Morocco
Majestic Morocco. Colorful spice markets, ancient earthen kasbahs and medinas, and a city painted blue are just a few of the mesmerizing locations we’ll explore. From the hustle and bustle of the markets to the starry skies of the Sahara and on to the Strait of Gibraltar, our trip will leave you with incredible memories (and photographs) of the people, places and food that have made Morocco such an exotic destination for so many years.
Tour Details
November 10-24, 2025 — 1 Spot Left
This is a 14-night, 15-day workshop. Your adventure begins with an overnight flight to arrive in Marrakech on November 10 and ends at the airport in Casablanca on the morning of November 24.
$11,995 for singles, $22,995 for couples + applicable taxes. Register below.
Skill level
All Levels. Open to all who have an understanding of the basic principles of photography and of their cameras.
Group size
10, with 2 instructors — 5:1 ratio
Tour Leaders
Registration
| • Deposit of $4,995 (single),$7,995 (couple) is required to reserve your spot at the workshop. |
| • Balance of $7,000 (single),$15,000 (couple) is due on July 14, 2025. → Pay balance here. |
| • Last day for a cancellation request is July 13, 2025. (see cancellation and refund policy) |
| • The tour fee includes lodging (TK),in-country transportation, breakfasts and dinners |
| • The tour fee does not include airfare, lunches, drinks, or tips to our local guides and drivers. |
The Morocco Experience
This photography tour will feature long days and nights with intense periods of photography. It’s not a workshop—there will be no formal classroom instruction or lectures. Our main focus will be to photograph. We will have a local guide and driver throughout the entire trip. This will not only grant us exclusive access to locations but also a deeper understanding of the people and culture of this hospitable country.
Our tour will be a learning experience on multiple levels, but the foremost goal is to provide you with a safe, comfortable and organized opportunity to create images of this exotic country. You’ll be working closely with people of varying levels of photography experience, and we’ll all learn from one another while making friends along the way.
The trip is suited for people of all photography levels. The leaders will provide instruction on night and low-light photography techniques in the field, and will share some articles in advance of the trip to get you started. We will be available to work with you one-on-one in the field, offering as much or as little creative and technical advice as you want. Night photography will be a big part of this trip, but portrait photography will also be embraced. Our guide will have artisans, chefs and locals available for us to photograph under the various tapestries of Morocco life.
Some of our destinations include:
Marrakech, known for its colorful environment and for being the first imperial city in Morocco. We will have options to discover the Palace of the Bahia, the Saadian Tombs, Yves Saint Laurent’s Jardin Majorelle and many other hidden treasures. We’ll wander and shop in the endless souk (market) of Marrakech as we train our cameras to capture many of the mystical mysteries that has made Marrakech so famous.
Aït Benhaddou, a historic ksar, or fortified village. It is one of the best examples of Moroccan earthen clay architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Sahara Desert, where we’ll jump into 4x4’s that will take us to the majestic “golden” dunes where you will enjoy a camel ride and watch the sun set and the stars rise over these ever moving (and singing) mountains of sand. Musicians and dancers will let us photograph them as they play their traditional Gnawa music surrounded by the fantastical backdrop of the desert.
Fes, Morocco’s cultural and spiritual center. While no cars are allowed inside the medina (walled-in city), our local guide will lead us through the maze of massive conical piles of vibrant spices, and storehouses heaped high with hand-woven carpets in every color and design possible. The famous tanneries of Fes will mesmerize us with their round stone vessels filled with colorful dyes. (Our guide is from Fes, so we’ll get a true insider tour of the real Fes.)
Volubilis, the ancient Roman city of Volubilis. This is ruinism at its finest and we’ll have plenty of time to explore the mosaics and archaeological sites from the 3rd century B.C.
Chefchaouen, the photographer’s dream. Why are the buildings, streets, and stairs all painted various shades of blue? The most common theory is that blue represents the color of the sky and connects the city to heaven. We’ll leave no powder blue, cyan, robins-egg, indigo, cobalt, azure or periwinkle color unturned as we connect the colors to the day and night skies.
Tangier, in Africa’s most extreme northwest corner. We’ll stare out to the Strait of Gibraltar and see where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Mediterranean Sea. The Caves of Hercules are worth exploring as well as the American Legion, built in 1821. The Cape Spartel lighthouse which has guided ships through the Straits of Gibraltar since 1864 will make for an absolutely historic night shoot.
Casablanca, where one of the grandest buildings in the world, the Hassan II mosque, rests along the crashing waters of the Atlantic.
This is just a sample of our scheduled destinations, but our days and nights will also be filled with unscheduled photographic opportunities as they arise.
What You Should Know
Night photography experience is helpful, but not necessary. Participants must have at least basic photo skills, know their cameras well, and be comfortable shooting raw in manual mode with a DSLR or high-end mirrorless camera.
If you would like to attend this tour but are unsure whether you have adequate night photography skills, we can offer pre-tour tutoring to get you ready for your adventure with us. Alternatively or additionally, a few of us have written books that may be productive pre-tour reads.
What You Will Learn
As this is a photo tour rather than a workshop, the emphasis will be on getting participants to great locations with great light, and making sure that everyone has the trip of a lifetime. We figure that you don’t travel to Morocco very often, and you wouldn’t want to spend your time in a classroom!
That said, we do encourage you to think about and set goals for the trip.
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO GAIN FROM THIS EXPERIENCE?
great images?
lasting memories?
learn about the history and culture of Morocco?
learn some new photography skills?
all of the above?
The instructors will be available for one-on-one guidance in the field. We’ll be glad to review your images with you during quieter moments, but there won’t be formal group image-review sessions.
Night Conditions
Logistics & General Info
Travel
You are responsible for your airfare to Marrakech (RAK) and from Casablanca (CMN). All transportation in-country is included in a roomy tour bus.
Lodging & Food
The tour will be based in seven different 4-star hotels or riads, and lodging is included in the trip fee. Also included are breakfasts and dinners, beginning with dinner on the first day and ending with breakfast on the last. We will eat lots of tagines! Breakfast will be at our hotel each morning, we will stop for lunch if needed on the road, and dinners will be in the hotels or at fine dining restaurants each night.
Weather
Expect daytime highs in the 60s F, lows around 50, except in the desert where it can be much warmer during the daytime and in the 30s or 40s at night.
Recommended Attire
Bring layers, including waterproof and windproof outerwear, and a lightweight and medium-weight jacket.
Good, comfortable walking or trail shoes are a must.
A pair of lightweight gloves and a cap might come in handy.
Exertion Level
The exertion level of this tour is Easy. (See more about our classifications.)
No vigorous activity will be required during the workshop, but please consider your physical abilities prior to registering. There won’t be any long hikes, but there will be sand dune climbs and higher elevation involved. You should be comfortable carrying your own equipment over uneven ground in the dark.
Considerations
IMPORTANT: We encourage reading our FAQs section for more information about skill and gear requirements, and other information that pertains to all our workshops.
If you have questions, please contact us—we're happy to talk it over with you.
Slowing Down and Sipping Tea …
“The chefs were surprised to see anyone take an interest in what they do. It was a wonderful experience, and boy did that meal taste extra special.”
I’ve had a long fascination with the Mediterranean region and had the wonderful opportunity to live and travel there for close to a year. The people, varied cultures, ancient history, mythology and food are so exotic to me that I want to keep coming back for more and more knowledge and experiences. In 2022 I had the opportunity to co-lead a trip to Morocco that focused on the small towns of the Atlantic Coast. It was magical, and it opened my mind to the myriad cultural influences that Morocco has been balancing for thousands of years.
Our guides Ali and Mohammed were the perfect partners to lead us through the chaos of the souks, as well as to weave in the time to slow down and have tea with locals. They understood that we didn’t just want to point our cameras to monuments and move on, but that we wanted to get a deeper understanding of people and cultivate everlasting memories of this very special country.
The tour changed to something deeper and more fulfilling. The first time I really felt this was when we were staying at a wonderful hotel in Taroudant and were about to feast on the mandatory tagine stew. The unique earthenware pot is synonymous with most Moroccan fare.
Of course we were always photographing the food, but we asked Ali if we could photograph the cooks and the preparation of the tagine meals. No one had really asked him or the restaurant that before, but they were hospitable beyond belief in letting us into the kitchen. The chefs were also surprised to see anyone take an interest in what they do. It was a wonderful experience, and boy did that meal taste extra special.
Soon after that we stopped at a local gas station/restaurant to fuel up our bus and our bellies. Ali hatched a truly tear-jerking moment: After our tagine lunch we were invited into the back room of the restaurant, a no-frills tea room. The owner invited his mentor, who had cooked us lunch, to brew up a batch of fresh mint tea. They explained the importance in life to slow down and sip tea with your family and friends. We shared stories and took pictures and did not want the moment to end. I actually had a Fujifilm Instax printer with me, so I was able to share prints of us drinking tea with the owner and his family. Hugs and tears of pure joy followed.
It is these kinds of memories that inspired my vow to Ali and Mohammed to return and experience more. So we started planning out another tour—no, adventure!
