Honeymoon desert itinerary in Morocco – 8 days

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Morocco honeymoon tour 8 days – overview:

Morocco is the perfect destination for newlyweds, with plenty of new and exciting experiences right across the kingdom.

From the bustling city of Marrakech, the spectacular scenery of the majestic Atlas Mountains, the magnificent Sahara Desert, a laid-back coastal getaway in Essaouira, this honeymoon trip offers you luxury and romance. At the same time you will experience typical Moroccan hospitality and the spirit of an unforgettable adventure.

Your first oriental thrill will be a guided Marrakech sightseeing tour to discover the red city’s attractions. These are the vibrant medina, lively colourful souks, Majorelle Gardens and le Jardin Secret, ancient madrassas, beautiful palaces and the famous Djemaa el Fna Square.

From Marrakech, you can take panoramic photos of the High Atlas, beautiful Berber villages, spectacular and iconic Kasbahs, which are an insight into the Berber adaptation to the local climate, the palm trees of oases.

At the luxury desert camp, you do some camel trekking for a day, before an evening of Berber music and drumming around a bonfire.

Further highlights are rug-making in Taznakht, the saffron museum in Talouine, the intact ramparts of Taroudant and the vivacious seaport of Essaouira.

Your honeymoon desert itinerary in Morocco starts here!

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The total cost of this honeymoon trip is 2090 €

Honeymoon desert tour in Morocco- itinerary:

1^st day: Marrakech Sightseeing Tour

Marrakech is probably best known for the central Djemaa El Fna with its juice stalls, dried fruit and nut stalls, women applying henna, snake charmers, storytellers, and the myriad of nightly food stalls.

After breakfast, you will be joined by a licensed local guide who will guide you through Marrakech. You will be able to visit the following places according to time and your preferences such as the Majorelle Garden, which belonged to Yves St Laurent and is famous for its special shade of blue, called “Majorelle blue”.

Another famous and stunning garden is le Jardin Secret, a traditional Islamic paradise garden divided into four equal areas on each side of the central crossroads pathway whose water channels are fed directly from the Atlas Mountains.

The Koutoubia Mosque, which is Marrakech’s iconic landmark and can be seen towering over the city, is located near Djemaa El Fna and is worth wandering past – non-Muslims are not permitted entry. The garden behind is worth a visit in spring with the overpowering scent of the orange blossom and people competing for the innumerable benches in the shade.

El Bahia Palace which means “the palace of the beautiful”, the Quranic School, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, which used to house some 80 Quranic students, as well as the Saadian Tombs are all worth a visit.

Among the souks are the tanneries and the leather workers, the metalwork in the shape of innumerable lamps, carpets, and Berber rugs, while the Mellah quarter with the Jewish souks have been beautifully restored.

The night will be in a beautiful riad at the heart of the red city.

2^nd day: Marrakech – Agdz

Your morning departure for this honeymoon desert itinerary in Morocco is at 8.30 from your riad in Marrakech to cross the High Atlas Mountains. After the Tizi n’Tichka pass, you leave the main road to head to Kasbah Telouet, which belonged to the Lords of the Atlas, the Glaoui family.

Each addition to the building now stands in ruins exposed to the wind and the rain, having been abandoned and plundered after the last Pasha had his property confiscated for having plotted against the King. Wait to be pleasantly surprised by the traditional interior decoration as you reach the farthest end of the Kasbah.

Unfortunately, the whole Kasbah is now closed due to the damage caused by the earthquake that struck Morocco in September 2023. Nevertheless, it is still worth visiting the exterior with a local guide to discover its rich history.

From here, you travel along the beautiful and awe-inspiring Ounila Valley, full of bends in the road, surprises at the hues of the rock and soil, Berber villages and gardens, as well as smaller Kasbahs.  Almost at the end of the road, you reach Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, where you stop for a tasty lunch.

This is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco, one of Morocco’s nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The architectural style is well preserved and the earthen constructions are perfectly adapted to the climatic conditions and in harmony with the natural and social environment. Probably originating in the 17th century, it is also famous as the backdrop to many Hollywood blockbuster films.

Having driven through Ouarzazate, we continue south over the Tizi-n-Tinfifte pass to Agdez. Descending from the pass you will be amazed at the view of the extensive oasis and the number of palm trees, all indicating the beginning of the Dra’a Valley with its thousands of date palms, producing an amazing 44 varieties of dates.  The date harvest starts in September and lasts a couple of months, so that is the best time to stop in Agdez for the freshest ones.

Upon your arrival, you will enjoy a romantic private dinner and spend the night in a luxury rural riad overlooking the Dra’a Valley.

3^rd day: Agdz – Erg Chegaga Dunes

After breakfast, there is time to visit Kasbah Tamnougalte, the oldest kasbah in the Dra’a Valley. Some of it is still inhabited but the Jewish area has been crumbling since the departure of its inhabitants to Israel, the last woman having left in 1963.

From here we take the ancient caravan road between the river and the mountains for a short while to gain a better idea of the Berber way of life in the life-giving oases.

Just before the police checkpoint in Tansikht, the driver can stop and show you the dinosaur footprints right at the side of the road. We then arrive in the village of Tinsouline, from where you can drive just a kilometre or so off-road to the fascinating rock carvings of animals long extinct in Morocco at Foum Chenna, some 4000 years old.

Zagora is the largest town in the whole area and here we shall stop for lunch. Later we pass through Tamegroute, where a stop for the potteries famous for the green glaze, which you may have already seen in Marrakech.  You can also visit the ancient Quranic library with exquisite hand-written Arabic texts.

In the afternoon, we drive further south still, to M’hamid, the very gate to the desert and the end of the paved road. From here, you continue to the Erg Chegaga dunes (300m) with 60km of off-road driving. This route passes different features of the desert; ‘erg’ (dunes), ‘hammada’ (stony desert), and oases. These dunes are far away from civilization, in the desert proper ……. and the silence and the expanse of the sand are overwhelming. Once there you can take a camel ride.

You have dinner and spend the night at a luxury camp with a private bathroom, king-sized beds, beautiful Moroccan furnishings, and lamps tastefully arranged to enhance your enjoyment of the silence and beauty of the dunes.

4^th day: Erg Chegaga Dunes

After breakfast, enjoy a full day’s trekking in the largest Sahara Desert. You take the camels, maybe simply walking behind them, as they carry everything needed to cook lunch, which will be prepared out in the dunes by your camel man.

Walking time is approximately five hours, two hours and a half in the morning and the same in the afternoon, although it is possible to ride the camels. In the afternoon, we return to the desert camp.

Alternatively, you can spend the day relaxing in the desert camp.

Dinner and the night are in your luxury camp, where each tent has its own private bathroom, king-sized beds, and lovely traditional Moroccan furniture.

Weather conditions and temperatures in South Morocco are rarely stable.  Should it become too hot from May through to the end of September, we may have to advise you not to attempt the trekking in the dunes. We can discuss alternatives elsewhere.

5^th day: Erg Chegaga – Taroudant

After breakfast, we drive another 90 km across the magnificent Sahara Desert through the flat, stony ground. We stop by the salt and dried up Iriqui Lake where you can hunt for fossils, some lying loosely around but most firmly fixed into the rocks.

From the edge of the desert at Foum Zguid, we drive north as far as Taznakht, well-known for its Berber gelims and traditional carpet making, which will be the venue for lunch. After crossing the Tizi-n-Ikhsane and Tizi-n-Tighatine passes, we arrive at Taliouine, the heart of the saffron growing region.

After lunch, a visit is scheduled for a local government-run museum featuring the agriculture of saffron growing.  As you enter, you will notice the delicious scent of saffron. The journey continues to Taroudant, where we stop for the night in a riad.

6^th day: Taroudant – Essaouira

In the morning there is a visit to the town known as “the little Marrakech”. It is spectacular for its massive ramparts and beautiful medina. From here you travel along the Souss river valley, with all its argan groves, banana and orange plantations, as far as Agadir.

From here, your Morocco honeymoon adventure takes you north up the coast driving through Taghazout, a surfer’s paradise, and along the Anti-Atlas Mountains with varying views of the sea and the tantalising coves. On arriving in Essaouira, we take you to your riad to relax. !

7^th day: Essaouira Sightseeing

After breakfast in your riad, enjoy a full day sightseeing tour of this charming coastal town. Essaouira is many tourists’ darling! Previously known as Mogador to the Portuguese inhabitants, it is a charming small town right on the coast with a long “corniche” for wonderful walks and a wide, sandy beach.  Explore the medina’s local markets, windy streets full of shops with a multitude of handicrafts.

At the seafront, the customer can choose a selection of freshly caught fish to have prepared on the spot. After lunch, explore more of the medina, take a walk by the beach or relax in one of the many cafés overlooking the ocean. The surfing opportunities and the beach make a perfect spot for coastal lovers and truly a favourite place to chill and relax. The night is spent in a riad in the town.

8^th day: Essaouira – Marrakech / Airport Transfer

After breakfast, we continue our holiday in Morocco driving to Marrakech. Along the way, we can visit women’s cooperatives, where argan nuts are processed by hand into one of the most versatile oils, delicious in salads, and a treat for the skin. The quality here is usually superior to that found in Marrakech or outside Morocco.

When you arrive in Marrakech, you will be escorted to your riad if you still have time in the city. Alternatively, depending on the time of your flight, your driver will take you to the airport to catch your flight in time for check-in, bringing your honeymoon desert tour in Morocco to an end!

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