Marrakech & the Sahara

What's Included

• All Accommodation

• All breakfasts and 3 dinners

• Transfers for group flights

• Tour leader throughout

What's Not Included

• Travel insurance

• Single supplements

• Visas & Vaccinations

Food

All breakfasts and 3 dinners included. Moroccan food is, generally speaking, excellent though not particularly varied. Breakfasts usually consist of bread and jam with coffee or tea. Meals eaten out are reasonably priced - kebab and bread cost is approximately GBP8 (USD13). In main towns, it is possible to find very good French and Moroccan restaurants where a meal and French wine will cost anything from GBP20 (USD30) upwards. Generally, dinner is likely to cost between GBP5-10 (approx. USD8-15) not including drinks. Local beer, wine and soft drinks are reasonably priced, but you can pay UK prices or more for imported alcohol. Your leader will recommend restaurants for each evening. Vegetarians can be catered for but there is a fairly limited choice of vegetarian couscous, tajine or omelettes. This is particularly the case during the more rural sections of the trip. Please note that if you have any special dietary requirements you should inform the Exodus Office prior to the trip. If you have a specific medical/dietary need (i.e. coeliac or vegan) you may find it helpful to bring some items of food with you from home.

Accommodation

On this Moroccan adventure, we spend five nights in hotels, one night in a gite and one night in a Sahara camp. Below are the accommodations we typically use.



Marrakech: Hotel Akabar (nights 1 and 6-7)







We begin and end the adventure at Hotel Akabar, which has a sun terrace with a pool, a restaurant and bar. If you're ready for a cultural adventure, it's just a 20-minute walk to the Djemaa el Fna square, where you can explore the mazy souks, excellent restaurants and street-food stalls. Alternatively, if you don't fancy the walk, a taxi will take you there in around five minutes.



Ait Benhaddou: La Rose du Sable (night 2)







Just a 15-minute walk from the magnificent Ait Benhaddou, La Rose du Sable occupies a prime address for our adventures. Though the location is undoubtedly a highlight, the hotel also has a swimming pool for any spare moments, plus there’s an upstairs terrace where our groups often gather to chat and relax.



Sahara: Camp Chez Le Pacha (night 3)







The highlight for many is our night in the Sahara, where our camp is circled by bronze dunes you can climb to watch the sun set and rise. Our accommodation is a ring of traditional mud huts, though most prefer to take their beds outside to sleep under a blanket of stars – look out for the tell-tale streak of a shooting star. In the centre of the camp is a fire, which is lit at night and typically becomes the place to share stories and bond with our guide and hosts. Distractions are few here, which allows everyone to share, what is for many, a bucket-list experience.



Zagora: Hotel Chez Le Pacha (night 4)







After a night under the desert sky, the large pool, sun loungers and swinging hammocks at Hotel Chez Le Pacha make for a nice change. There's also a restaurant serving Moroccan dishes, plenty of seating spaces to gather as a group, and traditionally styled rooms.



Tighza: Mountain 'gite' (night 5)







Our night in the Atlas village of Tighza is spent in a gite, which denotes simple rural accommodation (like a refuge or hostel) in Morocco. Here, we receive a lovely welcome from our hosts, who bring us tea as we sit on the terrace taking in countryside views. Our rooms are simple and sparse and you could be sharing with other group members depending on room availability; however, the spectacular location and chance to spend a night in a traditional village is reason enough to visit.



Worth knowing



There are shared bathroom facilities at the Sahara camp and mountain gite.

Single supplement not available in the desert camp or mountain gite.

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