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  4. Morocco Real Food Adventure

Eat, taste and cook like a local on this trip to the heart of Morocco.

Clear your plate for flavour-filled Morocco, where Berber, Arabic and European influences mix to create an adventurous culinary cocktail. Follow the smell of food through mesmerising markets and master recipes taught by those that know them best. Grab street food from a souq and share traditional meals in local homes. Take a handful of bustling medinas, mix with a dash of sea and season with fresh local produce, all drizzled with warm Moroccan hospitality for an adventure that will linger long on the tongue and in the memory.

Start
Casablanca, Morocco
Finish
Marrakech, Morocco
Destination
Morocco
Style
Original
Theme
Food
Code
XMZF
Physical rating
Ages
Min 15
Group size
Min 1, Max 12

Why you'll love this trip

  • Discover the wide world of bread that forms an essential part of every Moroccan meal, hollowed out khobz filled with boiled eggs will be your new favourite breakfast!

  • Get a real insight into Moroccan food with a home-cooked dinner in the Blue City, Chefchaouen. Prepared with seasonal ingredients – enjoy a dish that’s bursting with flavour and made with love.

  • Soak up what could be the quintessential smell of Morocco as you watch ras el hanout, a rich and complex blend of delicious spices, being freshly ground in a Marrakech souk.

  • Indulge in mechoui (slow roasted lamb), that’s deliciously falling-apart after being cooked in a pit beneath the floor – all while looking over market stalls in the incredible Djemma el Fna.

  • Take a guided 'tasting trail' through Fes and enjoy a cooking demonstration – learn how to create one of the city's signature dishes, pastilla, a salty and sweet pastry parcel.

Is this trip right for you?

  • This trip aims to give you an exciting, diverse and well-rounded experience of a country’s cuisine. While we endeavour to cater for specific dietary requirements, some meals and food activities are set in advance and may be difficult to adjust. In many countries, dietary restrictions are not common or well understood. If you have dietary requirements, please advise your agent at time of booking to receive information on how this may impact on your ability to take part in included activities and meals. Come with an open mind and open mouth, and you won’t be disappointed.

  • As this trip covers quite a lot of ground there are some long drives. These are excellent opportunities to get to know your fellow travellers better, catch up on some reading, or simply appreciate the scenery.

  • On Days 8 & 9 you'll visit M’Goun Valley. This remote area of Morocco is an amazing place to discover on foot, but to do so you'll need a moderate level of fitness and have the relevant footwear and clothing with you. Don’t worry if trekking isn’t really your thing, there are plenty of other activities to do in the valley.

  • The weather in Morocco can be extreme. Summer temperatures can be uncomfortably hot, especially for those who aren't accustomed to the heat, so please consider carefully what time of year you travel. If you do travel in the warmer months, pack layers to cover you from the sun, bring the necessary sun protection and drink plenty of water.

  • Although you shouldn’t expect any aggressive selling techniques in Morocco, please be aware that you may be approached by shop owners and street vendors offering their goods to you on regular occasions.

  • In 2020, Ramadan will take place from 23 April to 23 May. Travelling in Morocco during this holy month can be a rewarding cultural experience. However, some regular services may not be available during the daytime, such as restaurants or coffee bars, and occasionally travel can be disrupted by events. Your local leader will adjust the itinerary accordingly, but please consider your travel arrangements carefully before booking travel for this period.

Map of Morocco Real Food Adventure including Morocco
A traditional home-cooked meal in Morocco
marrakech busy market pink sunset
Fresh ingredients are a must in Morocco
Medina-Marrakesh.jpg
Visit the spice markets in Marrakech, Morocco
delicious tagine in Morocco

Itinerary
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This itinerary is valid for departures from 01 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020.
 View the 2019 itinerary

Salaam Aleikum! Welcome to Morocco. Your adventure begins today with a welcome meeting at 6 pm where you'll meet your tour leader and fellow travellers. As there's little free time included in Casablanca on this trip, consider coming a day early to fully explore the city. Modelled after Marseille in France, the city is famous for its art deco buildings. A pleasant way to spend a day exploring Casablanca is to wander the old medina and the city walls, then jump in a taxi to visit the Quartiers des Habous, the new medina. Then perhaps take a walk along the Corniche, watching the locals play football on the beach, or take it easy with a glass of sweet mint tea in one of the many great cafes. This evening, join your group for a welcome dinner of delicious traditional specialties.
Accommodation
  • Hotel (1 night)
Included Activities
  • Casablanca - Welcome Dinner
Meals Included
  • Dinner
Special Information
It’s very important that you attend the welcome meeting as we will be collecting insurance details and next of kin information at this time. If you are going to be late please let your travel agent or hotel reception know. Ask reception or look for a note in the lobby for more information on where the meeting will take place.

Please be aware that some of our travellers to Casablanca are being approached by locals offering excursions before their Intrepid trip commences. This has been particularly prevalent in and around the hotels used by Intrepid. These guides are in no way connected to Intrepid Travel and we cannot guarantee the safety or quality standards of their tours. We strongly advise customers against joining any tour offered by unauthorised guides. Intrepid Travel assesses the safety of all optional excursions offered by our tour leaders. If you would like more information on the excursions available, please contact us before you travel or see the Intrepid-branded notice in the reception of you

After a local street breakfast in Casablanca, take an early train to Meknes – in the 17th century, Sultan Moulay Ismail turned Meknes from a provincial town to a spectacular Imperial city – on arrival, get to know Meknes on an orientation walk with your leader. For lunch, visit a friendly local restaurant in the medina and try a Moroccan delicacy – a camel burger! Next, drive approximately 1 hour to Moulay Idriss where you’ll visit a local olive press and learn the secrets behind their fragrant olive oil, a speciality of the region. This evening, settle in at a local guesthouse, where the art of hand-rolled couscous is lovingly demonstrated along with an authentic Moroccan meal.
Accommodation
  • Guesthouse (1 night)
Included Activities
  • Meknes - Guided walking tour
  • Moulay Idriss - Olive Press Visit
  • Moulay Idriss - Cous cous demonstration and dinner
  • Casablanca - Street Food Breakfast
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
Special Information
Accommodation tonight is at an atmospheric guesthouse. Bathroom facilities are shared and rooming may be triple or quad share.

This morning, drive to Chefchaouen, or the ‘blue city’, arguably one of the prettiest places in Morocco. Set against a wide valley and nestled between two peaks in the stunning Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen may take you by surprise. Its medina has been lovingly cared for with striking blue and whitewashed houses, red-tiled roofs and artistic doorways. Much of Chefchaouen was recreated by Andalusian refugees escaping the Reconquistia, so you might feel like you're in the hills of Spain while exploring its streets. Ease into the relaxed pace of life in this rural retreat. This evening you’ll get a real insight into Moroccan food with a home-cooked dinner prepared with seasonal ingredients – bursting with flavour and made with love.

Accommodation
  • Hotel (1 night)
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner

Enjoy your morning in Chefchaouen exploring the sights, sounds, and smells of the medina, the shops in the square selling woven goods and small sweets, and, most importantly, enjoy a taste of the town’s famous goat’s cheese. Herds of goats wander the sparse hillsides that surround Chefchaouen, and their cheese is sold in great fresh rounds in the street markets. In the afternoon travel to Fes, the most complete medieval city in the Arab world. Fes is the spiritual and cultural heart of Morocco – vibrant, noisy, fascinating and overwhelming – a visual and pungent feast for the senses. You’ll have free time for the rest of the day to explore. This evening is a great time to seek out Moroccan specialties like harira (chickpea soup).
Accommodation
  • Hotel (1 night)
Meals Included
  • Breakfast

Take a guided group walking tour of the old city, known locally as Fes el Bali. Step back into the Middle Ages as you explore the labyrinth of the Medina, which is alive with craftsmen, markets, tanneries and mosques. Pass donkeys piled high with goods (this is one of the largest car-free urban zones in the world) and explore the specialty sections that divide the souk. Look out for the Medersa Bou Inania, one of the city's most beautiful buildings, which has recently been restored and is now open to tourists. Also, visit a ceramics factory where you can see traditional handmade pottery being made. Your local leader will guide you on a 'tasting trail' along the way today before enjoying a cooking demonstration, where you’ll learn how to create one of the city's signature dishes – pastilla (or b’stilla) – a salty and sweet pastry parcel.
Accommodation
  • Hotel (1 night)
Included Activities
  • Fes - Medina Tasting Trail including Pastilla Demonstration
  • Fes - Guided walking tour
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner

Leave the intensity of the city behind for the simplicity of the scenic Middle Atlas Mountains. Drive south, inland through a variety of spectacular scenery – fertile valleys, cedar and pine forests and barren, rocky landscapes (approximately 4 hours). The area is populated with wandering nomadic shepherds attending to their flocks. Pass through cedar forests which are home to North Africa's only monkey – Barbary apes – and on to your destination of Midelt. Nestled in a valley, Midelt is a market town, originally built as a base for mining in the area and surrounded by farmland and orchards. Stretch your legs as you explore the nearby village of Bremmen and take a closer look at local farming life. In the evening a special meal will be prepared using the aromatic herbs native to the region.
Accommodation
  • Hotel (1 night)
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner

Enjoy a stunning drive towards the Sahara Desert (approximately 5 hours) with plenty of opportunity to stop and admire the panoramic views of the Kasbahs and palm groves (valleys lush with date palms, fields and orchards). You may also have a chance to pause in some of the frontier towns such as Erfoud and Rissani before reaching your destination, the small Saharan settlement of Merzouga. Enjoy a demonstration of medfouna (also called 'Berber pizza'), a traditional stuffed bread prepared with meat, herbs and spices by the nomadic peoples of the High Atlas. Traditionally prepared by women to feed local farm workers, this hearty delicacy is a great introduction to the cuisine of the desert region. Later today you will leave your gear at a simple auberge and then ride camels into the edge of the Sahara Desert, enjoying a spectacular sunset along the way. The dunes are stunning, especially as the evening light plays across them and sets off the colours.
Accommodation
  • Desert camp (1 night)
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner

After breakfast prepare for a scenic drive filled with stunning landscapes on the way to the M'Goun Valley. The journey will take you past ancient kasbah ruins, former colonial military outposts, austere mountains and valleys of palm trees and irrigated fields. Dinner tonight is a Berber tajine prepared in a traditional clay pot cooked over an open fire.
Accommodation
  • Gite (1 night)
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner

While the morning holds the option of exploring the nearby village souk of Kelaat M'gouna or witnessing Moroccan bread-making techniques in action, today’s adventure will give you until sunset to explore the beauty of this largely untouched Moroccan backcountry. Accompanied by a local guide, pass through Berber villages, meeting local people along the way. You’ll take a trail that undulates slightly but isn't too challenging if you have a basic level of fitness – and the scenery is certainly worth the walk!
Accommodation
  • Gite (1 night)
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
  • Dinner

Today, head to your final destination, Marrakech. On the way, stop by a women's cooperative working on the production of Argan oil, a product that’s endemic to Morocco and used for both culinary and cosmetic purposes. Marrakech is a feast for the senses, upon arrival a local guide will take you on an orientation walk and tasting trail. Be enticed by the alluring scents and brilliant colours of the spice markets, the sounds of the musicians, the rich folds of carpets, delectable foods, acrobats and perfumed gardens. Perhaps join the crowds for dinner at the famous Djemaa el Fna, one of the largest public spaces in the world and unique to Marrakech. When night falls on this square it transforms into a hive of activity – henna-painters, performers and storytellers share the square with a street food bazaar, packed with stalls loaded with Moroccan delicacies, including snail soup! Perhaps enjoy a bite of famous Moroccan pastries and then maybe finish your day with a cup of tea overlooking the square.
Accommodation
  • Hotel (1 night)
Meals Included
  • Breakfast

Commence your day by learning to prepare sumptuous Moroccan salads, a staple of the table, at the amazing Amal Women's Cooking Centre – a non-profit empowering women through culinary skills and education, then feast on your creations for lunch. The afternoon is free to explore the sights of the city, you might like to drop by the Koutoubia Mosque or the dazzling Bahia Palace. In the evening, perhaps ascend the stairs of one of the surrounding restaurants for a birds-eye view of the action or head back into the medina for some shopping, where every step brings a new smell, a new sight or a new gift to buy. This evening why not join your group for a farewell dinner.
Accommodation
  • Hotel (1 night)
Included Activities
  • Marrakech - Cooking Class (Moroccan Salads)
Meals Included
  • Breakfast
  • Lunch

Your food adventure across Morocco comes to an end this morning. If you are extending your stay, perhaps stroll through the tropical gardens of the French painter Jacques Majorelle, or return to the medina, where every corner brings a new flash of colour, an enticing new smell, or a souvenir to haggle over. The Saadian tombs are another recently uncovered gem of the Medina. Be sure to take a break from the bustle to sip on tea or eat a tajine, filled with the quintessential flavours of Morocco.
Optional Activities
  • Asni & Ouirgane with lunch - MAD1806
  • Urban Adventures - Medina, Palace and Tombs half day tour - MAD630
  • Ourika Valley day tour - MAD1817
  • Oukaimeden day tour - MAD1882
  • Cascades d'Ouzoud day tour - MAD2207
  • Hammam & Massage in a luxury spa - MAD750
  • Essaouira Food & Culture day trip - MAD1554
Meals Included
  • Breakfast

Meals

11 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 8 dinners

Transport

Private vehicle, Train, Taxi

Accommodation

Hotel (7 nights), Guesthouse (1 night), Gite (2 nights), Desert Camp (1 night)

Included activities

  • Casablanca - Welcome Dinner
  • Meknes - Guided walking tour
  • Moulay Idriss - Olive Press Visit
  • Moulay Idriss - Cous cous demonstration and dinner
  • Casablanca - Street Food Breakfast
  • Fes - Medina Tasting Trail including Pastilla Demonstration
  • Fes - Guided walking tour
  • Marrakech - Cooking Class (Moroccan Salads)

Dates & availability

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Important notes

SINGLE SUPPLEMENT:
A single supplement is available on this trip with exception of Day 2 (Moulay Idriss), Day 7 (Merzouga) and Days 8 & 9 (M'Goun).

Essential trip information

Want an in-depth insight into this trip? Essential Trip Information provides a detailed itinerary, visa info, how to get to your hotel, what's included - pretty much everything you need to know about this adventure and more.

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