Morocco Grand Tour

Overview

• Duration: 12 days, 11 nights
• Group: Private, your party only
• Route: Marrakech to Casablanca
• Languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
• Tour type: Private multi-day tour
• Departures: Every day, all year

Twelve days is the first length at which Morocco stops being a list of stops and starts being a journey.

Every classic Morocco itinerary touches the same places: Marrakech, the High Atlas, Aït Ben Haddou, the Sahara, Fes, Chefchaouen. They are famous because they deserve to be. The difference is how much time you get in each. On a rushed week you see them through a windscreen. On this route you sleep two nights in the key places, so you have Fes with a guide, the dunes at sunrise and the blue lanes of Chefchaouen before the day trippers arrive.

I am Lahbib, and this is the route I build for people who want the whole country in one trip. It starts in Marrakech, crosses the High Atlas over the Tizi n’Tichka pass, runs along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs to the Erg Chebbi dunes at Merzouga, climbs north through the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas to Fes, and continues through Meknes and Roman Volubilis into the Rif mountains. It ends on the Atlantic in Rabat and Casablanca. Nothing is retraced: every day brings a different landscape.

Everything is private. Your own air conditioned vehicle, one driver guide from the first day to the last, a four wheel drive for the desert section, and licensed local guides in the medinas that reward local knowledge. No coach, no group and no shopping stops arranged behind your back.

It suits first time visitors who want the complete picture, couples and families who prefer a steady pace, and anyone flying into Marrakech and out of Casablanca. There are three long driving days. I never place two of them back to back, and every hard day is followed by a slower one.

Highlights

• A full guided day in Marrakech: Jemaa el Fna, the Koutoubia, Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, the souks and Jardin Majorelle
• The High Atlas crossing over the Tizi n’Tichka pass, at more than 2,200 metres
• Aït Ben Haddou, the UNESCO listed earthen ksar, and the Kasbah Taourirt in Ouarzazate
• The Rose Valley, the Dades valley and a walk inside the Todra gorge
• Two nights in a luxury tented camp in the Erg Chebbi dunes, with a sunset camel trek and a Saharan sunrise
• Gnawa music in Khamlia, the caravan town of Rissani and the fossil workshops of the desert
• The Ziz valley palm gorge, the cedar forest of Azrou and its Barbary macaques, and alpine Ifrane
• A full day in the Fes medina with a licensed guide: the Qarawiyyin, Bou Inania madrasa and the tanneries
• Meknes and the Bab Mansour gate, then the Roman mosaics of Volubilis
• Two nights in Chefchaouen, the blue city of the Rif mountains
• Rabat: the Kasbah des Oudayas, the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V
• A guided visit inside the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, one of the few mosques in Morocco open to non Muslims

This is the route I recommend, arriving in Marrakech and departing from Casablanca. It runs just as well in reverse. Nights can be added, moved or removed: send me your dates and I will adjust the whole plan before you commit to anything.

1. Day 1: Arrival in Marrakech

   I meet you at Marrakech Menara airport and take you to your riad in the medina. The rest of the day is yours. If you have the energy, walk to Jemaa el Fna at dusk, when the food stalls light up and the square becomes the best free show in Morocco. A deliberately easy first day.

   Night: MarrakechMeals: none

2. Day 2: Marrakech guided tour

   A full day with a licensed local guide. The Koutoubia minaret, the Saadian Tombs, the painted courtyards of the Bahia Palace and the souks quarter by quarter: spices, leather, metalwork and carpets. In the afternoon, Jardin Majorelle and its cobalt blue walls, with timed tickets that I book in advance so you do not queue.

   Night: MarrakechMeals: breakfast

3. Day 3: Marrakech to Ouarzazate, over the High Atlas (about 4h30 of driving)

   Up through Berber villages and walnut terraces to the Tizi n’Tichka pass, the highest road crossing of the High Atlas. Down the southern side to Aït Ben Haddou, the fortified ksar that has appeared in dozens of films, and a climb through its earthen lanes to the granary at the top. On to Ouarzazate for the Kasbah Taourirt and, if you like cinema, the Atlas Film Studios.

   Night: OuarzazateMeals: breakfast

4. Day 4: Ouarzazate to Merzouga, by the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs (about 6h of driving)

   East through the palm oasis of Skoura and the Rose Valley at Kelaat M’Gouna, then the Dades valley and its kasbahs. At Tinghir we walk into the Todra gorge, where the rock walls close to a few metres apart. On through Erfoud to the edge of the Erg Chebbi, where a four wheel drive takes over. A camel trek carries you into the dunes for sunset, and dinner is served at camp under a sky with no light pollution at all.

   Night: luxury desert camp, Erg ChebbiMeals: breakfast, dinner

5. Day 5: Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi

   Wake early and climb a dune for sunrise. Then the desert on its own terms, at your pace: the Gnawa musicians of Khamlia, whose families came north with the caravans, the market town of Rissani and its old ksour, a fossil workshop, and the seasonal lake of Dayet Srji where flamingos stop in wet years. Sandboarding and quad biking can be added. The afternoon is free at camp, which after four days on the move is exactly the point.

   Night: luxury desert camp, Erg ChebbiMeals: breakfast, dinner

6. Day 6: Merzouga to Fes, across the Middle Atlas (about 7h of driving)

   The longest drive of the trip, and one where the road is the reason. North up the Ziz valley, a canyon filled with palm groves, through Errachidia and over the pass to Midelt for lunch. Into the cedar forest near Azrou where the Barbary macaques live, then Ifrane, a hill town with pitched roofs that looks nothing like the rest of Morocco. Into Fes in the early evening.

   Night: FesMeals: breakfast

7. Day 7: Fes guided tour

   A full day in Fes el Bali with a licensed local guide. The Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 and considered the oldest continuously operating university in the world, the Bou Inania madrasa, the Chouara tanneries seen from a terrace above the dye pits, the coppersmiths’ square and the food lanes. After lunch, the Royal Palace gates, the old Jewish quarter and a panoramic view over the medina from the Merinid tombs.

   Night: FesMeals: breakfast

8. Day 8: Fes to Chefchaouen, by Meknes and Volubilis (about 4h30 of driving)

   Meknes first, the imperial city of Moulay Ismail, for the monumental Bab Mansour gate and the royal granaries. Then Volubilis, the best preserved Roman site in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the mosaics are still in the floors where they were laid. A view over the holy town of Moulay Idriss, then north into the Rif mountains to Chefchaouen by late afternoon.

   Night: ChefchaouenMeals: breakfast

9. Day 9: Chefchaouen

   No long drive today. The lanes are empty and blue at seven in the morning and busy by eleven, which is the whole case for staying two nights. A guided walk through the medina, the kasbah and its garden, and the Ras el Maa spring where women still wash wool. In the late afternoon, the short climb to the Spanish Mosque for sunset over the valley. For walkers, the Akchour waterfalls in the Talassemtane park are an easy half day add on.

   Night: ChefchaouenMeals: breakfast

10. Day 10: Chefchaouen to Casablanca, by Rabat (about 4h30 of driving)

    Down from the Rif to the Atlantic and Rabat, Morocco’s capital. The Kasbah des Oudayas above the river mouth with its Andalusian garden, the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V with its guards in ceremonial dress. Lunch in Rabat, then south along the coast to Casablanca.

    Night: CasablancaMeals: breakfast

11. Day 11: Casablanca

    A guided visit inside the Hassan II Mosque, built partly over the ocean, with its carved cedar ceilings and a prayer hall that holds tens of thousands. Then the Habous quarter and its bookshops and pastry makers, the Art Deco buildings of the city centre, and a last sunset walk along the Corniche. A gentle final day before the flight home.

    Night: CasablancaMeals: breakfast

12. Day 12: Departure from Casablanca

    Depending on your flight time, a free morning, then I take you to Mohammed V airport with time in hand. If you fly out of Marrakech instead, we reverse the route or add the transfer and plan the day before around it.

    Meals: breakfast

Includes / Excludes

Good to Know

The driving, honestly

Three days are long: Ouarzazate to Merzouga, Merzouga to Fes, and the High Atlas crossing. Each one has regular stops for photos, tea and lunch, and none of them sits next to another hard day.

Accommodation

Riads inside the medinas, comfortable hotels on the road and a luxury tented camp in the dunes with private bathrooms. I work at several levels, from simple and characterful to five star, and the price moves with it. Tell me your range and I will show you what it buys.

Best months

March to May and September to November. July and August are very hot in the desert and in Marrakech. December to February is bright and dry, with snow possible on the Tichka pass and cold desert nights.

What to pack

Comfortable walking shoes for cobbled medinas, a warm layer for desert nights in every season, sunglasses, sun cream and a scarf for sand and sun. Shoulders and knees covered is respectful in medinas and required inside the Hassan II Mosque.

Fitness

No day needs more than easy walking. Aït Ben Haddou involves a climb, the Todra gorge has uneven ground and Chefchaouen is built on a slope. Gentler versions exist for all of them, so tell me in advance.

Food and dietary needs

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten free and allergies are all workable, and the camp cooks to order. Let me know at booking, not on arrival.

Longer or shorter

The same route compresses to 10 days by dropping the second nights in Merzouga and Chefchaouen, and extends to 14 or 15 days with Tangier, Essaouira or the Erg Chigaga. I would rather build the right length than sell you this one.

Shorter on Time?

If twelve days is too long, these trips cover part of the same route from Marrakech.

• Private Merzouga desert tour, 3 days
• Zagora desert excursion, 2 days and 1 night
• Aït Ben Haddou day trip from Marrakech
• All Morocco tours