Beginning at Casablanca's airport, this ten-day private tour links the Atlantic coast, the blue city of Chefchaouen, the medinas of Fes and Marrakech, the Sahara at Merzouga and the seaside town of Essaouira.
Tour highlights
- Casablanca and the Hassan II Mosque
- Chefchaouen, the blue city
- Fes medina and Roman Volubilis
- Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes
- Ait Ben Haddou and Marrakech
- Coastal Essaouira
Itinerary
Day 1 — Arrival in Casablanca
We meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free to rest or walk along the Atlantic seafront.
Day 2 — Casablanca to Chefchaouen via Rabat
We visit the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, then drive to Rabat for the mausoleum, the royal gates and the Kasbah of the Oudayas. In the afternoon we continue north to Chefchaouen, the blue-walled town in the Rif mountains.
Day 3 — Chefchaouen to Fes via Volubilis
There is time in the morning among the blue lanes and craft workshops of Chefchaouen before we drive to the Roman city of Volubilis, remarkably well preserved, and on to Fes.
Day 4 — Fes
A full day in the UNESCO-listed medina with a guide: the gate of the Royal Palace, the souks, the tanneries, the old schools and the Quaraouiyine, the oldest working university in the world.
Day 5 — Fes to Merzouga
We cross the Middle Atlas, stopping in the cedar forest to look for the Barbary macaques, then follow the road south to Merzouga. We ride camels into the dunes for sunset and spend the night at a desert camp.
Day 6 — Merzouga to the Dades Valley
Sunrise over the sand, then a day through the old caravan towns and fossil country to the Todra Gorge, with its steep walls, ending in the Dades Valley.
Day 7 — Dades Valley to Marrakech
We drive through the Valley of the Roses to Ouarzazate, visit Ait Ben Haddou, and cross the Tizi n'Tichka pass over the High Atlas to Marrakech.
Day 8 — Marrakech
A guided day in the city: the gardens, the mosques, the palaces and the Saadian Tombs, with time in the afternoon in the souks around the Djemaa el-Fna.
Day 9 — Marrakech to Essaouira
We travel west to the coast at Essaouira, a walled town of white and blue, with a working fishing port and a long line of artisan workshops in the medina.
Day 10 — Essaouira to Casablanca
A last morning by the sea before we drive back to Casablanca for your flight, timed to your departure.
What's included
- Private, air-conditioned transport for the whole route, with a professional driver
- Licensed local guides for the city visits
- Accommodation in riads, hotels or a desert camp, as described in the itinerary
- Daily breakfast
- The camel trek in the Sahara
- Airport transfers
What's not included
- International flights
- Travel insurance
- Most lunches and dinners
- Entrance fees to monuments and sites
- Tips for your driver and guides
