Grand Morocco tour · From Casablanca
Mountains, medinas, desert and ocean, with two nights wherever it counts.
About this tour
Twelve days is, for many travellers, the ideal length for Morocco. It is long enough to stay two nights in the places that deserve it, and short enough to fit into a normal holiday. This itinerary makes a full loop from Casablanca and never feels hurried.
The first half covers the north: Rabat, two nights in Chefchaouen, the Roman ruins of Volubilis and two nights in Fes. Then come two nights at the dunes of Merzouga, with a camel trek, a night in camp and a day exploring by 4x4.
From the desert you travel through the Todra Gorge, the Dades Valley and Aït Benhaddou to Marrakech for two nights, and finish with the sea air of Essaouira before following the Atlantic coast back to Casablanca.
Best for: Travellers who want the complete classic circuit plus the coast, at a pace that leaves time to enjoy each stop.
Casablanca · Hassan II Mosque · Habous quarter · About 1 hour of driving
After meeting your driver-guide at the airport, visit the Hassan II Mosque if your flight arrives in time for one of the guided tours. Its setting on a platform above the waves was inspired by a verse of the Koran: the throne of God was upon the water.
Later, walk through the Habous quarter, a 'new medina' built in the 1920s with arcades, bookshops and a famous pastry shop, and along the seafront at Aïn Diab.
Casablanca · Rabat · Ouezzane · Chefchaouen · About 5 hours of driving
An hour up the coast, Rabat offers three sights within a short drive of each other: the Hassan Tower, the mausoleum of the present king's grandfather and father, and the kasbah on its cliff above the Atlantic.
After lunch, continue north. The plain gives way to the foothills of the Rif, and by early evening you are in Chefchaouen, with two nights ahead and no need to hurry.
Chefchaouen · Ras el-Maa · Spanish Mosque · Akchour (optional) · No driving (1.5 hours if you visit Akchour)
Founded as a mountain stronghold against the Portuguese, Chefchaouen later sheltered Muslims and Jews driven out of Spain. Its blue wash is said to have begun in the Jewish quarter and spread from there. Spend the morning exploring on foot.
In the afternoon, walk to the Spanish Mosque for the view, or ask your driver to take you to the gorge and waterfalls of Akchour for a hike of two to three hours.
Chefchaouen · Volubilis · Meknes · Fes · About 4.5 hours of driving
Drive south to Volubilis, where the Romans grew wheat and pressed olives for the empire. The site is open to the sky, and in spring the ruins stand in fields of marigolds and poppies.
Meknes is next: a walk across Place el-Hedim to Bab Mansour, and a visit to the vaulted storehouses and the great water basin beside them. Reach Fes at the end of the afternoon.
Fes el-Bali · Fes el-Jdid · Borj Nord · Walking tour
Today you walk through a city that has changed little since the Middle Ages. Your guide explains how each quarter had its mosque, fountain, bakery, hammam and school, and shows you examples of all five. The madrasas, with their marble basins and cedar screens, are the artistic high point.
See the tanners and dyers at work and the palace gates of Fes el-Jdid, and end at Borj Nord, where the medina lies spread out below.
Fes · Ifrane · Azrou · Midelt · Ziz Valley · Erfoud · Merzouga · Erg Chebbi · About 7 hours of driving
The drive to the desert begins among orchards and ends among dunes. Stop at Ifrane and in the cedar forest, eat in Midelt, and follow the Ziz through its gorge and its endless palm grove.
In Merzouga, your camel guide leads the caravan into Erg Chebbi at the hour when the sand is at its most golden. Supper is waiting at camp, and so is a bed with proper sheets and blankets.
Erg Chebbi · Khamlia · nomad camps · M'ifis · Dayet Srij · Merzouga · About 2 hours of off-road driving
After sunrise and breakfast, a 4x4 collects you for a tour of the country behind the dunes. Listen to Gnawa music in Khamlia, share tea in a nomad tent and stand on the hill at M'ifis, where the view runs to the Algerian frontier.
The seasonal lake of Dayet Srij is on the way back. Your second night is in a hotel at the foot of the sand, comfortable and quiet, with the dunes outside the door.
Merzouga · Rissani · Tinghir · Todra Gorge · Dades Valley · About 5 hours of driving
Say goodbye to the desert and drive to Rissani, then west to Tinghir. From the road above the town you look down on a green river of palms, pomegranate and alfalfa, with mud villages along its banks.
Walk into the Todra Gorge, then continue to the Dades Valley. Tonight's hotel sits among orchards and red cliffs, and dinner is cooked in the kitchen downstairs.
Dades Valley · Skoura · Ouarzazate · Aït Benhaddou · Tizi n'Tichka · Marrakech · About 6.5 hours of driving
The Road of a Thousand Kasbahs leads west through the Valley of Roses and Skoura to Ouarzazate. Visit Aït Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987, and climb to the top of the village.
The High Atlas crossing is the last act of the day: sharp bends, deep valleys and stalls selling minerals at every lay-by. Marrakech is reached by early evening.
Marrakech medina · palaces · souks · Walking tour
With your guide, visit the Saadian Tombs, the Bahia Palace and the Koutoubia gardens, then enter the souks. Ask to see the old fondouks, where craftsmen rent workshops around a courtyard, and the dyers' quarter.
After lunch, the time is yours. In the evening, your driver can take you to a restaurant outside the medina, or you can join the crowd at the food stalls of Jemaa el-Fna.
Marrakech · argan forest · Essaouira · About 3 hours of driving
A three-hour drive west brings you to the ocean. On the way, stop among the argan trees and visit a cooperative run by local women.
Essaouira's medina is enclosed by ramparts the colour of sand. Spend the afternoon on the Skala, at the harbour and in the lanes of the old Jewish quarter, and eat fish caught that morning.
Essaouira · Safi · Oualidia · El Jadida · Casablanca · About 6 hours of driving
Return to Casablanca by the coast road. Safi is the pottery capital of Morocco, with kilns on the hill above the town. Oualidia has a calm lagoon famous for its oysters, a good place for lunch.
In El Jadida, visit the Portuguese cistern, an underground hall of columns reflected in a film of water. You reach Casablanca in the evening; for flights before late evening, we recommend adding a night in the city.
Every tent is private. Pick the comfort level that suits you; tell us your choice when you book.
Private tents with their own en-suite bathroom, offering a good balance between comfort and the authentic feel of a Berber camp.
Spacious, elegantly furnished tents equipped with air conditioning and heating, so you stay cool on summer nights and warm in winter. Ideal for couples and families.
Absolutely. Every tour is private, so you can add or remove nights, change the camp style, combine routes or start on a different date. Tell us what you have in mind and we will adapt the plan and price.
A private, air-conditioned minivan or 4x4, depending on group size. Our vehicles are under five years old, regularly inspected and insured for tourist transport.
Yes, families travel with us often. Children love the camel ride and the camp. For young children we usually recommend a longer version of the route, with shorter driving days.
Comfortable clothes, a warm layer for the evenings, a hat or scarf, sunglasses, sun cream and closed shoes. For the desert night, a small backpack is enough; your main luggage stays safely in the vehicle.
Both camps have private tents with en-suite bathrooms, hot showers and comfortable bedding. The mid-range luxury camp offers a good balance between comfort and authenticity. The luxury camp adds air conditioning and heating in every tent, plus more spacious, elegantly furnished tents, so you stay comfortable on hot summer nights and cold winter ones.
Before you go
What makes each of the four royal capitals different, and how to link them in one journey.
Where the dunes are, the best season to visit and what a night in Erg Chebbi is really like.
When to go, how long to stay, how to get around and how to build a route that fits your time.
Related tours
Morocco's essentials in under a week: Roman Volubilis and Meknes, a guided day in the Fes medina, two nights in the Sahara, then the gorges and kasbahs on the road to Marrakech.
An imperial-cities journey with no long desert drives: Rabat, Meknes and Volubilis, guided days in Fes and Marrakech, and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas in between.
Imperial cities and two nights at the dunes in eight days: Casablanca, Rabat and Meknes, a guided day in Fes, Merzouga with a camel trek and a 4x4 day, the Dades Valley and guided Marrakech.
The classic first trip in nine days, with pick-up at Casablanca airport or your accommodation: Rabat, blue Chefchaouen, Volubilis and guided Fes, a night in the Merzouga dunes, the Dades Valley and two nights in Marrakech.
