Grand Morocco tour · From Casablanca
Morocco's essentials in under a week, from the Atlantic to the Sahara.
About this tour
Land in Casablanca and let us take care of the rest. This six-day private journey links Morocco's Roman past, its imperial cities, the Sahara and the kasbahs of the south, ending in Marrakech.
You begin with the ruins of Volubilis and the monumental gates of Meknes, then spend a full day in the medina of Fes with a licensed local guide. Two nights around Merzouga follow, including a free day to explore the desert and a sunset camel ride to a Berber camp. The final days cross the Todra and Dades gorges, the Valley of Roses and Aït Benhaddou before the High Atlas.
It is ideal for a first visit when time is limited but you still want to see the country's great highlights properly.
Best for: First-time visitors arriving in Casablanca who want the imperial cities and the Sahara in under a week.
Casablanca · Volubilis · Meknes · Fes · About 5 hours of driving
We collect you at 8:00 am from your hotel or Mohammed V airport and drive inland through rolling farmland to Volubilis. Volubilis was a Roman city at the edge of the empire; today its triumphal Arch of Caracalla, basilica columns and beautifully preserved floor mosaics stand in open countryside, and it is listed by UNESCO.
Nearby Meknes was the imperial capital of Sultan Moulay Ismail in the late 17th century. See the monumental Bab Mansour gate, the vast royal stables and granaries and the Sahrij Souani water basin, then continue to Fes for the evening.
Fes el-Bali · Royal Palace · Mellah · Borj Sud · Walking tour
Begin outside the medina with the golden doors of the Royal Palace, the old Jewish quarter (Mellah) and the Borj Sud fortress, whose terrace looks over the whole of Fes el-Bali, the largest car-free urban area in the world. Then, with a licensed local guide, dive into the maze of more than 9,000 lanes.
See the Al Quaraouiyine mosque and university, founded in 859 and considered the oldest continuously operating university in the world, the carved cedar and zellige tiles of the Attarine and Bou Inania madrasas, the Nejjarine fountain and the Chouara tannery, where hides are still dyed by hand in stone pits as they have been for centuries. The afternoon is free to explore the souks or relax in your riad.
Fes · Ifrane · Azrou cedar forest · Midelt · Ziz Valley · Erfoud · Merzouga · about 458 km · About 7 hours of driving
After two days of monuments and medinas, the landscape takes over. Leave Fes at 8:00 am and climb into the Middle Atlas, passing through Ifrane, the alpine-looking town where Moroccans come to see snow in winter, and the cedar forest near Azrou, home to the endangered Barbary macaque.
Lunch is in Midelt, the apple town, before the road crosses the Tizi n'Talghemt pass and plunges into the Ziz Valley, a canyon of red cliffs filled with date palms. By late afternoon you reach Merzouga and check in to a hotel at the foot of Erg Chebbi, with time to climb a dune and watch the sunset.
Merzouga · Khamlia · Mifis · nomad camps · Erg Chebbi · About 2 hours of off-road driving
After the imperial cities, today is a complete change of scene. Your guide takes you around Erg Chebbi by 4x4: past the abandoned mining village of Mifis, across the black hamada, and to a nomad family's tent for tea and bread fresh from the fire. It is a rare chance to see how people still live in the Sahara.
Lunch is in Khamlia, where a Gnawa troupe plays music with roots in West Africa, and the afternoon is free to rest at your hotel pool before the highlight of the trip. Around 5:00 pm you meet your camel guide and ride into the dunes for sunset and sandboarding, then spend the night in a Berber camp with dinner, drumming and a sky full of stars.
Merzouga · Rissani · Erfoud · Tinjdad · Tinghir · Todra Gorge · Dades Valley · about 265 km · About 5 hours of driving
Wake early to watch the sunrise from the top of a dune, then ride back to Merzouga for breakfast. The morning drive passes through Rissani, the historic heart of the Tafilalet, where a busy market of dates, spices and livestock is held three days a week, and the palm groves of Tinjdad with their old khettara wells.
At Tinghir you walk into the Todra Gorge, where cliffs about 300 metres high close in on either side of the stream; lunch can be taken at a café in the canyon. In the afternoon, continue along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs into the Dades Valley, stopping to see the Monkey Fingers rock formations, before dinner at your hotel.
Dades Valley · Kalaat M'Gouna · Skoura · Ouarzazate · Aït Benhaddou · Tizi n'Tichka · Marrakech · about 353 km · About 6.5 hours of driving
Your final day follows the old caravan road west. In Kalaat M'Gouna, the centre of the Valley of Roses, stop at a cooperative to see how rosewater and oils are made from Damascus roses harvested each spring. Continue through the palm oasis of Skoura and Ouarzazate, home to the Atlas film studios.
After lunch, explore Aït Benhaddou, the UNESCO-listed ksar that has appeared in films from Gladiator to Game of Thrones, then cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass. You arrive at your hotel or riad in Marrakech in the late afternoon, where your tour ends.
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
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.
Ten days to see the country properly: Asilah, Tangier and blue Chefchaouen in the north, Volubilis and Fes, a night in Erg Chebbi, the gorges of the south and Marrakech.
