SMALL GROUP TOURS

Hosted every step of the way

A journey with By Prior Arrangement gives you the ease of a trip that is already designed and the warmth of travelling alongside like-minded people. We have specialised exclusively in Morocco for more than 30 years, and we run each departure just once, for a group of only 8 to 10, so every journey sits closer to private travel than to a conventional tour. Your host travels with you throughout, smoothing every transition and opening doors that three decades of relationships keep open.

  • Medina Magic

    21 September - 2 October 2026

    BOOK NOW AND RECEIVE A $1,000 TRAVEL VOUCHER

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  • Lyndey Milan

    13-24 October 2026

    A CULINARY AND CULTURAL JOURNEY

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  • Moroccan Mosaic

    20 September - 2 October 2027

    THE ESSENCE OF MOROCCO

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In Summary

By Prior Arrangement runs only a handful of curated Morocco departures each year, each capped at around 8 to 10 guests and run just once, so you travel with company and intention rather than slotting into a year-round touring program.

Every tour is led by an expert host who stays with the group throughout, supported by a dedicated private driver and licensed local guides, with hand-picked character-led riads and boutique hotels chosen for their unique atmosphere.

BPA handles the planning, pacing and logistics from your airport welcome to your flight home, so you experience a country that can be tricky to navigate alone with ease and in good company.

Every arrival, every transfer and every detail is arranged before you land, so the journey asks nothing of you but to enjoy it. It is the answer for travellers who want the depth of a private journey with the easy company of a few like-minded others.

How a hosted journey works

Every journey we run follows the same simple arc, from the first daydream of Morocco to the friendships you bring home.

Dream it

It all begins with an idea: wandering a vibrant souk, lingering over mint tea in a tiled riad courtyard, or pausing as the call to prayer drifts from a minaret. Browse our Morocco destinations to see where each tour goes and what each day holds. Some departures follow a cultural and heritage theme, others centre on food and flavour with a guest host, and all of them balance the famous sights with the quieter corners most visitors miss.

Choose it

Because each journey runs only once, choosing is less about picking a date from a rolling schedule and more about deciding which of the year’s few departures is yours, whether that is a cultural and heritage itinerary or a food and flavour journey with a guest host. We hold your place with a deposit, then send everything you need: a detailed itinerary, a sense of the daily rhythm, advice on what to pack, and the notes that make arrival easy. The route is already planned to set the headline cities against mountain and coastal contrast, and to pace active days against slower days of immersion, so the journey flows without feeling rushed.

Live it

From your airport welcome, the journey unfolds seamlessly. Your host is with you at every turn, your riads and hotels are expecting you, and your driver moves you between regions in a comfortable private vehicle rather than a coach. Licensed local guides join you where their knowledge matters most, layering in history, architecture and craft. Days move between guided exploration and free time to wander, photograph, shop or sink into the relaxation of a rooftop sundowner or a hammam.

Remember it

Back home, the journey lives on: the photographs, the tagine you mastered in a cooking workshop, the Berber rug you bargained for now part of your home. On a journey kept this small the friendships often last longest, formed over shared meals, long drives and the discoveries you made together. Many of our guests stay in touch with the people they travelled with, and a good number return with us, sometimes on a bespoke journey built around the places they want to see again.

Your host, every step of the way

By Prior Arrangement sends an expert host with every departure, from the first welcome to the last farewell. Far more than a tour manager, your host is a steady presence, a problem-solver and a travelling companion, and the reason these journeys feel personal even with others alongside you.

A steady presence

Present throughout but never intrusive, your host handles the timings, the check-ins and the small logistics, stepping in when you want guidance and stepping back when you would rather explore. You always know what is happening next.

Access and introductions

Thirty years of relationships across Morocco open doors that stay closed to mainstream operators, from artisan workshops and family kitchens to riads that keep only a handful of rooms. Your host makes the introductions that turn sightseeing into real encounters.

Good company, well matched

Groups are kept to around 8 to 10 guests, a mix of solo travellers, couples and friends, so you have ready company and conversation without the herd feeling of a large tour.

What’s included

  • Accommodation and local taxes

    Character-led riads and boutique hotels chosen for atmosphere and location, with local tourist taxes covered.

  • All internal transport

    A dedicated private vehicle and driver for the group throughout, along with the related road costs, rather than a large coach.

  • Guided experiences

    Licensed local guides in the key locations, with entrance fees to the sites you visit together included.

  • Most meals

    All breakfasts, along with a selection of lunches and dinners, including memorable meals in special settings.

  • Your host and the pacing

    An expert host throughout, supported by a local escort for on-the-ground logistics, a pre-planned itinerary with carefully curated pacing, and any workshops or activities set out in that itinerary.

  • The small details

    Porterage at hotels and most tipping for drivers, guides and restaurants, so you are not counting out change at every stop.

Planning your small group tour

When to travel

Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) bring warm days, cool evenings and ideal conditions, which is why most departures fall in these windows. Some travel days start early to cover longer distances in the cool of the morning, so a relaxed first night and a willingness to rise early now and then both help.

How long the tours run

Most hosted tours run from around ten days to two weeks, long enough to pair the imperial cities with the mountains, the desert and the coast without rushing. Each itinerary sets out the regions it covers and the rhythm of its days, so you can choose the tour that matches your interests and your energy.

When to book

We recommend reserving as early as you can for the most popular departures. Each tour holds only a handful of places, and the best fill ahead of peak spring and autumn travel. Last-minute places are sometimes possible depending on availability, so it is always worth asking.

How to reserve your place

Enquire now with the departure that appeals and a few details about you, and a Morocco specialist in Sydney will confirm availability and answer your questions. A deposit secures your place, with the balance due closer to departure and our full pre-departure support through to your return.

The By Prior Arrangement difference

By Prior Arrangement is an Australian-owned company that has designed journeys through Morocco for more than 30 years, with hundreds of trips behind us and offices in both Sydney and Marrakech. Our team lives, works and travels in Morocco year round, so our hosting, our routes and our advice are realistic, practical and grounded in firsthand experience rather than generalist guesswork. We hold accreditation with the Australian Travel Industry. If you would rather travel privately and shape every day around your own interests, our bespoke private journeys offer the same curation designed entirely around you.

Your Questions, Answered

  • Every tour includes your accommodation and local taxes, all internal transport with a dedicated private driver, a local escort supporting your host with on-the-ground logistics, licensed local guides with entrances at the sites you visit together, most meals (all breakfasts and a selection of lunches and dinners), porterage, most tipping, and your expert host throughout, along with any workshops in the itinerary. International flights, travel insurance, some meals, personal spending and a little discretionary tipping are not included. Each tour page sets out exactly what is covered before you book, including whether airport transfers apply.

  • We keep groups deliberately small, usually around 8 to 10 guests, large enough for good company and small enough to move easily through busy medinas and stay welcome in the small riads and family kitchens larger tours cannot reach. The groups mix adult travellers of varied ages, including solo travellers, couples and friends. A single supplement is available if you would prefer your own room.

  • There is no strict upper age limit, and our tours suit active older travellers well. What matters more than age is mobility and comfort with walking, given the uneven medina streets, stairs, rural terrain and warm-season heat. You will want to keep up comfortably with the group, so please tell us about any mobility needs or medical conditions when you book. Our tours are designed for adults, so for families with children we usually suggest a bespoke private journey.

  • Yes. Tell us about any dietary needs or allergies when you book, and we will brief your host, the accommodation and the restaurants on the tour so your meals are taken care of throughout the journey.

  • A hosted tour follows a curated, pre-planned itinerary, which is part of what makes it so relaxing, so it offers less day-by-day control than a private journey. Group meals and touring are social but optional, and you are welcome to rest at the hotel when you would rather take it easy. Arranging something separate from the group may carry a cost and usually needs a little notice. If you want full control of every day, a bespoke private journey is the better choice.

  • Only a small number, and each one runs just once. Rather than repeating the same trip on a rolling schedule, we design a handful of distinct journeys a year, some cultural and heritage led, others built around food and flavour with a guest host, and run each a single time for one group of 8 to 10. It is what keeps every departure semi-exclusive, and why the places on the journey you want are worth reserving early.

  • As early as you can for the most popular departures, since each tour holds only a handful of places and they book out ahead of peak spring and autumn travel. Shorter lead times are sometimes possible, so it is always worth asking what is still available.

  • Enquire now with the departure that appeals and a few details about you, and one of our Morocco specialists in Sydney will be in touch to confirm availability and answer your questions. There is no obligation until you confirm with a deposit.

Glossary

  • A warning called out in the crowded medina, roughly “make way,” used by porters, cart pushers and mule drivers to clear a path through the lanes.

  • An everyday expression meaning “let’s go,” the gentle nudge that keeps a day moving from one stop to the next.

  • A traditional Moroccan house built around a central courtyard, smaller than a riad and without its garden, many now restored as intimate guesthouses.

  • The historic Jewish quarter of a Moroccan city, named for the Arabic word for salt, found in Fes, Marrakech and other old imperial centres.

  • A Marrakchi slow-cooked dish of seasoned meat, sealed in an urn-shaped clay pot and left for hours in the embers of the hammam furnace.

  • A gate in a city’s old walls, often grand and tiled, marking the threshold between a medina and the streets beyond.

OUR HOSTED GROUP TOURS ALL INCLUDE:

Maximum of 10 guests, excellent boutique accommodation, hosting by tour leader and a local escort, private luxury vehicles, licensed local guides in each location, most meals with wine, gratuities and more.