What you see and do
- Start at the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, then sleep in Rabat after the Hassan Tower and the Kasbah of the Udayas.
- Arrive in Chefchaouen by early afternoon, with half a day free in the blue medina.
- Visit Roman Volubilis and imperial Meknes on the road to Fes.
- Walk the Fes medina with a local guide: the Royal Palace gates, Bou Inania Madrasa, the Chouara tanneries and the Mellah.
- Spend two nights at Merzouga, with a sunset camel ride, a sunrise and a day around the dunes at Khamlia.
- Drive the kasbah road by Todra Gorge, the Dades Valley and Ait Ben Haddou.
- Finish with a guided day in Marrakech: Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, Ben Youssef Madrasa and the souks.
Day-by-day itinerary
10 days, about 1,652 km by road. Tap a day to open it.
Day 1Casablanca to Rabat120 km
Your driver meets you at Mohammed V Airport. Rather than staying in Casablanca, this itinerary sees the city's one major sight and moves on. That sight is the Hassan II Mosque, built out over the Atlantic, with a minaret about 210 m tall. It is one of the few mosques in Morocco that non-Muslims may enter, on guided visits at set times, so whether you go inside depends on when your flight lands.
From there it is about an hour up the coast to Rabat. If time allows you see the Hassan Tower, the stump of a huge 12th-century minaret, and the Kasbah of the Udayas, a small fortified quarter of blue and white lanes above the river mouth. Sleeping here shortens tomorrow's drive by about 100 km. If your flight arrives in the evening, the Rabat stops move to the next morning.
Day 2Rabat to Chefchaouen252 km
The road leaves the coast and runs north-east through farmland and small towns towards the Rif Mountains. It is a plain driving morning, with a coffee stop on the way.
Because you started from Rabat, you reach Chefchaouen by early afternoon with several hours of daylight left. The old town is small, steep and painted blue, and it needs no guide. Walk up through the medina to the Ras el-Maa spring at its top edge, look at the wool and leather shops, then find a rooftop terrace for mint tea as the light drops.
Day 3Chefchaouen to Fes by Volubilis and Meknes245 km
A full day with two historical stops. The first is Volubilis, a Roman town on a low ridge among wheat fields and olive trees, listed by UNESCO in 1997. Its mosaics are still in the floors of the houses they were made for. Official site guides can be hired at the entrance if you want the detail explained, and they are paid directly.
About half an hour further is Meknes, one of the four imperial cities and the seat of Sultan Moulay Ismail. The stop covers the green and white tiled Bab Mansour gate, the old medina beside it and the sultan's mausoleum. Restoration work has closed some Meknes monuments in recent years, so the stops depend on what is open.
Fes is under an hour from Meknes. You check into a riad inside the medina walls, which puts you within walking distance of tomorrow's sights. Cars cannot enter the old city, so a porter with a handcart usually takes the bags for the last few minutes.
Day 4Guided day in Fes
A local city guide leads the day. It begins outside the medina at the brass gates of the Royal Palace and the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, then goes into Fes el Bali, the walled city founded more than a thousand years ago and a World Heritage site since 1981.
Inside you see the Bou Inania Madrasa, the doorways of Al Quaraouiyine, which is often described as the oldest university still operating, and the Chouara tanneries from a terrace above the dye pits. The sprig of mint handed out there is for the smell. The walk ends at a viewpoint over the rooftops. Expect four to five hours on foot over uneven paving, so wear proper shoes.
Day 5Fes to Merzouga and into the dunes452 km
The longest day of the tour starts early. The road climbs into the Middle Atlas to Ifrane, laid out around 1930 with steep-roofed houses that look more Alpine than Moroccan, then through cedar forest where Barbary macaques wait by the road.
After the high plateau and a pass through the eastern High Atlas, the road follows the Ziz Valley, a deep canyon filled from wall to wall with date palms. From the viewpoint above it you can see the palm groves run south for kilometres.
You reach Merzouga in the late afternoon and change the vehicle for camels. The ride into the Erg Chebbi dunes is timed to reach camp around sunset. Dinner is at camp, usually with drumming around a fire afterwards. With little artificial light for a long way around, the night sky is very clear when there is no moon.
Day 6A full day in the Merzouga desert
This is the day the eight-day version does not have. Sunrise comes first, from the top of a dune near camp, and then breakfast with no need to pack up and drive.
Later your driver takes you around the edge of the dunes: to Khamlia, a village known for Gnawa music, which has its roots south of the Sahara, and to the old mining settlement of M'Fis. You can also stop for tea with a nomad family who live near the sand. The afternoon is free. Quad bikes and dune buggies can be arranged if you ask in advance, at extra cost.
Day 7Merzouga to the Dades Valley by Rissani and Todra Gorge248 km
The first stop is Rissani, half an hour from the dunes. It is the home town of the Alaouite dynasty, which still reigns in Morocco, and has a large local market. The market is at its fullest on its three market days each week, traditionally Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, with dates, spices and livestock on sale.
From Rissani the road heads west to Tinghir and up into Todra Gorge, where limestone walls about 300 m high close in over a shallow river. Climbers use the cliffs. Most visitors walk the flat road along the bottom.
The last stretch leads into the Dades Valley, past the rounded rock formations known locally as the Monkey Fingers, to your hotel for dinner.
Day 8Dades Valley to Marrakech by Ait Ben Haddou335 km
The morning runs down the valley through Kelaat M'Gouna, the centre of the rose-growing area, where the harvest is usually in late April and May. Next is Ouarzazate, a base for film crews since the 1960s. A studio visit is optional and paid on the spot.
The main stop is Ait Ben Haddou, an earth-built fortified village above a dry riverbed, on the UNESCO list since 1987 and used as a set for Gladiator and Game of Thrones. Allow an hour to climb through it to the top.
After lunch you cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass at about 2,260 m. The road is all bends, with stone villages on the slopes, and comes down to Marrakech by early evening.
Day 9Guided day in Marrakech
A local city guide meets you after breakfast. The morning starts at Jemaa el-Fna while it is still calm and covers the outside of the Koutoubia Mosque, the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs and the Ben Youssef Madrasa. Entrance fees are paid as you go.
The afternoon is your choice: the Majorelle Garden in the new town, or unplanned time in the souks, which are larger and more commercial than those of Fes. After dark, go back to Jemaa el-Fna. By then the food stalls are lit and the square is full of musicians and storytellers.
Day 10Departure from Marrakech or Casablanca
After breakfast at your riad, your driver takes you to Marrakech Menara Airport. If your flight leaves from Casablanca, the transfer is roughly two and a half to three hours on the motorway, so an afternoon or evening departure is the safer booking.
Price and what changes it
This 10-day private tour costs €2,900 to €5,500 per person. Every trip is tailored, so the final price depends on your group size, hotel and camp level, and what you add.
- Group size. One vehicle and one driver are shared by your whole party, so each person pays less as the group grows, and a solo traveller pays the most.
- Accommodation level. Nine nights in standard, comfort or luxury riads and hotels. On a tour this long, the level you pick moves the price more than anything else.
- The two desert nights. Both in a camp, or one in a camp and one in a hotel by the dunes, and whether the camp is standard or luxury. See desert camps in Merzouga compared.
- Extras. Quad bikes, dune buggies or a departure transfer to Casablanca in place of Marrakech. Our guide to what a Morocco tour costs explains the ranges.
Other lengths are priced on the Morocco tour cost page.
Included and not included
Included
- Private air-conditioned vehicle for the ten days
- English- or Spanish-speaking driver
- Airport pickup in Casablanca and departure transfer
- Nine nights of accommodation at the level you choose
- Local city guides for the guided days in Fes and Marrakech
- Camel ride in the Erg Chebbi dunes
- Breakfast every day, and dinners on the nights confirmed in your quote
Not included
- Lunches and drinks
- Entrance fees to monuments
- Optional activities such as quad bikes or dune buggies
- Tips
- Flights
Is this the right tour for you?
It suits you if
- This is your first trip to Morocco and you want the main cities and the Sahara without feeling rushed in any of them.
- You want a real day in the desert, not only an evening and a sunrise.
- You like having a guide in the two big medinas and your own time everywhere else.
Think twice if
- You only have a week. The 8-day Morocco tour from Casablanca follows the same line with one desert night and no guided day in Marrakech.
- You want the coast or a rest day in the mountains. Neither fits in ten days on this route. The 14-day Morocco tour from Casablanca adds Essaouira, the Ourika Valley and a free day in Chefchaouen.
- You are travelling in July or August. Two nights at Merzouga in midsummer means afternoons that often pass 40°C. See the best time to visit Morocco.
- Long car days tire you. Day five is about 450 km, and days seven and eight together add nearly 600 km more.
Places on the route
What travellers say
★★★★★
“My friend and I booked a 3 day desert trip and had a really great experience throughout the journey.”
Questions about the 10-day Morocco tour from Casablanca
Is 10 days in Morocco too long or too short?
For a first visit that includes the Sahara, ten days is a comfortable length. It gives two nights each in Fes, Merzouga and Marrakech, and one night each in Rabat, Chefchaouen and the Dades Valley. It does not leave room for the Atlantic coast.
What is the difference between the 8 day and 10 day Morocco tours?
The route is the same. The 10 day tour adds a second night at Merzouga with a full desert day, a guided day in Marrakech, and a first night in Rabat that splits the drive to Chefchaouen in two.
What vehicle is used?
An air-conditioned vehicle sized to your group. Best Morocco Travel lists the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, the Ford Tourneo Custom and, for larger groups, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.
Are both desert nights in a camp?
The first night is in a camp in the dunes, reached by camel. The second can be in the same camp or in a hotel at the edge of the dunes , with a full bathroom. Tell us which you prefer and it will be written into your quote.
Can I visit the inside of the Hassan II Mosque?
Usually yes. Non-Muslim visitors are admitted on guided visits at set times outside prayers, with a ticket bought at the mosque. Whether it fits on day one depends on your arrival time, so send us your flight details.
Can this 10 day Morocco tour start in Marrakech or Tangier?
Yes. Best Morocco Travel also runs private tours of this length from Marrakech, Fes and Tangier, and the order of stops is adjusted to suit. Ask us with your arrival and departure airports.
