| Marrakech Activity Holiday | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cookery, Hiking & Shopping |
||||||||||||||||||
6 days / 5 nights |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Cultural Tours Handcrafted in Morocco
Tour summary
6-day combined activity holiday in Marrakech with a focus on Moroccan cuisine and local seasonal flavours. After a guided tour of Marrakech’s medina, palaces, souks and main touristic sights you will then enjoy a professional cookery class led by Moroccan female chefs. During this day you also visit a community oven and go shopping for your ingredients in the local markets. On your cultural adventure you will travel in private 4x4 vehicle and enjoy a day-trek to a mountain village, built of mud and stone, in Toubkal National Park. Here you share a typical hearty meal with a Berber family using locally sourced produce. You trek to the village through orchards of almond, walnut, cherries, figs and apple - all which get used in the local dishes. Finally a day for shopping in Marrakech and an optional insider/personal guide to help you pick up those ‘must have’ souvenirs. Accommodation in a beautiful traditional riad in Marrakech. With plenty of options for add-on activities and time for your own exploration or relaxing, this short cultural break is ideal for families, couples, honeymooners, groups of friends and people of all ages and fitness levels.
Or call us now on +212 (0)615 647918 (Morocco) or +44 (0)208 123 7969 (UK)
Please note: All our Morocco tours can be customised to allow extra days for shorter daily car journeys, extra activities, relaxation days, exploration days etc. We can also adapt tours to connect with different start/end locations in Morocco. Let us know your wishes and we will build your perfect Morocco tour itinerary.
Price: Contact us for a personalised quotation.
Prices will vary according to number of people travelling in vehicle, number of days, time of year, category of accommodation chosen and activities requested.
NB Our Morocco tours are private tours organised upon request.
Day-to-day tour itinerary
Day 1
Marrakech
Arrive Marrakech airport and private transfer to your riad in the medina. You have the rest of the day free to explore the city depending on arrival time. The old medina of Marrakech is a labyrinth of narrow streets and alleys, with different neighbourhoods and streets specialising in various arts, crafts and produce. Take time to relax in your traditional riad guesthouse, enjoy the roof terrace and soak up the sounds and smells of Morocco’s favourite city. Dinner will be served at your riad/hotel this evening.
Stay: Traditional riad in the old medina of Marrakech
Meal plan: Dinner
Day 2
Marrakech Guided Tour
Half-day morning orientation tour of Marrakech with official guide - Marrakech is also known as the ‘red city’ for its famous pink-hued ramparts. Our English-speaking city guide will meet you at your riad in the morning and take you through the souks of the medieval medina, introducing you to artisans, bakers, carpenters, spice merchants, apothecaries and also including visiting the landmark monuments of Ben Youssef Medersa, the Bahia Palace and the Koutoubia Mosque. Along the way you will be able to sample some of the flavours of Morocco - olives, nuts, dates, dried fruits, roasted meat, fresh fruit and spices. Your tour ends at the famous Place Jemaa el Fna square where you can enjoy lunch from a roof terrace overlooking the bizarre activities of the acrobats, storytellers, musicians and snake charmers. Rest of the day is at leisure or we suggest you take a horse-drawn carriage to the new town are of Gueliz to visit the exquisite Majorelle Gardens, owned by Yves St. Laurent and originally private home of the painter Jacques Majorelle. We suggest you return to the square for an evening dinner at one of the outdoor food grills to sample anything from grilled meats, fried fish, fried aubergines, boiled snails, harira soup, spiced ginger tea, boiled sheep’s head and other local delicacies. Even if you decide to eat elsewhere, the experience of the Place Jemaa el Fna at night is an intoxicating one - with smoke swirling up from the grills, the pounding rhythms of the street musicians, the call to prayer ringing out from the mosques as the excited crowds gather for this nightly ‘circus’.
Stay: Traditional riad in the old medina of Marrakech
Meal plan: Breakfast
Day 3
Day Excursion to Toubkal National Park
Day trip to the stunning Toubkal National Park in the High Atlas Mountains to spend a leisurely day with easy hiking and stunning rugged scenery. You climb across streams, groves of walnut trees and almond trees, fruit orchards and gardens of fig, berries, cherries, kitchen vegetables. On reaching a small village (with only footpaths to get there) you will enjoy a simple lunch of salads, tajine or couscous and fresh fruit at the home a Berber family amongst their free-range chickens and goats! Mule trekking to the village is also an option.
Return to riad in Marrakech in the evening and choose from a range of Marrakech’s fine gastronomic restaurants with sumptuous cuisine, palatial settings, traditional oriental music and even belly dancers!
Stay: Traditional riad in the old medina of Marrakech
Meal plan: Breakfast & Lunch
Day 4
Marrakech - Moroccan Cookery Course
Today you participate in a professional Moroccan cookery class held in a traditional riad in the medina. You learn to make some of the typical dishes of Morocco’s world-renowned cuisine. The morning starts with a trip into the local souks and markets to pick the best fresh ingredients: herbs and spices, meat, fish, fruit and vegetables. You learn to haggle for the best price. This cookery school uses modern equipment and is much sought-after. Groups sizes are limited and the teaching is from a Moroccan female cook, known as the dada. You then return as a group to the cooking school to prepare a Moroccan lunch menu - gently spiced cooked salads or zaalouk, harira soup, stuffed filo pastry parcels or briouates, tajines of meat, vegetables or fish, couscous and finally Moroccan patisserie.
The lunch you have prepared is served on the terrace of the riad with the delicious food you have prepared yourselves and a chilled glass of wine.
In the late afternoon you are free to visit the other historic monuments of the medina including the El Badi Palace, Museum of Marrakech or even take a carriage ride around the Marrakech ramparts to the modern nouvelle ville area of Gueliz. Evening relax at hotel and maybe head out to sample the cafe society of Gueliz before heading to a sophisticated bar/night-club in Hivernage. You probably will only want a light snack this evening or a late-night bite.
Stay: Traditional riad in the old medina of Marrakech
Meal plan: Breakfast & Lunch
Day 5
Marrakech
Day at leisure in Marrakech for shopping. Whether you are wanting to buy a Moroccan carpet, a lantern, a set of tea glasses, a scarf, herbs and spices, or even a pair of slippers, we can provide a personal shopping guide for a half or full day to help you grab those key items you want to take back home. We can also lead you to the new ‘designer’ areas both inside and outside of Marrakech where chic Moroccan contemporary furnishings, home wares, jewellery and fashion can be found. You are free to make your own dining plans today. NB You may also wish to avail of other activities this day such as quad biking, camel riding, hot-air balloon ride, horse riding, golf, hammam/spa etc.
Stay: Traditional riad in the old medina of Marrakech
Meal plan: Breakfast
Day 6
Marrakech
Private transfer to the airport from your riad as required. Alternatively, you can choose to continue your holiday in Morocco with us by adding-on one of our Suggested Morocco Adventure Tour Itineraries.
Stay: N/A
Meal plan: Breakfast