Grand Morocco tour · From Tangier
From the Strait of Gibraltar to the Sahara and the Atlantic, in nine days.
About this tour
Tangier is the gateway to Morocco for anyone arriving from Europe, and it makes a natural starting point for a journey down the length of the country. This nine-day route begins with the white cities of the north, Tangier and Tetouan, and the blue lanes of Chefchaouen in the Rif.
From there you travel through Roman Volubilis and imperial Meknes to Fes, for a full day in the medina with a local guide, then south over the Middle Atlas to ride camels into the dunes of Erg Chebbi. The return follows the gorges and kasbahs of the south to Marrakech.
After a guided day in Marrakech, the last morning takes you to Casablanca and the Hassan II Mosque before your flight. If you prefer to fly home from Marrakech, the tour can simply end there.
Best for: Travellers arriving by ferry or flying into Tangier who want the highlights of the whole country in one trip.
Tangier · Cap Spartel · Caves of Hercules · Kasbah · medina · About 1 hour of driving
Your driver-guide meets you at the port, the airport or your hotel. Start outside the city at Cap Spartel, where a lighthouse of 1864 marks the meeting of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and at the Caves of Hercules, whose sea opening is shaped like a map of Africa.
Back in town, walk through the kasbah gate to the sultan's old palace and down into the medina by the Petit Socco, once the haunt of spies, smugglers and writers. End the afternoon with mint tea on the terraces of Café Hafa, which has looked across the Strait to Spain since 1921.
Tangier · Tetouan · Rif mountains · Chefchaouen · About 2.5 hours of driving
An hour east of Tangier lies Tetouan, rebuilt in the 15th century by refugees from Andalusia. Its whitewashed medina, a UNESCO site, is the most Spanish in feeling of any in Morocco: walk from the royal palace square through the lanes of the jewellers, tanners and woodworkers.
The road then climbs through the Rif to Chefchaouen. Check in to your riad and explore in the soft afternoon light: the kasbah and its garden, the square of Uta el-Hammam and the spring of Ras el-Maa, where women still do their washing. A short walk up to the Spanish Mosque gives the best view at sunset.
Chefchaouen · Ouezzane · Volubilis · Meknes · Fes · About 4.5 hours of driving
Leave the mountains behind and drive south through olive country to Volubilis. A local guide can walk you through the forum, the basilica and the houses of the wealthy, where mosaics of Bacchus, Orpheus and Hercules have survived in the open air for eighteen centuries.
Meknes, half an hour further, was the creation of one man, Sultan Moulay Ismail. See his monumental gate, Bab Mansour, and the stables and granaries built to supply a vast army, then drive the last hour to Fes and your riad in the medina.
Fes el-Bali · Fes el-Jdid · Mellah · Borj Nord · Walking tour
A full day with a licensed guide in the oldest of Morocco's imperial cities. Enter by the Blue Gate and work your way down through the food market to the Bou Inania and Attarine madrasas, the mausoleum of Moulay Idriss II and the university mosque of Al Quaraouiyine.
Watch the tanners at work from a terrace above the Chouara pits, visit the fondouk at Nejjarine and step into a weaver's workshop. After lunch, see the Mellah and the palace gates, and take in the whole medina from Borj Nord.
Fes · Ifrane · Azrou · Midelt · Ziz Valley · Erfoud · Merzouga · Erg Chebbi · About 7 hours of driving
Today you cross two mountain ranges. The Middle Atlas comes first, with the Swiss-style town of Ifrane and the cedar forest of Azrou, where Barbary macaques watch the road. After Midelt, the eastern High Atlas is crossed by a low pass, and the Ziz river leads you south between cliffs.
The palms end at Erfoud, and the dunes of Erg Chebbi rise ahead like a range of orange hills. Ride into them by camel, climb to a crest for sunset and reach your camp at dusk for dinner and music around the fire.
Erg Chebbi · Rissani · Tinghir · Todra Gorge · Boumalne · Dades Valley · About 5 hours of driving
Rise early for the dawn, when the sand turns from grey to rose to gold, then return to the village for breakfast. Drive west by Rissani and the fossil workshops of Erfoud to Tinghir, a town strung along one of the richest oases in the south.
Walk the floor of the Todra Gorge beneath walls that almost meet overhead, and carry on to the Dades Valley. Kasbahs of red earth line the river, and the road up the gorge twists through strange rock formations to your hotel.
Dades Valley · Skoura · Ouarzazate · Aït Benhaddou · Tizi n'Tichka · Marrakech · About 6.5 hours of driving
Follow the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the Valley of Roses and the oasis of Skoura to Ouarzazate. Half an hour beyond stands Aït Benhaddou, the best-preserved ksar in Morocco: a cluster of towers and houses built entirely of earth and straw.
Explore it on foot, then begin the crossing of the High Atlas. The road reaches 2,260 metres at the Tizi n'Tichka pass before descending through Berber villages to Marrakech, where you check in for two nights.
Marrakech medina · Majorelle Garden · Walking tour
Explore the Red City with a local guide. The morning takes in the Koutoubia, the Saadian Tombs and the courtyards of the Bahia Palace, built for a grand vizier in the 19th century, followed by the spice square and the covered souks.
In the afternoon you might visit the Majorelle Garden and its cobalt-blue villa, try a traditional hammam, or return to the souks on your own. As evening falls, Jemaa el-Fna fills with musicians, storytellers and smoke from a hundred grills.
Marrakech · Casablanca · Hassan II Mosque · airport · About 3 hours of driving
A motorway links Marrakech and Casablanca in under three hours. If your flight allows, stop at the Hassan II Mosque, whose prayer hall holds 25,000 worshippers beneath a roof that opens to the sky, and take a short drive along the Corniche.
Your driver-guide then takes you to Mohammed V airport or to your hotel in the city. If you are flying from Marrakech instead, the tour ends there this morning with an airport transfer.
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
The cities, valleys and landscapes we recommend for a first trip to Morocco.
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
The fastest way from the Strait of Gibraltar to Marrakech by way of the Sahara: Chefchaouen, a night in Fes, a camel ride and camp in Erg Chebbi, the gorges and Aït Benhaddou.
Ten days from Tangier to Marrakech with time to breathe: Chefchaouen, two nights in Fes, two nights at the Merzouga dunes with a 4x4 day, the gorges of the south and two nights in Marrakech.
Sixteen days from the Strait of Gibraltar to Marrakech and the Atlantic: Tangier and Asilah, two nights in Chefchaouen, Rabat and Casablanca, Fes, two nights at the Merzouga dunes, Ouarzazate, Marrakech and Essaouira.
A one-way crossing that turns a long transfer into an adventure: kasbahs, the Dades and Todra gorges, a camel ride into Erg Chebbi, then cedar forests on the road to Fes.
