What you see and do
- A free day in Chefchaouen, the day that the eight, nine and ten-day routes do not have.
- A quiet first night in Casablanca to get over the flight before any driving.
- Rabat on the way north: the Hassan Tower and the Kasbah of the Udayas.
- Volubilis and Meknes between the Rif and Fes, then a guided day in the Fes medina.
- Two nights at Merzouga, the first in a hotel beside the dunes and the second in a desert camp reached by camel.
- A day around Erg Chebbi with a visit to the Gnawa musicians of Khamlia.
- Todra Gorge, the Dades Valley, the Rose Valley and Ait Ben Haddou on the road to a guided day in Marrakech.
Day-by-day itinerary
11 days, about 1,641 km by road. Tap a day to open it.
Day 1Arrival in Casablanca
You are met at Mohammed V Airport and driven to your hotel. Nothing is fixed for the rest of the day. That is deliberate: most long-haul flights leave people in no state for sightseeing.
If you do have energy, the Hassan II Mosque stands on the seafront, partly built over the water, and the Corniche beyond it is where Casablanca goes for coffee and an evening walk.
Day 2Casablanca to Chefchaouen by Rabat341 km
An hour up the coast is Rabat, the capital. The stops are the Hassan Tower, begun in the 12th century and left at less than half its planned height, and the Kasbah of the Udayas, a small walled quarter above the Atlantic. You also pass the walls of the Royal Palace, which is seen from outside only.
The afternoon drive climbs into the Rif Mountains. You arrive in Chefchaouen towards evening. On shorter tours that evening is most of what you get. Here there is no need to rush out with a camera, because tomorrow is entirely free.
Day 3Free day in Chefchaouen
This is the day that makes the tour eleven days long. There is no driving and no guide. Chefchaouen is small enough to cover on foot in a morning: the main square of Outa el-Hammam with its red-walled kasbah, the lanes painted in every shade of blue, and the Ras el-Maa spring at the edge of the old town, where local families gather by the water.
For a wider view, a path leads from the spring up to the Spanish Mosque on the hill opposite, about half an hour on foot, and it is at its best in the late afternoon. Your driver stays available if you would rather go further into the Rif. Many travellers simply sit on a terrace. After the flight and a long road day, that is a fair use of the time.
Day 4Chefchaouen to Fes by Volubilis and Meknes245 km
You leave the mountains for the plain around Meknes. Volubilis is the first stop: the remains of a Roman provincial town, with a basilica, a triumphal arch and house floors laid in mosaic. It was added to the World Heritage list in 1997. There is almost no shade, so carry water and a hat in the warm months.
Meknes follows. Sultan Moulay Ismail made it his capital and surrounded it with long walls and monumental gates, of which Bab Mansour is the most photographed. Restoration has closed parts of the city to visitors at times, so the visit follows what is open.
You reach Fes by evening.
Day 5Guided day in Fes
A local city guide spends the day with you in Fes el Bali, a medieval city that still works as one. Goods move by mule and handcart because the lanes are too narrow for anything else.
The route includes the Bou Inania Madrasa, the gates of Al Quaraouiyine, founded in the 9th century, and the Chouara tanneries, where hides are still cured and dyed in stone vats. You also stop at workshops for brass, weaving or ceramics. Guides often include shops on the route. You are under no obligation to buy, and you can ask to skip them.
Day 6Fes to Merzouga465 km
The big drive south. Ifrane comes first, a clean, cool mountain town that looks more European than Moroccan. Then comes the cedar forest near Azrou, a good place to stretch your legs and watch the Barbary macaques.
Lunch is usually in Midelt, between the Middle and High Atlas. In the afternoon the road runs down the Ziz Valley, with its palm groves and fortified villages along the river.
On this itinerary you do not ride into the dunes tonight. After eight hours on the road you check into a hotel at the foot of Erg Chebbi, with a proper bathroom and the dunes outside. The camel ride and the camp are saved for tomorrow, when you are rested.
Day 7Merzouga desert day and night in camp
A day without the road. In the morning your driver takes you to Khamlia, a village on the edge of the sand whose musicians keep up the Gnawa tradition, brought north across the Sahara generations ago. You sit, drink tea and listen.
The middle of the day is free, and in the hot months it is best spent in the shade. Late in the afternoon you mount camels and ride into Erg Chebbi to arrive at camp as the sun goes down. Dinner is in camp, followed by drums at the fire.
Day 8Merzouga to the Dades Valley by Todra Gorges265 km
Sunrise from the dunes, breakfast, and back to the vehicle. The road heads west along the southern side of the High Atlas to Tinghir and the Todra Gorges, where the canyon walls stand close enough to keep the floor in shade for much of the day. You walk the bottom of it beside the river.
From there it is a short drive to the Dades Valley, with its villages, fields and odd rounded rock formations. You reach your hotel by evening. It is a quiet night, and the only place on the route where you stay a single night with no free day attached.
Day 9Dades Valley to Marrakech by the Rose Valley and Ait Ben Haddou325 km
The road passes through the Rose Valley around Kelaat M'Gouna. Damask roses are grown here for rose water and oil. The fields flower in spring, and the shops sell the products all year.
Ouarzazate is next, known for its film studios, and then Ait Ben Haddou, the best-known ksar in the country: a cluster of earthen tower houses behind a defensive wall, on the UNESCO list since 1987.
The Tizi n'Tichka pass carries you over the High Atlas at about 2,260 m and down to Marrakech in the evening.
Day 10Guided day in Marrakech
A local city guide shows you the old city. The standard half-day covers the Koutoubia minaret from its gardens, the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs and a walk through the souks, with entrance fees paid on the spot.
After the guide leaves, the afternoon is open. The medina of Marrakech is flatter and easier to find your way around than that of Fes, so this is a good place to wander alone. Jemaa el-Fna fills up at dusk.
Day 11Departure from Marrakech or Casablanca
Transfer to Marrakech Menara Airport, or to Casablanca Mohammed V if your return flight leaves from there. Allow about two and a half to three hours for the motorway to Casablanca and choose an afternoon or evening flight.
Price and what changes it
This 11-day private tour costs €3,200 to €5,700 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 driver for eleven days is a fixed cost divided among your party. Four people pay much less each than two, and a solo traveller pays the most.
- Accommodation level. Ten nights in standard, comfort or luxury places. In Chefchaouen and Fes that usually means a riad, and the level you pick is the biggest single factor in the price.
- Desert arrangement. The level of the camp, and the choice between keeping the hotel night at the dunes and asking for both nights in camp. See desert camps in Merzouga compared.
- Additions. Desert activities, an extra night anywhere, or a transfer to Casablanca on the last day. Our page on 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 eleven days
- English- or Spanish-speaking driver
- Airport pickup in Casablanca and departure transfer
- Ten 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 the dinners listed 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
- Chefchaouen is high on your list and one evening there would feel like a waste of the drive.
- You like a day off early in a trip, before the long road to the desert.
- You want a hotel bathroom after the Fes to Merzouga drive and the camp on the following night.
- You want two nights in each main stop without stretching to two weeks.
Think twice if
- A day with nothing scheduled in a small town sounds dull to you. The 10-day Morocco tour from Casablanca uses a night in Rabat in place of the free day and is otherwise close to this route.
- You would rather spend the extra day near Marrakech. The 12-day Morocco tour from Casablanca keeps this route and adds a day in the Ourika Valley.
- You want the Atlantic. Essaouira appears only on the 13-day and 14-day tours.
- You dislike long days in a car. Days two and six are both long, at about 340 km and 465 km.
Places on the route
What travellers say
★★★★★
“We had a great 8 days trip and everything was very well organized.”
Questions about the 11-day Morocco tour from Casablanca
What is the difference between the 10 day and 11 day Morocco tours?
The 11 day tour spends two nights in Chefchaouen with a free day there. The 10 day tour spends one night in Rabat and one in Chefchaouen. The 11 day tour also sleeps in Casablanca on arrival. From Fes onwards the two follow the same road.
Is a free day in Chefchaouen worth it?
If you enjoy walking, photography or simply slowing down, yes. The town is at its best early and late in the day, which one-night visitors mostly miss. If you prefer a full programme every day, the ten-day route suits you better.
Why is the first Merzouga night in a hotel?
Because you arrive after the longest drive of the tour. The operator's plan puts that night in a hotel beside the dunes and the camel ride and camp on the next evening. If you want both nights in camp, say so and it can be arranged.
Do I need a guide in Chefchaouen?
No. The medina is compact and hard to get lost in, and the tour does not include one. A local guide is included in Fes and Marrakech, where the old cities are far larger.
How much driving is there over the 11 days?
About 1,640 km over five road days, which run from about 245 km to 465 km. Five days have no long drive, and the first day is only the airport transfer.
Has anyone reviewed an 11 day trip with this operator?
Yes. Oscar, who travelled as a couple on an 11-day trip, wrote that "everything was seamless, well-organized, and thoughtfully planned". You can read the reviews of Best Morocco Travel on TripAdvisor through our reviews page.
