48°51′N · En route
A night in Paris
Break the journey east in the Marais, at the Jewish museum whose North African collections set the stage for Morocco.
Certain Latitude
Wander widely. Laugh loudly. Repeat globally.
Journey 01◆March 7–18, 2027◆35°10′N 5°16′W◆Tangier to Marrakech
Morocco
7–9 days, starting at the crossroads of Europe and Africa, Tangier, overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar, making our way to the breathtaking blue city of Chefchaouen in the Rif Mountains, winding through the labyrinth of streets in Fes dating back to the 8th century, and wrapping up with the wild street performers and delectable cuisine of Marrakech, all the while reveling in the colorful pottery, tiles, tanneries and lanterns of the vibrant medinas.
The inaugural Certain Latitude journey. We arrive in Tangier during the Eid al-Fitr holidays, when the medina is at its most festive, and delight in the aromatic wonders of street food chefs at dusk. Ten to fourteen of us, no more.
- Option A
- 9 days · $4,500March 7–18, 2027
- Option B
- 7 days · $3,900March 7–16, ends in Casablanca
- Group size
- 10–14Ages 40s–60s
- Longest drive
- 4 hoursPlus two first-class rail legs
- Walking
- Gentle–moderateSneakers are fine. No boots needed.
The route
Six cities, north to south
We break the flight in Paris rather than sprinting a same-day connection — which puts everyone in Tangier in daylight, with an evening to enjoy it.
- ParisEn route · 1 night · Le Marais
- TangierFlight 3 hr 15 + rail 2 hr 10 · 1 night
- ChefchaouenPrivate bus 2.5h through the Rif · 2 nights
- FesPrivate bus 4h · 3 nights · incl. the Middle Atlas
- CasablancaPrivate bus 3.5h · 1 night
- MarrakechRail 3h across the Chaouia plains · 2 nights
Trip highlights
What you’ll remember
35°46′N · Night 1
Storied Tangier
Arrive amid the Eid al-Fitr celebrations in the white city on the strait, gateway between two continents.
35°10′N · Nights 2–3
Picturesque Chefchaouen
Revel in the blue-washed streets, hunt for treasures in the souk, and hike up for the view of the colorful city from afar.
34°02′N · Nights 4–6
Iconic Fes
Watch artisans at work in the pottery quarter and the tanneries, then hike among the cedars and Barbary macaques of the Middle Atlas.
33°35′N · Night 7
Historic Casablanca
Visit the Museum of Moroccan Judaism — the only Jewish museum in the Arab world — and the Hassan II Mosque at the water’s edge.
31°38′N · Nights 8–9
Vibrant Marrakech
Close the journey at Jemaa el-Fna, alive at dusk with storytellers, gnawa musicians and snake charmers.
Day by day
The whole itinerary
- Evening nonstop from SFO to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, arriving the morning of Monday, March 8.
- Traveling from another city? Make your own way to Paris and join us there — arrive at any point on Monday.
Hôtel Bachaumont
18 Rue Bachaumont, 2nd arrondissement
A restored 1900s hotel on a quiet market street, walking distance to the Marais and the Louvre. Alternative: Hôtel des Grands Boulevards.
- Morning arrival at Charles de Gaulle; transfer into the city and settle in.
- Afternoon: the Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme in the Marais, whose North African and Moroccan collections make a fitting overture to the days ahead.
- Late afternoon: wander the Marais — Place des Vosges, the Rue des Rosiers, and the old lanes around the Village Saint-Paul.
- Evening at leisure.
The group comes together this evening at Hôtel Bachaumont. From here on, everyone travels together.
La Tangerina
19 Riad Sultan, Kasbah, Tangier · Night 1
An intimate restored riad set into the kasbah walls, with terraces looking across the Strait of Gibraltar toward Spain. Alternative: Hôtel Nord-Pinus Tanger, a landmark property above the medina.
- Morning flight from Charles de Gaulle to Casablanca — about 3 hours 15 minutes — arriving around midday.
- Transfer to the station and the high-speed train to Tangier: 2 hours 10 minutes at up to 320 km/h (200 mph), first class, with the Atlantic plain streaming past the window.
- Late afternoon arrival; transfer up to the kasbah and check in.
- Evening: a first walk down through the medina to the Petit Socco, then mint tea at Café Hafa on the bluff above the water — a Tangier institution since 1921 — as the sun goes down over the strait.
| Meal | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch | Café-bar car aboard the train | A light meal en route |
| Dinner | El Morocco Club | Kasbah landmark — Moroccan and Mediterranean cooking, piano bar downstairs |
Eid al-Fitr. The trip opens amid the holidays, expected around March 9–11 — the medina at its most festive.
Alhambra Ryad and Spa
Chefchaouen Medina · Nights 2 & 3
A stunning riad with mountain and medina views, a celebrated rooftop terrace and attentive staff. In-house dining available. Alternative: Riad Sultan Chefchaouen.
- Morning: the kasbah and the Kasbah Museum in the former sultan’s palace, then down through the medina to the Petit Socco and the Grand Socco.
- Late morning: the American Legation — the oldest American diplomatic property abroad, now a museum of Moroccan-American history, with its Paul Bowles wing.
- Lunch in Tangier, then depart by private bus for Chefchaouen: about 2.5 hours through the green Rif foothills.
- Late afternoon arrival: check in and set out into the famous blue-washed alleyways, with a rooftop sunset over the Rif Mountains.
| Meal | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch | Le Saveur du Poisson, Tangier | Beloved set-menu fish house near the Grand Socco |
| Dinner | Restaurant Sayeda Alhurra | A local institution |
- Morning: a photography walk through the blue medina, Uta el-Hammam square, and the Kasbah Museum with its Andalusian gardens.
- Midday: hike up to the Spanish Mosque for the classic panorama of the blue city against the Rif Mountains.
- Afternoon: free time in the souk — weavings, wool djellabas, and the woodwork of the Rif.
- Late afternoon: walk out to the waterfall at Ras el-Maa, where the town’s laundry has been washed for centuries.
| Meal | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch | Restaurant Bab Ssour | Right in the medina |
| Dinner | Restaurant Chourafa | Seafood specialties; the fish soup in particular |
Karawan Riad
21 Derb Ourbia Makhfiya, Fes el-Bali Medina · Nights 4, 5 & 6
A restored historic building in the heart of the medina.
- Early departure by private bus for Fes — about 4 hours — arriving in time for lunch.
- Afternoon: Fes el-Jdid, the Royal City built by the Marinids — the great brass gates of the Royal Palace at Place des Alaouites, and the long walled avenue of the Grand Mechouar.
- Continue into the Mellah, the oldest Jewish quarter in Morocco, with its carved wooden balconies overhanging the street — a style found nowhere else in the medina.
- Visit the Ibn Danan Synagogue, one of the oldest surviving synagogues in North Africa, and the hillside Jewish cemetery above it.
| Meal | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch | Restaurant Zohra | 3 Derb Ain Nass Blida — a medina classic |
| Dinner | Darb Elhora | Considered by many the best restaurant in Fes |
- Morning: a private guided tour of the Chouara tanneries, viewed from the leather-shop terraces above the dye vats.
- The magnificent Bou Inania Madrasa — the finest example of Marinid architecture — then the Al-Attarine Madrasa and the Nejjarine Fountain.
- Afternoon: the Kairaouine Mosque and library, founded in 859 and the oldest continually operating university in the world, and the coppersmiths’ square at Place Seffarine.
| Meal | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch | Café Clock | Medina institution above Bou Inania |
| Dinner | Les Mystères de Dar Tajine | Traditional Fassi cooking; they will escort you from the hotel |
- Early departure into the Middle Atlas — about 1 hour 15 minutes to Ifrane, the alpine-looking hill station the French built in the 1930s, with its pitched roofs and lake.
- On to the cedar forest above Azrou for the day’s walk: a guided hike of two to three hours beneath the great Atlas cedars, some of them centuries old, in the company of the Barbary macaques that live in the canopy.
- Back in Fes by early evening.
| Meal | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch | Ifrane, or a forest picnic | Grilled trout is the local specialty |
| Dinner | Nur | An intimate tasting menu of reimagined Moroccan cooking |
On the trail. Ifrane sits at about 1,650 m (5,400 ft) and the cedar forest higher still, so March days are cool and snow on the peaks is common — pack layers and a warm outer shell. The walking is gentle to moderate, on forest tracks rather than scrambles, so sneakers are fine and hiking boots are not required. The pace can be adjusted for the group.
Clocks change. Morocco moves its clocks forward an hour the Sunday after Eid — likely today.
City Park Hotel
Route de l’Oasis, Casablanca · Night 7
A modern hotel in the Oasis district, a five-minute walk from the Museum of Moroccan Judaism. Superb breakfast and spacious rooms.
- Morning: the potters’ quarter at Ain Nokbi — throwing, glazing, and the hand-chiselled zellige mosaic that gives Fes its signature — and a last pass through the souks for ceramics, leather and hand-woven textiles.
- Lunch in Fes, then depart by private bus for Casablanca: about 3.5 hours.
- Mid-afternoon arrival; evening at the Hassan II Mosque.
| Meal | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch | Restaurant Zohra, Fes | 3 Derb Ain Nass Blida — a farewell to the medina |
| Dinner | Rick’s Café | 248 Bd Sour Jdid — the bar inspired by the 1942 film; live piano, Moroccan-international menu |
★ The Museum of Moroccan Judaism
81 Rue Chasseur Jules Gros, Oasis district · Mon–Fri, 10 AM–5 PM
The only Jewish museum in the Arab world, founded in 1997 in a 1948 orphanage. Torah scrolls, Berber Jewish costume, synagogue reconstructions, and the rare Megilat Hitler manuscript. Allow 1.5–2 hours.
Riad Dar Anika
112 Riad Zitoun Lakdim, Marrakech Medina · Nights 8 & 9
An exquisite traditional riad within the medina, walking distance to Jemaa el-Fna. Outstanding hospitality and refined Moroccan style. Alternative: Palais Sebban, a historic property recently renovated.
- Unhurried breakfast at the hotel.
- 10:00 AM: the Museum of Moroccan Judaism at opening — a five-minute walk from the hotel.
- Light lunch in the Oasis district.
- Mid-afternoon: the train from Casablanca to Marrakech — a comfortable 3-hour run across the Chaouia plains, first class, with departures every one to two hours.
- Early evening: private transfer to the riad, then Jemaa el-Fna at dusk — storytellers, gnawa musicians, snake charmers, and the great open-air food stalls.
Option B — the 7-day trip ends here. Travelers on the shorter option part with the group after lunch today and transfer to Mohammed V Airport for the afternoon flight to New York. Everyone else boards the train south for two final nights in Marrakech.
| Meal | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch | A café in the Oasis district | Light meal near the museum before the train |
| Dinner | Le Rencontre | A relaxed first night, a short walk from the square |
- Morning: a guided walk through the medina souks — dyers, leather, lanterns and spices — then the Koutoubia Mosque and the Bahia Palace with its painted cedar ceilings.
- Midday: the Saadian Tombs, sealed for two centuries and rediscovered in 1917.
- Afternoon: the Marrakech Mellah and the Lazama Synagogue, then free time — a last browse through the souks, or a hammam back at the riad.
- Evening: a last look at Jemaa el-Fna, and a farewell dinner.
| Meal | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lunch | Chez Mmima | Beloved casual spot, popular with locals |
| Dinner | Al Fassia Gueliz | Women-owned since the 1980s; legendary salads and traditional Moroccan cooking |
- A relaxed final breakfast at the riad.
- Around 9:00 AM: private transfer to Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK), fifteen minutes from the medina.
- 11:50 AM: nonstop to Atlanta, connecting on to San Francisco.
Getting there and home
Flights
Outbound · March 7–9
Out to Tangier
From San Francisco: SFO to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, evening nonstop on Sunday, March 7, arriving the morning of Monday, March 8 for a day and a night in the city.
From anywhere else: make your own way to Paris and join us there. Arrive at any point on Monday, March 8. We gather that evening at Hôtel Bachaumont.
Onward, Tuesday, March 9: Paris to Casablanca in the morning, about 3 hours 15 minutes, with several daily departures on Air France and Royal Air Maroc — then the high-speed train to Tangier in early afternoon, 2 hours 10 minutes in first class, departures every hour.
Home · Option A, March 18
The 9-day return
Marrakech to SFO via Atlanta on Delta, departing Marrakech at 11:50 AM and arriving San Francisco 12:15 AM the following morning — 19 hours 25 minutes in total, with a 4 hour 5 minute connection in Atlanta.
The late-morning departure allows a relaxed final breakfast at the riad, with a transfer to Menara Airport around 9:00 AM.
Home · Option B, March 16
The 7-day return
After the museum and lunch, a 30-minute transfer to Mohammed V Airport. Royal Air Maroc AT200 flies nonstop Casablanca to New York-JFK, 3:55 PM to 6:15 PM local, then an evening nonstop JFK to SFO, into San Francisco around midnight — home the same day. Option B ends after the Casablanca museum, without the two nights in Marrakech.
Good to know
The practical part
- Transport
- Private bus for inter-city transfers, plus two first-class rail legs — the high-speed train north to Tangier on arrival, and the train to Marrakech at the end. No drive longer than four hours.
- Group size
- Ten to fourteen travelers, ages 40s–60s.
- Included
- All hotels, meals, domestic travel, guides, tips and entrance fees.
- Not included
- Travel insurance, which is required of every traveler — compare policies at Squaremouth — and international flights from your city of origin.
- Time change
- Morocco moves its clocks forward one hour the Sunday after Eid — likely March 14, mid-trip.
- Language
- French and Spanish are widely spoken in the north alongside Arabic and Darija; English is understood in tourist areas.
- Currency
- Moroccan dirham (MAD). ATMs are widely available; many restaurants prefer cash.
- Dress
- Shoulders and knees covered is respectful of local custom.
- Tipping
- 10–15% is customary at restaurants; small tips for guides and drivers are appreciated.
- Weather in March
- Mild in the cities, cool in the mountains. Snow on the Middle Atlas peaks is common — bring layers and a warm outer shell.
Booking & cancellation
Prices, payment and refunds
- Price
- $3,900 per traveler for the 7-day option, $4,500 for the 9-day option. Both are based on two travelers sharing a room.
- Single occupancy
- A room of your own is $1,000 more per person. The norm is coming solo and sharing a room; we’ll match you up with a roommate for the trip unless you prefer otherwise.
- Deposit
- $750 per traveler, due by November 1, 2026, to hold your place.
- Balance
- Due by January 15, 2027.
- Cancellation
- Cancel in writing on or before December 1, 2026 and everything you have paid is refunded in full. After that date, payments are non-refundable. This does not apply if we cancel — see below.
- Transfers
- You may pass your place to someone else who meets the group criteria up to 45 days before departure, at no charge.
- If we cancel
- If the group does not reach ten travelers, we will let you know as early as we can and refund everything you have paid, including the deposit.
- Insurance
- Personal cancellations — illness, a family emergency — are covered by travel insurance, which is required of every traveler. Buy your policy when you pay the deposit rather than later: most “cancel for any reason” coverage must be purchased within 14–21 days of your first trip payment. Compare policies at Squaremouth.
- How to pay
- Once Nicole has confirmed your place, deposits and balances can be paid by Venmo, check, or bank transfer — whichever is easiest. To pay by Venmo, use @certainlatitude and include your full name and “Morocco deposit” in the note so your payment can be matched to your place.
Pay by Venmo
Please confirm your place with Nicole first — this isn’t a substitute for joining the interest list. Once you have, use the button below to pay securely.
Pay via Venmo — @certainlatitudeMorocco in pictures
The interest list