Length
6 days
Group
Up to 8 guests
Season
March–May and October–November
Pace
Steady, mostly on foot
We meet
Front desk, Cat Mitty Hotel, 16:00 the day before
Guide price
From 35,600 CZK per person
This is an approximate figure, with flights and the nights listed below. The manager confirms the final price when you request the tour, since it can move with dates, flights and the number of travellers.
Fez el Bali is a maze of nine thousand lanes, and no map in the world has all of them. This is why we go with a local guide and a group of no more than eight, so that nobody wanders into a leather workshop alone and comes out with a camel bag.
We stay six days in a riad with a fountain courtyard, where the house cat has claimed the best cushion. From it we explore the tanneries, the madrasas, the metalworkers and the rooftops, and one day we leave the city altogether for the Roman ruins at Volubilis.
The ribbon of days
1
Arrival through the gate
A flight to Fez and a car to the old city gate, where the riad porters meet us with handcarts. The first mint tea is served in the courtyard, with the cat watching from the fountain’s edge.
2
The main lanes
A first walk through the Talaa Kebira, the long main lane of the medina, with stops at the bread bakers, the spice stalls and a tiny shop that only sells olives. We learn how to tell north from south by the sound of the hammers.
3
Madrasa and rooftops
A morning in a fourteenth-century madrasa with carved cedar and zellige tile, then lunch and a terrace with a view of the tanneries from above. The smell is part of the lesson.
4
Meknes and Volubilis
A day trip by minibus to Meknes and the Roman town of Volubilis, with olive groves and storks on the way. Back in Fez for a quiet dinner in the courtyard.
5
The mellah and the craft quarter
We spend the day on foot in the old Jewish quarter and the metalworkers’ lanes, with a stop at a workshop where a woodcarver lets everybody try one cut.
6
A late breakfast and goodbye
A slow last morning in the riad, a short walk for last gifts and a car to the airport for the afternoon flight to Prague.
What is in
- Return flights from Prague
- Five nights in a courtyard riad
- Breakfasts and four dinners
- A day trip to Meknes and Volubilis
- A local guide and our own
- Entrance fees on the route
What is not
- Other meals
- Travel insurance
- Anything bought in the souk
- Tips, which are your own affair
What to bring
Comfortable shoes and a scarf for shoulders when we visit religious sites. A small cross-body bag works best in the lanes. The packing page has the rest.
Request this tour
Send a request with the dates you have in mind and the number of travellers. A manager calls you within 48 hours to confirm the price and the details; nothing is charged on this site.