6-day Morocco tour from Tangier

The morning starts with some free time in Chefchaouen's blue lanes before heading south. First stop is Volubilis, Morocco's best-preserved Roman site, where mosaic floors and stone columns have held up for close to two thousand years.

Next comes Meknes, an imperial city that gets far less attention than Fes but has one of the most impressive gates in the country, Bab Mansour. A short walk through the old quarter is enough before continuing on to Fes for the night. This part of the Tangier to Marrakech 6-day itinerary is where the trip shifts from mountain scenery into real Moroccan city life.

Fes needs an entire day, and even then you'll only see a slice of it. A local guide walks you through the medina, past the tanneries, the Bab Boujloud gate, old fondouks, and Al Qarawiyyin, one of the oldest universities in the world.

You'll also pass through the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, and stop at a viewpoint where the whole medina spreads out below you. Overnight again in Fes.

Leaving Fes, the road passes through Ifrane, a mountain town with an oddly European look, then into the cedar forest near Azrou, home to a resident population of Barbary macaques.

Past Midelt, the landscape opens into the Ziz Valley, palm groves set against bare desert rock. As the afternoon winds down, you'll swap the vehicle for a camel and ride into the dunes of Erg Chebbi to catch the sunset. Dinner and the night are spent at a desert camp, the kind of stop that turns an ordinary road trip into a proper Morocco desert tour 6 days.

Sunrise over the dunes is optional but worth the early wake-up. After breakfast, the drive continues through Rissani, known for its market days, and Erfoud, where fossil workshops line the main road.

The real stop of the day is Todra Gorges, a narrow canyon with rock walls rising almost 300 meters on either side. From there the road follows the edge of the Dades Valley, past rose fields and old kasbahs, before stopping for the night.

The last stretch of this 6-day Moroccan adventure runs through Skoura's palm groves and into Ouarzazate, sometimes called Morocco's Hollywood because of its film studios. A short detour leads to Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified clay village and UNESCO site that has shown up in more films than most actors.

The final leg crosses the High Atlas Mountains through the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with switchback roads and long valley views, before dropping into Marrakech by evening. This is where your 6-day Morocco tour from Tangier ends, with drop-off at your riad or hotel.