Ten unhurried days — Marrakech, the Sahara, Fes, the blue city and the imperial north.
Our 10-day Morocco tour is the complete loop for travellers who want the whole country — the Sahara and all four imperial cities — without the pace of a shorter trip. From Marrakech you cross the High Atlas to Aït Ben Haddou, ride into the dunes at Merzouga, then travel north to Fes, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, the blue city of Chefchaouen and the imperial capital of Rabat, finishing on the Atlantic coast at Casablanca.
Ten days is the length at which Morocco stops feeling like a highlight reel and starts to breathe: a free day in Chefchaouen, two guided city days, a night in the desert and time for the north that most one-week tours skip. It's fully private and tailor-made, with your own driver-guide throughout, and you pay no deposit until your itinerary is approved.
Private local Berber & Arab guides who know every kasbah, dune and shortcut.
Reserve your dates now and pay nothing until your itinerary is approved.
Every stop, hotel and pace is built around you — never a fixed coach group.
Reachable on WhatsApp before and during your trip, day or night.
Your driver-guide meets you at Marrakech airport and transfers you to your riad in the heart of the medina, with time to settle in and rest after your flight. Depending on your arrival, the late afternoon is yours to begin soaking up the 'red city' at your own pace. In the evening we suggest a first stroll to Jemaa el-Fna, the UNESCO-listed main square, which comes alive after dark with food stalls, musicians and storytellers — a sensory introduction to Morocco like no other. Your guide can recommend a rooftop terrace overlooking the square for dinner. There's no driving today; it's a gentle, jet-lag-friendly start before the journey ahead. (no driving — arrival day)
A full day discovering Marrakech with a local guide. We begin at the 12th-century Koutoubia Mosque, whose minaret has defined the skyline for 800 years, then the exquisite Bahia Palace with its painted cedar ceilings and tiled courtyards, and the marble-adorned Saadian Tombs. After a leisurely lunch we wind through the souks, organised by trade — dyers, leatherworkers and metalsmiths — where your guide helps you navigate and bargain, and we visit serene gardens such as the Majorelle or Menara. The pace is relaxed, with stops for mint tea and photographs, and the evening is free to return to Jemaa el-Fna or relax on a rooftop terrace above the square. (city day — walking)
Leaving the city after breakfast, we climb into the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m), with viewpoints and Berber villages along the way. Mid-morning we reach Aït Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed earthen city and a famous film location, climbing through its kasbahs with a local guide. After lunch we visit Ouarzazate, Morocco's 'Hollywood', and its Taourirt Kasbah, then follow the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs into the rose-coloured Dades Valley for the night, passing endless palm groves and clay fortresses. A day of dramatic, ever-changing scenery with plenty of photo stops. (approx. 6 hrs driving)
After breakfast and a look at the Dades Valley's 'monkey-finger' rock formations, we drive to the magnificent Todra Gorge, walking the flat canyon floor between sheer 300-metre walls. Continuing east along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through Tinghir's vast palmery, we reach the edge of the Sahara at Merzouga in the late afternoon. Here you trade the vehicle for camels and ride into the Erg Chebbi dunes for sunset, arriving at a Berber camp as the sand glows crimson. Dinner is a tagine around the fire, followed by drumming and superb stargazing far from any town. (approx. 5 hrs driving)
Wake before dawn for sunrise over the dunes, then ride back to camp for breakfast. Today is the long, scenic journey north to Fes: we pause at the old caravan market of Rissani, follow the palm-lined Ziz Valley and its gorges, and climb over the Middle Atlas through Midelt and the cedar forests of Azrou — where Barbary macaques gather by the road. The landscape shifts from Saharan plains to alpine forest in a single day, with a roadside lunch stop along the way. We reach Fes in the early evening, checking into your riad in or beside the ancient medina, with the rest of the night free to rest. (approx. 7–8 hrs driving)
A full guided day in Fes el-Bali, the largest car-free urban area on earth and Morocco's spiritual and intellectual heart. With a local guide you'll thread its thousands of lanes — where donkeys still carry goods — to the famous tanneries with their honeycomb of dye pits, the dazzling tilework of the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine madrasas, the Al-Qarawiyyin (the world's oldest university), and the workshops of coppersmiths, weavers and ceramicists. We break for lunch in a restored riad and stop for mint tea along the way. Fes rewards a guided visit more than almost anywhere; without one, its medina is gloriously disorienting. The evening is free. (city day — walking)
Leaving Fes, we take in two of Morocco's great historic sites. Meknès, the monumental 17th-century imperial capital of Sultan Moulay Ismail, comes first: the vast Bab Mansour gate, the royal granaries and the long ramparts that earned it the nickname 'the Versailles of Morocco'. Nearby Volubilis is the best-preserved Roman city in the country — we walk among standing columns, a triumphal arch and remarkably intact floor mosaics in open countryside. Then we turn north into the green Rif Mountains, reaching Chefchaouen — the famous blue city — in the early evening, in time to settle in and catch the soft light on its cobalt walls. (approx. 4 hrs driving, with two major stops)
A full free day to enjoy Chefchaouen at your own pace, and slowness is rewarded here. Wander the stepped lanes washed in countless shades of blue, browse the wool, leather and crafts of the Rif, and sip mint tea on Outa el Hammam square at the foot of the kasbah. Climb to the Spanish Mosque viewpoint for a sweeping panorama over the blue medina and the mountains — superb at sunset — or follow the path to the Ras el Maa waterfall where locals still wash laundry. Your guide can suggest a short hike into the hills, or simply leave you to get happily lost. A calm, photogenic pause in the middle of the trip. (no driving — a day to relax)
We come down from the Rif and head for the Atlantic, with a morning visit to Rabat, Morocco's elegant, understated capital: the picturesque blue-and-white Kasbah of the Oudayas above the river mouth, the Hassan Tower and the royal mausoleum, and the tree-lined boulevards that make Rabat more peaceful than other cities. After lunch we continue the short distance down the coast to Casablanca, Morocco's largest city and economic capital, checking into your hotel with the evening free to explore the corniche or the Art Deco centre. (approx. 4 hrs driving, with Rabat visit)
After breakfast, the timing of your day depends on your flight. If there's time, we visit the magnificent Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest in the world, built partly over the ocean with a 210-metre minaret — and one of the few mosques in Morocco that non-Muslims may visit, on a guided tour — before we transfer you to Casablanca airport (Mohammed V) in good time for your departure. If you prefer to fly out of Marrakech or continue your travels, we arrange whatever onward connection you need, at the end of a ten-day journey that gathered all four imperial cities, the Sahara, the blue city and the Atlantic coast. (transfer to the airport)
You sleep in hand-picked riads and boutique hotels, plus a comfortable Sahara camp with private en-suite tents, real beds and a Berber dinner under the stars. Choose standard, superior or luxury and we match it.
Travel in a private, air-conditioned 4x4 or modern minivan with your own English-speaking driver-guide. No shared coaches and no waiting — you set the pace and stop wherever you like for photos.
Choose your comfort level — Comfort, Superior or Luxury — and we hand-pick every riad, kasbah hotel and desert camp to match. Exact properties are confirmed on your personalised itinerary.
| Night | Area | Where you stay | Board |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marrakech | Boutique riad or hotele.g. Riad Kniza / Riad BE Marrakech | Bed & breakfast |
| 2 | Marrakech | Boutique riad or hotele.g. Riad Kniza / Riad BE Marrakech | Bed & breakfast |
| 3 | Dades Valley | Kasbah hotel or riade.g. Xaluca Dades / Kasbah Chez Pierre | Half-board · dinner & breakfast |
| 4 | Erg Chebbi (Merzouga) | Luxury desert camp · private en-suite tente.g. Riad Azawad / Kasbah Mohayut & a luxury Erg Chebbi camp | Half-board · dinner & breakfast |
| 5 | Erg Chebbi (Merzouga) | Luxury desert camp · private en-suite tente.g. Riad Azawad / Kasbah Mohayut & a luxury Erg Chebbi camp | Half-board · dinner & breakfast |
| 6 | Fès | Boutique riad or hotele.g. Riad Fès / Palais Amani | Bed & breakfast |
| 7 | Chefchaouen | Boutique riad or hotele.g. Lina Ryad & Spa | Bed & breakfast |
| 8 | Chefchaouen | Boutique riad or hotele.g. Lina Ryad & Spa | Bed & breakfast |
| 9 | Casablanca | Boutique riad or hotel | Bed & breakfast |
Seven or eight days is enough to pair the Sahara with a single imperial city, but it forces a choice: you either skip the north or race through it. Ten days is the point where that pressure disappears. You keep the classic desert loop — Marrakech, the High Atlas, Aït Ben Haddou and a night at Erg Chebbi — and add the part of Morocco most short tours leave out: Fes in depth, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, the blue city of Chefchaouen and the imperial capital of Rabat, finishing on the Atlantic at Casablanca.
Just as important, ten days changes the texture of the trip. Instead of a different bed every night, you get a free day in Chefchaouen and two relaxed guided city days, so the journey feels like living in Morocco rather than photographing it from a moving car. It's the itinerary we recommend to travellers who want the whole country — desert, mountains, cities and coast — but don't have a full two weeks.
Morocco has four imperial cities — Marrakech, Fes, Meknès and Rabat — and this is the shortest itinerary that visits all of them. You get full guided days in Marrakech and Fes, the two greatest, and take in Meknès and Rabat as you move north and west: Meknès with its monumental Bab Mansour gate and royal granaries, and Rabat with the Kasbah of the Oudayas, the Hassan Tower and the royal mausoleum.
Between them lies Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman site in Morocco, with standing columns and floor mosaics in open countryside. Threading the imperial cities together with the Roman past and the blue city of Chefchaouen gives the trip a genuine historical arc — from antiquity through the medieval medinas to the elegant modern capital — that a desert-only tour simply can't offer.
The single desert night remains the emotional centre of the whole trip. From the Dades and Todra gorges the route reaches Merzouga, where you ride camels into the dunes of Erg Chebbi at sunset as the sand turns deep orange, then settle into a Berber camp for a tagine dinner around the fire, drumming and one of the darkest, most star-filled skies you'll ever see, far from any town.
A comfortable standard camp with private tents is included, and a luxury camp with en-suite bathrooms can be arranged for those who want it. Waking for sunrise over the dunes the next morning is, for most travellers, the moment that stays with them long after the trip ends — and on the ten-day route it comes early enough that the north still lies ahead.
Few places reward a slow day like Chefchaouen, the town painted in countless shades of blue against the green backdrop of the Rif. With a full free day built in, you wander its stepped lanes with no schedule, climb to the Spanish Mosque for sunset over the medina and browse the wool and crafts the region is known for — a calm, photogenic counterpoint to the desert and the cities.
The north is the part of Morocco that one-week tours almost always miss, and it changes the character of the trip. Green mountains, Roman ruins, the blue city and the Atlantic coast balance the red-earth south, so you come home having seen the full range of the country rather than a single corner of it.
The standard version starts in Marrakech and finishes in Casablanca, which suits most travellers: Casablanca has Morocco's main international airport, and ending there means you cross the whole country from south to north rather than doubling back. If you'd rather begin and end in the same city, we can loop the route back to Marrakech, or start in Fes or Casablanca to match your flights.
An open-jaw booking — into one city, out of another — often saves a day of backtracking, and there's usually no extra routing cost. Tell us your arrival and departure airports and we'll build the timing around them, including all transfers, and you approve the full plan and hotels before paying any deposit.
Over ten days comfort matters, so the tour runs in a private air-conditioned 4x4 or modern minivan sized to your group, with your own native driver-guide throughout and accommodation chosen to your taste — from characterful riads to 5-star hotels, and in the desert from a comfortable standard camp to a private luxury bivouac. You confirm every hotel on the list before paying a deposit.
The generous length makes it a favourite for couples, honeymooners and travellers visiting for the first time who want to see everything once. Because it's fully private, we can slow the pace further, add a luxury touch or adjust the route to your interests. If ten days is slightly more or less than your time allows, treat it as a framework — give us your dates and we'll shape the ideal version around them.
Because this itinerary spans the desert, the mountains, the imperial cities and the coast, the shoulder seasons of spring (March–May) and autumn (September–November) are ideal: warm but manageable in the desert and cities, pleasant on the coast and mild in the Rif around Chefchaouen. Spring adds wildflowers and green valleys; autumn brings the date harvest in the south and settled weather by the sea.
Summer is hot inland — Marrakech, Fes and the desert can be intense — though the Atlantic coast stays cooler and we schedule activities around the heat. Winter offers clear, bright days and far thinner crowds, with cold desert and mountain nights that simply call for a warm layer. Pack layers, comfortable walking shoes for the medinas and the Todra Gorge, sun protection and a small day-bag for the camel trek.
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See our reviews on TripAdvisorVisit Maghreb is a small, licensed travel agency based in Marrakech, run since 2008 by native Moroccan guides born and raised across the regions you'll explore — the High Atlas, the southern kasbah valleys and the Sahara. Every itinerary is designed and led by people who actually live here, never resold from a call centre abroad.
Your private guide speaks your language and personally knows the families who run the riads and desert camps you'll stay in. Pricing is fully transparent with no hidden extras, you pay no deposit until your itinerary is approved, and we're reachable on WhatsApp before and throughout your journey.
Yes — ten days is the shortest itinerary that combines the Sahara with all four imperial cities and the blue city of Chefchaouen without rushing. For the coast at Essaouira and more time in the Atlas, our 15-day grand tour adds further.
Yes — Marrakech, Fes, Meknès and Rabat are all included, along with Volubilis, Chefchaouen and the Atlantic coast at Casablanca, making it our most complete tour under two weeks.
By default it ends in Casablanca, but we can loop the route back to Marrakech, or start in Fes or Casablanca to match your flights — often at no extra routing cost.
Yes — it's 100% private and fully customisable; we adapt the pace, the route and the accommodation to your interests, and no deposit is due until you approve the plan.
Send your dates and wishes on WhatsApp or the form — free and no obligation.
We design a day-by-day plan and refine it until it is exactly right.
Approve the itinerary and reserve with a small, secure deposit.
Your private guide meets you on arrival — everything is handled.
Flexible cancellation: reschedule or cancel free up to 30 days before departure. No deposit is taken until you approve your itinerary, and every price is transparent with no hidden extras.
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