15-Day Casablanca to Imperial Cities, Coast & Sahara Desert

Your fifteen-day Grand Tour of Morocco begins the moment you land at Mohammed V International Airport, where your private driver waits in the arrivals hall with a sign bearing your name — no shared shuttles, no confusion, just a warm welcome into a comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle bound for the city. Casablanca, Morocco's largest city and commercial capital, offers a relaxed, modern first impression before the older imperial cities and desert landscapes that follow over the coming two weeks. Depending on your arrival time, your driver will typically suggest a stop at the Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world and one of the very few in Morocco open to non-Muslim visitors, perched dramatically over the Atlantic with a 210-metre minaret, the tallest in the world, completed in 1993 and showcasing extraordinary hand-cut zellige tilework and carved cedar. From here you are transferred to your riad or hotel to check in and rest. This evening, take a short walk to a nearby café for your welcome glass of Moroccan mint tea, poured from height in the traditional style, and use the relaxed evening to ask any questions about the journey ahead — fifteen days that will take you through royal cities, the Rif and Middle Atlas mountains, the golden dunes of the Sahara, the High Atlas, and the Atlantic coast, covering nearly every facet of Morocco's remarkable diversity.

After breakfast, we drive north along the Atlantic coast to Rabat, Morocco's political capital and one of its four Imperial Cities, a journey of about an hour. We spend a couple of hours exploring the Kasbah des Oudayas, a 12th-century fortified citadel of blue-and-white lanes and tranquil Andalusian Gardens overlooking the Bou Regreg River, and the Hassan Tower alongside the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, guarded around the clock by the Royal Guard in ceremonial dress. After lunch near the medina, we continue north into the Rif Mountains, where pine forest and terraced Berber villages replace the coastal plains, arriving in Chefchaouen — the famous 'Blue City' — in the late afternoon, in time for the celebrated golden-hour light on its blue-washed walls. Founded in 1471 as a small defensive fortress, Chefchaouen later became a refuge for Muslim and Jewish families fleeing the Spanish Reconquista, explaining the town's distinctly Andalusian character. After checking into your riad within the medina, the evening is yours to wander the photogenic blue alleyways, browse handwoven textiles, and enjoy dinner on a rooftop terrace overlooking the Rif Mountains.

This morning is dedicated entirely to Chefchaouen, with no early departure — this remarkable town rewards unhurried time. Your guide leads you through the upper medina, past Plaza Uta el-Hammam and the 15th-century Kasbah fortress with its small museum and garden, before free time to wander the labyrinth of blue stairways and doorways independently, a favourite pastime of photographers worldwide, and an excellent chance to pick up handwoven wool garments or the region's distinctive soft goat's cheese. Around midday, we head south toward Meknes, one of Morocco's four Imperial Cities, envisioned on a grand scale by Sultan Moulay Ismail in the late 17th century as Morocco's answer to Versailles, complete with vast royal granaries and stables built for 12,000 horses. We arrive in the late afternoon for a short visit to Bab Mansour, widely considered the most beautiful gate in North Africa, before checking in to your riad for the night. Meknes's UNESCO-listed medina is considerably quieter than Fes, offering a relaxed, authentic introduction to Moroccan imperial architecture, and dinner tonight is a good opportunity to sample regional specialities, including olive oil and wine produced on the fertile plains surrounding the city.

After breakfast, we drive around thirty minutes to Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman ruins in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, once the thriving administrative capital of Roman Mauretania Tingitana. With your guide, we explore the Basilica, the Capitol, a triumphal arch honouring Emperor Caracalla, and a remarkable collection of intact mosaic floors depicting mythological scenes, preserved almost two thousand years thanks to Morocco's dry climate, with sweeping views across the surrounding plains toward the Rif Mountains. A short drive brings us to Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, Morocco's holiest town, built across two hills and named for the great-grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who founded Morocco's first Islamic dynasty here in the 8th century — we take a short walk through its whitewashed, devotional streets. In the early afternoon, we continue to Fes, Morocco's spiritual and cultural capital, arriving with time to check in and take an easy orientation walk before tomorrow's deeper exploration. Fes is widely regarded as Morocco's culinary capital, and dinner tonight is an excellent chance to try a refined Fassi tagine. Lunch during today's guided tour is usually at a traditional Fassi restaurant near the souks, a welcome midday pause.

Today is dedicated entirely to Fes. We recommend an early start, around 9am, before the midday heat and crowds build. Your driver hands you to a licensed local guide, compulsory in Fes given the medina's notoriously labyrinthine 9,000-plus alleyways, who leads you through Fes el-Bali, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. We begin at Bab Boujloud, the ornate blue-and-green tiled 'Blue Gate', winding through souks organised by traditional guild. A highlight is the Chouara Tannery, one of the oldest in the world, where hides are still dyed by hand in stone vats using methods essentially unchanged since the 11th century. We view the exterior of the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University, founded in 859 AD and recognised as the oldest continuously operating educational institution in the world, and visit the Bou Inania Madrasa, celebrated for its intricate cedar carving. Lunch is at a traditional Fassi restaurant. The afternoon continues gently with time to browse the souks before returning to your riad, with the evening free — many guests enjoy a hammam and massage before tomorrow's long drive. On behalf of your driver, this is a good moment to ask any remaining questions about the desert crossing beginning tomorrow.

Early departure this morning, ideally by 8am, for one of the longest and most spectacular driving days of the trip. The road climbs into the Middle Atlas, and within an hour the plains around Fes give way to pine and cedar forest. Our first stop is Ifrane, an alpine-style town built by the French in the 1930s, before continuing to the Azrou Cedar Forest, home to some of the largest Atlas cedars in the world and a resident troop of wild Barbary macaques, one of the few primate species found outside Asia's and Africa's tropical regions — your driver stops for twenty to thirty minutes so you can walk among the ancient trees. Continuing south, we descend toward Midelt, a former mining town and gateway to the High Atlas, where we typically stop for lunch. From Midelt, the road follows the Ziz Gorges and then the Ziz Valley, a ribbon of palm groves and mudbrick ksour villages winding through an otherwise barren landscape. As the afternoon light softens, we arrive in Merzouga on the edge of the Erg Chebbi dune sea, where camel handlers meet us for a 45-60 minute sunset trek across the dunes to our exclusive desert camp. After a traditional dinner cooked over an open fire, gather around the campfire as Berber musicians play traditional drums under one of the most spectacular starscapes anywhere on Earth.

For those willing to wake before dawn, this morning offers one of the most memorable experiences of the trip: climbing a nearby dune in the dark to watch the sunrise transform the desert from soft pink to deep gold. Afterwards, enjoy a simple Berber breakfast at camp before returning by 4x4 to Merzouga village, where our vehicle awaits. We drive west toward Todra Gorge, where sheer pink and orange limestone cliffs rise up to 300 metres on either side of a narrow canyon, stopping for an hour to walk the canyon floor and photograph the towering walls. Lunch is typically taken nearby, often on a terrace overlooking the palm oasis below. In the afternoon, we continue along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs toward the Dades Valley, also known as the Valley of Roses, where dramatic folded rock formations, sometimes called the 'Monkey Fingers', rise above a green ribbon of almond and fig orchards dotted with earthen kasbahs. We check in to a traditional kasbah-style hotel, many offering wonderful terrace views over the valley, for a relaxed dinner as the sun sets behind the rock formations.

After breakfast overlooking the Dades Valley, we head to Ouarzazate, nicknamed the 'Door of the Desert' and, more recently, the 'Hollywood of Africa' thanks to the Atlas Film Studios, where productions including Gladiator and Game of Thrones have been filmed. Depending on interest, we stop at the studios or the Taourirt Kasbah, a former residence of the powerful Glaoui family. A short drive brings us to Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified ksar above the Ounila River and UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, one of the best-preserved examples of pre-Saharan earthen architecture in the world, its dramatic silhouette having appeared in films including Lawrence of Arabia. We walk through the ksar's narrow lanes to the old communal granary at the top for panoramic views. After lunch, our driver begins the spectacular ascent of the Tizi n'Tichka Pass, the highest major mountain pass in North Africa at 2,260 metres, winding through the High Atlas with sweeping views over terraced Berber villages. As the road descends, the palm groves surrounding Marrakech come into view, and we arrive in the late afternoon to check in to your riad, with the evening free.

This morning our driver hands you to a local guide for a full day exploring the 'Red City', beginning at the Bahia Palace, a 19th-century masterpiece with elaborately carved cedar ceilings and tranquil courtyards, followed by the Saadian Tombs, a royal necropolis rediscovered in 1917 after lying sealed for nearly 300 years, renowned for its Italian Carrara marble and gold-leaf detailing. We view the Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech's largest landmark, from its surrounding gardens. Around midday, we visit the Jardin Majorelle, a stunning botanical garden created by French painter Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s and later restored by Yves Saint Laurent, celebrated for its cobalt-blue buildings and exotic plants. In the afternoon, we head into the souks, Marrakech's sprawling market network organised by trade, where your guide helps with the art of bargaining. As afternoon draws to a close, we make our way to Jemaa el-Fna, a UNESCO-recognised 'Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity', which transforms after sunset with food stalls, storytellers, and musicians — an excellent, lively spot for dinner. Lunch during the guided Marrakech tour is typically at a restaurant near the souks, a good pause before the afternoon continues.

Today we swap the intensity of Marrakech for a completely different pace, driving roughly two and a half hours west to Essaouira, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed fortified port town on the Atlantic coast, built in its current form in the 18th century by a French architect commissioned by Sultan Mohammed III. We walk along the Skala de la Ville, the historic sea-facing ramparts lined with bronze cannons and offering sweeping Atlantic views — parts of Game of Thrones were filmed here as the city of Astapor. We wander through the medina's relaxed, art-filled streets, considerably calmer than Marrakech's souks, exploring thuya-wood workshops and the bustling fishing port, where blue wooden boats unload the day's catch beside simple grilled-fish stalls, an excellent informal lunch option. Essaouira has long been known as 'Wind City' for the reliable Atlantic breeze that has made it a major windsurfing destination since the 1980s. In the late afternoon, we drive back to Marrakech, arriving in the early evening with time to rest. Fresh grilled fish right on Essaouira's quayside makes for an excellent, informal lunch, watching the day's catch being unloaded just metres away.

Today we head in the opposite direction, south into the High Atlas Mountains toward Imlil, a small Berber village around an hour and a half from Marrakech and the traditional starting point for treks up Mount Toubkal, North Africa's highest peak at 4,167 metres. The drive itself is spectacular, climbing through the Ourika and Imlil valleys past walnut groves, apple orchards, and terraced fields carved into the mountainside, with small stone Berber villages clinging to the slopes. On arrival, we take an easy, guided two-to-three-hour walk through the valley, visiting a working Berber village, walking past irrigation channels that have watered these terraces for centuries, and, if you wish, sharing tea with a local family — a genuine glimpse into mountain Berber life that feels a world away from the medinas and desert of the preceding days. Overnight is spent at a comfortable mountain guesthouse, where dinner is typically a hearty Berber tagine, and the cooler mountain air and star-filled sky make for a peaceful, restorative night after the intensity of the cities. Lunch in Imlil is typically a hearty Berber tagine at a village guesthouse, a warming meal after the morning's mountain walk.

This morning, after breakfast with mountain views, we take a further gentle walk around Imlil and the surrounding villages, with time to appreciate the different pace of life here — donkeys remain the primary means of transporting goods along the steep paths, and the walnut and cherry orchards are a world away from the ochre-walled medinas. For the more adventurous, a short, steeper walk toward the Kasbah du Toubkal area offers excellent views back down the valley (this is optional and can be adjusted to your fitness level and preference). Around midday, we begin the drive back down to Marrakech, arriving in the early afternoon with the rest of the day free — many guests use this time to revisit the souks with a clearer idea of what they want to buy, relax at their riad, or enjoy a hammam. Dinner this evening is entirely your choice; we are happy to recommend restaurants ranging from traditional Moroccan dining rooms to more contemporary options within the medina. Lunch on the descent to Marrakech is usually a simple stop along the Imlil road, a scenic final mountain meal before returning to the city.

Today offers an optional excursion (available on request, with advance notice) to the Ouzoud Waterfalls, roughly two and a half hours northeast of Marrakech in the Grand Atlas foothills — Morocco's most impressive waterfalls, where the Oued El-Abid river plunges around 110 metres over a series of red rock cliffs into a series of pools below. On arrival, we take a walking path down through olive groves to the base of the falls, where the spray creates permanent rainbows on sunny days, and troops of Barbary macaques are frequently seen playing in the trees along the trail. Optional short boat rides on the pools beneath the falls, and a swim if you wish (weather and season permitting), are popular ways to enjoy the immediate surroundings. Lunch can be taken at one of the terrace restaurants overlooking the falls before we begin the drive back to Marrakech in the afternoon. If you prefer a quieter day instead, this is equally a good opportunity to simply relax at your riad, revisit favourite corners of the medina, or enjoy a final hammam and spa treatment. Lunch at the terrace restaurants overlooking Ouzoud's falls is a genuine highlight for those choosing the optional excursion today.

After thirteen days of travel, today is intentionally left completely free, giving you the flexibility to close out your trip however you like. Some guests choose complete rest — a traditional hammam and argan oil massage at a spa within their riad, an experience deeply rooted in Moroccan culture involving steam, a rigorous black-soap scrub, and a relaxing massage. Others prefer a final, unhurried wander through the medina, perhaps revisiting the Ben Youssef Madrasa, once North Africa's largest Islamic college and famed for its detailed carved stucco, or the quieter residential quarters away from the main tourist routes. This is also an excellent day for any final souvenir shopping in the souks, now that you have a good feel for prices and quality after two weeks in the country — carpets, leather babouches, ceramics, and spices all travel well. Your driver and riad host remain available throughout the day for any questions or recommendations, and we suggest closing out your Moroccan journey with a memorable final dinner, perhaps at a rooftop restaurant with views over the Koutoubia minaret as the sun sets over the Atlas Mountains one last time. Whatever you choose today, your driver and riad host remain available for any questions ahead of tomorrow's departure.

Our journey together comes to an end this morning. Depending on your flight time, you will have a final opportunity to enjoy breakfast on your riad's rooftop terrace and take a last walk through the medina. If the schedule allows, your driver can suggest a final stop at the Menara Gardens on the western edge of the city, a peaceful 12th-century olive grove and reflecting pool with the snow-capped High Atlas as a backdrop, a fitting last Moroccan moment. At the appropriate time, your private driver collects you and your luggage from the riad and transfers you directly to Marrakech Menara Airport, timed to your departure flight. Over these fifteen days, you will have travelled from the Atlantic coast at Casablanca through Rabat and the Blue City of Chefchaouen, into the imperial grandeur of Meknes and the Roman ruins of Volubilis, deep into the spiritual heart of the country at Fes, across the Middle Atlas and into the golden dunes of the Sahara, through dramatic gorges and valleys, over the High Atlas via the Tizi n'Tichka Pass, into the vibrant beauty of Marrakech, out to the Atlantic at Essaouira, up into the High Atlas villages around Imlil, and — optionally — to the thundering Ouzoud Waterfalls: a genuinely comprehensive Grand Tour covering nearly every facet of Morocco's astonishing diversity. On behalf of your driver, guides, and the entire Marokko Travel team, thank you for travelling with us. On behalf of your driver, guides, and the entire Marokko Travel team, thank you for travelling with us on this comprehensive fifteen-day grand tour of Morocco.