Marrakech Surroundings & Essaouira

Welcome to Marrakech! Meet your driver at the airport and drive to your hotel where you will be welcomed with a fresh moroccan mint tea. Orient yourself in a bustling, vibrant old medina with narrow alleyways, riads and markets. A cacophony of sights, sounds and smells - spices and sweet pastries.

Embark in half day guided city tour of Marrakech with a licensed guide and visit the Dar EL Bacha, Medrasa Ben Youssef,  tour the grounds of the Bahia Palace, marveling at the intricate decoration, and experience the sights and sounds of the bustling Jemaa el-Fnaa square. You will have free afternoon to spend at your leisure. Check optional activities below.

Your driver will pick you up at 09am, Marrakech to Agafay Desert day trip will give you the chance to enjoy the tranquility of the countryside. The route is shaded by lush vegetation, olive and orange orchards and passes through the occasional village of Ait Imour. Go off road and driving through a completely different scenery of stone desert, barren light brown plateaux, Bedouin village, Oasis then high hills with panoramic views on the High Atlas. A few hours later small patches of green will start to show and not long after you will be back on the tarmac road side-lined by the old eucalyptus trees. You will arrive to the edge of the Lalla Takerkoust lake built as a dam where Marrakech gets its electricity from. Continue through small hills along the dam you will get to Nfis valley crossing Berber villages and arriving to a Berber family house. You can visit the house and have a lunch inside. Continue to Ouirgane via the forest, traditional salt pools before getting to Asni village, a small town (market on Saturdays) with a view on Toubkal the highest peak in North Africa. Then you will pass Moulay Brahim gorges, Ghighaya valley and Tahanouete before getting to Marrakech.

Today, your english speaking driver will pick you up from your accommodation at 09am and head to Essaouira, formerly known as Mogador. We will stop on the way to spot the famous Goats climbing the argan trees. Goats in Morocco only climb one particular type of tree, the Argan Tree, That can only be found in the middle of Morocco around the atlas mountains. The tree produces small yellowish flowers, which then produce a small fruit. The fruit’s seed is within a nut, which is further surrounded by soft flesh and a tough outer skin. When you arrive in Essaouira, check-in at your accommodation and relax. Enjoy a free day exploring this coastal port town any way you like (take a walk along the breezy coast, and stop for dinner with a view, stroll over to a local café for some live entertainment, courtesy of local musicians, magicians, and fire-dancers...)

Free morning in Essaouira to explore the sights and delights of the small seaside town at your own pace. Watch the kite-boarders or, for the more adventurous, enjoy a lesson before saying goodbye. Return to Marrakech. Along the way, there is an option to stop at an Argan Oil Cooperative to see how the precious and expensive oil is extracted from the nut.

Depending on the time of your departure flight, spend the morning relaxing or picking up a few last minute souvenirs before your leave to the airport.