Morocco
& Egypt
Friends Abroad edition - For the Independent
Traveler
Explore
the two gems of North Africa--Morocco and Egypt-- on your own on this
9-day, tour to Casablanca, Marrakech, Cairo and Luxor. A bonus:
journeys by train across the Moroccan countryside, and up the Nile! Weekly
on Wednesday , year round . Add
a Nile Cruise
Day
1 - MARRAKECH Wednesday
We meet you at the Airport of the mystical city of Marrakech. Our staff
escorts us to our hotel.
DAY
2 - MARRAKECH - Thursday (B)
Marrakech is yours in these two days to explore the city on your own.
Dinner
is included at a local home:
Meet the locals,
you may wish to bring token gifts to exchange with the host family ( T
shirt , small souvenirs of your home town):
This
evening we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right
into the homes of some of the people of Marrakech ! You'll be invited
to a family dinner, and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties,
you'll learn about and appreciate the outlook, aspirations, and way of
life of your hosts. Be assured, as curious as you may be about your new
friends, they're sure to have questions about your own background. Once
the ice is broken, you'll enjoy a lively evening, and find that you have
more in common than you ever suspected. Of course, you may enjoy a quiet
evening with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.
Day
3 - MARRAKECH - Friday (B)
Marrakech is yours in these two days to explore the city on your own.
Day
4 - BY TRAIN TO CASABLANCA Saturday (B)
"Getting there is half the fun!" We board the train for our return to
Casablanca, cruising through the lovely countryside past green
fields, fruit-laden orchards, traditional villages and modern towns, with
the lofty Atlas Mountains soaring in the distance.
After arriving in Casablanca, we visit the majestic new Grand Mosque
of King Hassan II, second only to the Great Mosque at Mecca in size.
We continue on a panoramic tour of the city and its souks. We drive to
the airport for our Royal Air Maroc night flight across North Africa to
Egypt.
Day 5- CAIRO Sunday (BD)
We
arrive in Cairo with the dawn,Complimentary visa issued upon arrival at
Cairo Airport, valid only for Western European , Australian, NZ , Canadian,
American & Japanese citizens. Passports must be valid for 6 month
at least at time of arrival.
We
drive through the awakening city to our hotel for breakfast and a bracing
cup of coffee or tea.
The rest of the day is yours: find a little local restaurant for lunch,
go museum-hopping, take a nap, or stroll along the Nile, as you like.
Visa
will be issued upon arrival.
As you exit the gate, you will pass through a door or two , down some
stairs , then walk for 2-5 minutes , until you pass the duty free shops,
at the end of a wide corridor , you will see the security officers. There
you will be met by a local representative, who will be holding a sign
with the name you prefer to use for the sign .
Our local representative will then take your passport to obtain a stamp
from the cashier / bank window and escort you to speak with the passport
officer. He will escort you through another last check on your passport
as you exit the passport control, into customs area, he will assist you
in collecting your luggage and clearing customs . After exiting the terminal,
our local representative will escort you (private vehicle) to the hotel
DAY
6 - CAIRO Monday (BD)
Today Cairo is your . In the evening, we meet you at the hotel's lobby
for the transfer to Cairo Railway Station to board our first-class sleeper
train for the journey to Luxor. Dinner is served in our private
compartments as we speed southward along the banks of the Nile.
DAY
7 - LUXOR Tuesday (BD)
We leave our train for breakfast in a luxury hotel, after which we cross
the Nile to visit the Valley of the Kings and the Colossi of
Memnon. After lunch in Luxor, we tour the stupendous Great Temple
of Amon at Karnak, and visit the Sacred Lake and red granite
quarry with its huge unfinished obelisk. We take a quick look at the great
temple of Amon Ra at Luxor on our way to the airport for our flight
back to Cairo.
DAY
8 - CAIRO Wednesday (BD)
Once again Cairo is yours to enjoy as you like.
Day 9 - DEPARTURE Thursday (BD)
After breakfast, our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight
to New York.
This
tour starts in Marrakch weekly on Wednesdays, Year Round
RATES per
person in USD
|
First
Class |
Tourist
Class |
| Triple |
US$
2990 |
US$
2719 |
| Double |
US$
3030 |
US$
2860 |
| Single |
US$
4120 |
US$
3950 |
Your
tour includes:
- Airfare
from Casablanca to Cairo on Royal Air Maroc, including tax
-
Domestic airfares within Morocco and Egypt in economy class , including
tax
-
First-class day train Marrakech-Casablanca and sleeper train Cairo-Luxor,
including tax and service
- All
airport and train station transfers in Morocco and Egypt as described
in the tour itinerary
-
Your hotel room at a carefully-selected , first class or tourist class
hotel, whichever you prefer, including tax & service
- B
= Continental Breakfast, (or Buffet Breakfast), L
= Lunch, D = Dinner and all Egyptian airport
taxes , as per itinerary .
- Guided
sightseeing as listed in the itinerary including all entrance fees.
- Western
Europe , US and Japanese passport holders need a visa to enter Egypt.
You will obtain a visa at the airport upon arrival in Cairo With our
compliments, as long as you have an American or Japanese passport that
is valid for at least 6 month . Visas are not required of US and Canadian
passport holders for entry into Morocco.
- VERY
IMPORTANT NOTE ON LUGGAGE: When flying between Casablanca & Cairo,you
will be allowed one piece of luggage to be checked in on board the ROYAL
AIR MAROC fligh
* Easter, Christmas
& New Year's "15% supplement will apply to the rates.
Extend
your stay in Egypt on a Nile Cruise
A
Bit of History
First
colonized by the Phoenician , then governed by the Romans, Morocco
became a haven of religious freedom early on. Christianity and Judaism
, persecuted in other parts of the Roman Empire , were freely practiced
here. With the coming of the Arabs, in the 600s, this tradition
of tolerance continued.
By
the 1100s, Morocco 's Almoravid kings had conquered Spain, though
they lost their Iberian provinces by the mid -1200s. By the 1500s,
Sultan Ahmed - el Mansour, the Saadian monarch of Morocco was exchanging
Ambassadors and making alliances with the European powers.
With
the onslaught of the "Inquisition" and "Los Reyes
Catolicos " in Spain , waves of Christian , Jewish and Moros
' Muslims of Spain" fled to Morocco, and help established one
of the most rich culture , traditions & cuisine's in north Africa
that makes up Morocco of today.
Sidi
Mohammed , ancestor of Morocco's present King, was among the first
rulers to recognize the independence of the United States of America
after the Revolutionary War.
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