Southern Spain Morocco Tour

Day 1: MALAGA.

Have a private transfer from the airport to your accommodation and settle in/ freshen up. Go out for a stroll around the Alcazaba, overlooking the port, and the Roman district , an audacious introduction to the Moorish culture. Have dinner or tapas next to Calle Larios ( we’ll recommend our tried & tested).

Day 2: MALAGA – RONDA ( 1H30 DRIVE);

After breakfast, stop on the way to Ronda in a White Village and visit a 30.000 year old and 1600 meter long cave with prehistoric engravings. Or why not get your pulse running on the suspended bridges of Caminito del Rey ? Arrive in Ronda in the afternoon. Check in and go out for a stroll around the historical center.  And yes, cross that bridge. For the adventurous, stroll down to the river for the panoramic vistas.

We could point to Joaquin Peinado’s museum ( where Picasso works are almost always on display), the Casa del Rey Moro ( careful, many, many stairs…) or the Arab hammams, but the beauty in Ronda is just flaneering and getting lost in the past around its palaces, churches and carmenes, where bougainvillea and jasmin cascade over into the alleys. La ciudad soñada, indeed. For dinner we’ll recommend one of our tried and tested restaurants with a panoramic view on the gorges.

Day 3: RONDA – ANTEQUERRA – CORDOBA ( 3 HOUR DRIVE);

After breakfast have an olive oil experience. Try out various types of olive oil at a local domain ( no shopping obligation) and/ or drive to Antequerra. Some of the oldest dolmens  stud the outskirts of the town which also counts Roman mosaics and a Moorish castle among its sites.  Nearby lies Torcal de Antequerra, a most peculiar rock formation where stones take most unexpected shapes: puff pastries, daggers or potatoes. Or maybe it’s just us. A 2 hour circular walk is worth the effort at this UNESCO world site. Arrive in Cordoba in the afternoon. Check in and relax. We’ll recommend our favorite tried and tested tapa spots.

Day 4: CORDOBA – VISIT OF THE CITY/ CATHEDRAL – MOSQUE;

Have a visit of the city of Cordoba and the Cathedral/ Mosque. Could a few lines ever do justice to a city that was the paragon of civilization in the 10^th and 11^th century, an epoch where Europe still wallowed in the grimness of the Middle Ages ? Certainly not. While the 500 mosques or the 200.000 volume library of the caliph are gone, many vestiges still display the magnificence of its golden age. Start with the Mezquita, first built in the 8^th century and later expanded by the Omeyad caliphs. Then travel to Medina Azahra, a ruined palatial city some 30 minutes outside Cordoba. In the evening, try and catch one of the Andalusian equestrian shows, crowned by a dance performance between the horse and a flamenco dancer.

Day 5: CORDOBA – ZUHEROS/ PRIEGO – GRANADA ( 2 HOUR DRIVE);

The Arab hammams, the Nurias or the Jewish district with its synagogue are worth a detour ( if you’re there in spring, don’t miss the flowered patios). Jamon decks all the restaurants in Andalucia, but the cordobes is coveted even by the granainos. Spend some more time wandering around Cordoba or take the road and stop en route to Granada in a white village for a trek, visit to a rock castle and typical lunch. Arrive in Granada late afternoon. On the right day of the week, witness a flamenco shows where locals flock. Have dinner on site or head to one of our tried and tested restaurants.

Day 6: GRANADA – VISIT OF THE CITY/ ALHAMBRA.

The architectural feats of the Alhambra continue to stun not only the visitors but also architects from all over the world. Books have been written only on the irrigation and sewage network or the splendor of its gardens. We highly recommend us arranging a private visit ( 3 to 5 hours visit). Have lunch and then roam around the Albayzin, the district that constituted the old medina. We could point out the maristan ( the first known hospital to cater for mental diseases in the world)  or the mirador de San Nicolas where locals and tourists alike mingle to listen to street music or selfie with the Alhambra and Sierra Nevada in the background. Yet, what a surrender to just amble about its whitewashed alleys, plazas and belvederes and take in the Andalusian pace…

Day 7: GRANADA – FREE DAY.

Catch up on the sites that you missed previously. Did you know it was the cathedral of Granada ( erected on the former grand mosque spot) where Columbus got the blessing of the Queen Isabel to depart and scour the seas for new lands ? Isabel and the king are buried in the cathedral’s chapel and a stone throw away, lies the medersa ( Islamic university) albeit only a fragment of its old foundations can be peaked through the glass ceiling floor. Across the boulevard, Corral de Carbon is the last fondouk ( caravanserai) still standing in Europe. Behind it , the old Jewish district, Realejo, sprawls, with its alternative bars and some of the best views on the city. We can also arrange for a day trip to Guadix to see the caves, a cooking class with lunch, cata de jamon or a trek in the Sierra Nevada.

Day 8: GRANADA – ALPUJARRA ( TREKKING/ WHITE VILLAGES) – MALAGA ( 4 HOUR DRIVE).

Alpujarra or the Alpujarras is a mountainous region close to Granada, famous for its white washed villages that served as a refuge for the Moors expelled from Granada after the Reconquista, and more recently to writers such as Virginia Wolf, Gerald Brenan and… the hippies. The Moors left behind their terraced gardening, exotic species and the peculiar honeycomb villages so ubiquitous in Morocco ( think Chefchaouen, but white). Village ladies nowadays still visit their neighbor across the tinaos (roof terraces) guarded by the unique sombrero chimneys. Leave Granada rather early to arrive in the Alpujarra and do a 3- 4 hour trek, with views on the Mulhacen ( 3480 meters altitude). Have a local lunch ( we’ll recommend our tried & tested) and then roam around the alleys and/ or visit a local craftsman. Later, take the road and arrive in Malaga early evening ( from June to September half a day on a secluded beach can be arranged).

Day 9: MALAGA – MARRAKECH ( 1 HOUR FLIGHT). MARRAKECH – CASABLANCA – RABAT ( 4 HOUR DRIVE).

Take an early flight to Marrakech ( if the flights are in the afternoon, spend the previous night in Marrakech instead of Malaga). Pick up at the airport in Marrakech by your dedicated driver and 4×4. (In Morocco you’ll have a driver- guide from arrival to departure, along with local guides along the way.) Then, travel to Rabat. Check in at the riad and freshen up/ rest. Later, go out to visit some of the sites of Rabat with your driver: Kasbah des Oudayas, the Chellah or the Mohamed 5 Mausoleum.

Day 10: RABAT- KENITRA – CHEFCHAOUEN (4 h drive)

After breakfast, visit the medina of Sale with a local university teacher and enter sites not accessible to the general public: the dungeons, the towers, etc. while also learning about the typical elements of a Moroccan medina from someone that is conducting its restoration. Later, take the highway and skirt past Kenitra. Breast the Riff Mountains and after many curbs and twists arrive in Chefchaouen. Drop the luggage at the riad and go out for a stroll around the blue- washed town.

Day 11: CHEFCHAOUEN- MEKNES- VOLUBILIS- FES (5 hour drive)

After breakfast, roam around the medina or take a stroll in the nearby mountains. Later, stop on the way to Fes to visit the Roman ruins at Volubilis, the best preserved of their kind, and perhaps also in Meknes, one other imperial city, with its monumental turrets and battlements, Royal stables and towering gates. Reach Fes in the evening.

DAY 12: FES – visit of the city.

One day is hardly enough for all the wonders of the largest still standing enclosed city in the world and world- famous for its leather and metalwork to not mention the medersas or the leather tanneries, the 9500 derbs (narrow alleys), one of the oldest universities in the world and all the sounds, smells and sights that assault the senses. Fes conjures the image of the quintessential fabled Arab city as Baghdad at the time of the 1001 nights… Visit the city with a local English speaking guide He will collect you at your hotel after breakfast. Accommodation as previously. Dinner on your own. We’ll recommend our tried & tested.

DAY 13: FES – IFRANE – AZROU – MIDELT- ERRACHIDIA – MERZOUGA ( 7 hour drive). The drive can be broken in two days with an overnight half way.

Leave Fes after breakfast and our first stop is Ifrane and with its alpine chalets, trimmed gardens, leafy park surrounding a mountain fed lake, you could almost be in … Switzerland. Pretty walks are to be had in these forests where the cheeky Barbary macaque roam, to the delight of the visitors. The surrounding countryside is pigmented by apricots, walnut and pictures of rural Berber life as we approach Midelt. Then, enter the Ziz Gorges where the first palm groves start to show and arrive in Erfoud. The first sand dunes come into sight. Later, arrive in Merzouga. Drop the 4×4 for camels and arrive at your camp in time for sunset.

DAY 14: MERZOUGA – RISSANI – TINERIR – TODRA – SKOURA ( 5 hour drive)

Wake up to witness the sunrise over the dunes. Later, have breakfast and get back on the road. In Rissani or Tinejdad visit a traditional fortified ksour village and its wells of light. Todra Gorges, lie only 15 km from Tinerir, presenting an arresting spectacle with its crystal clear river emerging from it, its huge walls changing colour to magical effect as the day unfolds. Further on, reach the Valley of Roses famous for its rose water all over Morocco. Dades gorges will mesmerize you with their monkey fingers and decaying kasbahs. Ultimately, reach the palm grove of Skoura.

DAY 15: SKOURA.

After breakfast drive to the High Atlas mountains and reach altitudes where untouched adobe villages stud the slopes. Leave the vehicle and have a trek with a local guide and visit a village with its traditional stone houses, where the locals still use the water mills. Lunch in a local gite. If you prefer something more relaxing, have a tour of the palm grove with a local guide, learn about community’s traditions and kasbah architecture. Why not bargain for vegetables in a village market ? In the afternoon, relax in the stunning gardens by the pool. Dinner and accommodation as previously.

DAY 17: SKOURA – AIT BENHADDOU – TELOUET – MARRAKECH ( 5 hour drive)

Leave Skoura to then cross through Ouarzazate and arrive at UNESCO world site Ait Benhaddou. Have a wander around the adobe honey- comb citadel, home to such blockbusters as Gladiator or Game of Thrones. Take on the High Atlas mountains and its windy dramatic turns and stop at Telouet to admire the ruins of the former pasha’s palace. Later, cross the Tizi n Tichka pass at 2165 meters. Stop en route and see how the argan fruit is turned into the much coveted oil. Descend upon Marrakech in the evening.

DAY 18: MARRAKECH.

Visit the city with our local English speaking guide. He will collect you after breakfast at your riad. Since you probably had visited a few medersas in Fes, the best is to start with the Dar El Bacha, the former pacha’s residence and the ruined Badi Palace, that a 18^th century visitor dubbed ‘the 8^th wonder of the world’. Next door, the imposing marble columns of the golden dynasty , the Saadis, adorn the mausoleums. The small yet very richly decorated Douiria is a fine example of crafts and architecture from two centuries ago. Make some time to sample UNESCO world site Jemaa El Fna square in the evening, half way between a tableau vivant and a circus show: the musicians, acrobats, snake charmers, henna tattooers and the food stalls. Accommodation as per the previous night. Dinner on your own. We’ll recommend our tried and tested.

DAY 19: MARRAKECH- CASABLANCA ( 3 hour drive).

Have a lazy day around Marrakech – tour some of the gardens of the city, browse the souks, catch up on what you missed the previous day or just do nothing and soak up the peaceful atmosphere of your riad . Your driver will be on standby, should you need his services. Late afternoon, have your driver take you to the airport in Casablanca ( if flight in the AM, spend an extra night in Marrakech to get dropped off in Casablanca next morning). Drop off at the airport at least 2 hours and a half before your flight. End of the tour.