- Departure: Tangier
- Arrival: Tangier
- Duration: 14 days / 13 nights
- Tour type: Private tour with driver
Tour overview
A complete Morocco loop for travellers arriving in Tangier by air or ferry. The first six days cover the north and the imperial cities as far as Marrakech; from there you cross the High Atlas to Ait Ben Haddou, the Dades Valley and the Todra Gorge, spend two nights at the Merzouga dunes with a camel trek to a desert camp, and return north via Rissani, the Ziz Valley, Midelt, Fez and Chefchaouen to Tangier.
Tour highlights
- Cape Spartel, the Hercules Caves and Tetouan
- Chefchaouen at the start and end of the journey
- Fez, Meknes and Volubilis
- Rabat, Casablanca and a day in Marrakech
- Tizi n’Tichka, Ait Ben Haddou and the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs
- Two nights at Merzouga: desert tour, camel trek and a night in a camp with drums
- Rissani’s great souk and the 18,000 palms of the Ziz Valley
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1: Tangier – Tetouan
After breakfast, discover Tangier, the gateway to Morocco and meeting point of Spain and Africa, a pleasant seaside town with beautiful beaches. Visit Cape Spartel and the Hercules Caves, natural caves on the Strait of Gibraltar, and enjoy lunch in town before heading to Tetouan to visit the city and its archaeological and modern art museums. Dinner at your hotel.
Overnight: Tetouan
Day 2: Tetouan – Chefchaouen – Ouazzane – Fez
After breakfast, depart for Fez via Chefchaouen and Ouazzane. Chefchaouen, in the heart of the Rif, takes its name from the Berber word for “horns”, after the peaks that overlook it. Its old medina and kasbah, the Ras El Ma waterfalls and above all its blue-painted houses and cobbled lanes make it one of Morocco’s most beautiful towns. The day ends in Fez.
Overnight: Fez
Day 3: Fez
Discover Fez, the spiritual capital of Morocco: its medina, souks, mosques, museums, Koranic schools, palace and the Mausoleum of Moulay Idriss II. Rest by the mosaic fountain of Nejjarine square, then finish with Fez el-Jdid and the Merinid tombs, which offer a panoramic view over the city and its ramparts. Dinner at your hotel.
Overnight: Fez
Day 4: Fez – Meknes – Volubilis – Rabat
After breakfast, drive to Meknes to see its famous gates, Bab Mansour and Bab Khemis, the Heri es-Souani granaries and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. Continue to the 2,000-year-old Roman city of Volubilis, then end the day in Rabat.
Overnight: Rabat
Day 5: Rabat – Casablanca – Marrakech
After breakfast, visit Morocco’s capital: the Royal Palace and its Mechouar walls, the Hassan Tower, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Kasbah of the Udayas. Then continue to Casablanca for lunch and a city tour including Anfa, United Nations Square, the Palace of Justice and the Corniche; a visit to the Hassan II Mosque is possible. Drive on to Marrakech.
Overnight: Marrakech
Day 6: Marrakech (guided tour)
Explore Marrakech with a guide: the colourful souks of the medina with their crafts, traditional clothes and jewellery, the restored mosques, palaces, riads and gardens, and the vast Jemaa el-Fna square, alive day and night with storytellers, stallholders and snake charmers, under the minaret of the Koutoubia.
Overnight: Marrakech
Day 7: Marrakech – Tizi n’Tichka – Ait Ben Haddou – Skoura – Dades Valley
After breakfast, cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass, a spectacular landscape home to many Berber families, to the kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, one of the best preserved in Morocco and the setting for more than twenty films, including Babel. Continue past Ouarzazate to the oasis of Skoura, where the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs begins, then through the Valley of Roses into the Dades Valley.
Overnight: Dades Valley
Day 8: Dades Valley – Todra Gorge – Tinejdad – Merzouga
After breakfast, head for the Todra Gorge for a pleasant walk between its canyon walls, more than 200 metres high. Leave through the Tafilalet palm grove to reach your hotel at the foot of the Merzouga dunes, where you can walk on the fine sand of Erg Chebbi and relax in this breathtaking landscape. Moroccan dinner in the evening.
Overnight: Merzouga – hotel at the foot of the dunes
Day 9: Merzouga – Erg Chebbi – Merzouga
Get up early to watch the sunrise from the top of the great dune. After breakfast, another desert day: the oasis of Merzouga, the village of Khamlia, nomads in their tents and the oasis of Tisserdamine. In the afternoon, swap the 4×4 for a camel and cross the dunes to a remote camp in the heart of the desert, for a starry night of silence and drums.
Overnight: Merzouga – desert camp
Day 10: Merzouga – Rissani – Erfoud – Ziz Valley – Midelt
Rise early for another spectacular Saharan sunrise, then ride back to the hotel for breakfast and a shower. Drive to Rissani, whose traditional souk is one of the largest in Morocco, then to Erfoud, the old gateway to the desert famous for its fossils, and through the impressive Ziz Valley with its 18,000 palm trees to Midelt.
Overnight: Midelt
Day 11: Midelt – Meknes – Volubilis – Fez
After breakfast, drive towards Meknes and visit the Roman ruins of Volubilis, then continue to Fez and explore the city for the rest of the day.
Overnight: Fez
Day 12: Fez (guided tour)
Explore Fez on foot through its streets and alleys. The tour begins at the gates of the Royal Palace and the Mellah, the first Jewish quarter built in Morocco. You also see the Qarawiyyin university, the tanneries, the Al-Attarine madrasa and the Mausoleum of Moulay Idriss. After lunch, visit a mosaic cooperative and enjoy a panoramic view over the whole medina.
Overnight: Fez
Day 13: Fez – Chefchaouen
An early start for Chefchaouen, the charming small town at the foot of the Rif mountains, whose twin peaks gave it its name, meaning “look at the horns” in Berber. With very little traffic and pure mountain air, it invites you to stay, stroll and enjoy its surroundings.
Overnight: Chefchaouen
Day 14: Chefchaouen – Tangier
Drive to Tangier and transfer to the airport or ferry terminal. End of our services.
Included / Not included
Included
- Transfers to your accommodation at the start and end of the trip
- Private tour (no other travellers in your group)
- Air-conditioned 4×4 or minibus
- English-speaking driver/guide for the whole route
- Fuel, tolls and all transport costs
- Half-board accommodation (breakfast and dinner) throughout the tour
- One night on half board in the Erg Chebbi desert camp
- Camel ride to the camp (one camel per person)
- Guided tour of Fez
- Guided tour of Marrakech
Not included
- Flights
- Food and drinks not listed above
- Tips
- Entrance fees to museums and monuments
Route map
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