Trip Highlight
Flight
We flew round trip Royal Air Maroc from JFK to Casablanca and a one way from Casablanca to Errachidia.
Data plan
Local SIM card with data is relatively inexpensive in Morocco. We got a 10GB for 10USD at Casablanca airport. Normally we don’t get local data plan as we can use offline google map and other offline apps. However, we found the local data plan to be very useful especially in the medina as offline google map doesn’t provide “walking” direction and hence doesn’t work in the medina.
Money
You will need local currency. Credit card is not widely used in Morocco and cash is required. We took out money from ATM at the airport – check your bank’s policy and fees for withdraw at foreign ATM. Ours ended up being a better deal than using the exchanges. There are foreign exchanges at the airport as well as in the cities.
Tour Guide Info
Sahara Desert Tour
we booked a 3 day private guide with Morocco Fabulous Travel
Mohamed from Morocco Fabulous Travel is very responsive via email throughout the whole process. He helped us with options on the itinerary and provided several options/quotes for the tour. He is the one that told us about the flight option from Casablanca to Errachidia to save on driving times for the desert tour.
Only complaint we have is the lunches during the 3 day tour are a bit of tourist trap, I guess too many tours on the route the price for lunch (average about $10 USD per person) is overpriced as compared to similar meals in Marrakech.
The drive between Merzouga and Marrakech/Fes is very long with nothing much in between. If visiting both Fes and Marrakech consider doing one way Marrakech – Merzouga – Fes or Fes – Merzouga – Marrakech. If limit in time fly in and out of Errachidia, Errachidia is 2 hours drive from Merzouga. I would not recommend doing the 3 days round trip from Marrakech as most of the 3 days will be spend driving.
Imlil tour
With Mustapha Day-trip to the Atlas Mountains & Three Valleys, Camel ride – Airbnb
Highly recommend this tour, Mustapha is excellent at sharing stories/information about the region and his culture. Lunch at his home cooked by his mother is the best meal we had in Morocco.
We did not have high expectation for the camel ride as we had just done the camel ride at the Saharh desert. However, they did a good job with providing costumes and the guide know how to take good pictures for you, we ended up enjoying the half hour camel ride more than we expected.
The visit to argan oil cooperative, which we expected to be a tourist shopping trap, compared to the other argan oil cooperative we visited on other tours was actually better. It’s smaller and better managed and they actually give you a brief introduction and sample of the product.
Essaouira tour
booked with our Riad
The pickup process was a bit disorganized, we spent about 1 hour driving around Marrakech and ended up at a meeting place not far from where we were picked up and were asked to switch cars.
The drive from Marrakech to Essaouira is about 3 hours with 2 stops (1 quick restroom break and 1 stop to visit Aragan cooperative). We choose not to participate in the Aragan cooperative tour.
Marrakech to Casablanca Airport transfer
We booked a private transfer from Marrakech to Casablanca airport with this Company- Marrakech to Casablanca Airport transfers & Taxis (marrakechairporttransfer.com) Booking was easy and confirmation of the driver was sent via whatsapp the day before. The drive to casablanca airport was about 2.5 hours. We left Marrakech at 9am and was at the airport before noon.
Click here for picture book
Day1 Casablanca
| Fly to Casablanca | |
| 8:40am | Arrive Casablanca |
| 8:40 – 10:30 | Custom/pick up luggage/ATM/Buy train ticket |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Train to Casa Port |
| 11:30 – 12:30 | Walk to hotel/check in – Hotel Central |
| 12:30 – 1:00 | Walk to Hassan II Mosque |
| 1:00 – 4:00 | Hassan II Mosque |
| 4:00 – 7:00 | Old Medina/Dinner |
| 7:00 – 8:00 | Train to Casablanca airport |
| 8:00 – 11:00 | Casablanca airport/check in/wait for flight |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Fly to ERH (Errachidia) |
| 12:00 – | hotel – Écologie oasis tafilalt |
Day2 Errachidia to Merzouga
| 9:30 | Tour Guide pickup at hotel |
| 9:30 – 10:30 | Drive to Ziz Valley |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | Drive to Rissani Sunday Market |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Rissani Market |
| 12:00 – 1:00 | Drive to Khamlia |
| 1:00 – 1:30 | listen to Gnawa music played by local from south of Africa |
| 1:30 – 2:30 | abandoned village of M’Fis – mines of Galena |
| 2:30 – 3:00 | visit nomadic family behind Erg Chebbi Dunes |
| 3:00 – 4:30 | Lunch at Cafe Nora |
| 4:30 – 5:00 | Meet Camel |
| 5:00 – 7:00 | Camel Ride/Sunset/Desert camp |
| 8:00 – 9:00 | Dinner at camp |
| 9:00 – 10:00 | camp fire/music/star gazing |
Day3 Merzouga to Dades Gorge
| 7:00 – 8:00 | View Sunrise |
| 8:00 – 8:30 | Breakfast |
| 8:30 – 10:00 | Camel Ride back to Merzouga |
| 10:00 – 1:00 | Drive to Tinghir / short stop at Oasis of Tinghir |
| 1:00 – 1:45 | Drive to Todra Gorge |
| 1:45 – 2:00 | Short walk at Todra Gorge |
| 2:00 – 3:00 | Lunch |
| 3:00 – 5:00 | Drive to Dades Gorge |
| 5:00 – 6:00 | Walk Dades Gorge |
| 6:00 | Check in to Hotel – Hotel Babylon Dades |
| 7:00 | Dinner |
Day4 Dades Gorge to Marrakech
| 9:00 – 11:20 | Drive to Ouarzazate |
| 11:20 – 11:30 | short stop outsite Atlas Studio |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | Drive to Ait Ben Hadou |
| 12:00 – 1:00 | Ait Ben Hadou |
| 1:00 – 2:30 | Drive to High Atlas Mountain |
| 2:30 – 3:30 | lunch |
| 3:30 – 6:00 | Drive over high atlas mountain to Marrakech |
| 6:00 – 7:30 | check in to hotel – Riad Dar Essalam |
| 7:30 – 9:00 | Dinner at Jamaa el Fna Square |
Day5 Marrakech
| 10:30 – 11:00 | ATM/Walk to Saadian Tombs |
| 11:00 – 12:00 | Saadian Tombs |
| 12:00 – 1:20 | Badi Palace |
| 1:20 – 2:40 | Lunch/walk to Le Jardin Secret |
| 2:30 – 3:30 | Le Jardin Secret |
| 3:30 – 4:30 | Ibn Youssef |
| 4:30 – 6:00 | Medina/Isis spa make reservation/dinner |
Day6 Day trip to Imlil
| 9:00 | Meet tour guide |
| 9:30 – 10:30 | Camel Ride |
| 10:30 – 11:30 | driving to high atlas mountain |
| 11:30 – 12:00 | visit Argan oil women cooperative |
| 12:00 – 1:00 | Drive to High Atlas Mountain |
| 1:00 – 4:00 | Short hike to Guide’s home/lunch |
| 4:00 – 4:30 | Imlil waterfall |
| 4:30 – 6:30 | Drive back to Marrakech |
Day7 Day trip to Essaouira
| 8:15-9:00 | Meet tour guide/ pickup other guests |
| 9:00 – 1:00 | Drive to Essaouria with stop at Argan Cooperative |
| 1:00 – 5:00 | Essaouira |
| 5:00 – 8:30 | Drive back to Marrakech |
Day8 Marrakech
| 9:40 – 10:30 | Walk to Jardin Majorelle – Yves Saint Laurent Mansion |
| 10:30 – 11:10 | Attampt to buy ticket / decided to give up |
| 11:10 – 11:30 | Taxi to Bahai Palace |
| 11:30 – 1:00 | Bahai Palace |
| 1:00 – 2:30 | lunch/rest at Riad |
| 2:30 – 5:00 | Hammam / Grilled Lamb |
Day9 Fly back
| 9:00 – 12:00 | Drive to Casablanca Airport |
| 12:00 – 3:50 | Check in /wait for flight |
| 3:50 | Fly back to JFK |
Where we stayed
| Casablanca (just checking luggage for the day) | Hotel Central |
| 1 night in Errachidia | Écologie oasis tafilalt |
| 1 night in Sahara Desert | Africa Luxury Camp |
| 1 night in Dades Gorge | Hotel Babylon Dades |
| 5 nights in Marrakech | Riad Dar Essalam |
No Responses