9-Day Morocco Photography Tour from Marrakech
Marrakech → Ait Benhaddou → Sahara Desert → Chefchaouen → Marrakech
Built around light, not sights: golden hour at Ait Benhaddou, sunrise over the dunes, and Chefchaouen's blue lanes in the quiet of early morning, with a schedule that treats waking up at 5am as the plan, not the sacrifice.
Ask about this route
Highlights
- Sunset and sunrise light at the Ait Benhaddou ksar
- Two nights in the dunes for both a sunset and sunrise shoot
- Chefchaouen's medina before the day-trip crowds arrive
- A driver briefed on photography stops, not just transit
- A pace built around light, with flexible timing throughout
Day by day
A working draft: the order and pace are ours to adjust once we know what matters most to you.
Marrakech to Ait Benhaddou
Over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, North Africa's highest major road, built by the French military in 1936, in time for golden hour at Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO ksar since 1987 whose earthen towers turn deep amber as the light drops, with a second look at sunrise the next morning.
About 4 hours on the road, roughly 200 km
Guesthouse below the ksar
Ait Benhaddou to the Dades Valley
A sunrise shoot at the ksar: the light comes in low and warm across the Ounila River valley, before continuing east along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the Skoura palm grove.
About 3 hours on the road, roughly 160 km
Guesthouse in the gorge
To Merzouga
Through the Todra Gorge, its limestone walls up to 160 metres high in places just 10 metres apart, and on across the hamada to Erg Chebbi, dunes piled up to 150 metres by the wind. We time it to arrive as they shift from gold to rust at dusk.
About 3.5 hours on the road, roughly 180 km
Desert camp, Erg Chebbi
In the dunes
A sunrise shoot from the high ridges before the heat rises, a rest through midday, then a second sunset session from a different vantage point on the far side of the erg.
No driving today
Desert camp, Erg Chebbi
Merzouga to Fez
North through the Ziz Valley's palm oases and the Middle Atlas cedar forests around Ifrane, worth a stop if there are Barbary macaques at the roadside.
About 7-8 hours on the road, roughly 460 km
Riad, Fez medina
Fez to Chefchaouen
Into the Rif toward Chefchaouen, founded in 1471, the hills turning greener past the Sais plain, arriving with time to scout the medina's blue lanes before the light goes.
About 3.5 hours on the road, roughly 200 km
Guesthouse, Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen to Casablanca
A long transfer day south, with a stop wherever the light is good: the Hassan II Mosque's 210-metre minaret at sunset is worth timing for if the schedule allows.
About 5.5 hours on the road, roughly 370 km
Hotel, Casablanca
Departure
Transfer to the airport, or on to Marrakech if your flight departs from there.
Just the transfer to the airport today
Included
- ✓Private car and driver, briefed for photography stops
- ✓8 nights' accommodation, breakfast included
- ✓1 camel trek and 2 desert camp dinners
- ✓Local guide in Fez
Not included
- —International flights
- —Most lunches and dinners
- —Entry fees to monuments
- —Tips for driver and guide
Questions about this route
Ask about this route
Send us your rough dates and what you'd want to change, and we'll come back with a real draft, not a form letter.
Tour at a glance
- Duration
- 9 days · 8 nights
- Transport
- Private car/4x4
- Languages
- English, French
- Availability
- Year-round
From the blog
Private or group: what actually changes on the road
The difference isn't comfort so much as control over the day.
By Omar Hafidi
Read article
A first-timer's route through the Marrakech medina
Where to start when every street looks the same as the last.
By Anouar
Read article
How many days do you actually need in Marrakech?
Enough to slow down, not so many that you run out of medina.
By Anouar
Read articleOther routes
4-Day Atlas Mountains Tour from Marrakech
A short trip into the High Atlas for travellers who want mountain villages and walking trails without giving up a whole week. Based out of a valley guesthouse, with day walks between Berber villages and irrigated terraces.
4-Day Sahara Desert Tour from Marrakech
For travellers with four days, not eight. The same dunes as our longer routes, reached and left by the most direct road, with one full day to actually be there.
4-Day Marrakech to Essaouira Coastal Tour
A short trip for travellers who want the medina experience without the desert heat: two nights by the Atlantic in Essaouira, an easy two-and-a-half-hour drive from Marrakech.