15-Day Morocco Tour from Marrakech: Fez & the Sahara

An easy day east along the old kasbah road. We follow the valley through the Skoura palm oasis and the rose-growing villages below Kelaat M'Gouna, reaching the mouth of the Dades gorge in the afternoon. Around three hours of driving.

• The Skoura palm oasis and the Amridil Kasbah
• The old kasbah road along the Dades valley
• Kelaat M'Gouna, where the rose harvest is distilled each spring
• Lunch en route
• The Valley of Roses and its terraced fields
• Arrival at Boumalne Dades
• Late afternoon walk up the gorge to the switchback viewpoint

Overnight in the Dades Valley.

A day that ends on foot. We follow the road east through Tinghir to the Todgha Gorges, then cross the hamada to Merzouga, timed so the camels leave in the late afternoon and you reach camp as the light goes.

• Morning through the Dades gorge and its switchback road
• Tinghir, with its palm oasis strung along the valley floor
• The Todgha Gorges, where the cliffs close to a few hundred metres apart
• Lunch in Tinghir
• Afternoon across the hamada by Tinejdad and Erfoud
• Arrival at the edge of Erg Chebbi
• Camel trek into the dunes, roughly ninety minutes
• Dinner and Gnawa drumming at camp

Overnight in a desert camp at Erg Chebbi.

The day the itinerary makes room for. With no transfer to drive, the desert opens up past the dune crest: nomad families still working the hamada, the Gnawa village at Khamlia, and the dry lake north of the erg.

• Sunrise over the dunes, then breakfast at camp
• Camel trek back to Merzouga
• 4x4 circuit around the erg
• Khamlia, the Gnawa village, for a session of their music
• Visit to a nomad family living out on the hamada
• Dayet Srji, the dry lake where flamingos gather after rain
• Afternoon at leisure, or sunset from the dune crest

Overnight in Merzouga.

West along the southern road below the Jbel Saghro, a quieter route than the way out, ending deep in the Draa where the palm groves run more or less unbroken for a hundred kilometres. Around six hours.

• Sunrise over Erg Chebbi before breakfast
• Rissani and its souk, on the site of Sijilmassa
• The southern road below the Jbel Saghro
• Alnif, known for its fossil beds
• Nkob and its cluster of kasbahs
• Lunch en route
• Tazzarine and the descent into the Draa
• The palm groves along the river to Zagora

Overnight in Zagora.

North out of the Draa, stopping at Tamegroute for its Koranic library and pottery kilns, then over the Tizi n'Tinififft to Ouarzazate. Around four hours.

• Morning at the Tamegroute library and its thirteenth-century manuscripts
• The pottery kilns and their green glaze
• North through the Draa palm groves
• Agdz, below the Jbel Kissane
• The Tizi n'Tinififft pass and the view back over the valley
• Lunch en route
• Afternoon arrival in Ouarzazate
• The Taourirt Kasbah

Overnight in Ouarzazate.

The return crossing of the High Atlas, which looks entirely different travelling north in morning light. Around four hours with stops on the switchbacks.

• Morning departure from Ouarzazate
• Ait Ben Haddou, if you have not already stopped there
• Ascent of the Tizi n'Tichka pass, around 2,260 metres
• Photo stops on the northern switchbacks
• Stop in an Amazigh village on the mountain road
• Lunch en route
• Descent through terraced valleys to the Haouz plain
• Afternoon arrival in Marrakech

Overnight in Marrakech.

A day off the road. The medina rewards slow walking, and the gardens on the edge of the new town are where the city goes to escape it.

• Morning in the souks north of Jemaa el-Fna
• The Koutoubia minaret and its gardens
• The Bahia Palace and its painted cedar ceilings
• The Saadian Tombs, sealed up until 1917
• Lunch on a medina terrace
• The Jardin Majorelle or the Menara gardens
• Evening on Jemaa el-Fna as the food stalls open

Overnight in Marrakech.

An easy final day. We leave Marrakech after breakfast and cross the Chiadma plains to the coast, arriving in Essaouira with the afternoon free on the ramparts. Around three hours.

• Morning departure from Marrakech
• West across the Chichaoua plain
• Argan country, with goats grazing up in the branches
• Stop at a women's argan cooperative
• Arrival in Essaouira around midday
• The Skala ramparts and the working fishing port
• Afternoon in the walled medina

Overnight in Essaouira.

North up the coast, a road most itineraries skip, past the Portuguese cistern at El Jadida. Around five hours of driving with stops.

• Morning departure from Essaouira
• North along the Atlantic through Safi
• The pottery quarter at Safi and its hillside kilns
• Lunch on the coast
• El Jadida and the Portuguese cistern beneath the old town
• The ramparts of the Cite Portugaise
• Evening arrival in Casablanca

Overnight in Casablanca.

A gentle day. The morning in Casablanca, then an hour up the coast to the capital with the afternoon there.

• The Hassan II Mosque, built out over the Atlantic
• The Habous quarter and its arcaded streets
• Place Mohammed V and the downtown Art Deco quarter
• Lunch on the corniche
• The coast road north through Mohammedia
• The Kasbah of the Udayas above the river mouth
• The Hassan Tower and the Chellah necropolis

Overnight in Rabat.

Inland from the coast for the last day, by way of Meknes and the Roman city at Volubilis. Around three hours of driving spread across the day.

• Morning in Rabat, or an early departure inland
• East across the Gharb plain
• Bab Mansour and the imperial granaries at Meknes
• Lunch in Meknes
• Moulay Idriss, the hill town above the ruins
• Volubilis and its mosaics
• Late afternoon arrival in Fez

Overnight in Fez.

Fez el Bali is the largest car-free urban area in the world and the oldest of the imperial capitals. A full day is the least it takes to get any sense of it, and most of that day is on foot.

• Morning in Fez el Bali, entering by Bab Boujloud
• The Chouara tanneries, seen from the terraces above
• Al Quaraouiyine, founded in 859 and still in use
• The Bou Inania medersa and its carved cedar screens
• Lunch in the medina
• The souks by trade: coppersmiths, dyers, weavers
• Afternoon at the Merenid tombs for the view over the city

Overnight in Fez.

West to the Roman city at Volubilis in the morning, then north into the Rif mountains, reaching Chefchaouen in the late afternoon. Around four and a half hours of driving.

• Morning departure from Fez
• Volubilis, the Roman provincial capital, with its mosaics still in place
• Moulay Idriss, the hill town above the ruins
• Bab Mansour and the imperial walls at Meknes
• Lunch in Meknes
• The climb into the Rif mountains
• Arrival in Chefchaouen in the late afternoon
• The blue-washed medina and Place Outa el Hammam at dusk

Overnight in Chefchaouen.

The last day, out of the mountains and across the plain. Around seven hours in total, so we leave early and keep the stops short.

• Early departure from Chefchaouen
• Descent through the Rif to the plain
• West to the Atlantic and south past Rabat
• Lunch on the Casablanca corniche
• South across the Rehamna plain by Settat
• Evening arrival and drop-off in Marrakech

A long final day on the road. Ending in Casablanca instead removes around three hours, if that suits your onward plans.