An Extraordinary 11-Day Journey: From Morocco to Portugal

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Duration

11 Days

Tour Type

Specific Tour

Group Size

15 people

Languages

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About this tour

Embark on an extraordinary 11-day journey from Morocco to Portugal, immersing yourself in the rich tapestry of cultures, landscapes, and histories spanning both nations. Begin your adventure in Marrakesh, where bustling markets and ancient palaces await. Wander through the labyrinthine streets of Fez, soaking in its vibrant atmosphere and storied past. Cross the Strait of Gibraltar to Seville, where Moorish architecture meets Spanish flair, before continuing to Lisbon, Portugal’s enchanting capital. Explore the city’s colorful neighborhoods, historic landmarks, and scenic waterfronts, as you delve into the unique blend of influences that make these destinations truly unforgettable.

Included/Excluded

  • Al Sahel Travel General Services: Travel by bus with English speaking guide, basic travel insurance, hotel and breakfast buffet.
  • Includes arrival transfer
  • City tour in: MARRAKESH, FEZ, SEVILLE, LISBON
  • Boat: along Guadalquivir river in Seville
  • Evening transfer: Djema Square with horse carriage in Marrakech, Historic center of Seville , Return from Restauradores Square in Lisbon
  • Ticket admission: Bahia Palace in Marrakech, House of the Cedars in Azrou , roman theatre of Merida
  • Ferry: Strait of Gibraltar Tangier - Algeciras
  • 3 Lunch included in: MARRAKESH, ERFOUD, FEZ
  • 4 dinner included in: MARRAKESH, Boumalne Dades, FEZ, TANGIERS

Itinerary

Welcome to Morocco! Marrakech. - Transfer to the hotel. - Free time. 19:30 hrs. - In the evening we include a ride in calesas (horse carriages) to see the famous D´Jema Square, full of life at that time. Back to the hotel. Dinner and accommodation.

 

IMPORTANT:- Remember that hotels check-in time is usually at 14:00 hrs. If you require more hours of room availability, consider booking an additional night at the beginning of your trip. - IF YOU REQUESTED ADDITIONAL NIGHTS upon arrival at the hotel, you would have your room booked, but your trip guide would normally contact you at the beginning of the included activities. YOUR TIME THEREFORE BEFORE THIS MOMENT IS FREE.

 

Note: The schedules that you will find in this itinerary are indicative. The guide, depending on the situation and in order to improve the development of the trip, may adjust the schedules.

08:15 hrs. - We will have the city tour. Located among hundreds of palm trees and surrounded by ochre walls, this exotic city brims with activity and life. We will get to know the great walls, the Jemaa Square, we will walk through the colorful Medina, see the Koutoubia Tower, as well as visit the Bahia Palace (ticket included). Lunch at the hotel and free time in the afternoon.

 

In the evening, we recommend the Fantasy dinner show, where you can experience the rich and varied Moroccan folklore.

Total distance covered: 300 km. Scenery: Incredibly beautiful. We cross the Atlas mountains and pass by beautiful villages perched on the mountainsides.
Please note: Do not forget to keep your camera close. We also recommend warm clothes for the mountains.


08:00 hrs. - Marrakech - Departure. We begin a beautiful part of the journey, crossing the high mountains of the Atlas, a natural barrier of the Sahara desert. En route we will make a stop at a high mountain village.
13:30 hrs. - Ait Benhaddou - Arrival in this fortified adobe-built town, which is a World Heritage Site, where many movies have been shot due to its incredible landscape backdrop. Time for lunch and a walk among its mud houses.

15:00 hrs. - Ait Benhadou - Departure.
15:30 hrs. Ouarzazate A desert city with an imposing fortress, whose oldest part is also a World Heritage Site.

16:30 hrs. - Ouarzazate - Departure. We continue through desert plains and valley oases.
18:00 hrs. - Boumalne Dades. You can enjoy the facilities at our hotel. Dinner and accommodation.


Please note: In very exceptional cases, it may happen that, due to bad weather, the road through the Atlas is cut off (with snow or flash floods). In this is the case, Al Sahel Travel will arrange the following alternative route: FRIDAY: Marrakech-Essaouira / SATURDAY: Essaouira-Safi-El Jadida-Meknes / SUNDAY: Meknes-Fez.

Distance traveled: 280 km.
Scenery: Extremely beautiful, following the so-called "Valley of the Kasbahs"; and an area with biblical landscapes.
Suggestion: Wear comfortable footwear.

07:15 hrs. - Boumalne Dades - Departure. We follow the Valley of the Kasbahs; adobe fortresses that protected the crops and villages from attacks from other nomadic tribes. Breathtaking oases and palm groves, where we glimpse delightful adobe-built villages.
09:00 hrs - Todgha Gorge. A deep canyon cuts through the Atlas Mountains amidst one of the most beautiful areas of Morocco. You will have free time to enjoy this beautiful landscape (sometimes, following intense rain, we cannot access the gorges due to flooding of the rivers).

09:45 hrs. - Todgha Gorge - Departure. The predominance of the desert becomes ever more markable, as we progress along this part of our journey.
10:45 hrs. Ksar el Khorbat - If the weather does not prevent it (access road), we will make a stop at this adobe/oasis town, You will be able to learn about the lives of the desert peoples in these impressive fortified villages.

11:45 hrs. - Ksar el Khorbat - Departure.
14:00 hrs. - Erfoud - Arrival. Lunch at the hotel. Relax in the gardens and pool at this desert hotel. Our tour guide will propose an optional excursion in off-road across the Merzouga sand dunes, with dinner included on the dunes: an unforgettable landscape and experience.

Total distance covered: 430 km.
Scenery: Very beautiful scenery of the Atlas, passing into more verdant areas covered by forests.

Note: at this stage we will climb to high areas of the Atlas, where it might be cold. Remember to bring some warm clothes.


08:00hrs. - We will leave Erfoud early, we cross the Atlas between powerful gorges and stunning landscapes. Then we cross a high and cold plateau area inhabited by nomadic pastoralists.
11:30 hrs. - Stop in Midelt, in the center of this region, which is mantained mainly by agriculture, especially apples, and by stone, fossil and mineral crafts. Time for a walk and lunch.
13:00 hrs. - Midelt - Departure. We continue our route to the Middle Atlas observing the complete changes of the landscape. We are in a region with abundant forests, where it snows frequently in winter.
14:45 hrs. - Azrou. We will make a stop in this National Park to visit "the house of the cedars", a small museum that tells us about the region. We will be amused by the colonies of monkeys that inhabit this area.

15:30 hrs. - Azrou departure.
16:45 hrs. - Bhalil, arrival in a small and quiet town inhabited by Berbers of the Middle Atlas with a very picturesque historic center of colorful streets. Traditionally the population in this city lived in caves, today these caves have been integrated into the houses.

17:45 hrs. - Bhalil - departure.
18:15 hrs. - Fez. Arrival in the spiritual heart city of Morocco, a labyrinth of alleys and souks, doors and smells. Before going to the hotel, we will admire the view of the city from the Saadian tombs. Dinner included.

Total distance: 395km.


08:00 hrs. - We leave the hotel to discover Fez on an informative city tour with a local guide.
During the visit we will get to know the most interesting part of the city, with its emblematic architecture and its lively souks with ancient atmosphere that will not leave us indifferent. We will enter through the Bronze Gates of the Royal Palace and get to know the Jewish quarter, its lively souks, the tanners´ quarter. The cultural capital of the country is known for its impressive Medina that preserves the traditional Arabian atmosphere. After the visit we include a typical Moroccan lunch in a beautiful old Palace of the Medina.

15:00 hrs. – Departure from Fez. We take the modern highway to the north of Morocco through olive and wheat fields in the Rif valleys. Fertile areas of sugar cane and fruit trees.
20:00 hrs. - Tangier. Arrival. Dinner included.

Total distance covered: 280 km.
Scenery: Amazing views over the cliffs and Strait. Pleasant scenery of white villages in Andalusia.

WARNING: Remember to keep your passport close.
PLEASE NOTE: The departure time of the ferry varies depending on the season. Border formalities may involve delays. Returning to Spain, you will have to put your clocks forward by 1 or 2 hours (depending on the time of the year). Your guide will advise you about the change.

At about 11:00 hrs. (variable) we shall depart from the port of Tangier. Boarding formalities. Each traveller must carry their bags and hand luggage, as required by the Spanish national security authorities. Crossing of approximately one hour. We suggest having lunch on the ferry.

Arrival in Algeciras/Tarifa. Our journey continues through beautiful white villages.

20:30 hrs. Seville. - Arrival.

Our visit to Seville will be very special, we combine a part by bus and on foot with a boat ride along the Guadalquivir River that will allow us to appreciate the best views of the monuments and places that the city offers.


A local guide will explain the history and culture of the capital of Andalusia and show us its most beautiful corners. We will begin with the visit around nine in the morning. We passes by the Cathedral-Giralda, Santa Cruz neighborhood, Banks of the Guadalquivir River, Torre del Oro, Maestranza Bullring, Cartuja Island, where the Expo took place and which currently houses the "Isla Mágica" amusement park, María Luisa Park with the beautiful Plaza de España. Total duration of the visit is about 3 hours (including the boat ride). Free time in the afternoon. The guide will offer you optionally the possibility to visit the cathedral and in the evening to attend a popular flamenco tablao.

Total distance: 490 km
Scenery: Attractive landscapes of white-painted villages, mountain ranges and castles.

Note: In Portugal we must set our watches back one hour.


09:00 hrs. - Seville - Departure. We travel through pleasant landscapes of soft mountains and large pasture lands towards Extremadura.
11:30 hrs. - Mérida. Arrival in the capital of Extremadura. Admission included to the archaeological complex of the Roman Theater and Amphitheater, the largest in the Iberian Peninsula, a World Heritage Site, recognized not only for its good state of conservation, but also as an example of the importance that spectacle and entertainment had the ancient Rome in all of its provinces. Mérida has a pleasant pedestrian historic center with a lot of life and places, where you can have lunch.


15:30 hrs. - Mérida - departure. Beautiful landscapes of large meadows. We pass to Portugal. We enter the Alentejo region.
16:30 hrs. (Portuguese time) - Évora - Arrival. The capital of Alentejo, one of the oldest cities in Portugal that has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Time to walk through the historic center with its white streets, its cathedral, its old churches, a taste of southern Portugal.


18:30 hrs. - Évora - Departure.
20:00 hrs. - LISBON - Arrival and accommodation.

City tour of Lisbon. In the morning city tour with a local guide lasting approximately 2 hours. During this visit we will pass through the following points: Eduardo VII park, Baixa Pombalina (Marqués de Pombal square, Rossío square with views of the San Jorge castle, Alfama), Estrela
neighborhood, Estrela Basilica, Monument to the Discoveries, Belém Tower, Jerónimos Monastery. The visit will finish in the city center. Free time in the afternoon to continue exploring the city. We suggest you taking the Elevator da Gloria to visit Bairro Alto and the viewpoint São Pedro. Our guide will optionally offer you to visit the beautiful towns of Sintra with its castle and Cascais and Estoril by the sea.



20:30 hrs. - We return from the Restauradores Square, an area with numerous restaurants and cafes, to the hotel.

After breakfast, end of our services.

Note: Remember that hotels check-out time is usually at 10.00 hrs. In most cases, you can leave your luggage at the hotel reception at check-out time, so you can enjoy the city and pick it up at the time you require that same day. If you need more time to use your room, please consider booking an additional night at the end of your tour.

Durations

+11 Days

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From: $1,633

Owner

AlSahel Travel USA

Member Since 2023

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