Ultimate Morocco — 14-Day Grand Tour with Imperial Cities, Sahara & Coast

We meet you at Casablanca's Mohammed V International Airport and transfer you to your hotel. Depending on your arrival time, the afternoon may include a guided visit of the Hassan II Mosque — one of the largest mosques in the world, partially built over the Atlantic Ocean — and a walk along the Boulevard de la Corniche, the Atlantic promenade, with the option of a drink or coffee at Rick's Café, the restaurant designed to recreate the bar from the Bogart film. Dinner is at leisure to recover from your flight.

🏨 Overnight: Casablanca

After breakfast, a drive along the Atlantic coast brings you to Rabat — Morocco's political capital. We visit Hassan Tower and the unfinished mosque, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the Kasbah of the Udayas (a 12th-century Almohad fortress overlooking the river and the Atlantic), and the Chellah Roman-Islamic ruins.

After lunch in Rabat, you drive north into the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen. The first view is unforgettable — a blue-painted town rising up the mountainside. You check into a traditional riad in the medina, with a short evening walk through the alleys once the day trippers have left.

🏨 Overnight: Chefchaouen

We make the most of the early morning — the best time for photographs of the blue alleys, before crowds arrive — with a walking tour through Plaza Uta el-Hammam, the Kasbah, and the photogenic streets.

You then drive south through the Rif Mountains to Volubilis — Morocco's largest Roman archaeological site, founded around 25 AD under King Juba II — where we walk through the ancient Decumanus Maximus and see the in-situ mosaics. Lunch is in Volubilis or nearby Moulay Idriss.

A short drive brings you to Meknes — built by 17th-century sultan Moulay Ismail — to visit Bab Mansour and the royal granaries. A final short drive brings you to Fes, where you check into a traditional riad in the medina.

🏨 Overnight: Fes

The day begins with breakfast on the rooftop of your riad.

We start at the Borj Sud or Borj Nord for the panoramic view of the medina, then enter Fes el-Bali, the UNESCO medieval medina founded in the 9th century. Key stops:

• Bab Boujloud — the "Blue Gate"
• The Medersa Bou Inania — a 14th-century Quranic school
• The Karaouine Mosque & University — founded in 859 AD, considered the oldest continuously operating university in the world
• The Nejjarine Square and Fondouk (wood museum)
• The Chouara Tanneries — viewed from a leather shop terrace

Lunch is in a traditional riad — pastilla, tagine, and Moroccan pastries. In the afternoon, we visit traditional craft workshops — ceramics (Fes blue), brass, weaving, and leather — followed by free time.

🏨 Overnight: Fes (same riad)

After breakfast, we explore the eastern part of the medina — Andalusian Fes, founded by Andalusian refugees from Cordoba in the 9th century — a quieter, more residential side most tourists never see. We continue to the Mellah, the 14th-century Jewish quarter and one of the oldest in Morocco, visiting the Ibn Danan Synagogue, the Jewish cemetery, and the Royal Palace gates (exterior only).

After lunch in a quiet riad, we explore Fes el-Jdid ("New Fes"), founded in 1276 — the "newer" part of the medieval city — walking through its quieter streets, the dyers' souk, and the Bou Jeloud Gardens. The late afternoon is free, with the option of a hammam. In the evening, we can arrange dinner at a riad with traditional Andalusian music.

🏨 Overnight: Fes (same riad)

After breakfast, you begin the journey south to the Sahara.

We stop in Ifrane — a clean, Alpine-style mountain town — for a coffee break, then enter the Azrou cedar forest of the Middle Atlas to view the wild Barbary macaques in their natural habitat. Lunch is in Midelt, the "apple capital" of Morocco.

You then follow the Ziz Valley, a long green oasis with thousands of date palms, where the panoramic viewpoint above the valley is one of the most photographed scenes in southern Morocco. You arrive in Erfoud — the historic gateway to the Sahara, famous for its fossils.

🏨 Overnight: Erfoud (kasbah hotel)

After breakfast, there's the option to visit a fossil workshop — Erfoud is one of the world's richest sources of marine fossils — to see how ancient fossils are extracted and polished.

A short drive brings you to Merzouga. Lunch is at a kasbah-style restaurant near the dunes, and the afternoon is free — rest, swim, or read on a terrace overlooking the sand. At the edge of the dunes, you meet your camels and Berber guide for the camel trek into Erg Chebbi as the sun sets. You arrive at the desert camp, welcomed with mint tea, with time to settle in. Dinner is a traditional Moroccan meal with Berber music around the campfire.

🏨 Overnight: Desert camp in Erg Chebbi

For those who want to wake early, the sunrise over the dunes is one of the most memorable moments of the trip. A relaxed breakfast follows at the camp.

We then set out for a relaxed half-day in the Merzouga region beyond the dunes:

• A visit to a Berber nomad family in their tent
• The village of Khamlia — home to the Gnaoua people, whose community descends from sub-Saharan Africans brought across the Sahara, with a distinctive musical tradition and live performance available
• A walk near a fossil site or a black volcanic village
• Viewpoints overlooking the dunes from angles unavailable from the camp

After lunch, the afternoon is yours — a siesta, a swim at an auberge pool, reading, or a second walk in the dunes. We watch the second sunset from a different vantage point than the first night, followed by a final dinner at the camp.

🏨 Overnight: Desert camp in Erg Chebbi (same camp)

There's a second chance for the sunrise over the Sahara. After breakfast and the camel trek back to the village, you set off west through Rissani — the historic caravan town and cradle of the current Moroccan royal dynasty.

You reach Todra Gorge, where 300-meter-high cliffs rise on both sides of a narrow valley, and walk along the riverbed for about an hour. Lunch is at the gorge.

You then follow the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs — fortified mud-brick villages, palm groves, and old caravan stops — arriving in the Dades Valley with a short walk near the "Monkey Fingers," eroded rock formations unique to this valley.

🏨 Overnight: Dades Valley (kasbah hotel)

After breakfast, we stop in Skoura — a 12th-century palm oasis with dozens of fortified kasbahs — to visit Kasbah Amridil, a beautifully restored 17th-century kasbah that appeared on the back of the old 50-dirham banknote. You then continue to Ouarzazate, Morocco's film capital, with a brief stop at Kasbah Taourirt.

We arrive at Aït Ben Haddou — declared UNESCO World Heritage in 1987 — where you cross the river, walk through the kasbah, and climb to the granary at the top. Your guide shows you the filming locations from Gladiator, Game of Thrones, Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, and others. Lunch is at a restaurant with a view of the kasbah.

In the afternoon, you climb back over the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m) and arrive in Marrakech, checking into your riad or hotel in the medina.

🏨 Overnight: Marrakech

After breakfast, we begin at the Bahia Palace — a 19th-century masterpiece of Moroccan-Andalusian architecture — then the Saadian Tombs, the 16th-century royal mausoleum rediscovered in 1917, and the iconic Koutoubia, Marrakech's great 12th-century mosque.

Lunch is in a riad restaurant. The afternoon is for the souks — copper, dyers, leather, slippers, lanterns, spices, and woven goods. As the day ends, we reach Jemaa el-Fnaa, the legendary main square, watched from a rooftop terrace as the food stalls open and musicians arrive.

🏨 Overnight: Marrakech (same riad)

After breakfast, a drive south of Marrakech brings you into the High Atlas Mountains to Imlil — the small mountain village that serves as the starting point for treks to Mount Toubkal (4,167 m), North Africa's highest peak. Even at this altitude, the air is fresher and the views are spectacular.

You then walk through traditional Berber villages — Aremd, Aroumd, or the path toward Sidi Chamharouch — at a relaxed pace; the walk is moderate and can be adjusted to your comfort. Lunch is a traditional meal in a Berber home — tagine, salad, bread, mint tea — with a long-trusted local family, followed by tea at a mountain viewpoint.

In the afternoon, you drive back to Marrakech, with optional stops at a Berber pottery cooperative, for a free evening.

🏨 Overnight: Marrakech (same riad)

After breakfast, you drive west to the Atlantic coast. On the way, we stop at a women's argan oil cooperative — a chance to see how the famous Moroccan oil is produced and to support women's economic development in rural Morocco, and often to see goats climbing the argan trees, a quintessential Moroccan sight.

You arrive in Essaouira by midday and check into your seafront riad or hotel. Lunch is fresh-grilled fish at the famous port-side stalls. We then explore the UNESCO-listed medina — designed by a French engineer for Sultan Mohammed III in the 18th century — with its blue-and-white architecture, the Skala (sea-facing ramparts with old Spanish and Portuguese cannons), the wood-carving workshops, and the colorful spice and fish markets. We watch the Atlantic sunset from the Skala — one of the most beautiful in Morocco — with dinner at leisure.

🏨 Overnight: Essaouira

Depending on your departure time, the morning may include a walk along the long Essaouira beach, free time in the medina for last shopping (the wood-carving and silver jewelry of Essaouira are among the best in Morocco), or a boat-watching morning at the fishing port.

When it's time, we transfer you back to either Casablanca's Mohammed V Airport or Marrakech Menara Airport, based on your departure plans.

End of the Tour