Morocco by Heart
Imperial Medina Secrets
Rabat, Salé, Meknes and Fez — history, craft and the living heart of the old cities
- Time on the ground
- 9 days / 8 nights
- Route
- Casablanca · Rabat & Salé · Meknes · Volubilis · Moulay Idriss · Fez · Casablanca
- Airports
- Arrive and depart Casablanca (CMN)
- Pace
- Unhurried: four nights in Fez, no morning-after-morning repacking
The flagship of the Medina Collection. Fez, founded in the ninth century and still Morocco's cultural and spiritual heart, is the center of this journey — four nights, so the medina stops being a maze and starts making sense. Meknes brings the imperial story of Sultan Moulay Ismail, and Rabat shows how centuries of heritage sit inside a calm, modern capital. You walk in behind the doors: a private lunch in a historic house, a morning with a master craftsman, bread carried to the neighborhood oven.
Day by day
Day 1
Casablanca – Rabat
Arrive at CMN, private transfer to Rabat and your riad. Time to rest, then a welcome dinner and a gentle introduction to Morocco's history and to how life in the medinas works.
Day 2
Rabat and Salé
The Kasbah of the Udayas, the Rabat medina and Rue des Consuls with its workshops and local market. In the afternoon, cross to Salé for its far less touristed medina, its craftspeople and tea on a terrace above the Bou Regreg.
Day 3
Rabat – Meknes
Drive to Meknes: Place El Hedim, the monumental gates, the old walls, the medina and the places shaped by Moulay Ismail. A tasting dinner of northern specialties and a night in a traditional riad.
Day 4
Meknes – Volubilis – Moulay Idriss – Fez
Roman mosaics and olive-lined lanes at Volubilis, then the hilltop holy town of Moulay Idriss. On to Fez for a first orientation walk and sunset from the riad terrace.
Day 5
Fez el-Bali — the heart of old Morocco
A full day with a licensed guide: Bab Boujloud, the Bou Inania medersa, the streets around Al-Karaouine, the funduks, fountains, craft squares, the coppersmiths' quarter and the tanneries. Lunch in a historic house.
Day 6
Fez behind closed doors
A day of people rather than monuments: a workshop in ceramics, zellige, embroidery or metalwork, a visit to a family home, market shopping and an intimate Moroccan cooking class. A traditional hammam in the evening if you would like one.
Day 7
Small medinas off the main route
Out to Sefrou and Bhalil, or a slower day in Fez if you prefer. Little markets, neighborhood bakeries, tea with residents, architecture to photograph and life away from the tourist streets.
Day 8
Fez – Casablanca
Drive back to Casablanca. Depending on your arrival time, a walk through the Habous quarter, last shopping and a farewell dinner that draws the journey together.
Day 9
Departure
Breakfast, then a private transfer to Mohammed V airport.
Add the plan to your calendar
Choose the date of your first day in Morocco and download an .ics file — every day of the journey lands in your calendar.
Highlights
- Four nights in Fez, including the medina early, before the big groups
- A private lunch in a historic Fez house
- Time with a master craftsman in his own workshop
- A hands-on cooking class instead of a standard demonstration dinner
- How a medina really works: hammam, bakery, mosque, funduk and market
- Sefrou and Bhalil, two small medinas most itineraries skip
What is included
- Small group of 6–8 guests, maximum 10
- Private air-conditioned vehicle and licensed professional driver throughout
- 8 nights in boutique riads: Rabat 2, Meknes 1, Fez 4, Casablanca 1
- Licensed local guides in Rabat, Salé, Meknes and Fez
- Private airport welcome and all transfers, daily breakfast, welcome and farewell dinners
- Craft workshop and cooking class as listed
- Moha as your personal host, on WhatsApp from the moment you land
Not included
- International flights — quoted separately at the current fare
- Travel insurance, lunches and dinners not listed, hammam, personal spending