * hotel Ouarzazate dinner & breakfast
1 night in Merzouga jaimes (Moroccan Tents) dinner & breakfast
2 nights in 4 * Fez hotel 1dinner & 2 breakfasts & 1 lunch
Camel ride to see sunrise over dunes
4 x 4 transfer to Erfoud - Merzouga - Rissani
Bus or van for entire tour
All entrances to monuments mentioned in this program
Accompanying national guide throughout the journey in Morocco
Tour guide
Local guides in all Moroccan cities visited
Travel Insurance
NOT INCLUDED
• FLIGHTS, you must FIRST purchase your airline ticket at
www.ryanair.com
(from very low cost you can get a direct flight from Seville to Marrakech and back from Fez. Book these flights now to get the best rates!)
o SEVILLE - MARRAKECH – FLIGHT 4008 DEPARTURE FRIDAYS AT 10:00 AM
o FEZ – SEVLLE - FLIGHT 400 DEPARTURE WEDNESDAYS AT 9:45 AM
• Insurance for cancellation costs. We recommend you get one when purchasing your flight ticket with
www.ryanair.com
• Beverages with the meals
• Tips
Price based in double and/or triple rooms (except in the Sahara where we sleep in communal tents)
Single room supplement 70 €
FINAL PRICE PER PERSON IN DOUBLE OR TRIPLE ROOM 369 €
ITINERARY
FIRST DAY SEVILLA MARRAKECH
08:00 hrs. Assemble at Seville’s airport.
10:00 hrs. Depart of the flight Ryanair to Marrakech.
09:20 hrs. Arrive to Marrakech. Meet the national guide and transfer to the hotel.
We began our tour in Marrakech with a visit of the outer walls of Kutubía, the twin sister tower of Seville´s Giralda, and the Menara gardens. Afterwards we will continue to the Bay Palace, the Saadi Tombs and the exterior part of the Kasbah Mosque. We will finish the day in Jmaa el Fna Square, where you will have one hour of free time and then be transferred to the hotel.
Free time for lunch
Free time for afternoon
We also recommend visiting Jmaa el Fna Square in the evening seen from one of its terraces. This is a wonderful way to appreciate and enjoy how the atmosphere changes so peacefully.
Dinner at the hotel
SECOND DAY MARRAKECH – TIZNTICHKA – AIT BEN HADDOU – OUARZAZATE
Breakfast at hotel.
We will cross the majestic mountains of the High Atlas and the port of Tzi n Tichka to the gateway of the desert, which is 2260 meters high. Here we will stop to admire the spectacular views, before we descend to to Ait Ben Haddou, one of the geological wonders of this planet, which has lasted for millenniums. It looks as if it were a separate universe. We will visit a great fortress that has served as the setting for famous films like "Lawrence of Arabia," "Gladiator" and "The Jewel of the Nile." It consists of several building structures; it is thought that ocher was mixed with clay over what was once dry land on which a great river flowed. Today it is fertile ground.
Dinner and overnight in Ouarzazate. Ouarzazate was a former garrison of French troops in the south of the country. Today it is rich in agriculture and famous for its palm tree dates, roses that grow along its riverside, and henna. It is also a favorite place for numerous great film directors. In turn, all of this has led to the area´s economic growth, the creation of many companies related to the audiovisual world, and employment for many of its people.
Accommodation and dinner at hotel.
THIRD DAY OUARZAZATE – TINERGHIR - GARGANTAS DEL TODRA - SAHARA
Breakfast at hotel.
We will continue our route through Boulmane de Dades, and the Valley of the Roses via the well known route of Kasbahs, onward towards Tinerghir, where we will admire beautiful palm tree forests, which help withstand the heat in hot summer months. We continue our travel to Todra Gorges.
Free time for lunch.
In the afternoon, we will continue our route to Erfoud, where we will change the bus for 4x4s, jeeps and land rovers to go to the camp in Merzouga. Here we will spend the night in a type of Moroccan tents, right next to the dunes in Erg Chebbi. You will be able to contemplate while looking up at a spectacular starry sky in the Sahara desert.
Dinner and overnight stay in Moroccan tents in the desert.
FOURTH DAY SAHARA – IFRANE - FEZ
A camel ride to experience the sunrise over the dunes.
Breakfast at hotel. We return in 4x4s to the bus which will be waiting for us in the holy city of Rissani. Here you will find dozens of ksur and Medinas, lost among dunes and palm tree forest, as well as shrines and mausoleums surrounded by clay walls within the countryside. We continue our trip in the great southern Morocco, onward towards the region of Tafilalet, which at one time was where caravans carrying salt and gold, had to cross in order to get to Guinea and /or Sudan.
Free time for lunch.
We leave to Ifrane by bus, a real surprise in Morocco; fresh Swiss air in the Moroccan’s Atlas Mountains. It is a mountain village of just 12,000 inhabitants, 1600 meters above sea level. It operates as a tourist center and has an indisputable influence of European architectural style; houses with saddle roofs, mountains with forest vegetation and a lake. Everything is covered with snow in the winter months. Before this visit we will cross the Atlas cedar forests; 40 meters high. Here you can see the wild Atlas forest macaque (monkeys.)
We continue our trip onward to Fez, the first of the imperial cities, dating back to the eighth century. It is also one of the holy cities of Muslim in Morocco and is proud to be the home of one of the oldest universities in the world.
Accommodation and dinner at hotel.
FITFH DAY SAHARA FEZ
Breakfast at hotel then meet the local guide at the front desk for a visit of the city of Fez.
Fez is actually three cities in one. The new city, founded by the French in 1920 which is really of no interest to the visitor, “ Bali Fez” and “Jedid Fez " also known as the "New Fez " which is an expansion of an earlier metropolis, which was ruled under the Benimerines dynasty in the thirteenth century.
But it has, beyond any doubt, the most medieval labyrinth, with more than 9,400 streets that make Bali Fez the most attractive part of Fez. The distinctive professional trades that coexist here are distributed in different neighborhoods according to their specialty, e.g., there exist neighborhoods of craftsmen, pottery and metal makers, tailors ... Wander through Fez´s open market which actually converts into a true pleasure for your senses if you allow your instinct and smell to guide you. The streets, winding and very narrow, the houses very high, do not allow much sunlight to shine through playing with enigmatic and mysterious lights and shadows, all of which amplifies the feeling of being in another world.
Mirrors, perfumes, chickens, pigeons, silver, gold, slippers, sandals, djellabas, drums, vegetables, fruits, pottery, ceramics, cast iron, herbs (nothing illegal), spices, King portraits, cereals, books, glassware and everything imaginable, anything really, it is all here. The donkeys’ constant clatter of carrying goods from various origins will transport you to an unknown magical world only to be broken by the cry of "balek" from the animals´ owner, alerting the pedestrians to “watch out” as the donkeys make their way through.
We begin with a panoramic tour of the city, including Merinides tombs, Alaouite Square, the exteriors of the Royal Palace and the Dar-el-Makhzen in Jedid Fez. Then we continue on a walking tour around Bali Fez, where we will visit the spice market at Attarine and the market at Jenna. After we will arrive to Nejjarin square where we will find the founduk with the same name and visit Bounania´s Madrasah (school.) We end the morning at Seffarin square, in the neighborhood of the leather craftsmen and explore tanneries. Return to the hotel.
Lunch at hotel.
Free time for your afternoon and dinner.
Optional farewell dinner with typical show for an extra fee available.
WEDNESDAY FEZ - SEVILLE
Breakfast at hotel.
07:45 hrs. Transfer to Fez´s airport
09:45 hrs. Departure of the flight FR4007 Ryanair to Seville
13:05 hrs. Estimated arrival time to Seville
GUARANTEED DEPARTURE FROM MARRAKECH ! BOOK NOW YOUR FLIGHT TICKET AT
WWW.RYANAIR.COM
WHAT FLIGHTS TICKETS SHOULD YOU BUY?
You have to buy two different flights at Ryanair one way.
One flight is Seville Marrakech on Fridays one way.
The other flight is Fez Seville* on Sundays one way.
*Please note that the prices are in MAD (Moroccan dirham) You can find the exchange rate at
http://coinmill.com/EUR_MAD.html#MAD=101
You should make your flights reservation first and afterwards contact us to book this tour.