Grand Morocco Tour
Signature Crossing
Mouha Travel photography
The Journey in Pictures
About This Journey
The Grand Morocco Tour is our most complete crossing of the country: fourteen private days that begin on the Atlantic, travel north into the Rif Mountains, pass through Fes and the Middle Atlas, spend a full desert chapter around Erg Chebbi, then follow the southern valleys back over the High Atlas to Marrakech.
It is designed for travellers who want Morocco’s essential contrasts without turning the country into a checklist. Two weeks is enough time to give Chefchaouen a slow day, to walk Fes with a specialist guide rather than a rushed circuit, to stay two nights in the Sahara instead of one, and to arrive in Marrakech with energy left for it. The rhythm alternates deliberately: a driving day is usually followed by a day on foot, and no single stretch of road is repeated.
The route also reflects how Morocco actually changes as you move through it. The north is green, Andalusian-influenced and mountainous. Fes is dense, scholarly and medieval in plan. The Middle Atlas brings cedar forest and cooler air, the Ziz Valley narrows into palm groves, and the Sahara opens the horizon completely. Turning west again, the Todra and Dades gorges, the Rose Valley and the kasbahs around Skoura form what is often called the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs before the Tizi n’Tichka pass drops you into Marrakech.
It is designed for travellers who want Morocco’s essential contrasts without turning the country into a checklist. Two weeks is enough time to give Chefchaouen a slow day, to walk Fes with a specialist guide rather than a rushed circuit, to stay two nights in the Sahara instead of one, and to arrive in Marrakech with energy left for it. The rhythm alternates deliberately: a driving day is usually followed by a day on foot, and no single stretch of road is repeated.
The route also reflects how Morocco actually changes as you move through it. The north is green, Andalusian-influenced and mountainous. Fes is dense, scholarly and medieval in plan. The Middle Atlas brings cedar forest and cooler air, the Ziz Valley narrows into palm groves, and the Sahara opens the horizon completely. Turning west again, the Todra and Dades gorges, the Rose Valley and the kasbahs around Skoura form what is often called the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs before the Tizi n’Tichka pass drops you into Marrakech.
What's Included In This Package
Private air-conditioned vehicle suited to group size + fuel, tolls & parking
Experienced dedicated English-speaking local driver throughout
13 nights accommodation in boutique riads, kasbahs & luxury desert camp
Daily traditional Moroccan breakfasts served in serene courtyards
Selected dinners (including Sahara desert camp & southern valley kasbahs)
Licensed local guides in Fes, Marrakech, and at Aït Ben Haddou
Private luxury Sahara camp with ensuite ceramic bathroom, dinner & breakfast
Optional sunset & sunrise camel trek with 4x4 camp transfer alternative
Full-day private 4x4 desert exploration around Erg Chebbi & Khamlia village
Private VIP airport arrival transfer in Casablanca & departure in Marrakech
Bottled mineral water in vehicle throughout the journey
24/7 dedicated local concierge assistance from Mouha Travel
What Makes This Journey Special
Driving is real but measured. The longest stages — Fes to Merzouga, and Skoura across the High Atlas — are broken with meaningful stops rather than treated as transfers. If you prefer a gentler pace, an extra night can be added in the north, in the Sahara or in the southern valleys, and equally the route can be shortened if your flights allow less time.
Everything is private: your own vehicle, your own English-speaking driver, licensed local guides in the cities where a guide genuinely adds something, and accommodation chosen around your preferred level of comfort. This is a tailor-made Morocco tour, and the itinerary below is a starting point rather than a fixed package.
Everything is private: your own vehicle, your own English-speaking driver, licensed local guides in the cities where a guide genuinely adds something, and accommodation chosen around your preferred level of comfort. This is a tailor-made Morocco tour, and the itinerary below is a starting point rather than a fixed package.
At a glance
14 days / 13 nights. Starts in Casablanca, finishes in Marrakech (open-jaw flights work well).
Core route: Casablanca → Rabat → Chefchaouen → Volubilis and Meknes → Fes → Middle Atlas and Ziz Valley → Merzouga / Erg Chebbi (2 nights) → Todra and Dades → Skoura → Aït Ben Haddou and Telouet → Marrakech (3 nights).
Pace: Active but balanced, with two full rest-or-explore days built in.
Who it suits
First-time visitors with two weeks who want the north as well as the south; travellers who dislike backtracking; couples, families with older children and small private groups. It suits people who would rather understand four or five places well than glimpse ten. Travellers with mobility considerations should tell us early so medina accommodation, walking distances and the desert transfer can be arranged appropriately.
How it can be customised
Add a night in Essaouira or Oualidia at the end; swap the Telouet overnight for an extra night in Marrakech; add a third Sahara night; begin in Tangier instead of Casablanca; include a High Atlas walking day; adjust for slower travel with older travellers or young children. The camel ride is always optional with a 4x4 alternative, and any driving day can be split with an additional overnight. Displayed itineraries are starting points, not fixed packages.
Full Program
Day 01
Arrive Casablanca, continue to Rabat
Your driver meets you at Casablanca airport and travels up the coast to Rabat, around an hour and a half away. Rabat is a gentle first chapter: an administrative capital with wide avenues, an Atlantic breeze and a compact historic core. Depending on your arrival time, walk the Kasbah of the Udayas, look out over the estuary toward Salé, or simply rest. Overnight in Rabat.
14:00
VIP Airport greeting at Casablanca Mohammed V Airport
16:00
Coastal drive to Rabat & boutique riad check-in
18:00
Stroll through the cliffside Kasbah of the Udayas
Day 02
Rabat to Chefchaouen
See more of Rabat in the morning — the Hassan Tower and Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the medina, or the Chellah depending on your interests and current access — then travel north-east through farmland and the foothills of the Rif. The landscape becomes greener and steeper as you climb toward Chefchaouen, arriving in the afternoon with time to walk into the blue-washed medina before dinner. Overnight in Chefchaouen.
09:00
Hassan Tower & historic Rabat exploration
11:30
Scenic drive through the green Rif foothills
16:00
Arrival in Chefchaouen & blue medina walk
Day 03
Chefchaouen
A full unhurried day in the mountain town. Mornings are the quietest time in the lanes above Plaza Uta el-Hammam, and the Spanish Mosque viewpoint is an easy uphill walk for the wider setting. The town’s Andalusian heritage shows in its architecture, food and craft — wool, weaving and goat cheese from the surrounding villages. Time is deliberately left open for walking, cafés and the shift in light through the afternoon. Overnight in Chefchaouen.
09:30
Quiet morning walk through upper blue alleys
13:00
Lunch at Plaza Uta el-Hammam café
17:30
Sunset vista from the Spanish Mosque viewpoint
Day 04
Volubilis and Meknes to Fes
Leave the Rif and drive south to Volubilis, the most substantial Roman site in Morocco, where mosaics remain in place among the olive groves. Continue to Meknes, an imperial capital of monumental gates, granaries and walls that sees far fewer visitors than Fes. Arrive in Fes in the late afternoon and settle into your riad inside the medina. Overnight in Fes.
08:30
Scenic drive through the Saïss agricultural plains
11:00
UNESCO Roman mosaics & ruins of Volubilis
14:00
Monumental Bab Mansour & imperial Meknes
17:30
Check-in to your historic riad inside Fes medina
Day 05
Fes with a local guide
A full privately guided day in Fes el-Bali, one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world. Your licensed guide makes sense of the medina’s logic: the madrasas and their carved cedar and zellij, the fondouks that once housed traders, the tanneries, the coppersmiths and the neighbourhoods organised around bakery, hammam, fountain and mosque. The pace can be adjusted toward architecture, craft workshops or food. Overnight in Fes.
09:00
Al-Qarawiyyin, Bou Inania & madrasas architecture
12:30
Authentic medina lunch in a peaceful palace riad
14:30
Chouara tanneries, pottery guild & artisan souks
18:00
Free evening in the historic Fes quarter
Day 06
Fes to Merzouga through the Middle Atlas
The longest driving day of the journey, and one of the most varied. Climb through Ifrane and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, cross the high plateau near Midelt, then descend the Ziz Valley where a continuous ribbon of palm groves follows the river toward the Tafilalt. Arrive in the Merzouga area in the late afternoon. Exchange the vehicle for camels for the ride into Erg Chebbi if you wish — guests who prefer not to ride are always transferred to camp by 4x4 — and reach your desert camp for dinner under the stars. Overnight in the Sahara.
07:30
Depart Fes via Ifrane & Azrou cedar forests
12:30
Lunch in Midelt with mountain views
15:30
Spectacular descent into palm-filled Ziz Canyon
17:30
Sunset camel trek into Erg Chebbi luxury camp
Day 07
A full day at Erg Chebbi
One night in the dunes gives you sunset and silence; a second gives you the region. Today explores the area around Erg Chebbi by 4x4: different desert surfaces beyond the sand sea, the village of Khamlia and its Gnawa musical tradition, the old mining settlements and dry lake bed. Where genuinely and respectfully arranged, there may be an opportunity to share tea with a local family — never a staged or guaranteed encounter. Afternoons are free for the dunes, sandboarding or rest before a second Sahara sunset. Overnight in the Sahara.
06:30
Sunrise over Erg Chebbi golden dune ocean
10:00
4x4 desert safari & Khamlia Gnawa live music
13:00
Traditional Berber pizza (Medfouna) lunch
17:30
Dune sunset, sandboarding & campfire stargazing
Day 08
Merzouga to the Dades Valley
Travel west along the edge of the Sahara through Erfoud and Tinejdad to Tinghir, where a palm oasis runs for kilometres below the town. Walk into the Todra Gorge, where limestone walls rise several hundred metres above a narrow river bed, before continuing to the Dades Valley. The final approach passes eroded rock formations and earthen villages before your kasbah stay. Overnight in the Dades Valley.
08:30
Scenic drive via Erfoud fossil workshops & Tinghir
12:00
Walk beneath 300m vertical cliffs in Todra Gorge
16:00
Winding scenic road into Dades Valley
19:30
Gourmet dinner in a charming boutique Kasbah hotel
Day 09
Dades to Skoura
A shorter, scenic day. Depending on your interest and the season, take time in the upper Dades gorge before travelling west through Kelaat M’Gouna and the Valley of Roses — an agricultural region all year, with the rose harvest normally in spring. Continue to Skoura, where a dense palm grove hides kasbahs down sandy tracks. Arrive with the afternoon still ahead of you. Overnight in Skoura.
09:30
Exploration of upper Dades canyon & Monkey Fingers
12:00
Valley of Roses & local rose water distilleries
14:30
Arrive in the tranquil palm oasis of Skoura
16:30
Afternoon walk through olive groves & adobe kasbahs
Day 10
Skoura, Ouarzazate, Aït Ben Haddou and the High Atlas
Explore Skoura’s palmeraie on foot or by vehicle, then continue to Ouarzazate. Visit Aït Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed ksar on the old caravan route, ideally with a local guide who lives there. Rather than driving straight to Marrakech, turn onto the older road through Telouet and the Ounila Valley for an atmospheric mountain overnight. Overnight in the High Atlas.
09:00
Kasbah Amridil in Skoura & Ouarzazate crossing
11:30
Guided tour of UNESCO World Heritage Ksar Aït Ben Haddou
14:30
Spectacular drive through the scenic Ounila Valley
17:00
Glaoui Kasbah at Telouet & mountain lodge stay
Day 11
Over the pass to Marrakech
Cross the Tizi n’Tichka pass, the highest major road pass in Morocco, with viewpoints over the southern slopes and walnut villages on the descent. Arrive in Marrakech around the middle of the day and settle into your riad in the medina, leaving the afternoon free to acclimatise to the city’s very different energy. Overnight in Marrakech.
09:00
Panoramic crossing over Tizi n’Tichka Pass (2,260m)
13:00
Arrive in Marrakech & check in to boutique medina riad
16:30
Afternoon orientation stroll toward Jemaa el-Fna
Day 12
Privately guided Marrakech
A full day with a licensed Marrakech guide: the Bahia Palace and its painted ceilings, the Saadian Tombs, the Koutoubia area, and the souks organised by trade — dyers, leather, brass, carpets. Your guide provides context rather than a shopping circuit. The day usually ends near Jemaa el-Fna as the square changes character toward evening. Overnight in Marrakech.
09:00
Bahia Palace, Saadian Tombs & Koutoubia gardens
12:30
Lunch at a serene medina courtyard restaurant
14:30
Specialist artisan souks & spice guild discovery
18:00
Sunset tea overlooking lively Jemaa el-Fna
Day 13
Marrakech at leisure
A deliberately open day. Options include a cooking experience in a Moroccan home, the gardens and museums of the Ville Nouvelle, a hammam, a day in the Ourika or Ouirgane valleys of the High Atlas, or a long-distance excursion toward Essaouira. Equally, doing very little in a riad courtyard is a legitimate use of the day. Overnight in Marrakech.
10:00
Majorelle Garden, YSL Museum or cooking class
14:00
Free afternoon for traditional hammam or shopping
20:00
Farewell celebratory dinner in Marrakech
Day 14
Departure
Private transfer to Marrakech Menara Airport according to your flight, or continue with a tailored extension — the Atlantic coast, Essaouira, or additional days in the High Atlas.
09:00
Leisurely riad courtyard breakfast
12:00
Private VIP transfer to Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK)
14:00
Departure with lifelong memories of Morocco
Food & Gastronomy
Moroccan cuisine is an essential part of the journey, from fresh riad breakfasts in quiet courtyards to slow-cooked tagines, couscous, and multi-course dinners at selected boutique stays and your Sahara camp.
Meals Provided
Daily breakfasts included; selected dinners in the Sahara desert camp and southern valley kasbahs.
Diets Catered
Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, halal, and other dietary requirements gladly catered with advance notice.
Accommodations & Stays
Boutique riads inside the medinas of Fes and Marrakech, character guesthouses in Chefchaouen, kasbah lodges in the southern valleys, and a private ensuite camp in the Sahara. We choose for location, atmosphere, cleanliness and service rather than star ratings. Specific properties are proposed only once your dates and preferred comfort level are confirmed, since availability in the best small houses changes constantly.
Stay Category: Boutique Riads, Kasbah Lodges & Luxury Sahara Desert Camp
Private en-suite bathroom in all staysDaily fresh traditional breakfastAir conditioning & heatingComfortable premium beddingFree Wi-Fi where available24/7 Mouha Travel local support
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