12-Day Imperial Cities & Sahara Tour from Casablanca
12 days · 11 nightsCasablanca → Merzouga → EssaouiraEasyPrivate
The great tour of Morocco: Casablanca, Rabat, Chefchaouen, Fez, Meknes, two days in the Sahara, the kasbahs, Marrakech and the Atlantic coast of Essaouira.
Twelve days to see the whole of Morocco without hurrying: the four imperial cities, the blue town of Chefchaouen, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, the Middle and High Atlas, two days in the Sahara of Merzouga with a night in our camp, the valleys of the kasbahs and, to finish, the sea breeze of Essaouira.
Casablanca is the main international airport of Morocco, so this tour starts and ends there. You travel with the same private driver for the whole trip, sleep in carefully chosen riads and kasbah hotels, and have local guides in Fez and Marrakech. Every day can be adapted to your rhythm.
Highlights
The four imperial cities: Rabat, Meknes, Fez and Marrakech
Hassan II mosque and the blue town of Chefchaouen
Two days in Merzouga with a night in our camp
Todra, Dades, Skoura and Ait Ben Haddou
The port and ramparts of Essaouira
Day by day
Day 1
Arrival in Casablanca – Hassan II mosque – Rabat
Welcome to Morocco. Your driver meets you at Mohammed V airport or at your hotel in Casablanca and takes you first to the Hassan II mosque, built over the Atlantic Ocean, with the tallest minaret in the world at 210 metres; it is one of the few mosques in Morocco that non-Muslims can visit inside, with a hall that holds 25,000 faithful and a roof that opens to the sky. We drive along the Corniche of Ain Diab and through the white art-deco centre, then follow the coast to Rabat, the elegant capital of the kingdom. There you visit the Hassan tower and the mausoleum of Mohammed V, guarded by horsemen in red uniforms, and the kasbah of the Oudayas, a village of white and blue houses above the river mouth with an Andalusian garden. Dinner and night in a riad in Rabat.
Day 2
Rabat – Chefchaouen, the blue town
We leave Rabat in the morning and drive north through the farmland of the Gharb plain, with its orange groves and fields of sunflowers, towards the Rif mountains. The road becomes greener and more winding as we approach Chefchaouen, a town founded in 1471 by Andalusian refugees and famous for its streets painted in every shade of blue. We arrive in time for lunch and spend the afternoon exploring at your own pace: the square of Outa el Hammam with the red kasbah and the great mosque, the Ras el Ma spring where women still wash clothes, the small shops of wool blankets and goat cheese. At the end of the day we walk up to the Spanish mosque on the hill to watch the sun set over the blue town. Dinner and night in a riad in the medina.
Day 3
Chefchaouen – Volubilis – Moulay Idriss – Meknes – Fez
A day of history. We drive south through the hills of the pre-Rif to Volubilis, the ancient Roman city that was the capital of the province of Mauretania Tingitana. Walking among its ruins you see the triumphal arch of Caracalla, the basilica, the olive oil presses and the floors of the houses covered with mosaics of gods and animals, still in their original place. A few kilometres away, the white town of Moulay Idriss sits on two hills around the tomb of the founder of Morocco's first dynasty. In the afternoon we reach Meknes, the imperial city of Moulay Ismail, a contemporary of Louis XIV: the gate of Bab Mansour, the mausoleum of the sultan, the immense granaries of Heri es-Souani and the square of El Hedim. Arrival in Fez in the evening. Dinner and night in a riad.
Day 4
Fez: guided visit of the medina
A full day in Fez, the spiritual and cultural heart of Morocco, with a licensed local guide. We enter the medina of Fez el Bali through the blue gate of Bab Boujloud and plunge into its maze of alleys, where every street belongs to a craft: the dyers, the carpenters, the coppersmiths hammering trays in the square of Seffarine. You visit the Bou Inania medersa, a masterpiece of Merinid art, the fountain and museum of Nejjarine, the outside of the Qarawiyyin mosque and university, and the tanneries of Chouara, seen from a terrace. Lunch in a traditional restaurant in the medina. In the afternoon, a drive to the Royal Palace and its seven golden doors, the Mellah, and the hill of the Merinid tombs, from where the whole medina appears at your feet at sunset. Dinner and night in your riad.
Day 5
Fez – Ifrane – Azrou – Midelt – Ziz valley – Merzouga
We leave Fez in the morning and drive south into the Middle Atlas. After Ifrane, a mountain resort with Alpine-style chalets, we enter the cedar forest of Azrou, home to the Barbary macaques, the only monkeys in North Africa, which you can see playing among the trees. The road crosses wide plateaus and passes Timahdite and the lakes of the Middle Atlas before reaching Midelt, at the foot of the snowy Jebel Ayachi, where we stop for lunch. In the afternoon we descend into the south: the Ziz gorges, the blue lake of the Hassan Addakhil dam and the valley of the Ziz, a long green canyon of palm trees and earth villages. Through Errachidia and Erfoud we arrive in Merzouga at sunset, with the dunes of Erg Chebbi shining in front of us. Dinner and night in a hotel by the dunes.
Day 6
Merzouga: a day in the desert, camel ride and night in our camp
After many cities, a day of silence and space. In the morning we explore the surroundings of Erg Chebbi by 4x4: the market of Rissani and the ruins of Sijilmassa, a fossil workshop where ammonites and trilobites 400 million years old are polished, the tent of a nomad family in the black desert and the village of Khamlia with its Gnawa musicians. Lunch of 'medfouna', the Berber pizza stuffed with meat and spices and baked in a clay oven. In the afternoon you rest at the hotel or try a quad or a sandboard on the dunes. Before sunset your caravan leaves for the heart of Erg Chebbi: an hour and a half on camelback, a stop on a high dune to watch the sun go down and the arrival at our camp, where you have dinner, listen to drums around the fire and sleep in a private tent with bathroom.
Day 7
Sunrise – Tinejdad – Todra gorge – Dades valley
Sunrise from the top of the dunes, breakfast in the camp and return to Merzouga by camel. We drive west along the old caravan route through the oasis of Tinejdad, where you can visit the ksar of El Khorbat, a fortified village restored as a small museum of the oases, and the traditional underground irrigation channels called khettaras. In Tinghir we stop at the viewpoint over the palm grove and walk into the Todra gorge, one of the most impressive natural sights in Morocco. In the afternoon we continue to the Dades valley and drive up the gorge, past fields of almond trees and kasbahs, to the zigzag road and the strange rock formations of the 'monkey fingers'. Dinner and night in a guesthouse with views of the gorge.
Day 8
Dades – Valley of Roses – Skoura – Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou
We follow the 'road of the thousand kasbahs' through the Valley of Roses, stopping at a cooperative where rose water and oils are produced, and continue to the oasis of Skoura, where the kasbah of Amridil shows how the great families of the south lived, with its towers, its courtyards and its old tools. In Ouarzazate you can visit the Atlas film studios, where many Hollywood films were shot, or the kasbah of Taourirt. In the afternoon we arrive at Ait Ben Haddou, the most famous ksar in Morocco, and climb its alleys to the granary on the top of the hill, from where the view embraces the valley, the river and the High Atlas. Dinner and night in a kasbah hotel facing the village, which is beautifully lit at night.
Day 9
Ait Ben Haddou – Tizi n'Tichka – Marrakech
A short morning drive across the High Atlas brings us to Marrakech. We climb to the Tizi n'Tichka pass, stopping at viewpoints over the Berber villages and the terraced valleys, and at a women's cooperative where argan oil is produced by hand, then descend through forests of pines and junipers to the plain of Haouz. We arrive in Marrakech around lunchtime and you check into your riad in the medina. The afternoon is free to rest by the patio or to start discovering the city: the souks of spices, leather and lanterns, and, at sunset, the Jemaa el Fna square, where snake charmers, Gnawa musicians, storytellers and dozens of food stalls create one of the most extraordinary shows in the world. Night in a riad in Marrakech.
Day 10
Marrakech: guided visit of the red city
A day to discover Marrakech with a licensed local guide. We start at the Koutoubia mosque, whose 77-metre minaret has been the symbol of the city since the 12th century, and walk to the Saadian tombs, hidden for centuries behind a wall, and the Bahia palace, with its gardens, painted ceilings and courtyards decorated with zellige. Then we go through the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter with its spice market, and into the souks, where each alley has its craftsmen: dyers, blacksmiths, leather workers and carpet sellers. In the afternoon, your driver takes you to the Majorelle garden, the blue garden of Yves Saint Laurent, full of cactus and bamboo, and to the palm grove. Evening free to enjoy a dinner on a terrace facing Jemaa el Fna. Night in your riad.
Day 11
Marrakech – argan forest – Essaouira
We leave the red city towards the Atlantic coast. The road crosses wide plains and then the argan forest, where goats climb into the trees to eat the fruit, a curious sight you can only see in this corner of Morocco. We stop at a women's cooperative to see how argan oil is extracted by hand, then arrive in Essaouira, the white and blue city by the ocean, protected by its 18th-century ramparts. In the afternoon you walk through the medina, a UNESCO World Heritage site, full of galleries, thuya wood workshops and small cafés, along the Skala, where old cannons look at the sea, and to the fishing port, where the blue boats return with their catch and you can eat grilled fish right on the quay. Dinner and night in a riad in the medina.
Day 12
Essaouira – El Jadida – Casablanca, end of the tour
A last morning in Essaouira to enjoy the beach, the sea breeze and the calm atmosphere of the medina, perhaps with a walk along the sand where camels and horses wait for riders. Then we drive north along the Atlantic coast, a quiet road between fields, lagoons and fishing villages, to El Jadida, the old Portuguese fortress of Mazagan, whose underground cistern with its columns and reflections of light has appeared in the film Othello by Orson Welles. We arrive in Casablanca in the afternoon and your driver leaves you at the airport for your flight or at your hotel. End of our services, with the hope of welcoming you again in Merzouga.
Included
Private air-conditioned vehicle
Local driver-guide
Pick-up and drop-off at your riad, hotel or airport
Nights in riads, kasbahs and guesthouses
Dinners and breakfasts
Camel ride with cameleer
Night in our desert camp in Erg Chebbi
Not included
Lunches
Local guides in the cities (on request)
Entrance fees to monuments
Tips
Good to know
Pick-up between 7:00 and 8:00 at your riad, hotel, airport or port. Bring a small bag for the desert night: big luggage stays in the vehicle. Hotels can be upgraded on request.
No payment is needed to book: you pay on arrival in cash (dirhams or euros). Free changes if the weather is not good.
Questions
Are the tours private?
Yes. Only your group travels in the vehicle, with your own driver, and the program can be adapted.
Where do the tours start?
Wherever you are: your riad or hotel in Marrakech, Fez, Tangier, Casablanca, Agadir, Ouarzazate, Errachidia or Essaouira, or the airport or port when you land.
Which camp do we sleep in?
In our own camp in Erg Chebbi, with private tents, bathrooms with hot shower, dinner and breakfast, and Berber music by the fire.
Can I change the itinerary?
Yes, every tour is private and flexible: add nights in the desert, a quad or buggy ride, a different finishing city or better hotels. Just tell us when you write.
