A complete week — Marrakech, the Sahara, the imperial city of Fes and the High Atlas.
Our 7-day Morocco tour is the ideal length for a first visit that wants both the desert and the imperial cities without rushing. From Marrakech you cross the High Atlas to Aït Ben Haddou, follow the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs to a night in the Sahara at Merzouga, then travel north through the Todra Gorge and the cedar forests to Fes for a full guided day in its medieval medina — before looping back over the mountains to Marrakech.
It packs Morocco's two great experiences — the Sahara and a deep dive into an imperial city — into one private, tailor-made week. We can start or finish in Casablanca, Fes or Tangier to suit your flights, 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. 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, storytellers and snake charmers — a sensory introduction to Morocco like no other. Your guide can recommend a rooftop terrace for dinner overlooking the square, or a quiet traditional restaurant in the medina. There's no driving today; it's simply 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 Saadian Tombs, hidden for centuries and adorned with Italian marble. After a leisurely lunch we wind through the souks, organised by trade — dyers, leatherworkers, metalsmiths and carpet sellers — where your guide helps you navigate and, if you wish, bargain. We also 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 at your riad. (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 and the fossil town of Erfoud, 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 follow the palm-lined Ziz Valley and its gorges, climb over the Middle Atlas through Midelt and the cedar forests of Azrou — where Barbary macaques gather by the road — and pause at viewpoints and a roadside café for lunch. The landscape shifts from Saharan plains to alpine forest in a single day. 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, hopelessly disorienting. The evening is free. (city day — walking)
After breakfast we return south to Marrakech over the Middle and High Atlas, a scenic drive with photo and lunch stops, arriving by evening — or, if you prefer, we transfer you to Fes airport for an onward flight (an open-jaw arrangement many travellers choose to save time). Your guide will make sure you reach your final destination relaxed and on schedule. If Marrakech is your end point and you have a later flight, we can arrange a few extra hours in the city or a convenient airport transfer. (approx. 7 hrs to Marrakech, or short transfer to Fes 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 |
Most first-time visitors face the same dilemma: they want the Sahara and they want at least one of the great imperial cities, but they don't have three weeks. Seven days is the shortest itinerary that delivers both properly. You get a full guided day in Marrakech, a night in the dunes at Erg Chebbi, and a full guided day in the medieval medina of Fes — without any of those three feeling like a token stop squeezed between long drives.
Shorter desert tours reach the sand but skip the imperial cities; longer grand tours add the coast and the north but need more time and budget. The 7-day loop sits at the sweet spot, which is exactly why it's our best-selling itinerary. Because it's fully private and tailor-made, we can still stretch or compress individual days around your interests — more time in the souks, an extra desert night, a slower morning — without changing the overall shape.
The itinerary is built as a true circle rather than an out-and-back, so you rarely see the same road twice. From Marrakech you head south over the High Atlas to the kasbah country around Aït Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate, then east along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the Dades and Todra gorges to the dunes. From Merzouga the route turns north through the Ziz Valley and the Middle Atlas cedar forests to Fes, before the final crossing back to Marrakech.
That structure means each day brings new landscape: mountains, gorges, palm oases, open desert, cedar forest and two very different historic cities. Marrakech is busy, red-walled and theatrical; Fes is older, quieter and more labyrinthine, with the largest car-free medina in the world. Seeing both, with the Sahara in between, gives you a genuine cross-section of the country in a single week.
One of the advantages of this loop is flexibility at either end. The standard version starts and finishes in Marrakech, but because the route already passes through Fes, we can just as easily begin or end there — handy if you find better flights into Fes, Casablanca or Tangier. An open-jaw booking (into one city, out of another) often saves a day of backtracking.
Tell us your arrival and departure airports and we'll build the timing around them, including all transfers. There's usually no extra routing cost for starting in Fes rather than Marrakech, and you approve the full plan — hotels included — before paying any deposit.
Spring (March–May) and autumn (September–November) are the most comfortable months for this itinerary, with warm but manageable days in both the desert and the cities. Summer is hot, especially around Merzouga and in Marrakech, so we start days early and build in shade; winter offers clear light and thinner crowds, with cold desert nights that 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. Both Marrakech and Fes involve a lot of walking on uneven ground, so broken-in footwear matters more than anything fashionable. Everything else — the pace, the stops, the standard of hotel — we shape with you in advance.
Part of what makes this loop satisfying is that its two cities are nothing alike. Marrakech, the 'red city', is extroverted and sensory — the Koutoubia minaret presiding over the skyline, the Bahia Palace's painted ceilings, and Jemaa el-Fna square erupting each evening into a carnival of food stalls, musicians and storytellers. With a local guide you'll thread the souks by trade, from dyers to metalworkers, and visit the Saadian Tombs and serene garden courtyards.
Fes is its older, more introspective cousin. Founded in the 9th century, its medina of Fes el-Bali is the largest car-free urban area on earth — a maze of perhaps nine thousand lanes where donkeys still carry goods. The full guided day here takes in the famous tanneries, the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine madrasas with their dizzying tilework, and the workshops of coppersmiths and weavers. Experiencing both cities back to back, rather than just one, is what turns this from a desert trip into a real portrait of Morocco.
This itinerary is built for first-time visitors who want a confident overview of Morocco in a single, well-paced week — enough desert to feel the Sahara properly, enough city time to go beyond the postcards. It suits couples, friends and families equally; the guided city days mean nobody has to navigate the medinas alone, while the private vehicle keeps the long stretches comfortable and flexible.
If you have a little longer, the same backbone extends naturally: add the blue town of Chefchaouen and the Roman ruins of Volubilis in the north, or a coastal finish in Essaouira. If your time is fixed at a week, this is the itinerary that gives you the most of Morocco without ever feeling rushed.
A week-long loop lives or dies on comfort, so the tour runs in a private air-conditioned 4x4 or modern minivan sized to your group, with your own native driver-guide throughout. They handle the long mountain stretches, point out what you'd otherwise miss and connect you with the local city guides in Marrakech and Fes, but they never run you on a fixed shopping-stop script — the days belong to you.
The pace is built around two relaxed city days bookending the desert leg, so the driving is spread sensibly rather than stacked into back-to-back marathons. If you'd like a gentler version we can add a night, and if you're short on time we can tighten it; you'll see and approve the full day-by-day plan, hotels included, before paying any deposit.
Rated 5.0/5 by 186 travellers on this and similar private tours. Read traveller reviews →
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.
Seven days is ideal for a first trip combining the Sahara and one imperial city in depth. For the full grand circuit with the coast and Chefchaouen, our 8- and 15-day tours add more.
Yes — we tailor the start and end points to your flights, often at no extra routing cost.
Yes, 100% private — your own driver-guide and vehicle throughout, with a fully flexible pace.
We match accommodation to your budget, from charming riads to 5-star hotels and luxury desert camps, and you approve the list before paying.
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.
Bestseller
Cross the High Atlas, walk through Aït Ben Haddou's kasbah, descend the Dades Valley and sleep two nights under the stars at Erg Chebbi.
One Way
Cedar forests of Ifrane, an Erg Chebbi camel trek, Todra Gorge, the Dades Valley and Aït Ben Haddou — ending in Marrakech.
Popular
All the icons of the 3-day tour plus the Valley of Roses and a slower rhythm — ideal if three days feels rushed.
