Morocco: Marrakech, Foothills of the High Atlas & Essaouira
7 Days
Starting From
$4,598
10 Days
Starting From
$5,598
per person, double occupancy
Want more from your experience?
Add an ExtensionOn this hiking tour of Morocco along ancient caravan routes, the bread and honey are fresh, but the hospitality is centuries old.
In a hillside village of terraced houses, a woman sits weaving at a tall outdoor loom. Nearby, others bake khobz in a communal clay oven, and men pack mud into wooden molds for bricks. A Berber family welcomes you for a lunch of flatbread and lamb cooked with cumin, cinnamon, and saffron. Afterwards your hosts brew fresh mint tea, pouring out each glass in a traditional gesture of hospitality. The country’s uncommon charm is only ever a few steps away on this hiking tour of Morocco, whether following age-old caravan routes in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains or watching the sunset over the Atlantic in Essaouira. And while the country’s iconic sights are truly indelible—bustling medinas, spice markets, hidden gardens—it’s the generous welcome you’ll remember most.
Highlights
- Trace salt-mine trails along an ancient caravan route in the foothills of the stunning High Atlas Mountains.
- Experience traditional Berber hospitality as you stroll into mountain villages and are invited to share mint tea or a lunch of vegetable tagine and fresh-baked bread.
- Thrill to a seaside jaunt astride a camel at sunset during your visit to Essaouira, former haunt of Jimi Hendrix, Cat Stevens, and countless other artists.
- Savor lunch and a wine tasting at one of Morocco’s prestigious wineries, owned by a Rhône Valley expat whose two trusty dromedaries plow the fields.
Accommodations
Linger Longer with a Tour Extension

2021 Pre-Tour Extension - Marrakech
- One night at Les Jardins de la Koutoubia Hotel
- Small-group airport and hotel transfers
1 Night From $298
per person, double occupancy
Single Supplement: From $198
Begin your adventure by departing from a convenient gateway city in the United States or Canada. Spend your first night aloft.
Upon arrival at Marrakech’s Menara Airport, a representative holding a Country Walkers sign meets you as you exit the baggage claim area. Please note that there may be up to a 45-minute wait if there are other guests arriving within the same time frame. A complimentary small-group transfer will be provided to your Marrakech hotel, approximately 20 minutes away. The remainder of the day is at your leisure (no meals included).
If you are going to be delayed meeting our transfer representative for more than 15 minutes due to delayed or lost luggage, please contact Allianz Global Assistance to advise of your delay, and they will contact our transfer service on your behalf. Our drivers are generally able to wait for up to 45 minutes from the time your flight lands, after which you would be responsible for your own transfer.
Please note: If you arrive early, and your hotel room is not available prior to the designated check-in time, you may store your luggage with the reception desk.
Country Walkers provides you with City Information that includes recommendations on what to see and do in Marrakech during your stay.
Accommodation: Les Jardins de la Koutoubia – Marrakech
Welcome to Marrakech, Morocco’s storied city of medinas, minarets, and gardens. You have the entire day to explore this enchanting city on your own, creating a Marrakech walking tour suited to your whims and desires. You might begin with a walk through the beautiful Majorelle Gardens, named for a French Orientalist artist. These lush botanical landscape gardens were laid out over a 40-year period, beginning in 1923. Fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent purchased the property in the 1980s. Today, it remains a peaceful haven and an ideal place for a sun-dappled amble. In time for lunch, you can proceed to the famed Djemaa El-Fna Square, a veritable medieval carnival of acrobats, storytellers, snake charmers and food stalls grilling all manner of kebabs. It is a delight to explore this teeming, culture-rich theater. American expatriate writer Paul Bowles said that without it, Marrakech would be just another Moroccan city.
For dinner, the city boasts many dining options, so seek the assistance of the hotel concierge. Or ascend to the rooftop restaurant of your hotel to savor cuisine inspired by Berber tradition and a keen French influence. During your meal, you can enjoy sweeping and romantic views of the cityscape and the distant Atlas Mountains, where you will be spending a few enriching days.
Accommodation: Les Jardins de la Koutoubia – Marrakech
Included Meals: Breakfast

2021 Post-Tour Extension - Fes
- Two nights at the elegant riad, Palais Faraj Suites & Spa, Fès
- One night at the Sofitel Casablanca Tour Blanche, Casablanca
- Flight from Marrakech to Casablanca and roundtrip ground transfers Fès
- Small-group guided walking tour of ancient Fès (with monuments entry)
- One lunch and one dinner
3 Nights From $1298
per person, double occupancy
Single Supplement: From $398
Fly from Marrakech to Casablanca, and continue by ground transfer to Fès, home to the most complete medieval city in the world. By some account, 9,500 labyrinthine streets and alleys wind their way through the city’s famous car-free medina, totaling some 180 miles. Your luxury riad is ideally situated right on the edge of the massive marketplace, putting the UNESCO World Heritage site at your feet. A light lunch and dinner are included today; enjoy the latter at your hotel’s elegant restaurant.
Accommodation: Palais Faraj Suites & Spa, Fès
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After a leisurely breakfast, you meet your local guide at 9:00 a.m. in the hotel lobby for a fascinating walking tour of the medina. A small city unto itself, Fès’ medina is Morocco’s most important intellectual, cultural, and religious center. Within its walls is one of the world’s oldest universities, some of the finest handicrafts in northern Africa, and numerous monuments that honor the city’s past as an imperial capital. Throughout your tour, you’ll find there is nothing like having a local insider along to reveal the hidden passages and secret corners of Fès. You visit the exterior of the austere yet elegant Kairaouine Mosque, able to accommodate 22,000 worshippers, and the Medersa el-Attarine, one of several ornate medieval theological colleges. Experience the clang and bustle of Seffarine Square, where copper artisans hammer and polish metal into urns and pots as they have for centuries. Continue to the dyers’ quarter and get a bird’s-eye view of the tanneries, a visual feast of round stone vessels filled with (pungent) multi-hued dyes. Enjoy a lunch of traditional Moroccan fare in the heart of the medina, and continue to the Jewish quarter (Mellah), and the splendid golden doors of the Royal Palace. Late afternoon finds you relaxing at your riad or perhaps indulging in a spa treatment before dinner on your own.
Country Walkers provides you with City Information that includes restaurant recommendations to enjoy during your stay in Fès.
Accommodation: Palais Faraj Suites & Spa, Fès
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
After a morning of independent exploration or perhaps a relaxing spa treatment, transfer (3½ hours by minibus) to Casablanca for a late afternoon arrival. Your guides during your main tour will have advised you when to be in the hotel lobby for your pick-up. Once in Casablanca, settle into your hotel and take in its splendid views of the medina, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Hassan II Mosque, the largest in Africa. Lunch and dinner are on your own today.
Country Walkers provides you with City Information that includes recommendations on what to see and do in Casablanca during your brief stay.
Accommodation: Sofitel Casablanca Tour Blanche Hotel, Casablanca
Included Meals: Breakfast
Transfer to the Casablanca airport for your flight. Your guides during your main tour will have advised you when to be in the hotel lobby for your pick-up based on your flight schedule.
Included Meals: Breakfast
Expert Local Guides
Experience your destination like an insider with people who call it home.

Nadia Kartaf
Nadia Kartaf is a native of Fès with years of experience guiding in her hometown and its surrounding countryside. With a degree in English literature from the University of Fès, Nadia loves reading in addition to music, horseback riding, and travel.

Saida Ezzahoui
A native of the former imperial city of Fès, Saida Ezzahoui is a licensed guide of this fascinating city and was one of the first female guides to accompany groups along trails through her beloved Atlas Mountains. With a degree in English Literature and fluency in three languages, Saida personifies the modern, yet traditional, Moroccan woman.

Jalil Braoul
Jalil Braoul was born in a small town outside of Morocco’s spiritual capital, Fès. With a BA in English Literature from the University of Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah (Fès), Jalil also brings to the trail more than fifteen years of guiding experience and an intimate knowledge of his native country’s renowned and lesser-known attributes.
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