Day 1

Depart London Gatwick on your British Airways flight to Marrakech. On arrival you will be met and transferred to the 4* Hotel Tichka Salam for 3 nights.

Day 2

The morning tour of the city takes in some of the sights and monuments that make Marrakech so famous. Your English speaking guide will take you into the Medina, a labyrinth of small streets and alleyways filled with shops and stalls selling everything imaginable, with an aroma of saffron and orange blossom everywhere.

The Menorah, surrounded by magnificent gardens, is probably the most peaceful place in Marrakech, its tranquil waters and the snow capped mountains in the background in winter making it a perfect setting for those holiday photos. You will also be taken into the 19th century Bhatia Palace (if the King is not in residence) which was built over a period of 6 years.Finally, your day is complete with a visit to the famous Djerma El Fna square with its fortune tellers, dancers, snake charmers and water sellers. This square really is the heart of Marrakech. Afternoon at leisure.

Day 3

At leisure in Marrakech.

Day 4

You will be picked up from your hotel for your transfer to Ouarzazate over the Tiz’n Tichka pass at a height of 2260 metres (3 hrs). Dinner and overnight at 4* Hotel Kenzi Azghor. Created as a garrison and administrative centre by the French, Ouarzazate is where the High Atlas, Anti Atlas, Draa Valley and Er -Rachidia desert meet.

Day 5

A full day sightseeing in the region of Ouarzazate. The whole morning will be spent in the area of Ait Ben Haddou with its wonderful Kasbah, now under the protection of UNESCO. Its ochre walls have been the backdrop for many Hollywood movies, including Gladiator. There will be an opportunity here for lunch and then on to the film studios for the afternoon. Dinner and overnight at Kenzi Azghor.

Day 6

Travel along the road of a thousand Kasbahs via the Todha Gorges to Erfoud on the edge of the Sahara Desert (4½ hrs). From the rendezvous point at the Hotel Tizimi in Erfoud, you will set out on a 1½ hours’ drive by 4WD towards the south, crossing the Oued Ziz, first along a tarmacadam road for some 16km, then another 35km of sandy piste trails to the tiny desert town of Merzouga in an enormous palmeraie.

You will see, in a dramatic line almost perfectly from north to south, the incredible panorama of the sea of sand dunes of the Erg Chebbi. Once you have arrived at Merzouga, alight to enjoy a traditional welcoming glass of mint tea at the Auberge du Sud. Set off on your dromedary for 2 hours across a sea of golden dunes. This is the only ‘true’ desert area of the kingdom of Morocco and an area where meteorites continue to be found, as were crocodile teeth, shark, pterosaur and spinosaurus fossils.

Witness Nature’s incredible light show of sunset over ever-changing colours of dunes, to continue on under the star-filled heavens to your bivouac site of a carpeted Berber tent in a small oasis. After a glass of mint tea on arrival your tagine dinner will be prepared. Overnight in the desert.

Day 7

Erg Chebbi – Merzouga – Erfoud. Watch a brilliant sunrise, and after breakfast set off back across the plain for your final Meharée of some 2½ hours to the Auberge Du Sud. Continue by 4WD on the 1½ hour drive back to Erfoud and the Hotel Xalacca Maadad for dinner and overnight.

Day 8

Transfer to N’Kob. Overnight in Kasbah Baha Baha.

Rising from a promontory in the village of N’kob, Kasbah Baha Baha This wonderful place is the only one of its kind: a veritable ‘nest of kasbahs’ a village composed of at least 45 of these fortified dwelling places. Looking out over the surrounding countryside from the roof terrace of a kasbah is an uplifting experience – the distant horizons, the ancient and solid building beneath and the vast empty skies above.

This was once the home of a warlike and fiercely independent tribe called the “Aît Atta”, who forsook their nomadic way of life about 150 years ago to build a village at this highly strategic crossroads of the ancient drovers’ roads used by the tribe to travel each year from the desert to the High Atlas mountains.

Day 9

Return to Marrakech and the Riad Jonan for overnight.

Day 10

Transfer to Essaouira (2½ hrs) where you will stay for five nights at L’Heure Bleue. This charming seaside town on the Atlantic coast, originally a fortified emplacement created by the Portuguese in the 15th Century, is just over 100 miles west of Marrakech. The wide, sandy beaches are just five minutes walk from the town walls and for much of the year the cooling sea breeze helps to ensure that the climate is relatively mild all year round. The picturesque port is still a working harbour and there are a number of excellent fish restaurants.

Days 11 – 14

At leisure.

Day 15

Transfer to Marrakech and overnight at Hotel Tichka Salam.

Day 16

Transfer to the airport in time to check in for your return flight to London Gatwick.