Tangier → Tetouan → Chefchaouen
Your driver picks you up in Tangier in the morning. You drive south-east to Tetouan, a white city at the foot of the Rif Mountains. Its medina, listed by UNESCO, mixes Moroccan and Andalusian styles, because many families came here from Spain long ago.
Then the road climbs into the green Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen, the famous blue town. Walk through the blue lanes, have a mint tea on the Outa el Hammam square and climb to the Spanish Mosque for sunset over the town.
Key stops
Tetouan medina · Rif Mountains · Chefchaouen · Spanish Mosque
Stay
Traditional riad in Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen → Volubilis → Meknes → Fes
After breakfast you leave the Rif and drive south through farmland and olive groves to Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman city in Morocco and a UNESCO site. Walk among the columns of the basilica, the triumphal arch of Caracalla and the floor mosaics of old houses, with wide green hills all around.
Next is Meknes, the imperial city of Sultan Moulay Ismail. See the huge Bab Mansour gate and the old granaries and stables, then continue to Fes. You arrive in the evening and check in to your riad in the medina.
Key stops
Volubilis · Arch of Caracalla · Meknes · Bab Mansour · Fes
Fes Guided Medina Tour
Today a licensed local guide takes you into Fes el-Bali, the old medina of Fes and one of the largest car-free city areas in the world. It is a maze of more than 9,000 narrow lanes. You see the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine madrasas, with their carved cedar, stucco and colourful zellige tiles, and the outside of Al Quaraouiyine, founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri and known as one of the oldest universities in the world.
In the afternoon you visit the craftsmen: weavers, coppersmiths, and the famous Chouara tannery, where leather is dyed in big stone pits the same way it was done centuries ago. From a terrace above, you see the colours below. You also visit the Royal Palace gates and the old Jewish quarter, the Mellah. In the evening, rest at your riad and enjoy a dinner of pastilla, the famous sweet and salty Fes pie.
Key stops
Fes el-Bali · Bou Inania · Al-Attarine · Al Quaraouiyine · Chouara tannery · Royal Palace
Fes → Ifrane → Azrou → Midelt → Ziz Valley → Merzouga
You leave Fes in the morning and climb into the Middle Atlas. The first stop is Ifrane, a clean little town with red roofs and parks that people call the Switzerland of Morocco. Then the road enters the cedar forest near Azrou, home to the Barbary macaques, small wild monkeys that live only in Morocco and Algeria. After the forest come wide high plains, and you stop for lunch in Midelt, the apple town under the snowy peak of Jbel Ayachi.
In the afternoon you cross the Ziz Gorges and follow the long green Ziz Valley. At Erfoud the sand begins, and soon the orange dunes of Erg Chebbi appear. Tonight you sleep in a desert hotel at the foot of the dunes, with time to climb a dune for sunset before dinner.
Key stops
Ifrane · Azrou cedar forest · Midelt · Ziz Gorges · Ziz Valley · Erg Chebbi
Stay
Desert hotel in Merzouga
Merzouga → Khamlia → Nomad families → Erg Chebbi
Today there is no long drive. After breakfast, your driver takes you around the dunes by 4x4. First you visit a nomad family in their tent of dark goat hair. They move with their goats and camels to find water and grass, and they will offer you tea and bread baked in the sand. Then you drive to Khamlia, a small village whose people came across the Sahara from West Africa long ago. The Gnawa musicians welcome you with deep drums, iron castanets and old songs.
After lunch you see the black stones of the hamada and the lake of Dayet Srji when it has water. In the late afternoon you ride a camel into Erg Chebbi for sunset, and arrive at your camp for mint tea, dinner and drums under the stars.
Key stops
Nomad family · Khamlia Gnawa music · Mifis · Dayet Srji · sunset dune
Stay
Desert camp in Erg Chebbi
Merzouga → Rissani → Erfoud → Tinghir → Todra Gorge → Dades Valley
Wake up for sunrise on the dunes, then ride back for breakfast. You drive through Rissani, the heart of the Tafilalet and the old land of Sijilmassa, and Erfoud, where workshops cut black marble full of 350-million-year-old fossils. Then you cross the open hamada, flat and dark, with small oases here and there.
At Tinghir the green palm grove appears, and you walk into Todra Gorge between walls of rock about 300 metres high. After lunch you continue to Boumalne and into the Dades Valley, where the soft red rocks look like giant fingers. Your guesthouse waits by the river, and dinner is a warm tagine as the cliffs go dark.
Key stops
Rissani · Erfoud fossils · Tinghir · Todra Gorge · Dades Valley
Stay
Guesthouse in the Dades Valley
Dades Valley → Valley of Roses → Skoura → Ouarzazate
A short and easy driving day. After breakfast you take the road through the Valley of Roses. In Kelaat M'Gouna, the shops sell rose water and rose oil made from the small pink Damask roses that grow along the river. Then you stop in the Skoura palm grove, one of the greenest oases in the south, to see the old Kasbah Amridil.
In the afternoon you reach Ouarzazate. Visit Kasbah Taourirt, the old palace of the Glaoui family, or the film studios where many famous movies were made. The evening is free to rest at your riad or hotel, with a slow dinner and a quiet night.
Key stops
Valley of Roses · Skoura · Kasbah Amridil · Kasbah Taourirt · Ouarzazate
Stay
Riad or hotel in Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate → Aït Ben Haddou → Tizi n'Tichka → Marrakech
After breakfast you drive about thirty kilometres to Aït Ben Haddou. Walk across the Ounila river and climb through the old ksar, a village of earth, straw and wood that once stood on the caravan road between the Sahara and Marrakech. It has appeared in many films, from Lawrence of Arabia to Gladiator, and from the top the view goes far across the valley.
Then the road climbs into the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, 2,260 metres high, with long bends and wide views. You stop for lunch on the way and arrive in Marrakech in the afternoon. Your driver takes you to your riad, and the evening is free for Jemaa el-Fna.
Key stops
Aït Ben Haddou · Ounila Valley · Tizi n'Tichka · Marrakech
Marrakech Guided Tour → Bahia Palace → Majorelle Garden
Today a licensed local guide shows you the secrets of the Red City. You start at the Koutoubia Mosque, whose 12th-century minaret was the model for the Giralda in Seville. Then you walk into the medina to the Bahia Palace, built in the 19th century for a powerful vizier, with painted cedar ceilings, colourful tiles and quiet gardens. Close by are the Saadian Tombs, hidden for centuries and found again only in 1917.
In the afternoon, step out of the old city to the Majorelle Garden, the bright blue garden made famous by Yves Saint Laurent, full of cactus, palms and bamboo. Back in the medina, your guide leads you through the souks: leather workers, metal lanterns, spices, carpets and wooden boxes. It is easy to get lost here, so it is good to have someone who knows the way. The evening is free to enjoy your riad or dinner in the old town.
Key stops
Koutoubia · Bahia Palace · Saadian Tombs · Majorelle Garden · souks
Marrakech → Marrakech Airport
Enjoy a last breakfast in your riad. If your flight is in the afternoon, there is time for a final walk in the souks to buy argan oil, spices or a small lantern to take home. Your driver will check your flight time and pick you up at the right moment.
Your driver takes you to Marrakech Menara airport and helps you with your bags. Your private journey across Morocco ends here, with sand in your shoes, many stories and, we hope, a wish to come back soon.
Key stops
Riad breakfast · last souk walk · Marrakech airport
