Ultimate Morocco, North to South

Day 1 – Arrive Casablanca | Rabat (or Arrive Tangier)

Airport Transfer (2hrs), Dinner

Welcome to Morocco! It’s possible to start your trip in either Casablanca or Tangier. Upon arrival, you will be collected and taken to your hotel to unwind and relax. If you have time to spare, our Insider’s Guides on our Morocco travel blog can help you discover the best of both cities.

Day 2 – Chefchaouen

Transport (3-5hrs), Breakfast, Dinner

Your adventure tour in Morocco truly begins with a jump start today. You’ll be picked up by your personal driver and will travel to Chefchaouen, or ‘Chaouen’ as it’s known locally. This town is a visual delight in blue; walls, doors, windows; stairways, alleyways and archways – everything is a combination of soft pastel sky blue and deeper, more powerful hues. This afternoon you are free to explore at your own pace or simply relax. Outa el Hammam is the main square and the place to watch the world go by. Walk up the tiny higgledy-piggeldy alleys away from the more tourist-orientated areas and you will find the everyday life of the town.

Day 3 – Chefchaouen

Breakfast

Having had a good read of our Chefchaouen travel guide will help you in your preparation to fully discover more about the ‘Blue Town’ on this free day. Meander the mystical medina, which, despite the number of intriguing shops, is still mainly residential, and where for every shop selling tourist gifts there are twenty supplying the neighbourhood with its daily requirements; shoe repairs, groceries, stationery and sweets, a tailor sewing an elegant djellaba, butchers, bakers (one of the centres of life in each quartier) although candle-stick makers don’t seem to have survived – Moroccan life as lived by the people of Chaouen. And don’t ignore the new town, which has some lovely examples of Andalusian architecture and a charming park at the end of Avenida Mohammed V. Your driver is at your disposal if you would like to make a short excursion into the Rif Mountains.

Day 4 – Volubilis | Moulay Idriss | Fez

Transport (4hrs), Breakfast, Dinner

You say goodbye to Chefchaouen and head south to Volubilis, the most important and extensive remains of a Roman city in Morocco, and one of the most distant of the Empire’s domain, thanks to the powerful Berber tribes who showed themselves to be more than a match for the conquering legionnaires. Once one of the most important regions producing grain to feed the voracious Roman appetite, and wild animals to keep the crowds entertained as they tried to devour gladiators in the arena, this prosperous provincial city was home to some 200,000 residents at the height of its glory. The importance of the city is reflected in the Capitoline temple, the Basilica, said to be one of the most beautiful in Africa in its day, and its 1,300 square meter Forum, with sumptuous mosaics still to be seen in some of the most luxurious homes.

You move on to Moulay Idriss, which, from a distance, looks like a sitting camel. The oldest town in Morocco, it was founded by Moulay Idriss I in 789, having fled Mecca because of religious and tribal conflicts. It was here that the Idrisid dynasty was founded, and the town has the only round minaret in Morocco. You end today in on of Morocco’s four imperial cities, Fez, where you can prepare for tomorrow’s fascinating tour around this delightful medieval city.

Day 5 – Fez Guided Visit

Private Guided Visit, Breakfast, Lunch

This is your opportunity to see the UNESCO protected Fez Medina through the eyes of a local, with your own private Fez born-and-bred guide. Your tour lasts from 9:30 am until 5:30 pm with a break for lunch (a real treat at a local family’s home). Before you head out in the morning, you can discuss with your guide which sights you’d like to see most. If you have never been to Fez before you might like to read our travel guide to Fes, which will not only give you a fascinating insight into this equally fascinating city, but will also help you decide which sites you would like to experience with the help of your guide. It really will be worth your while to put yourself in his hands and allow him to show you the mysteries and secrets of the nine thousand streets and alleyways that make up this amazing historic city – but don’t worry, you won’t be expected to walk all of them!

Day 6 – Ifrane | Ziz Valley | Erfoud

Transport (7hrs), Breakfast, Dinner

You will leave Fez early this morning and head into the Middle Atlas Mountains. You’ll pass through the cedar forests of Ifrane before continuing ahead to the Ziz Valley. In this oasis valley, you’ll have lunch with our local host named Tata as his family’s traditional Moroccan home. This is your chance to learn about Moroccan family life, but not by simply asking questions, more by just being there – and any children in your group will have a great time petting the family donkey and goats, and maybe even feeding the chickens.

Before lunch, you can enjoy a short walk through the date palms and farms of what is the biggest date-producing region in Morocco. And you will be surprised to see that not all date palms tower over you, because there are 283 recognized varieties of date grown in the country, the most delicious (and expensive) of which are known as Mejhoul. After a relaxing night in the hotel, you’ll be fully rested for the next day’s Sahara adventure.

Day 7 – Sahara Desert (Erg Chebbi)

Transport (3hrs), Breakfast, Dinner

Today you are going to experience one of the most memorable moments of your Morocco adventure as you make your way into the dunes of Morocco’s Erg Chebbi region of the Sahara Desert. You’ll have this morning to relax and/or explore Erfoud and Rissani before preparing for a memorable night under the stars. An hour’s camel ride weaving along the tops of the dunes brings you to your camp, with its Bedouin-style tents and thick Moroccan carpets to keep the sand from between your toes. A rich tajine is your dinner, eaten by candlelight. You’ll probably choose to drift off to sleep while watching the twinkling stars.

Day 8 & 9 – Tinjedad | Skoura (Valley of Kasbahs)

4×4 Exploration (2hrs), Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Rise with the dawn to watch the sun beginning its daily arc with a cool blue morning sky as it illuminates the desert shadows before becoming a glowing ball of fire. You’ll return to a local hotel, where a welcome hot shower and breakfast awaits. Your first stop en route is Tinjedad where lunch is available. If time allows, you must visit Ksar El Khorbat, a roofed-over town whose dark streets are streaked with intermittent patches of sunlight, and which houses a delightfully worn-at-the-edges cultural museum. Tonight, you’ll be staying in the Skoura palm grove, known as the Valley of Kasbahs.

On your second day in Skoura, you’ll have the day free to relax in this garden oasis, enjoy a walk, and reflect upon the experiences you’ve had thus far. An extra day in this off-the-beaten-path bit of paradise comes highly recommended!

Day 10 – Ouarzazate | Ait Ben Haddou | Telouet | Marrakesh

Transport (5hrs), Breakfast, Dinner

When you leave Skoura your road takes you in the direction of Ouarzazate, the Hollywood of Africa, where the Atlas Studios is reputed to be one of the largest movie studios in the world. Although many of our travelers opt not to visit the film studio, the Kasbah de Taorirt in town is worth a stop. It was once owned by the Glaoui family, one of the richest and most powerful in the area, whose vast wealth came in part from levies charged on the camel trains that passed through their territory carrying gold, spices and slaves from Timbuktu on their journey to the markets of Marrakech and beyond.

Your most vivid memory from today will be of your visit to Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO world heritage site, which, as well as being the best extant example in the area of a walled town protected by Kasbahs, the homes of the wealthy and powerful, has been the backdrop to many Hollywood blockbusters and major historical television programs, including Gladiator and Lawrence of Arabia. If you are a fan of A Game of Thrones you will recognize Ait Ben Haddou from the final scene of series three. (The series has used a number of locations around Morocco.)

From Ait Ben Haddou, you may wish to continue to the lesser-visited (and possibly more impressive) area of Telouet. Here, you can meander about the former palace of the Glaoui family and even enjoy lunch with a private local (once celebrity) Berber singer chanting of days gone by. The last leg of today’s journey is over the High Atlas Mountains on the impressive zig-zag of Tiz n Tichka pass, eventually to arrive in Marrakesh where you may have time to explore the famed Jemaa el-Fnaa Square before dinner is served in the riad.

Day 11 – Marrakesh Guided Visit

Private Guided Visit, Breakfast, Lunch

This is your discovery day in the Red City, aided by your private guide who will meet with you in the morning at your riad to discuss the day’s possibilities. Leave the everyday behind as you dive into the souks, the markets that have provided Marrakschis with all their needs for over one thousand years. Vibrant colours, rich aromas, cat-calls and music, merchants in djellabas, street chefs in white hats, whatever your image of the exotic is you will find it in Marrakech. A visit to the Museum of Photography or the Majorelle Gardens is also highly recommended. You can read more about our thoughts on the Red City in our Marrakesh travel guide that will give you a good understanding of what there is to see and do. The tour lasts from 9:30 am until 5:30 pm and includes lunch.

Day 12 – Marrakesh to Essaouira

Transport (3hrs), Breakfast

From Marrakesh, you’ll head to the most laid-back beach town in Morocco. And whatever you may have heard to the contrary, Jimi Hendrix didn’t write Castles Made of Sand in Essaouira, because it was written two years before he visited in 1969. But a good story anyway, and one that the locals play on to the utmost. Essaouira has only recently been discovered by the tourist trade, so it’s still life as lived by the locals, so follow their lead by taking a stroll along the ramparts. You can read all about what to see and do in this small oceanside city in our travel guide to Essaouira which will help you make the most of your time.

Day 13 – Essaouira

Transport, Breakfast

You’ll have the day free to explore Essaouira. The beach is a nice place for a stroll or run. It’s also a great spot to enjoy a horseback ride at sunset. Some locals do offer camel rides on the beach as well. For the sports-oriented traveller, Essaouira is home to some fine wind and kitesurfing schools. Beyond the beach, you can spend hours in the medina – craftsmen, little shops, hidden vistas, and other gems are worth exploring. Tonight might be a great time to enjoy a local fish dish should the catch of the day be tempting.

Day 14 – Essaouira to El Jadida

Transport (5hrs), Breakfast, Dinner

At your leisure, you can travel up the coast to the town of El Jadida for an overnight before tomorrow’s departure. El Jadida is our new cove for Casablanca airport departures since it’s quieter, more relaxing, offers a wonderful guesthouse stay with scrumptious dinner and is relatively the same distance to the airport as Casablanca.

Day 15 – Depart Casablanca

Airport Transfer (1.5hrs)

Your Morocco adventure will be coming to an end today. Do plan on having a full three hours at the airport today since customs can be slow. We truly hope you enjoyed your journey with our team!