9 day Morocco tour from Marrakech to Tangier

Arrival in Marrakech

Your 9 day Morocco tour from Marrakech to Tangier starts the moment you land at Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK). Your private driver meets you and brings you to your riad, tucked inside the walls of the old medina.

Take the evening at your own pace: dive into the smoke and music of the food stalls on Jemaa el-Fnaa, or unwind with mint tea on the terrace, looking out over the red rooftops.

Overnight in a riad in Marrakech

Marrakech with a private guide

A local guide opens the doors of the Red City: the carved ceilings and courtyards of the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, and the souks, where each quarter belongs to a craft, from blacksmiths to dyers and spice sellers.

After the gardens of the Koutoubia Mosque, the afternoon ends among the cacti and cobalt walls of the Majorelle Garden, a lovely start to the culture ahead.

Overnight in a riad in Marrakech

Marrakech to the Dades Valley, via Aït Ben Haddou

The road climbs into the High Atlas and over the Tizi n’Tichka pass at 2,260 metres, with Berber villages spread across the slopes. On the far side, Aït Ben Haddou, the most famous ksar in Morocco, has played its part in Gladiator and Game of Thrones.

We pause in Ouarzazate for the Taourirt Kasbah, then follow the Skoura palm grove and the Valley of the Roses to the Dades Valley, where the Monkey Fingers rocks rise above the river.

Overnight in a riad in the Dades Valley, with dinner and breakfast

Dades Valley to the Merzouga dunes

Morning brings the Todra Gorge, 300 metres deep, where you can walk the narrows between towering walls. The journey then bends towards the Sahara via Erfoud, famous for its fossils.

At Merzouga, camels carry you into the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset. Your luxury camp waits with a Saharan dinner under the stars, and the night ends with Berber drums and songs by the fire.

Overnight in a luxury desert camp in Merzouga, with dinner and breakfast

Desert day: Khamlia and the nomads

Spend a whole day in the desert. The village of Khamlia welcomes you with Gnaoua music, played by descendants of enslaved people brought from sub-Saharan Africa, and an off-road drive takes you to nomad families in their traditional tents.

Later, try sandboarding or an optional quad bike ride. For your second desert night, you swap the camp for a hotel on the edge of the dunes, with a pool and wide views of the sand.

Overnight in a hotel in Merzouga, with dinner and breakfast

Merzouga to Fes, through the Middle Atlas

Heading north, the road follows the Ziz Valley, one of Morocco’s largest palm oases, then climbs into the Middle Atlas, where wild Barbary macaques live among the cedars of Azrou.

A stop in Ifrane, with its alpine-style houses, breaks the drive before we reach Fes in the evening and check into a traditional riad in the medina.

Overnight in a riad in Fes

Fes with a private guide

Your guide leads you through Fes el-Bali, often called the world’s largest car-free urban area, entering by the Blue Gate (Bab Boujloud). Inside are Al-Qarawiyyin, often described as the world’s oldest continuously operating university, the Bou Inania Madrasa and the Chouara Tannery.

The afternoon takes in the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, and the golden doors of the Royal Palace. With a guide, the medina’s 9,000 alleys become a story rather than a maze.

Overnight in a riad in Fes

Fes to Chefchaouen, via Volubilis

We leave Fes for Volubilis, the Roman city whose mosaics still lie in place across a UNESCO-listed hillside, before climbing into the Rif Mountains.

By late afternoon, Chefchaouen’s blue-washed houses come into view. The evening is for wandering its lanes and relaxing around the lantern-lit Plaza Outa el-Hammam.

Overnight in a hotel or riad in Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen to Tangier, and departure

On the final morning of your 9 day Morocco tour from Marrakech to Tangier, take a slow breakfast in the blue city, with a few hours for photos or Rif mountain textiles if your schedule allows.

Your driver then takes you to Tangier, to Ibn Battuta Airport (TNG) or the ferry port, with memories of the Atlas, the Sahara and the blue streets of the north.