12 Day Morocco Tour from Casablanca

We meet you at Mohammed V Airport on arrival. If you land in the morning or early afternoon and have the energy, a visit to the Hassan II Mosque is possible before transfer to your hotel. The mosque sits on a promontory over the Atlantic and the guided interior tour takes about one hour. Whether this stop is included depends entirely on your arrival time and condition after the flight. We always leave it as an option rather than a commitment.

If you do not visit the mosque on Day 1, Day 11 is dedicated to covering Casablanca including the mosque before your Day 12 departure. Transfer to your Casablanca hotel for the evening. Overnight in Casablanca.

After breakfast we drive southwest from Casablanca along the Atlantic coast. The road passes through Safi and the argan forest before arriving in Essaouira in the early afternoon. The drive takes about three and a half hours.

Essaouira is the most coherent medina on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. A licensed local guide meets you at the riad shortly after check-in. The guided tour covers the ramparts, which run along the ocean-facing wall of the city and give the best view of the blue fishing boats in the harbour below. The Skala de la Ville is the upper battery where Portuguese-era bronze cannons still point seaward. The tour continues through the medina: the woodworking cooperatives where thuya root is turned into small objects, the spice market, the main square Place Moulay Hassan, and the harbour entrance. The guide takes around two hours. The evening in Essaouira is at your own pace.

The morning in Essaouira is yours. The beach south of the medina stretches for kilometres and the wind that gives the town its reputation is most consistent in the morning. The harbour fish market opens early and the freshest catch is sold before 9 AM. If you want to walk the ramparts from the ocean side, the early morning before the day visitors arrive from Marrakech is the right time.

We depart for Marrakech in the early to mid afternoon. The drive follows the road inland through the argan plain and the foothills of the western High Atlas. We arrive in Marrakech in the late afternoon. Tomorrow is the full guided day, so the evening is yours to explore the Djemaa el-Fna square and the surrounding streets at your own pace. The square is most alive in the evening.

A full day in Marrakech medina with a licensed local guide. Your guide meets you at the riad after breakfast. The morning covers Djemaa el-Fna and the Koutoubia Mosque, the Saadian Tombs, and the Bahia Palace with its tiled courtyards and carved plaster. The afternoon moves through the copper and spice souks, Nejjarine square, and the Mellah, Marrakech’s old Jewish quarter. The guided tour ends around 4:00 PM.

The Majorelle Garden and the YSL Museum are a short taxi ride from the medina. Both require advance booking online and sell out regularly during peak periods. Book before you travel. They fit naturally into the afternoon after the guide finishes or into the evening. Your riad staff on Night 3 can advise on the best timing for the current season.

After breakfast we leave Marrakech and climb into the High Atlas via the Tizi n’Tichka Pass, the highest paved road in Morocco at 2,260 metres. The road switchbacks up through the northern face of the range with the city below and the desert landscapes beginning to appear on the southern side as we descend.

We arrive at Ait Ben Haddou in late morning. The UNESCO-listed ksar whose earthen towers rise above the Ounila River has appeared in Gladiator, Game of Thrones, and Babel. We allow 90 minutes to walk from the river crossing at the base to the granary at the summit. We continue to Ouarzazate and stop at Kasbah Taourirt. The Atlas Studios, one of the largest film studios in the world and used for productions from Gladiator to Game of Thrones, are nearby. Entry is 8 euros per person. A 30-minute visit if your interests run toward film production and location history.

We continue east through the Rose Valley between Kelaat M’gouna and Boumaln Dades. If you want to stop at one of the rose cooperatives, a 20-minute visit gives a direct look at how Damascus roses are processed on-site. In April and May the valley is in bloom. We arrive at the Dades Valley hotel in the late afternoon. The monkey finger formations above the hotel cluster are visible from the valley road on the approach. If energy permits, the zigzag road viewpoint above the gorge is a 15-minute walk from the hotel cluster. Dinner and overnight.

After breakfast we head east. Our first destination is Todra Gorge, about one hour from the Dades Valley hotels. The canyon at its tightest section is 10 metres wide and the walls rise 300 metres on either side. We walk the tightest section before continuing east toward Merzouga.

The road from Todra to Merzouga passes through Tinghir, Tinejdad, and the pre-Saharan corridor where the landscape transitions from green valley to open hammada. We arrive at the desert camp in the late afternoon in time for the sunset camel trek. The ride into the Erg Chebbi dunes takes about an hour each way at the unhurried pace of the camels. Dinner at the camp under an open sky, Gnawa music around the fire, overnight in a private tent with en-suite bathroom.

The light outside the tent changes before sunrise. Step outside and find a spot near the camp to watch the sky above the Erg Chebbi dunes turn from dark to gold. The sand is still cold at this hour. Breakfast at the camp, then a transfer to the Merzouga hotel to drop bags and collect the 4×4.

The exploration starts mid-morning. Our first stop is Khamlia, a village founded by communities who arrived here from West Africa along the pre-colonial trans-Saharan trade routes. The community plays Gnawa music as a living tradition. We arrange a private session in a family compound. The guembri bass and the metallic krakebs are played here as daily practice. It is a completely different register from the campfire music of the night before.

From Khamlia we visit a nomad family encampment beyond the paved roads east of Merzouga. Mint tea, a conversation about the seasonal migration, and the silence of the flat desert beyond the dunes. The M’ifis salt flats are our next stop, crystalline pans that catch the light in unexpected ways. Behind the flats, when the season and rainfall allow, a shallow lake draws flamingos. We check conditions before departure and adjust if needed. We return to the hotel by mid-afternoon.

After breakfast we drive north from Merzouga. This is the same route as the southbound desert drive in reverse, which means it is never repetitive. Moving north from the Sahara, the landscape builds upward from open hammada to the Ziz Valley date palm oasis, then into the Middle Atlas mountains.

The Ziz Valley viewpoint is the first stop, where the road rises above the valley floor and the date palm oasis stretches in both directions along the canyon. We continue north through Erfoud and Midelt, stopping for lunch at Midelt before climbing into the cedar forest above Azrou. The Barbary macaques move freely through the trees and around stopped vehicles, as predictably as they do southbound. We continue to Ifrane for a brief stop at the protectorate-era square, then on to Fes. We arrive in the late afternoon and check in to the riad. Tomorrow is the full guided day. The evening is yours.

A full day guided tour of Fes el-Bali begins after breakfast. Your licensed local guide meets you at the riad. The tour covers the Bou Inania Madrasa, the Chouara tanneries from the correct viewing terrace, the spice and copper souks, Nejjarine square, and the Andalusian quarter across the river. The guided tour ends around 4:00 PM.

After the Fes guide, we drive west toward Chefchaouen. If there is time before the drive and you want to stop at Volubilis, the Roman ruins in the Zerhoun foothills are 60 km west of Fes and directly on the route. A visit adds 90 minutes and requires an entry fee. If you have already seen Volubilis or prefer a more relaxed evening, we drive direct to Chefchaouen and arrive in time for dinner in the medina. Either way, we arrive in Chefchaouen in the evening and overnight at the riad.

After breakfast we have time in Chefchaouen before departing. The medina in the morning before the day-trip visitors arrive from Fes is the best version of it. The blue walls and tiled steps at that hour, before midday crowds, are worth an hour’s walk even after seeing the medina the evening before.

We drive southwest from Chefchaouen, descending from the Rif Mountains toward the Atlantic plain. The road passes through forested ridges and small mountain towns before opening into the coastal lowland. We arrive in Rabat in the early to mid afternoon. The afternoon covers three sites. The Hassan Tower and the columns of the unfinished mosque below it. The Mausoleum of Mohammed V directly opposite, with its contemporary Moroccan craftwork in carved plaster and zellige. The Kasbah des Oudayas at the headland, its Andalusian garden inside the ramparts open to the sea. Overnight in Rabat.

After breakfast we drive south from Rabat to Casablanca, about 90 minutes. If you visited the Hassan II Mosque on Day 1, this morning is free in Rabat before departure. If you did not visit it on Day 1, Day 11 is the day for it. The mosque interior guided tour takes about one hour. Dress modestly: no sleeveless tops, no shorts.

We arrive in Casablanca in the afternoon and transfer to your final hotel. The Corniche and the city centre are accessible on foot or by short taxi from most central hotels. Your last evening in Morocco, at your own pace. Overnight in Casablanca.

Day 12 is organised around your departure flight from Mohammed V Airport. The drive from central Casablanca takes about 40 minutes without traffic. We time the transfer to give you enough buffer for check-in, security, and any final purchases in the terminal. If your flight is late in the afternoon or evening, the morning of Day 12 is yours in Casablanca. We confirm the exact pick-up time the evening before based on your flight.