Morocco 2024 Details
MOROCCO: Fez, Casablanca & Marrakech
CENTURIES OF FLAVOR
OCTOBER 13-21, 2024

Gain insight into the culture of Morocco as you experience the charm of Marrakech, the spirituality of Fez and the sophistication of Casablanca with five-star hotels, exciting tours, and amazing food. Deliciously warm weather, stunning natural landscapes, great cuisine, and tourist-friendly cities and culture, Morocco remains a mainstay in global and a major travel destination for its stunning landscapes, rich culture, great weather, and a vibrant tourist sector among other reasons.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Arrival in Casablanca

Everyone will be met outside the Arrival Terminal with a Vacation Envy International sign before starting a brief sightseeing tour of Casablanca, Morocco's largest metropolis and its industrial hub. Highlights include the old French quarter of Habous with its beaches lapped by green-blue water. During your tour, you’ll visit the Hassan II Grand Mosque (exterior). The mosque is among the largest in the world with its minaret, the tallest religious structure in the world, and its dimension as it can house as many as 25,000 worshipers!

Rabat Tour

Driving along the main highway which links these two major cities. Embark on a brief tour which highlights Rabat's cultural influences and the superbly preserved relics of its Moorish past. Rabat's most famous site is the 12th-century Hassan Tower (an excellent example of the gorgeous Moroccan style), the incomplete minaret of the great mosque built at the beginning of 12th century. Alongside is the mausoleum dedicated to Mohamed V, the grandfather of the current king. You’ll also enjoy a visit of the Kasbah of the Udayas, which was built on a cliff overlooking the city and the Atlantic Ocean. Its gate is one of the most beautiful illustrations of the Moorish architecture. Within its walls, you'll discover a wonderful Moroccan garden, with melodious fountains and sweet-smelling orange trees.

Fez City Tour

Take a step back in time into the Middle Ages with the visit of one of the most imperial, timeless, and untouched cities in the world, the cultural heart of Morocco, Fez El Bali (Old Fez). Enjoy exploring some of the 9,000 narrow lanes and alleys in the souks (open air markets) that make up the labyrinth of the city's old quarter, originally founded in the 8th century. Then you’ll visit the Nejjarine Square, with its beautiful fountain, a mosaic of elaborate tilework, and the Fondouq (Caravanserai) that has been converted to a Museum of Carpentry. In the 13th Century the Merinide Dynasty built Fez El Jdid (New Fez) with its Royal Palace, mosques, madrasas (Koranic schools), souks and the city walls.

Ancient Roman city of Volubilis

Impressive stone arches and columns, some tumbled down and others still standing tall against the vivid blue sky.

Alpine Region of Ifrane Tour

Experience the natural and wilder landscapes outside Fez: Drive to the high alpine region of Ifrane, filled with cedar and oak forests, and home to the world’s largest population of Barbary macaques, hundreds of animals, birds and the oldest tree in Morocco’s Middle Atlas, the 130-feet Gouraud’s Cedar.

City tour of Marrakesh, the “Red City”

A majestic place filled with palaces, gardens, markets, and mosques. Upon arrival, you will first stand by the Koutoubia Mosque with its 282 ft minaret, an architectural landmark dating back to the late 12th century. We will start exploring artisan quarters and the colorful Souks to interact with the real life of Marrakech people. Continue to Dar El Bacha Museum, built in 1910 and was the residence of Thami El Glaoui, named Pasha of Marrakech by Sultan Moulay Youssef in 1912. Before sunset we will be strolling in the square of which the city is so famed, Jemaa El Fna, where hundreds of locals and tourists come to spend the end of the day watching jugglers, dancers, fortune tellers, story tellers and traditional musicians.

OPTIONAL TOURS:
Hot Air Balloon

A majestic place filled with palaces, gardens, markets, and mosques. Upon arrival, you will first stand by the Koutoubia Mosque with its 282 ft minaret, an architectural landmark dating back to the late 12th century. We will start exploring artisan quarters and the colorful Souks to interact with the real life of Marrakech people. Continue to Dar El Bacha Museum, built in 1910 and was the residence of Thami El Glaoui, named Pasha of Marrakech by Float above Morocco’s countryside and enjoy aerial views of the Atlas Mountains on a sunrise hot air balloon flight. Your activity starts with a 4x4 pick up from your hotel 1 hour before sunrise. After an approximate 40-minute drive from Marrakech, you’ll arrive at the airfield where Moroccan tea will be served. You will see the preparation of the balloons flying that morning for about 20 minutes. All balloons are green and red, the colors of Morocco flag. You’ll board and take off after receiving a short security briefing. First part of the flight is in high altitude to admire the region in its entirety: Jebilet Mountains, Marrakech, and the Atlas Mountains. Second part of the flight is at low altitude over typical villages where you’ll see valleys, farms, kids going to school, etc. After a 1-hour flight, you’ll be driven through the Moroccan bush in a kaidal tent where a typical Berber breakfast will be served.

PRICING, DEPOSITS, MONTHLY PAYMENTS
LAND + AIR

Double Occupancy: $3,599 per person
Single Occupancy: $4,399 per person

LAND ONLY

Double Occupancy: $2,599 per person
Single Occupancy: $3,399 per person

$99 Deposit - Per person
Minimum Monthly Payment: $200 - Per person

FINAL DUE DATE: July 12, 2024

INCLUDED:

⦁ Airfare - JFK Only
⦁ All Ground Transportation & Airport Transfers
⦁ 1 night: Barceló Anfa Casablanca - classic room
⦁ 3 nights: Fes Marriott Hotel Jnan Palace - garden room
⦁ 3 nights: Be Live Collection Marrakech Adults Only - classic room
⦁ King or Twin Guest Rooms
⦁ Daily Breakfast (6), 3 Lunches and 7 Dinners
⦁ Numerous Excursions (see above)
⦁ On-Site Travel Specialist
⦁ All Taxes and Fees

NOT INCLUDED

⦁ Gratuity/tips, items of a personal nature, any meals NOT listed above, TRAVEL INSURANCE.

*Airport transfers will be provided to the group arriving on the same IAD to CMN (Casablanca) flight.

ACCOMODATIONS

CASABLANCA: Barceló Anfa Casablanca
A traditional and Contemporary hotel style in the City Center:
Located in the heart of Casablanca, the economic lung of Morocco, is the hotel Barceló Anfa Casablanca. With an Art Deco design that is reflected in colors, geometric shapes or warm materials, the hotel is perfectly aligned with the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the region and offers a strategic location for business travel.

FEZ: Fez Marriott Hotel Jnan Palace
Immersing you in stylish luxury, Fez Marriott Hotel Jnan Palace is a welcoming respite for discerning travelers. Unpack your bags in elegantly appointed accommodations enhanced by refined design elements and bathed in natural light. Upgrade your stay in an expansive suite with separate living, dining and sleeping areas. Explore some of Morocco's most celebrated attractions, including Quartier Al-Atlas, the University of Al Quaraouiyine, the Batha Museum, the blue gate of Bab Boujeloud and the Medina of Fez, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Let your productivity soar in sophisticated meeting spaces and venues for events of every size. Delight your palate with diverse international dining and creative cocktails at our hotel's restaurants and bar. After an eventful day of business or sightseeing, refresh in our sparkling outdoor pool or energize in our cutting-edge fitness center. A beacon of luxury, you'll experience an uncommon, remarkable stay at Fes Marriott Hotel Jnan Palace.

MARRAKECH: Be Live Collection Marrakech Adults Only
The tranquility of a residential area accompanied by the unique light of magical sunsets, warm colors of a new world that opens up before the curious eyes of the most adventurous visitors, and all the comforts that a 5-star hotel can offer to its guests. Just so is the Be Live Collection Marrakech Adults Only Hotel, located in Marrakech, in the heart of the exciting Morocco. The hotel is located in a beautiful area in the Palm Grove, surrounded by palm trees that carry visitors to the most idyllic postcard of the imperial city and which fill the atmosphere with the local essence of Morocco that only the luckiest travelers can discover. This is a hotel for Adults Only, a place to enjoy the stillness and tranquility during a vacation in which the travelers’ needs are carefully met.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

LAND ONLY PACKAGE
VEI encourages clients to purchase your airfare online when possible. Group air contracts are very restrictive (some airlines more than others). When purchasing your own airfare, you can select your seats, pay for extra leg rooms seats, pay for First and Business Class and use credit cards to obtain travel points.

VEI will provide the group flight itinerary in early December 2023. With this information, clients who choose Land Only packages can purchase the same flights as the group or choose flights from your home city. For those that select flights that don't match the group's you may be responsible for your airport transfers.

For Land Only packages, the domestic flights from Bangkok to Phuket are INCLUDED in the advertised price.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

If for some reason you are unable to attend your highly anticipated trip, travel insurance can offer a means to recoup invested monies. Your reason for canceling could be 100 percent legitimate, but our travel company has a no refund policy because funds are used by the Morocco suppliers to hold your space for a year. Although VEI will be sympathetic, it is not possible to provide refunds. This is the power of a travel insurance policy. Subject to the policy purchased and its accompanying terms and conditions, filing a claim provides an avenue to recover your hard-earned money in the event you need to cancel.

FLIGHT SCHEDULE

Flight and airline schedule will be provided to everyone who secures a vacation package in early December 2023.

PASSPORTS & VISAS

A visa is not required to travel to Morocco. A valid US passport is required to travel, and the expiration date must exceed April 21, 2025.