12-Day Grand Morocco Tour from Casablanca via Tangier, the Sahara and Essaouira

Arrival in Casablanca

You are met at Mohammed V Airport and taken to your hotel. In the late afternoon we visit the Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest in the world, with a 210-metre minaret, a prayer hall built partly over the Atlantic and a roof that slides open. We then walk along the Corniche seafront.

Airport transfer only

Hôtel Club Val d'Anfa or similar, Casablanca

Casablanca to Tangier via Rabat and Asilah

We drive north to Rabat, the capital, to see the Hassan Tower, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the Chellah gate and the Oudaya Kasbah above the estuary. We continue up the coast to Asilah, a small walled town of painted murals, and reach Tangier, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, in the evening.

About 4 hours on the road, roughly 340 km, plus stops

La Maison de Tanger or similar, Tangier

Tangier to Chefchaouen

In the morning we see Cap Spartel and its lighthouse at the north-western tip of Africa, the Caves of Hercules, a sea cave with an opening shaped like a map of Africa, and some of Tangier's old city. We then drive into the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen, the Blue Pearl, where the alleys and stairways are washed in shades of blue.

About 2 hours on the road, roughly 110 km, plus stops

Dar Echchaouen or similar, Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen to Fez via Volubilis and Meknes

We explore Chefchaouen's medina in the morning: the 15th-century Kasbah, the Great Mosque and Uta el-Hammam square. We continue to Volubilis, a UNESCO-listed Roman city with mosaic floors and a triumphal arch, and to Meknes for the Bab Mansour gate and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, then reach Fez.

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

Riad Fez Mahal or similar, Fez medina

Full Day in Fez

A licensed guide leads the day through Fez el-Bali. We see the brass gates of the Royal Palace, 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 artisan cooperatives.

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.

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

Tiziri Desert Camp or similar, Erg Chebbi

A Full Sahara Day in Merzouga

We watch the sunrise over the dunes, then explore by 4x4: Khamlia for a live Gnaoua music performance, a nomadic family's tent for mint tea, and fossil-rich riverbeds and palm oases. The afternoon is open for sandboarding or quad biking.

Short 4x4 excursion only

Tiziri Desert Camp or similar, Erg Chebbi

Merzouga to the Dades Valley via Todra Gorge

We drive west through the fossil marble workshops of Erfoud and the covered souk at Rissani, the home town of Morocco's ruling Alaouite dynasty. At Todra Gorge we walk the canyon floor between 300-metre limestone walls, then continue 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 follow the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the rose-growing valley of Kelaat M'Gouna and the Skoura palm oasis to Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO ksar used as a set for Gladiator and Game of Thrones, which a local guide shows you. We then cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass, 2,260 metres at the summit, and arrive in Marrakech.

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

Riad Aslal or similar, Marrakech medina

Full Day in Marrakech

A guided day in the Marrakech medina takes in the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs and the Koutoubia minaret, then the souks, where spice sellers, copper workers, leather dyers and weavers each have their own quarter. In the evening Jemaa el-Fna fills with storytellers, musicians, acrobats and food stalls.

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 made by hand. We arrive in Essaouira, a UNESCO-listed walled port with blue-and-white ramparts, a working fishing harbour and lanes of galleries and workshops, and finish with fresh seafood.

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

Riad Mimouna or similar, Essaouira

Departure Transfer

A private transfer takes you to Marrakech Menara Airport or Casablanca Mohammed V Airport, whichever your flight requires.

Airport transfer only