14-Day Morocco Tour from Casablanca

A local guide takes you through the city's main sights, including the Koutoubia Mosque, the Bahia Palace with its carved cedar ceilings, and the Saadian Tombs, sealed for centuries before their rediscovery in 1917. Depending on your plan, there may also be time at the Majorelle Garden. In the afternoon, you're free to explore the souks and Jemaa el Fna at your own pace, or keep your guide for a longer walk through the different craft quarters. Overnight in Marrakech.

After breakfast, the road climbs over the High Atlas through the Tizi n'Tichka Pass, one of the highest paved roads in the country, with switchbacks, roadside mineral stalls, and small Berber villages along the way. On the other side, Ait Ben Haddou is one of Morocco's best-known ksour, a fortified village built from earth and clay and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From there, it's a short drive to Ouarzazate, where you'll spend the night.

Today the route turns south along the Draa Valley, Morocco's longest river valley, through Agdz and its palm groves toward Zagora. Zagora still carries its old reputation as a caravan town, where routes once left for Timbuktu, and the drive down gives a good look at how the Draa's palmeries and mud-brick villages have farmed dates here for generations. Overnight in Zagora.

After breakfast, continue south to M'Hamid, the last real town before the open desert. From there, a 4x4 transfer takes you across open desert tracks to Erg Chegaga, a larger and far less visited dune field than Merzouga's, with ridges that can run over 40 kilometers without a road or settlement in sight. You'll reach camp in the late afternoon, with time to climb a nearby dune for sunset before dinner. Overnight at the desert camp.

Leaving the camp after breakfast, the 4x4 retraces the track back to Zagora, then the route continues east through Nkob, a small town known for old kasbahs and fossil trading, and Alnif, before reaching Rissani and its long-running market. This stretch of road is the connector most standard itineraries skip, since it links the Zagora desert route with Merzouga without backtracking through Ouarzazate. You'll arrive in Merzouga by early evening. Overnight in a riad in Merzouga.

Today shifts fully into desert mode again, this time at Erg Chebbi, Morocco's tallest dune field. There's time in the morning to visit Khamlia, a village known for its Gnawa musicians, before camels take you into the dunes in the late afternoon, timed so you arrive as the light turns from gold to a deep red. Dinner at camp is typically a tagine cooked over coals, with music around the fire afterward. Overnight at the desert camp.

Most people get up before sunrise to watch it from the dunes, then head back for breakfast before the drive resumes. The road to Tinghir passes through Erfoud and long stretches of palm groves before reaching Todra Gorge, a narrow canyon with rock walls rising 300 meters on either side. From Todra, the route continues to Dades Valley, known for unusual rock formations, old kasbahs, and small mountain villages. Overnight in Dades Valley.

Instead of heading back toward Ouarzazate, this Morocco cultural and natural exploration continues north into the High Atlas, through Msemrir and up toward Imilchil. The road narrows and climbs past small Amazigh villages, some still working fields with mules rather than tractors. Imilchil sits near two lakes, Isli and Tislit, tied to a local legend about two lovers from rival tribes kept apart, and every September the area hosts a large moussem where marriages are still arranged the traditional way. From there, the road drops down toward Midelt and apple country for the night.

The route north continues through Azrou, where a cedar forest along the road is one of the most reliable spots in the country to see Barbary macaques close to the roadside, then Ifrane, a town built in a French Alpine style in the 1930s. From Ifrane, it's a fairly short drive down into the plains toward Fes, where you'll spend the next two nights.

A local guide leads you through Fes el Bali, one of the oldest medinas still functioning as a working city. The day usually covers the Chouara Tannery, the Al Quaraouiyine mosque and university area, viewed from outside, the Nejjarine fountain, and a ceramics or woodwork workshop. There's also time in the souks, where different streets specialize in different trades. Overnight in Fes.

After breakfast, a short stop in Meknes takes in Bab Mansour, one of the most detailed imperial gates in the country, and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. From Meknes, it's a quick drive to Volubilis, the largest Roman site in Morocco, with mosaic floors still in place after almost two thousand years. The road then climbs into the Rif Mountains toward Chefchaouen, where the blue-painted alleys are quieter once you're a few streets back from the main square. Overnight in Chefchaouen.

Leaving Chefchaouen, the drive to Tangier takes a couple of hours. If time allows, there's a stop at Cape Spartel and the Caves of Hercules before continuing along the coast to Asilah, a small town known for whitewashed walls covered in murals repainted each year for its arts festival. From Asilah, the route runs south to Rabat, the capital, where you'll spend the final night before Casablanca.

After breakfast, there's a short visit in Rabat, usually Hassan Tower and the Kasbah of the Udayas, before the drive back to Casablanca. Depending on your flight, there may be time for one more look at Hassan II Mosque before your driver takes you to the airport. This 14-day Morocco tour from Casablanca ends here, having covered two deserts, four imperial cities, the Atlas Mountains twice, and both the Rif and the Atlantic coast along the way.