10-Day Morocco Tour from Tangier via the Imperial Cities, Sahara and Essaouira

Tangier: Gateway Between Two Continents

We start at Cap Spartel, the north-western tip of Africa where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, and visit the Caves of Hercules, a sea cave whose opening is shaped like a map of Africa. In the kasbah district we visit the Dar el-Makhzen museum and the Petit Socco café square, then walk the medina, whose Moorish, Andalusian and French layers reflect Tangier's past as an international city. The evening is a relaxed dinner.

Short local drives only

La Maison de Tanger or similar, Tangier

Tangier to Chefchaouen via Tetouan

We stop in Tetouan, a UNESCO-listed medina settled by Andalusian refugees at the end of the 15th century and rich in Hispano-Moorish architecture. The road then climbs into the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen, where we walk Uta el-Hammam square and the blue lanes of the medina.

About 2.5 hours on the road, roughly 130 km, plus stops

Dar Echchaouen or similar, Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen to Fez via Volubilis and Meknes

After a morning in Chefchaouen's blue lanes we drive south to Volubilis, Morocco's best-preserved Roman city, with mosaic floors, a triumphal arch and old olive presses. At Meknes we see the imperial Bab Mansour gate before arriving in Fez.

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 takes you through Fez el-Bali. We visit Al-Qarawiyyin, widely regarded as the oldest continuously operating university in the world, the Bou Inania Madrasa and the Nejjarine museum, pass the brass gates of the Royal Palace, view the Chouara Tanneries from a rooftop and walk through the Mellah.

No driving today

Riad Fez Mahal or similar, Fez medina

Fez to Merzouga via the Middle Atlas

We travel south through Ifrane, a mountain town of alpine-style chalets, and the Azrou cedar forest, where wild Barbary macaques come to the roadside. After the Ziz Gorges and the Ziz Valley palm oasis we reach Merzouga, where you ride a camel at sunset into the Erg Chebbi dunes to a luxury camp.

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

Tiziri Desert Camp or similar, Erg Chebbi

A Sahara Day in Merzouga

We watch the sunrise over the dunes, then explore by 4x4. In Khamlia we hear live Gnaoua music, and we share mint tea with a nomadic Berber family in their tent. 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 workshops of Erfoud and the souk at Rissani, then walk the canyon floor at Todra Gorge, where limestone walls rise 300 metres over a cool river. We 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 drive through the Rose Valley of Kelaat M'Gouna and Skoura to the UNESCO ksar of Ait Benhaddou, a set for Gladiator and Game of Thrones. 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 the Marrakech Medina

A guided day in the medina takes in the 19th-century Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs and the Koutoubia minaret, then the souks. We finish at Jemaa el-Fna as the evening crowds arrive.

No driving today

Riad Aslal or similar, Marrakech medina

Marrakech to Essaouira and Farewell

We drive west through the argan forests to Essaouira, a UNESCO-listed walled port with blue-and-white ramparts, a working fishing harbour and lanes of galleries and thuya-wood workshops. The tour ends in Essaouira or back in Marrakech, as you prefer.

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