QUOTE
Experience Morroco – 10 days
Grand Rapids Christian School | Kathryn Camargo
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAN YOUR TRIP
Activities & Attractions
- Work on a community project building a new classroom or perhaps a new dorm for students. Projects are chosen depending on the individual needs of the community. Our local team helps us decide what is needed.
- Explore the secret passages and palaces of Marrakech
- Participate in a Pottery Workshop
- Explore Majorelle Gardens and Bahia Palace
- Participate in an introduction to Arabic class
- Tour the World heritage site of Ait Benhaddou
- See the outside of the Koutoubia Minaret – a beautiful mosque
- Explore the great Sand Dunes of Erg Chebbi
- Participate in a Sand boarding Activity
- A Camel trek and a night Bivouac Tent (Nomadic people)
- Traditional Foods Cooking Class
- Walking tour of Casablanca
- Get Hanna Tattoos
Trip Details
Accommodations
- 8-nights’ accommodations in 3.5-4 star Hotels
- 1-night in a traditional Riad and Kasbah
- Triple occupancy provided for students
- Single occupancy provided for chaperones
Meals
- Breakfast and Dinner is provided daily
- Lunch is provided for 2 days during camel trek
- 1 liter of bottled water provided per person, per day, other water available for purchase
- Other lunches and snacks are not provided
- Evolve Tours staff to recommend restaurants
- Other meals provided a la carte
- Meals at airports are not included in the cost of the trip
Transportation
- Return coach airfare from Detroit to Casablanca
- Private coach/van transportation as needed for duration of tour
Additional Personnel
- 1 Evolve Tours Director for duration of tour in Morocco
- Local guides as needed
Exclusives
- Creative trip programming and leadership activities
- Optional Videography and Photography
- Forever Green by Evolve Tours- Carbon Offset this whole trip (ask for details)
Insurance
- MANDATORY: Insurance Medical, Cancellation, Baggage and Interruption. Travelers can opt for CFAR, cancellation for any reason insurance which covers students up to 75% of their costs no matter the reason. The costs would be $250.50 for CFAR.
Package Price is based on
- Prices subject to availability and change until contract signed
- Total Package price may vary if number of paying customers changes
- Does not include airline baggage fees if applicable
- Tips for drivers and guides are appreciated
- Happy with what you see? Sign a 2-year contract with Evolve and pay the same rate for two years. Ask us for more information. *Based on same group size
Itinerary
Day 1:
DEPART FOR MOROCCO
Board your overnight connecting flight for Morocco.
Day 2:
ARRIVAL IN MOROCCO
Arrival in Casablanca and then transfer to Marrakech.
Upon arrival we will head out on an introductory tour of the City of which contains many masterpieces of traditional Moroccan art and architecture.
In the late afternoon we will check in to our hotel and participate in a class in introduction to Arabic.
Pool time and relaxing at the hotel after dinner.
Total Driving time: 2.5 hours
Day 3:
MARRAKECH
Full day of sightseeing in Marrakech. Students will be guided through the city checking out everything from snake charmers to refined palaces. Lots of time to visit the marketplaces which sell all kinds of wares, and Medina (old town) which contains nearly two miles of secret passages. We will also visit the outside of the Koutoubia Minaret the largest mosque in Marrakesh; The Saadian’s tombs which date back from the time of the sultans; and the Dar Si Said Museum housing the very quintessence of Moroccan art. Visit Jemma El Fna square, where we get a Henna; a temporary design applied to your skin in a brownish paste made from powder.
Head to a Moroccan Dinner and Cultural Show. Seated on cushions encircling the show arena, we will enjoy a meal before being serenaded by a chorus in traditional dress, belly dancing, horseback skills and even a flying carpet ridden by a Sultan.
Total Driving time: Local driving only
Day 4:
BAHIA PALACE, MAJORELLE GARDENS & POTTERY WORKSHOP
Students will be guided through the Royal Palace of Marrakech – The Bahia Palace is a mid to late 19th-century palace first begun by Si Musa in 1859. It is a beautiful illustration of Islamic architecture and Moorish architecture. We will also visit the Majorelle Gardens, created by the French Orientalist artist Jacques Majorelle in 1923 featuring a Cubist villa designed by the French architect, Paul Sinoir in the 1930s.
Head to a Pottery Workshop. Design pieces of pottery in a studio based in Marrakech, inspired by the Moroccan architectural forms and enchanting with African charm that you saw earlier.
Total Driving time: Local driving only
Day 5:
MARRAKECH TO DADES GORGE
Additional local English-speaking guides will join us at our hotel to begin our drive out of and through the Atlas Mountains. While we trek through the windy roads of the Atlas Mountains students will admire the houses built into the edge of the mountain. We will stop for lunch and tour the World heritage site of Ait Benhaddou. This famous kasbah was used as a backdrop for more than 20 Hollywood films. As we head over the Atlas Mountains, the terrain transforms from often snow capped mountains to dusty plateaus and bizarre rock formations. Pass through Ouarzazate where we will visit a souk and Taorirt Kasbah. We will then continue towards the Valley of Roses and the Dades Gorge. We will stay overnight at a hotel.
Total Driving time: 6 hours
Day 6:
DADES GORGE TO MERZOUGA
Breakfast at the hotel. On this day, students will participate in a community service project. The day will consist of painting a school house.
Depart to the Todra Gorge: a massive fault, rising to 300 m in a narrow valley thick studded with palmeries and Berber Villages. After lunch in the gorge, get transported further into the desert to Merzouga, stop along the great Sand Dunes of Erg Chebbi where you will take a camel ride in order to get to your sleep at a Bivouac Tent. Watch the sunrise over the ochre coloured sand dunes at Erg Chebbi, with only the Tuareg (Berber nomadic pastoralist people) and their camels for company. Tented camp.
Total Driving time: 4 hours + stops
Day 7:
MERZOUGA TO FES
This morning, you’ll be able to rise with the sunset to grab some photos before hopping back onto the camels for the short ride back to the hotel. Once there, you can enjoy a shower and breakfast before heading on the road. Stop at a sand dune and participate in a Sand boarding. We will hurl ourselves down a 300m hill on our boards. Arrival in Fes evening. Various Activities en route. After a long journey there will be an opportunity for some shopping and leisure time as a group. Enjoy dinner in the riad this evening.
Total Driving time: 6 hours + stops
Day 8:
FES
Here, students will get a glimpse of the rich culture and spirituality that is Fes. Fes is also known as the culinary capital of Morocco. We’ll meet at a cooking school. Then students we will head off to the souk, we’ll dodge the donkeys, where we will begin to bargain with vendors and purchase all the ingredients we need for our typical Moroccan meal. Afterwards we’ll return to the school, we’ll be instructed as we cook our meal and then enjoy it for dinner.
Total Driving time: Local Driving only
Day 9:
CASABLANCA
Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Casablanca.
In the afternoon we will participate in a guided walking tour of Casablanca ( no bus tour). We will also have an opportunity to do some last minute shopping to buy gifts or souvenirs.
The group will have a chance to go to the beach in Casablanca this afternoon.
After a long but fulfilling day we will return to our hotel and eat a dinner as a group.
Total Driving time: 3.5 hours + Local Driving
Day 10:
FLY HOME
Board your flight for home after an amazing trip to Morocco together.
