Tour overview
The first leg is the north: Rabat on the day you land, then Chefchaouen in the Rif, Volubilis, and Fes for two nights with a full day in the medina.
The second leg is the desert. The road south crosses the Middle Atlas through Ifrane and the cedar forest and follows the Ziz Valley to Merzouga, where you stay two nights — one of the things that separates this tour from a shorter one. The full day there covers the Erg Chebbi dunes, the village of Khamlia and its Gnaoua musicians, and the families who live on the edge of the erg.
The third leg is the valleys and the mountains. Rissani's market, Tinghir, Todra Gorge, then two nights in the Dades Valley with a walking day among kasbahs and palm groves. From there the route crosses the Rose Valley, Ouarzazate and Ait Benhaddou and climbs into the High Atlas to Imlil, the village below Mount Toubkal.
The last leg is the cities and the coast: two nights in Marrakech, then west through the argan forest to Essaouira for two nights — ramparts, a working fishing harbour and an eighteenth-century medina — before returning to Casablanca for the flight home.
Route
Casablanca → Rabat → Chefchaouen → Volubilis → Fes (two nights) → Ifrane → Ziz Valley → Merzouga (two nights) → Rissani → Tinghir → Todra Gorge → Dades Valley (two nights) → Rose Valley → Ouarzazate → Ait Benhaddou → Imlil → Marrakech (two nights) → Essaouira (two nights) → Casablanca.
What to expect
A 15 day Morocco tour from Casablanca is fourteen nights across nine places, five of them with two nights each. That is the point of the length: Fes, Merzouga, the Dades Valley, Marrakech and Essaouira each get a full day rather than a stop. Day nine is the longest drive and the one to be ready for.
The climate range is wide. The Atlantic is cool and windy even in summer, the dunes are hot by day and cold at night, and Imlil is a mountain village. Pack across the range.
Practical information
The lines above without a note are confirmed: the tour is private, the driver is yours for all fifteen days, and the road transport and both airport transfers are ours. Everything marked subject to confirmation — the fourteen nights, the meals, the camel trek and sandboarding at Merzouga and the local guides — is the package we propose for this tour. We price it for your dates when you enquire and confirm it in writing before you book. We do not publish fixed properties, fixed prices or fixed departure times on this page, because they depend on when you travel and how many of you there are.
The tour is private throughout: your party travels alone with its own driver, and the pace and the stops can be adjusted while you are on the road.
Tour highlights
- Rabat: the Kasbah des Oudayas, Chellah, the Hassan Tower and the Andalusian Gardens
- Chefchaouen's blue medina and the viewpoint above the town
- Volubilis, and two nights in the medina of Fes
- Two nights at Merzouga, with a full day at the Erg Chebbi dunes
- Khamlia village and its Gnaoua musicians
- Rissani market, Tinghir and Todra Gorge
- A walking day in the Dades Valley among kasbahs and palm groves
- The Rose Valley, Ouarzazate and Ait Benhaddou
- A night at Imlil below Mount Toubkal and a morning walk through its orchards and hamlets
- Two nights in Marrakech: the Mellah, the Bahia Palace and Jemaa el-Fna
- Two nights at Essaouira: the Skala ramparts, the fishing harbour and the UNESCO medina
Day by day
Day 1
Casablanca to Rabat
We meet you at Mohammed V airport, or at your accommodation, and drive up the coast to Rabat. The capital is compact: the Kasbah des Oudayas above the mouth of the Bou Regreg with the Andalusian Gardens inside it, the Chellah necropolis where storks nest on Roman and Merinid ruins, the unfinished Hassan Tower and the Mohammed V mausoleum opposite.
Night: Rabat.
Day 2
Rabat to Chefchaouen
Inland and north into the Rif. Chefchaouen is painted in blues from the doorsteps up, and an afternoon arrival gives you the lanes at their best — Plaza Uta el-Hammam, the restored kasbah and its gardens, the Quartier Al Andalous, and the Ras El Ma spring where the water comes out of the hillside. The climb to the viewpoint above the town is worth it at sunset.
Night: Chefchaouen.
Day 3
Chefchaouen – Volubilis – Fes
South to Volubilis, a Roman provincial capital standing in farmland with its triumphal arch, its colonnaded street and its floor mosaics still in place, and on to Fes.
Night: Fes.
Day 4
Fes
A full day in Fes el-Bali: the alleys of the old medina, Al Quaraouiyine, founded in 859 and still a university, and the Bou Inania madrasa.
Night: Fes.
Day 5
Fes to Merzouga
The long southward crossing — Ifrane, the cedar forest, the Middle Atlas, then the Ziz Valley with its palm groves between red cliffs. We reach Merzouga in the evening.
Night: Merzouga.
Day 6
Merzouga
A full day at the dunes. Sunrise first. Then Erg Chebbi, a visit to families who live on the edge of the erg, and Khamlia, a village founded by descendants of sub-Saharan Africans where Gnaoua music is still played. The late afternoon is spent at the dunes as the light goes.
Night: Merzouga.
Day 7
Merzouga to the Dades Valley
Sunrise over the dunes, then the old caravan road west. Rissani's souk is one of the last great Saharan markets. Tinghir has an old Jewish quarter above its palm grove, and Todra Gorge closes to a few metres between walls three hundred metres high.
Night: Dades Valley.
Day 8
Dades Valley
A walking day rather than a driving one — along the river and through the farmland, past kasbahs left to the weather, and into the palm groves.
Night: Dades Valley.
Day 9
Dades Valley to Imlil
West through the Rose Valley, where damask roses are grown for their oil, to Ouarzazate and the film studios, then Ait Benhaddou, the fortified village above the river. From there the road climbs into the High Atlas to Imlil. It is a long day with a great deal in it.
Night: Imlil.
Day 10
Imlil to Marrakech
A morning on foot from the village — walnut and cherry orchards, terraced fields and Berber hamlets, with Toubkal at the head of the valley. Then down out of the mountains to Marrakech.
Night: Marrakech.
Day 11
Marrakech
The old city on foot: the Mellah, the Bahia Palace, the souks and the Secret Garden, and Jemaa el-Fna in the evening when it fills.
Night: Marrakech.
Day 12
Marrakech to Essaouira
West through the argan forest — the trees the oil comes from — to the Atlantic. Essaouira is low, white and windy: the Skala de la Kasbah ramparts face the sea, and the medina inside them is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Night: Essaouira.
Day 13
Essaouira
A day in the town. The medina, the souks, Moulay Hassan square, the fishing harbour where the blue boats land the catch, and the old Mellah. The beach runs for miles south.
Night: Essaouira.
Day 14
Essaouira to Casablanca
North along the coast to Casablanca. If there is time, the Hassan II Mosque stands over the water at the end of the Corniche.
Night: Casablanca.
Day 15
Departure
We take you to Mohammed V airport for your flight.
Want a different pace or an extra night? Tell us and we'll adapt the itinerary.
What's included
Included in this package
- Private tour: your party travels alone, never combined with other travellers.
- A dedicated driver for all fifteen days.
- Road transport over the whole fifteen-day circuit from Casablanca and back.
- Pick-up and drop-off at Mohammed V airport, or at your accommodation in Casablanca.
- Five days with no long drive — Fes, Merzouga, the Dades Valley, Marrakech and Essaouira each get a full day.
- Fourteen nights' accommodation: hotels, riads and kasbahs, and a desert camp at Merzouga — subject to confirmation
- Breakfast every morning — subject to confirmation
- Dinner on the five desert and valley nights, days five to nine — subject to confirmation
- Lunch on the full day at Merzouga and on the morning walk at Imlil — subject to confirmation
- A camel trek at the Erg Chebbi dunes — subject to confirmation
- Sandboarding at the dunes — subject to confirmation
- Local guides for the medinas — subject to confirmation
- Bottled water on the road — subject to confirmation
Not included
- Plane ticket.
- Travel insurance.
- Meals not listed above, and all drinks.
- Monument entrance fees.
- Personal expenses and tips.
- A hammam and spa visit — optional, at extra cost
- A Moroccan food tour or a cooking class — optional, at extra cost
- Quad biking, a buggy ride or horse riding — optional, at extra cost
- A hot-air balloon flight — optional, at extra cost
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Frequently asked questions
Where does it start and finish?
Casablanca, at Mohammed V airport or your accommodation, at both ends.
How is this different from the 14-day tour?
The two-week tour runs north instead, to Tangier, Cape Spartel and the Akchour waterfalls. This one leaves the far north out and spends the time in the mountains: a night at Imlil below Mount Toubkal and a walking day in the Dades Valley.
Why two nights at Merzouga?
Because one night gives you a sunset and a sunrise and nothing else. The full day covers the dunes, Khamlia and the families who live on the edge of the erg.
How hard is the walking at Imlil and in the Dades Valley?
Valley and village walking on tracks and paths, not mountaineering. Mount Toubkal itself is not climbed on this tour.
Can the route be changed?
Yes. It is private, so days can be added, dropped or reordered.
Is Essaouira worth two nights?
It is the only place on the tour where you can stop entirely, which after twelve days is part of the point.
What is the longest drive?
Day nine, from the Dades Valley to Imlil by way of Ouarzazate and Ait Benhaddou.
