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Essaouira

One Day Tour Essaouira
Duration: 9:00am - 7:00pm 
Inclusion: Luxury Toyota 4x4
English, French Speaking Driver, Guide
Starting & Finishing Point: Your Hotel In Marrakesh

ITINERARY

MORNING DEPARTURE: 
Essaouria is a fun-filled and relaxing day trip from Marrakesh. After breakfast at your hotel, depart for Essaouira. The journey to this former Portuguese fishing village offers up only a few roadside towns and the occasional Berber village. In the ’60s and ’70s, Essaouira was a pitstop on the hippie trek from Marrakesh. Jimi Hendrix made the pilgrimage, as did Bob Marley and Cat Stevens. Essaouira was the inspiration for Hendrix’s song “Castles Made of Sand”.

Visit this sea-side medieval town that boasts lovely white-washed and blue-shuttered houses, colonnades, thuya wood workshops, art galleries and mouthwatering seafood. Once called Mogador by European sailors and traders, Essaouria is known for its annual Gnaoua Music Festival that attracts 300,000+ people in June. It also has an expansive beach for surfing called Plage de Safi.

Take a stroll along the town’s sunlit pedestrian main square, Place Prince Moulay el Hassan and the Skala du Port, the fishing harbor, offers breathtaking views of the Portuguese ramparts. Explore the ramparts and the spice and jewelry souks of the medina. The medina of Essaouira (formerly "Mogador") is a UNESCO World Heritage listed city, as an example of a late-18th century fortified town.  

MID-DAY: 
Have lunch at the fish-grill cafes, with wooden tables and benches laid out overlooking the sea that was once- in the 19^th century- the only Moroccan port south of Tangier.

After lunch visit Orson Welles’ Square and memorial, designed by Samir Mustapha, one of the towns artists, which pays homage to Orson Welles filming of Othello in Essouaria.  Essaouira’s history is a reminder of the times when Spain, Portugal and England fought to maintain control over its coasts. It has a typical Portuguese harbor that is a stunning example of Moorish and Portuguese architecture.

For a side-excursion within Essaouira consider a visit at Ranch de Diabat, located in the small village Diabat. Ranch de Diabat arranges tours of high quality with camels or horses - and it can be for 2 hours or it can be for several days.

Weather permitting, consider extending your stay to try kayaking, kite surfing, wind surfing, or just regular surfing. Essaouira is the wind capital of Africa and the world.

ONE DAY TOUR RATES: (Includes Guide, 4x4 and Lunch.)
$130 1P /2P+ $105 Ea.  

€86 1P/€70 Ea. 2P+ 

£66 1P/£54 Ea. 2P+ 

975 DHS 1P/ 788DHS Ea. 2P+