13-Day Grand Morocco Circuit from Casablanca

Arrival in Casablanca

You are met at the airport and taken to your hotel. We then visit the Hassan II Mosque, with its 210-metre minaret, a prayer hall built partly over the Atlantic and a roof that slides open. We also walk through the Habous quarter, a French-built new medina with Moorish arches and craft shops, and finish on the Corniche seafront.

Airport transfer only

Hôtel Club Val d'Anfa or similar, Casablanca

Casablanca to Chefchaouen via Rabat

We drive north to Rabat to see the unfinished Hassan Tower, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Oudaya Kasbah above the Bou Regreg estuary. The road then climbs into the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen, arriving as the evening light deepens the blue of its walls.

About 5 hours on the road, roughly 340 km, plus stops

Dar Echchaouen or similar, Chefchaouen

Full Day in Chefchaouen

An early walk up to the Spanish Mosque gives a view over the blue rooftops and the Rif. We then visit the 15th-century Kasbah and its small museum, the Great Mosque with its octagonal minaret and Uta el-Hammam square, and the workshops selling handwoven wool, natural-dye leather and the local goat cheese. In the afternoon there is an optional excursion to the Akchour waterfalls in Talassemtane National Park.

No driving, or a short drive for Akchour

Dar Echchaouen or similar, Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen to Fez via Volubilis and Meknes

We drive south to Volubilis, a UNESCO-listed Roman city, where a local guide explains the Orpheus mosaic, the triumphal arch of Caracalla and the old olive presses. We pass through Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, a hillside town sacred to Moroccans, and stop in Meknes for the Bab Mansour gate and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, the 17th-century sultan who built the city's long ramparts. We reach Fez in the evening.

About 4.5 hours on the road, roughly 260 km, plus stops

Riad Fez Mahal or similar, Fez medina

Full Day in the Fez Medina

A licensed guide leads the day through Fez el-Bali, the world's largest car-free medina. We see the Royal Palace gates, the Bou Inania Madrasa, Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 and widely regarded as the oldest continuously operating university, and the Nejjarine woodworking museum. We look down on the Chouara Tanneries from a rooftop, walk the Mellah and visit the potters at the Pottery Village.

No driving today

Riad Fez Mahal or similar, Fez medina

Fez to Merzouga via the Middle Atlas

We drive south through Ifrane, a mountain town of alpine-style chalets, and the cedar forest at Azrou, where wild Barbary macaques come to the roadside. The route drops through the Ziz Gorges and along the Ziz Valley palm oasis to Merzouga, where you ride a camel at sunset into the Erg Chebbi dunes to a luxury Berber camp for a tagine dinner and drumming.

About 7.5 hours on the road, roughly 460 km, plus stops

Tiziri Desert Camp or similar, Erg Chebbi

Sahara Sunrise, Todra Gorge and the Dades Valley

We climb a dune before dawn to watch the Sahara sunrise, then drive west to Todra Gorge, where limestone walls 300 metres high narrow to around 10 metres over a clear river, and walk the canyon floor. We continue along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the Dades Valley, past the Monkey Fingers rock formations and old earthen kasbahs.

About 4.5 hours on the road, roughly 280 km, plus stops

Dades Paradise or similar, Dades Valley

Dades Valley to Marrakech via Ait Benhaddou

We drive through the rose-growing valley of Kelaat M'Gouna and the Skoura palm oasis, with a stop at the Atlas Film Studios in Ouarzazate. At Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO ksar used as a set for Gladiator and Game of Thrones, you cross the river and climb through the kasbahs. We then cross the Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres to reach Marrakech.

About 6.5 hours on the road, roughly 320 km, plus stops

Riad Aslal or similar, Marrakech medina

Full Guided Day in Marrakech

A licensed guide takes you through the Marrakech medina. We visit the Koutoubia minaret, the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs and the Ben Youssef Madrasa, an old Islamic college, then walk through the Mellah and the souks of copper, spices, leather and carpets. The day ends at the Majorelle Garden and Jemaa el-Fna as it fills with storytellers, musicians and food stalls.

No driving today

Riad Aslal or similar, Marrakech medina

Free Day in Marrakech

A day to spend as you like. Ideas include a traditional hammam, a Moroccan cooking class in the medina, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum next to the Majorelle Garden, a seasonal hot-air balloon flight over the Atlas, or simply the souks and cafés at your own pace. Your guide can suggest options.

No driving today

Riad Aslal or similar, Marrakech medina

Marrakech to Essaouira

We drive west through the argan forests, with a stop at a women's cooperative to see argan oil ground by hand and to taste amlou. In Essaouira, a UNESCO-listed walled port, we walk the Skala ramparts with their old cannons, the medina, the fishing harbour with its blue wooden boats, and the thuya-wood workshops, then spend the evening by the Atlantic.

About 2.5 hours on the road, roughly 180 km, plus stops

Riad Mimouna or similar, Essaouira

Essaouira to Casablanca via El Jadida

We drive north along the Atlantic coast to El Jadida, a Portuguese-built fortress town whose 16th-century cistern, a hall of stone columns reflected in shallow water, is one of the most striking and least visited sights on the coast. We then continue to Casablanca for the night.

About 5 hours on the road, roughly 360 km, plus stops

Hôtel Club Val d'Anfa or similar, Casablanca

Casablanca Departure

A private transfer takes you to Mohammed V Airport at the time you need, with plenty of margin for check-in.

Airport transfer only