Morocco New Years Desert and Kasbahs
30s - 40s -50s & Active 60s Singles Vacation
December 27 2012 - January 6 2013
$2425
 
Visit Morocco a country with a heady mix of cultures, religions, languages with ancient roots and a strikingly modern outlook. The influence of Romans, Arabs and Europeans are spotted everywhere. Morocco is a unique blend of the African Berber, Arab and Mediterranean. For centuries travelers have crossed shifting sands and braved mountain passes in search of mythic Morocco. On this singles vacation you will be dazzled by royal palaces, extraordinary oasis and spectacular feats of hospitality.

Morocco Desert and Kasbahs Singles Vacation Itinerary

DAY 1 - Arrive Casablanca
 
Arrive in the morning at Casablanca airport (flying home from Marrakech)
and transfer to our hotel. Shuttles will be available every 2 hours in the morning. Check-in and meet all your new single travel friends as we are greeted in the lobby by our tour guide at 3:00pm.

Casablanca, Morocco’s economic capital and the second largest city in Africa, retains its charm thanks to its Art Deco architecture. There are many wonderful discoveries to be made on our afternoon tour of Casablanca including: the Central Market, United Nations & Mohamed V Squares, the Habous Quarter, view The Royal palace, visit Hassan II Mosque, the second largest mosque in the world, tour by the cornice Aïn Diab.

Welcome Dinner at Rick’s Cafe Restaurant, the mythical saloon from the 1942 film "Casablanca", has finally been transformed from celluloid to wood, glass and plaster. Set in an old courtyard-style mansion built against the Old Medina, the restaurant piano bar is filled with architectural and decorative details reminiscent of the film.

Day 2 - Casablanca - Rabat - Meknes - Volubilis - Fez

After breakfast we depart for Rabat the capital of the kingdom and headquarters of the government, parliament, ministries and administrations. View the Royal Palace, Hassan Tower, the famous tomb of the late king Mohamed V who fulfilled Morocco's independence, and the Oudaya Kasbah.

Next it is onto Meknes with its 25 miles of walls surrounding the city it is rich in history. See the Gate of Bab Mansour, the ancient Jewish quarter, and the Moulay Ismail Granaries.

Before we continue to Fez we stop to explore the relics of the Roman city Volubilis, North Africa's best preserved and most significant archaeological site. Occupied by the Romans in around 40BC, it developed into a thriving city of 20 000. To walk around the site today brings the grand achievements and daily routines of an ancient civilization vividly to life. Especially notable are a series of mosaic floors depicting scenes from classical mythology and everyday life.

Day 3 - Fez

Today we explore Fez, the cultural and spiritual center of Morocco, founded in 790 AD and the oldest of the three imperial cities. Our guided tour includes the medieval Medina, the old part of the city, which has been continuously inhabited since the 10th century and still bustles with a throng of colorfully costumed tribal people, from olive-dealers and veiled women, to merchants and traditional bell-ringing water-sellers.

We will then continue to the Mellah, the Jewish quarter with a walled boundary and a fortified gateway. These Jewish quarters were located near the royal residencies so that the inhabitants would be protected.

After time for lunch, wander the winding cobblestone streets in search of bargains. We’ll visit the famous leather tanneries, a honeycomb of vats erupting in an explosion of brilliant color.

Day 4 - Fez - Ifran - Midelt - Erfoud - Merzouga

After breakfast we travel past a pageantry of fragrant, dense pine and cedar forests, terraced farms and the mud-brick Berber villages in Azrou known for its wood-carved handicrafts and expert carpet weaving. We stop in Midelt, a sleepy village flanked by the verdant beauty of both the Middle and the snow-covered High Atlas Mountains, bursting with colorful minerals that mottle the mountainside in a blaze of ruby, emerald and topaz.

On arrival to Erfoud we will be transported by 4WD vehicles across the High Atlas, along oasis valley gorges and past one thousand Kasbahs for a sunset camel trek across the sandy dunes of the Erg Chebbi. The Moroccan desert is beautiful and Camel trekking, in such a destination is a once in a lifetime experience. These dunes are unique due to its gorgeous orange color during sun set.

We spend the night in Merzouga, a small village in southeastern Morocco. Dinner at hotel tonight.

Day 5 - Merzouga - Erfoud - Tinghir - Ouarzazate

After breakfast we drive back to Erfoud by 4WD vehicles where we reboard our bus and drive to Tinghir and onto Todra Gorge. The scenery is spectacular. The gorge is just wide enough for a crystal-clear river and some trekkers to squeeze through. Local people live in the area and can be seen with their small donkeys, or herding camels.

This afternoon, we continue along the "Route of a Thousand Kasbahs" and the Dades River Valley where everything is calm, beautiful and fresh, the perfect image of an area where time has stood still for centuries.

Our day ends at Ouarzazate where we check-in to our hotel and get ready for our New Year's Gala.

Day 6 - Ourazatate - Accordant

Our day starts with a brief sightseeing tour of Ourazazate city. Originally built by the French in the 1920’s, Ouarzazate has become a center of the Moroccan film industry because of its proximity to desert and snow covered mountains. We will visit the Kasbah Taourirt, used as a hotel for the cast of "Laurence of Arabia" while the movie was being shot.

Our next stop is the Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou village to visit the ruins of this ancient Kasbah. The Ait-Ben-Haddou, a UNESCO site, houses an entire city within its walls with the houses densely packed together amidst crowded streets. The Kasbah sits on a hill and is made completely of mud bricks.

Drive to Taroudant via Taznakht then we continue on via the route of saffron to Taliouine and then to evening's destination Taroudant. Where we check-in to our hotel and have dinner.

Day 7 - Taroudant - Marrakech

After breakfast we will have a brief tour of the charming city of Taroudant.
With its majestic gold, pink and orange tinted ramparts, Taroudant is half citadel, half oasis. Called “the little Marrakech”, the clay houses, the minarets & the groves of oranges and pomegranates seem to drowse beneath the gaze of the frosted High Atlas. The walls, the souks, and the stark backdrop of the High Atlas are the town's main attractions. The souks are not large but they are varied; there is a strong radiation of local craft and much of the works here is of upstanding quality.

Next we have about a 2 hour drive to Marrakech, also known as the "Red City" and is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history.

Day 8 - Marrakech

We spend the day in Marrakech. An enchanting palm oasis set against the snow-capped peaks of the High Atlas Mountains, Marrakech is Morocco’s second oldest majestic imperial city and retains the splendor of its ancient past. Buildings are blushed in hues of the red earth, the horse-drawn carriages clip along broad avenues lined with palm, lime and orange trees. In the morning w visit the ancient Bahia Palace from the days of the harem, the royal Saadian Tombs and the Koutoubia Mosque and Minaret, Menara Garden and the Medina.

This afternoon, we continue our visit visit of Jemaa El Fna Square where Berber acrobats, fortune tellers, storytellers and mischievous monkeys perform. By night food stalls open in the square turning it into a huge busy open-air restaurant.

Day 9 - Marrakech

A free day to explore the city and markets of Marrakech. Marrakech has the largest traditional market (souk) in Morocco. A souk can mean either a single market stall or, as in this case, a whole bustling labyrinth of stalls selling everything from rugs and spices to leather goods and love potions.

Day 10 - Marrakech & Excursion by 4x4 to the Atlas Mountains

Today we drive our own 4 passenger 4WD vehicles on an overland safari. Find yourselves in the heart of the Berber countryside where paths lead to picturesque villages and hamlets, through forests and hunting reserves filled with wild-life. The extraordinarily colorful rose gardens bloom from April to December.

Our convoy will cross the 1300 hectare Palmeraie, a genuine oasis which spreads its coolness out over the Haouz plain to the North-West of the town. Before reaching the first foothills, the Jbilets to the North and the beginnings of the High Atlas chain to the South can be seen on the horizons.

The High Atlas chain, the highest mountain range in North Africa, provides an inexhaustible supply of water. It is a spine made up of a series of forbidding mountains, making access difficult, although there are passes along three axes.
Behind each pass, we find many villages, generally built by stones or by earth mixed with water. In the high Atlas we meet only Berbers, the first people living in North Africa. Berbers still keep their traditions and wear traditional dress.

After a barbecue lunch at the Ouirgane village, we arrive back at the hotel around 3:30pm.

And later this evening -- Promenade by horse-drawn carriages to our Farewell Dinner at Gharnata Palace, a beautiful private palace or "riad" situated in the "médina". Walk through a torched lit Narrow Street to arrive at the Palace. Our entertainment will be an Andalusian orchestra and a belly dancer.

DAY 11 - Depart Marrakech

After a final breakfast we have to say goodbye to all our new single travel friends as we are transferred to the airport and our flights home. 

Hotels

Morocco Desert and Kasbahs Singles Vacation December 27 - January  6 13 Price $2,425* Includes * 10 Nights Accommodations * Breakfast Daily - 1 Lunch - 7 Dinners * Guided Tours per itinerary * Airport/Hotel Transfers on Tour Dates * All Taxes and Surcharges *The price per person is for a double room. Best Single Travel provides roommate matching so there is never a need to pay a "single supplement". If you wish to room alone it is an additional $750 Not Included * International Airfare * Tips $100 collected on day 2

Deposit - $400 Balance Due November 10, 2012