Morocco Family Holiday Comfort

Salaam aleikum! Welcome to Morocco. You and your family will be met at Casablanca Airport by a local representative and transferred to your hotel. There are no activities planned until your welcome meeting at 5 pm. As there's little free time included in Casablanca, it’s recommended you arrive a couple of days early to explore the city. Modelled after Marseille in France, this city is famous for its art deco buildings and the modern-day masterpiece, the Hassan II Mosque. If you do have time to spare, maybe wander the old medina and the city walls, then jump in a taxi to visit the Quartiers des Habous – the new medina. You can also 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.

After breakfast, take a guided tour of the impressive Hassan II Mosque before boarding a train to Fes – the spiritual and cultural heart of Morocco. Sit back and relax on board as you watch the changing scenery just outside your window. When you arrive, head into the Old City, known locally as Fes el Bali – arguably the world's most fascinating and confounding Old City. Medieval Fes was one of the world's great centres of education and culture, both Islamic and Jewish. Its religious institutions and libraries are legendary, its mosques of great renown. The rest of your day is free, so you might want to relax and take the kids for a swim in the pool.

This morning, you and your family will take a walk through the twisting streets and alleyways of Fes, passing donkeys piled high with goods. Explore the specialty sections that divide the souq, filled with historic khans, madrasas and dye pits, stalls loaded with fruits, herbs and soups, the smell of spices filling the air. Spend the day exploring the Old City, visiting Madrasa Al-Attarine and the local tanneries. Return to your hotel in the late afternoon and maybe spend the evening relaxing, away from the buzz of the medina.

Today, it's time to leave the city behind and embrace the simplicity and beauty of the Middle Atlas Mountains. Journey in a private minibus through fertile valleys, pine forests and barren, rocky landscapes. You may see wandering nomadic shepherds as they tend to their flocks or even catch a glimpse of barbary macaques – North Africa's only monkey – before arriving in Midelt. This is a market town, originally built as a base for mining in the area. It’s also surrounded by farms and orchards. You’ll walk through an Amazigh village for an insight into the local farming life and enjoy a special home-cooked lunch. The rest of the afternoon is yours to relax or enjoy swimming in the hotel pool.

Travel by private minivan toward the mighty Sahara, stopping along the way to take in the views of kasbahs and palmeries (lush valleys with date palms, fields and orchards). As you pass through frontier towns like Erfoud and Rissani, you'll watch the scenery alternate between barren mountainsides and fertile valleys until you reach the small village of Merzouga. When you arrive, leave your baggage, pack a daypack and saddle up for a camel ride into the desert at sunset – the kids will love this! Erg Chebbi is home to huge windswept dunes that are the quintessential image of Morocco, and tonight, you'll sleep in a luxury desert camp under the stars. The locals will prepare a hearty feast for dinner, so all you and your family need to do is sit back, relax and take in the Milky Way.

Return from the desert and drive to Todra Gorge. On the way, you’ll visit a fossil factory to learn more about the local area before continuing to the beautiful Todra Valley, which follows the foothills of the Atlas Mountains and is dotted with mudbrick villages sitting on hillsides. Take in the remarkable scenery of sprawling green valleys and rocks sculpted into stunning formations by the wind. For lunch, join a local family in their home to see how people live in this largely unchanged culture. The rest of the day is free for you to hike through the gorge, walk through the nearby villages or simply relax.

Travel south to Ait Benhaddou. The scenic drive will take you past ancient kasbah ruins, former military outposts, mountains and valleys of palm trees. You'll pass through Ouarzazate, where productions such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy and Aladdin were filmed (ask the kids if they recognise anything!). When you arrive in Ait Benhaddou, you'll sit down to a delicious lunch at a local NGO restaurant. Located between the river and the palm trees, the restaurant is run by an all-women co-op called the Tawesna Association. After lunch, have fun learning how to make Moroccan pancakes (baghrir) and other sweet treats with the local women in a hands-on cooking class. Later, you’ll explore the UNESCO World -Heritage-listed kasbah. Centuries ago, this fine example of clay architecture was an important stop for caravans carrying salt across the Sahara. Tonight, enjoy a delicious dinner of Morocco's most famous meal – couscous and tagine!