Your Travel Experience with ARRIVAL
Day 1
ARRIVAL
Touch down in Marrakech and meet your driver for the private transfer into the medina. The rest of the afternoon is yours to settle into the riad before a welcome meeting in the evening. From there, the group heads out into the medina's narrow alleyways toward a rooftop terrace for the welcome dinner, with Marrakech spread out below and the energy of Jemaa el-Fnaa drifting up as the city switches from day mode into night mode. Expect noise, colour, spice smoke and a proper sensory introduction to Morocco. Dinner is included today.
Day 1 - 2
Riad Marrakech By Hivernage
The Riad Marrakech by Hivernage is right in the thick of the old city, a short walk from Jemaa El Fna, the Medina, and the Koutoubia Mosque. It's a proper riad: small, quiet, and built around an Arab-Andalusian courtyard that feels a world away from the chaos outside. The rooms are low-key and comfortable, with a library lounge for when you need a minute away from the souks. The real win is the rooftop: panoramic views across the Red City, and a spot to eat, drink, and watch the sun go down.
Day 2
Sunset Yoga with Gnawa Music
A sunset-facing yoga session on the Essaouira coast, accompanied by live Gnawa music, the traditional sound of Morocco's Sufi brotherhoods. A softer, wellness-focused counterpoint to the surf and desert sides of the trip.
Marrakech to Essaouira
After the included breakfast, the group heads west toward the Atlantic coast via private transfer (2.5 hours), passing through Morocco's argan-growing region on the way. Essaouira is a different city entirely, slower, saltier and windswept, with a fortified medina that opens straight onto the ocean. Lunch is fresh seafood pulled straight off the local fishing boats, a proper introduction to the coastal culture here. In the afternoon, there’s a sunset yoga session on the coast, set to live Gnawa music.
Day 2 - 3
Riad Maison du Sud
The Maison du Sud is a riad in the heart of Essaouira's medina, a short walk from the beach, the cafes, the souks, and whatever restaurant you've already bookmarked. The house was built in the 18th century by a wealthy merchant, and it's kept a lot of its original character: salons, en-suite rooms, and two central courtyards downstairs that do that classic Moorish light-and-shadow thing. The restaurant serves traditional Moroccan food every night in an atmospheric setting, and breakfast is included in your stay.
Day 3
Surf Session in Essaouira
A surf session suited to mixed ability levels on Essaouira's steady, windswept Atlantic swell. Beginner-friendly, but engaging enough for confident surfers too.
Surf Day in Essaouira
The whole day leans into Essaouira's surf culture. The group heads to the beach for a surf session suited to mixed ability levels, so it works whether you've never stood on a board or you're chasing your next wave. The coastline's steady Atlantic swell and constant wind give Essaouira a rougher, more authentic energy than Morocco's more polished surf towns. The rest of the day is left open, which gives the trip a proper pause after a heavy first few days, and plenty of time to wander the medina, the port and the ramparts at your own pace.
Day 4 - 5
Les Amandiers Hotel
A practical, comfortable base for the Tafraout leg of the trip, with mountain views and pool access after a day of hiking through the surrounding granite landscape.
Day 4
Essaouira to Tafraout via Agadir
Breakfast, then a scenic coastal drive to Agadir, with long stretches of ocean views along the way. Lunch and a walk along the beach in Agadir break up the journey before the group continues inland toward Tafraout. The landscape shifts noticeably on this stretch, ocean roads giving way to dry mountains and dramatic rock formations as the Anti-Atlas comes into view. The rest of the afternoon in Tafraout is free to explore the town and its surroundings at your own pace, with dinner included at the hotel. The whole journey is about 5.5 hours combined. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is included today.
Day 5
Guided Hike: Tafraout Painted Rocks and Amazigh Villages
A guided hike through Tafraout's surreal painted boulder formations and the Amazigh villages built into the surrounding valley. One of the most visually unique stretches of the whole trip
Tafraout Hiking and Amazigh Villages
A slower day built around properly absorbing the Tafraout region. The guided hike moves through the area's surreal painted rock formations and nearby Amazigh villages, where daily life continues much as it always has, almond groves, mudbrick homes built into the granite, and locals going about their day rather than performing for visitors. Expect striking viewpoints, quiet mountain pathways and one of the more genuinely off-piste stretches of the entire trip. The included meals today are breakfast and dinner.
Day 6 - 7
Chez le Pacha Aladin Camp
A Sahara desert camp set at the base of the Erg Chegaga dunes, with direct camel access and the kind of off-grid isolation that makes you really look around at where you are. Simple, atmospheric, and about as far from a standard hotel stay as this trip gets.
Day 6
Sunset Camel Ride into Erg Chegaga
A camel trek into the dunes of Erg Chegaga, timed to arrive as the sun drops over the largest dunes in the Moroccan Sahara, finishing at the desert camp under an open, unpolluted sky.
Tafraout to Erg Chegaga
The longest transfer of the trip, heading south through small villages and wide open valleys before the scenery slowly turns drier and more golden as the Sahara approaches. By the time the group arrives at Erg Chegaga, home to the largest dunes in the Moroccan Sahara, the isolation is real. Camels are waiting for the ride into the dunes as the sun drops, arriving into the desert camp under the kind of sky that only exists this far from skyrises. The journey from Tafraout to Erg Chegaga is approx. 7.5 hours. Meals included today are breakfast and dinner.
Day 7 - 8
Kasbah Tizzarouine
The Kasbah Tizzarouine is a traditional kasbah in Boumalne Dades, right in the Valley of the Thousand Kasbahs with the High Atlas rising up behind it. The rooms are air-conditioned with their own bathrooms, and some have private terraces where you can sit with a tea and do very little. A few rooms are built into the old cave dwellings that nomads once used, breakfast is continental and served by the pool or in the dining room, and the restaurant does traditional Moroccan food alongside the usual international options.
Day 7
Guided Hike through Dades Valley
A guided hike through the Dades Valley's rock formations and river gorge, a grounding, active reset after the long desert transfer.
Erg Chegaga to Dades Valley
Leaving the Sahara behind, the group climbs steadily toward the greener landscapes of the Dades Valley. Winding roads, rock formations and mountain valleys gradually replace the open dunes. A guided hike on arrival provides movement after another long transfer and helps shake off the drive, taking in the valley's famous rock formations and river gorge in cooler, calmer surroundings than the desert. The private vehicle journey from Erg Chegaga to Dades Valley is approx. 5 hours 20 minutes The included meals today are breakfast and dinner.
Day 8
Kasbah and Amazigh Village Tour
A guided tour through an ancient kasbah and an Amazigh village in the Dades Valley, covering local history, architecture and Berber tradition.
Dades Valley Cultural Exploration
A day focused on culture rather than scenery. The guided tour moves through ancient kasbahs, once used to protect local families and villages, and into an Amazigh village to learn about local traditions, architecture and daily life. The slower pace here works well after the trip's most transport-heavy stretch, and the interactions feel tied to a lived environment rather than staged tourism.
The included meals today are breakfast and dinner.
Day 9
Hammam and Spa
A traditional hammam and spa treatment in Marrakech, the trip's closing decompression point after several active, transport-heavy days.
Return to Marrakech
After an included breakfast, the final major transfer loops the group back to Marrakech across changing mountain and valley terrain (approx 6 hours). Once you arrive, the hammam and spa treatment is waiting. After an active several, long-drive days, there’s nothing better than a centuries-old steam and cleansing ritual. Sweating in a hot room. Full-body exfoliation and a soothing rinse. This is your wind-down at the end of the trip.
Day 10
Moroccan Cooking Class in a Marrakech Riad
A hands-on cooking class held inside a riad in the heart of the Marrakech medina on the final morning of the trip. The class covers the fundamentals of Moroccan cuisine, learning to prepare a traditional tagine, classic Moroccan bread and a selection of classic salads from scratch, with a spice market run beforehand to source the ingredients. Ras el hanout, preserved lemon, saffron and cumin all feature. The session ends with a shared meal of everything prepared during the class. You leave with the recipes, the technique and a genuine reason to justify the spice collection you are about to buy on the way out of the medina.
Departure
The final morning begins with an included breakfast before heading into the medina for the cooking class. First stop is the spice market to pick up the ingredients for the session, ras el hanout, preserved lemon, saffron, fresh herbs and whatever else the market has that morning. From there into the riad kitchen to prepare a traditional tagine, Moroccan bread and a spread of classic salads from scratch. The class ends with everyone sitting down to eat what they have made before the private transfers to Marrakech Menara Airport depart shortly after.