Cruising the Canary Islands and Morocco

Program Overview

Join us on this nine-day itinerary which combines the natural beauty of the Canary Islands and the Moorish treasures of the rose-pink cities of Morocco. Cruise for seven nights aboard the exclusively chartered, Five‑Star Le Dumont-d’Urville—featuring only 92 Suites and Staterooms, each with a private balcony. Visit La Palma’s scenic Mirador de la Concepción for spectacular views of Caldera de Taburiente and “the beautiful island.” Discover iconic Casablanca. Visit four UNESCO World Heritage sites, the stunning island of Tenerife, the 1,000-year-old city of Marrakesh and the ancient city of Fez. Las Palmas Pre-Program Option and Casablanca Post-Program Option.

Program Details

April 18 to 26, 2022 (Le Dumont-d'Urville)
From approximately $4995 plus air View Terms & Conditions
  • Uniquely designed program, offered exclusively in Gohagan & Company’s tradition of innovative affinity and educational travel.
  • Extraordinary nine-day travel program combining the alluring Canary Islands and Morocco.
  • Seven-night cruise aboard the exclusively chartered, Five-Star Le Dumont-d’Urville, featuring only 92 Suites and Staterooms, each with a private balcony.
  • Excursions in every port, featuring four UNESCO World Heritage sites, scenic coastlines and idyllic ports seldom visited by larger vessels.
  • Visit the island of Tenerife to explore Teide National Park and enjoy stunning panoramic views from Mount Teide.
  • Tour Marrakesh’s bustling Jemaa El Fna Square, located in the heart of the city; browse the shops and workshops and marvel at musicians, performing monkeys and snake charmers.
  • Visit Casablanca’s beautiful and intricately designed Hassan II Mosque, the seventh largest mosque in the world.
  • Enjoy a full-day excursion to Fez to see Nejjarine Place’s iconic fountain, Seffarine Place’s shining copper works and its famed tanneries.
  • Unparalleled combination of the stunning natural beauty of the Canary Islands and the Moorish treasures of the rose-pink cities of Morocco.
  • Two night Las Palmas Pre-Program Option and two-night Casablanca Post-Program Option.

Day 1 - Depart the U.S. or Canada

Day 2 - Arrive Las Palmas, Grand Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain / Embark Le Dumont-d’Urville

Day 3 - Santa Cruz, La Palma

Day 4 - Los Cristianos, Santa Cruz, Tenerife

Day 5 - Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Day 6 - Safi, Morocco, for Marrakesh

Day 7 - Casablanca

Day 8 - Kenitra for Fez

Day 9 - Casablanca / Return to the U.S. or Canada

View detailed program itinerary >

Le Dumont-d’Urville

Exclusively Chartered, Five-Star Luxury Small Ship

Le Dumont-d’Urville, launched in 2019, ushers in a new generation of Five-Star small ships, combining revolutionary design and a new standard of luxury for unparalleled cruising. Dock in smaller ports inaccessible to larger ships, where authentic cultural experiences and majestic scenery await you.

Learn more about the Le Dumont-d’Urville >

Las Palmas Pre-Program Option

Explore historical Las Palmas, the capital city of Gran Canaria, where centuries-old cobblestone streets and 15th century colonial architecture tell stories of its iconic past. Walk in the path of Christopher Columbus in Las Palmas’ old town of Vegueta with a visit to Casa de Colón, the house where the Spanish explorer is believed to have stayed in 1492 while repairing La Pinta before famously crossing the Atlantic. Experience a full-day excursion to some of the Canary Islands’ rarely visited sites, featuring Teror’s Neoclassical basilica, Our Lady of the Pine—which honors the legend that the Virgin Mary appeared on a pine tree in the center of the village—and a stop at the spectacular Gardens of the Duchess in Arucas. Accommodations for two nights are in the Five-Star Hotel Santa Catalina.

Casablanca and Rabat Post-Program Option

Discover Moorish Casablanca and the treasures of Morocco with visits to its fortified capital of Rabat, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the scenic, 16th-century port city of El Jadida. Explore Rabat’s impressive colonial architecture, winding lanes of picturesque kasbah with stunning ocean views and monuments commemorating the city’s many cultural influences—including Phoenician, Roman and Almohad. See the resplendent Royal Palace, home of the king of Morocco, and the mystical Hassan Tower. Visit the stunning Mohammed V. Mausoleum, elaborately decorated with mosaic tile and elaborate Moroccan fountains. Travel through the Moroccan terrain to captivating El Jadida—one of the earliest Portuguese colonies in West Africa—and its original fortified Mazagan city center, renowned as an important example of Renaissance Portuguese architecture. Accommodations for two nights are in the Five-Star Hotel Hyatt Regency, centrally located in the Old Medina of Casablanca.

The Pre-Program and Post-Program Options are available at additional cost. Details will be provided with your reservation confirmation.

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Program Itinerary

Day 1 Departure

Your trip will begin by departing the U.S. or Canada.

Day 2 Las Palmas, Grand Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

Arrive in Las Palmas, an attractive town founded by Spanish conquistadors. In 1478, it became a port for ships sailing around the African continent, in the late 19th century it flourished due to the coal industry and today it is the largest town in the Canary Island chain. A cultural haven in the Atlantic, this lush island also produces grapes, avocados and tobacco used for cigars said to rival those from Cuba, and one-third of the island is a UNESCO biosphere reserve.

Embark Le Dumont-d’Urville and enjoy dinner on board the ship this evening.

Day 3 Santa Cruz, La Palma

Known as La Isla Bonita, “the beautiful island, La Palma holds an abundance of cultural and natural treasures that make it a botanist’s dream and earned it the designation as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. Explore the old quarter of Santa Cruz, once the third-largest port in the Spanish Empire, and see its pilgrimage center and shrine of La Virgen de las Nieves (Madonna of the Snow), the island’s patron saint and the mid-17th-century church representing a unique fusion of Baroque and Mudéjar (Spanish-Moorish) architecture.

The scenic overlook of Mirador de La Concepción in Breña Alta offers sweeping vistas of Santa Cruz, while the Mirador de La Cumbrecita provides a window on La Palma’s geologic past with dramatic views of the Caldera de Taburiente, one of Earth’s largest calderas, sheltering a profusion of trees and shrubs, many of them found only on this island.

Following lunch on board the ship, enjoy time at leisure to explore Santa Cruz at your own pace. Enjoy the Captain’s Welcome Reception and dinner on board the ship this evening.

Day 4, Morning Tenerife Island

The ancient Guanche people gave the name Tenerife—“White Mountain”—to this scenic island, dominated by the soaring, 12,195-foot-high pinnacle of Mount Teide, Spain’s loftiest mountain. Travel through Vilaflor and the cool, verdant forests of La Esperanza to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Teide National Park, a starkly beautiful wilderness of mineral-tinted rock, ancient lava flows and distinctive vegetation found nowhere else. Gaze across the sand and lava rock floor of the vast caldera of Las Cañadas to the snowy summit of Mount Teide, and enjoy a

panoramic view of the Roques de Garcia, 500-foot-high rocks shaped by the erosive forces of wind and water.

Day 4, Afternoon San Cristobal de La Laguna

After lunch on board the ship, visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, a beautiful university town established in 1496, where houses in the old quarter date from the 16th and 17th centuries and feature preserved wooden balconies and ornate doorways crowned with family crests.

Enjoy dinner on board the ship this evening while cruising the Atlantic Ocean.

Day 5 Cruising the Atlantic Ocean

Enjoy a day cruising the Atlantic Ocean and choose to attend various educational lectures on board the ship.

Day 6 Safi, Morocco, for Marrakesh

Enjoy a scenic transfer from the port town of Safi to ancient Marrakesh, founded in 1062 by monks known as the Almoravids. Visit masterpieces of Moorish architecture, including the exquisite Bahia Palace, glorious Menara Gardens and 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque.

Savor lunch in a local restaurant and experience the aromas and flavors of traditional Moroccan cuisine. Visit the heart of Marrakesh’s markets, or souks, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, and see master craftspeople carrying on the ancient methods of leatherworking, dyeing skeins of wool and silk and hanging colorful garments and shoes in a vibrant display. In the dramatic Place Jemaa el Fna, “Square of the Dead,” see acrobats, musicians and snake charmers.

Dinner is on board the ship this evening.

Day 7 Casablanca

Casablanca contrasts a historic legacy dating from seventh-century Berber settlers with a cosmopolitan city center that is a harmonious blend of French and North African culture. Enjoy a panoramic tour along the fashionable, oceanfront Boulevard de la Corniche, offering stunning Atlantic views. See elaborate Mauresque architecture (a fusion of traditional Moroccan designs and Parisian Art Deco style), Mohammed V Square, United Nations Square and locals sipping coffee in outdoor cafés. Visit the impressive Hassan II Mosque, built on a promontory over the ocean.

After lunch on board the ship, your afternoon is at leisure to experience the captivating sights and sounds evocative of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman’s Casablanca.

Enjoy dinner on board the ship this evening.

Day 8 Kenitra for Fez

Disembark in Kenitra and enjoy a scenic transfer to Fez, the oldest of Morocco’s imperial cities, surrounded by low hills covered with orchards and olive groves. Ancient embattlements still partially enclose the ninth-century, UNESCO World Heritage-designated Medina of Fez, known as the “Athens of Africa” for its university—the oldest in the world. This marvelous, well-preserved ancient city briefly replaced Marrakesh as the capitol of the kingdom during its peak in the 13th and 14th centuries and continues to be the spiritual and cultural center of the country.

Savor lunch in a local restaurant in Fez. Following lunch, visit the Medersa Bou Inania, walk past the spectacular fountain at Nejjarine Place and see the Kairouyine Mosque. Discover the history of Seffarine Place and see its 16th-century marble fountain, decorated with fleur-de-lys. Glimpse the famed tanneries of Fez—clusters of stone vats filled with red, yellow and brown dyes, and skins hanging to dry in the sun.

Attend the Captain’s Farewell Reception and dinner on board the ship this evening.

Day 9 Casablanca, Morocco / U.S.

Disembark in Casablanca and continue on to the Casablanca Post-Program Option or transfer to the airport for your return flight to the U.S.