Fez, Meknes, Rabat and Marrakech, the Hassan II mosque, the High Atlas, the kasbahs and two nights in our camp in the Sahara, in a loop from Fez.
A complete loop of Morocco starting and ending in Fez. You discover the medina of Fez with a guide, travel west through Volubilis and Meknes to Rabat and Casablanca, and spend a day in Marrakech.
From Marrakech you cross the High Atlas to the kasbahs and the gorges, reach Merzouga for two nights in our camp in Erg Chebbi and return to Fez through the Ziz valley and the Middle Atlas.
Highlights
All four imperial cities
Guided visits of Fez and Marrakech
Casablanca and the Hassan II mosque
Two nights in our desert camp
Round trip from Fez
Day by day
Day 1
Fez: a full day in the medina with a local guide
Fez el Bali is the largest medieval medina in the world still alive, a maze of more than 9,000 alleys where cars cannot enter and donkeys still carry the goods. With a licensed local guide you discover its treasures: the Bou Inania and Al Attarine medersas, decorated with zellige tiles, carved cedar and stucco as fine as lace; the Qarawiyyin, founded in the year 859 and considered the oldest university in the world; the fountain of Nejjarine; and the souks of the coppersmiths, weavers and spice sellers. From a terrace you watch the famous Chouara tannery, where leather is still dyed in stone vats as it was centuries ago. In the afternoon your driver takes you to the Royal Palace with its golden doors, the Jewish quarter of the Mellah and the panorama from the Merinid tombs at sunset. Dinner and night in your riad.
Day 2
Fez – Meknes – Volubilis – Rabat
We leave Fez in the morning and drive west through the rolling hills of the Saïss plain, covered with olive groves, vineyards and wheat fields. The first stop is Volubilis, the Roman city on the edge of the empire, where you walk among the triumphal arch of Caracalla, the columns of the basilica and the houses whose floors are still covered with mosaics of gods, athletes and animals. Then we continue to Meknes, the imperial city of Sultan Moulay Ismail, who wanted it to rival Versailles: the great gate of Bab Mansour, the square of El Hedim, the mausoleum of the sultan and the gigantic granaries and stables of Heri es-Souani. In the afternoon the motorway takes us to Rabat, the capital of the kingdom, on the Atlantic coast. Dinner and night in a riad in the medina of Rabat.
Day 3
Rabat – Casablanca, Hassan II mosque – Marrakech
In the morning you discover Rabat, the most elegant of the imperial cities: the unfinished Hassan tower, the minaret of a mosque that was meant to be the largest in the world in the 12th century, the marble mausoleum of Mohammed V, guarded by horsemen in red uniforms, and the kasbah of the Oudayas, a small village of white and blue houses above the mouth of the river, with its Andalusian garden and a café facing the ocean. We then follow the coast to Casablanca to visit the Hassan II mosque, built on the Atlantic, with a minaret of 210 metres and a prayer hall where the floor is heated and the roof opens to the sky. After a walk along the Corniche, we take the motorway south across the plains to Marrakech, where we arrive in the evening. Dinner and night in a riad in the medina.
Day 4
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 5
Marrakech – Tizi n'Tichka – Ait Ben Haddou – Dades valley
We pick you up at your riad or hotel in Marrakech at around 7:30 and leave the red city behind, heading south-east towards the High Atlas. The road climbs through Berber villages, walnut trees and terraced fields until the Tizi n'Tichka pass, at 2,260 metres, where on clear days you can see the snowy peaks of the Atlas. On the other side the landscape changes completely: dry mountains, red earth and the first kasbahs. We stop at Ait Ben Haddou, the fortified village of earth that has appeared in films such as Gladiator and Game of Thrones, and you can walk up through its narrow alleys to the old granary at the top. After lunch we continue past Ouarzazate, the 'door of the desert', and the palm grove of Skoura, with its kasbahs hidden among the palms, and through the Valley of Roses to the Dades valley. Dinner and night in a guesthouse with views of the gorge.
Day 6
Dades – Todra gorge – Erfoud – Merzouga, camel ride and night in our camp
After breakfast we drive along the Dades valley, where the river has carved the red rock into strange shapes known as the 'monkey fingers', and then towards Tinghir, a town surrounded by a huge green palm grove. Just beyond it, the Todra gorge opens: a narrow canyon with walls up to 300 metres high and a clear stream running at the bottom. You can walk inside the gorge and watch the climbers on the cliffs. We continue east across the plateaus to Erfoud, the town of dates and fossils, and then to Merzouga, where the orange dunes of Erg Chebbi appear suddenly on the horizon. In the late afternoon your camel is waiting at the edge of the dunes: you leave the big luggage in the car and ride with your cameleer for about an hour and a half, stopping on a crest for the sunset. At our camp you will find your tent with a real bed and private bathroom, a Moroccan dinner and Berber drums around the fire under a sky full of stars.
Day 7
A second day in the Sahara: free day in the dunes and second night in our camp
Today there is no car waiting for you: the whole day belongs to the desert. After the sunrise and a slow breakfast in the camp, you can climb the highest dune nearby, the Big Dune, for a view over the whole sea of sand and, on clear days, the Algerian border. Many guests choose a sandboarding session on the soft slopes, a visit to a nomad family who live with their goats and camels in the hamada, or a quad or buggy ride with our guides. Others simply rest in the shade of the lounge tent with a book and endless mint tea, listening to the silence. In the late afternoon a short camel ride takes you to a crest for another sunset, and the evening brings a new dinner cooked in the camp, drums around the fire and, if the moon allows it, a short stargazing session with your guide. Second night in your private tent with bathroom.
Day 8
Merzouga – Ziz valley – Midelt – Ifrane – Fez
After the sunrise over the dunes and breakfast in the camp, you return to Merzouga by camel and we set off north. We follow the Ziz valley, a deep canyon filled with thousands of palm trees and dotted with old ksour, and stop at a viewpoint over its blue lake near Errachidia. The road climbs through the Ziz gorges and the tunnel of the Legionnaire to Midelt, the 'apple city', at the foot of the Jebel Ayachi, where we stop for lunch. In the afternoon we cross the Middle Atlas, with its cedar forests where Barbary macaques come close to the road, and pass through Ifrane, a mountain town with sloping roofs nicknamed 'the Switzerland of Morocco'. We arrive in Fez in the early evening and your driver accompanies you to your riad in the medina.
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.
