On the Scent Trail
Love perfume and want to discover the secrets surrounding fabulous fragrances?
A new perfume tour to Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Oman is now on offer for aroma-loving Australians.
A signature souvenir scent will be custom-designed for each guest on the unique, new perfume tour in May, 2017.
The aromas of Morocco’s famous rose valleys, spice markets and the scented gardens that celebrated perfumer Yves Saint Laurent fell in love with will also feature on the multi-sensory tour offered by Australian travel specialists, Active Travel.
The exotic, fragrance adventure will be hosted by Australian perfume enthusiast, Moira Mevissen, who is experienced in matching scents with people and places.
“A scent is a powerful expression of who you are and can evoke memories which allow you to travel through time,” Moira says.
“A lot of us focus on what we see and eat on our travels but what we smell can have a powerful effect on us so we’ll explore that on this tour and everyone will return home with a scent tailor-made just for them by traditional perfume makers in the souks of Dubai which is really the ultimate souvenir.”
Marrakesh
The olfaction-themed tour begins on May 8, 2017, with a flight to Morocco for a three-night stay in Marrakesh including guided tours of the aroma-filled old medina, filled with sweet-smelling orange blossom trees and bustling bazaars.
Guests will visit the beautiful Majorelle Botanic Gardens which were gifted to Marrakech by French designer and perfumer Yves Saint Laurent who saved the sanctuary from destruction and whose ashes were scattered through the gardens after his death in 2008.
Yves Saint Laurent fell in love with Morocco and the inspiration it gave to his perfume creations.
Sahara Desert
The tour then takes guests over Morocco’s highest pass on the edge of the Sahara Desert to the ancient, hilltop village of Ait Ben Haddou for an overnight stay and then on to the M’goun Valley where guests will learn about centuries-old customs and visit vast rose fields harvested to make rose water used by Moroccan women for anti-ageing and moisturising. The kasbahs of Skoura are also visited enroute back to Marrakesh where the group will see and smell an argan oil factory and join a traditional local cooking class, with tour guests harvesting aromatic Moroccan herbs from the organic kitchen garden.
Dubai
Flying to Dubai for a three-night stay, the tour will then see guests explore the spice and perfume souks and take a four-wheel drive safari across the sand dunes to a Bedouin campsite for a traditional belly dance performance and dinner under the stars. After a signature scent is created for each guest in Dubai, the tour moves onto Muscat in Oman for the final three days, with the itinerary including a visit to the Amouge perfume factory in the fishing village of Seeb. Amouge sources rare and precious ingredients such as myrrh to create luxury, finely-blended perfumes.
After a farewell dinner, guests can dab on their favourite scent before the flight home to Australia.
Details
Including return flights, 25 meals, all touring and sightseeing and the signature scent from Dubai, the 18-day Perfume Tour is available from $9653 per person, twin-share, or $12,451 for singles.
Visit www.activetravel.com.au/group-travel or call 1300 783 188.
