12-Day Grand Morocco Tour from MarrakechSahara, Fes, Chefchaouen & Essaouira

Upon your arrival at Marrakech Airport, our team will greet you and provide comfortable transportation to your accommodation in the heart of the medina. Take the rest of the day to settle in, explore the nearby streets at your own pace, and rest before tomorrow's guided day.

• Airport pickup and riad transfer
• Free afternoon to explore Marrakech independently
• Orientation walk around Jemaa el-Fna

After breakfast, your local guide immerses you in Marrakech's layered history. Visit the Bahia Palace — a 19th-century masterpiece of tilework and carved cedar; the Saadian Tombs, rediscovered in 1917 after being sealed for two centuries; and the Koutoubia Mosque, the city's defining 12th-century landmark. Dive into the souks, organised by trade: leather workers, spice merchants, lamp makers, carpet weavers. The tour ends at Jemaa el-Fna Square — a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage site — alive with street performers, food stalls and storytellers at dusk.

• Bahia Palace — 19th-century Moroccan craftsmanship
• Saadian Tombs — marble mausoleum sealed for 200 years
• Koutoubia Mosque and gardens
• Medina souks organised by craft
• Jemaa el-Fna square at dusk

Depart Marrakech after breakfast and cross the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n'Tichka Pass (2,260m) — one of North Africa's great mountain drives. Stop at the UNESCO-listed Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified clay village that has stood for centuries and starred in dozens of films. Continue to Ouarzazate — visit the Atlas Corporation Studios — then head east through the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs into the dramatic canyon of Todra Gorge, where sheer limestone walls rise 300m on either side of a narrow river. Dinner and overnight in the Todra Valley.

• Tizi n'Tichka Pass — High Atlas crossing at 2,260m
• UNESCO Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou
• Ouarzazate Atlas Corporation Studios
• Todra Gorge — 300m canyon walls
• Overnight in the Todra Valley

Begin the day with a morning walk in Todra Gorge before driving through Tinghir and across the plains via Tinjdad and Erfoud to reach Merzouga. As the sun lowers, meet your camel handlers at the edge of the dunes and ride into the Erg Chebbi for approximately one hour to reach your private desert camp. Dinner is served under the stars, followed by a campfire and traditional Gnawa music.

• Morning walk in Todra Gorge
• Drive through Tinjdad and Erfoud to the desert
• Camel trek at sunset into Erg Chebbi dunes
• Private desert camp dinner, campfire and live music
• Stargazing in the Sahara

Wake before dawn for the desert sunrise — a palette of orange and gold across the dunes. After breakfast at camp, begin the long drive north to Fes through the picturesque Ziz Valley, lined with thousands of date palms stretching into the distance. Pass through the cedar forests of Azrou, home to free-roaming Barbary macaques. Arrive in Fes by evening and settle into your riad in the medina.

• Desert sunrise over Erg Chebbi
• Ziz Valley palm tree oases
• Cedar forests of Azrou
• Barbary macaques in the wild
• Arrival in ancient Fes

A licensed local guide leads you through Fes el-Bali — a UNESCO World Heritage medina unchanged in layout since the 9th century. Highlights include the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University (the world's oldest continuously operating university, founded 859 AD), the intricate Attarine Medersa, Nejjarine Fountain and its beautifully restored 18th-century Fondouk, the Chouara Tanneries with their stone vats of vibrant dyes, and the Royal Palace's ornate brass gates. The afternoon is free to wander the medina or shop for Fes's renowned hand-painted ceramics and embroidery.

• Al-Qarawiyyin — world's oldest university (est. 859 AD)
• Attarine Medersa — intricate stucco and zellige tilework
• Nejjarine Fondouk — beautifully restored 18th-century caravanserai
• Chouara Tanneries — iconic dyeing vats
• Royal Palace ornate gates
• Free afternoon for ceramics and medina exploration

After breakfast, head west with stops at Volubilis — the best-preserved Roman site in Morocco, with mosaic floors and triumphal arches dating to the 3rd century — and Meknes, one of Morocco's four imperial cities, where Moulay Ismail built his grand gates, stables and palaces in the 17th century. Arrive in Chefchaouen in the late afternoon, a hillside town of blue-washed alleyways tucked into the Rif Mountains.

• Volubilis Roman ruins — UNESCO World Heritage mosaics
• Meknes Bab Mansour gate and Moulay Ismail's palace
• Scenic Rif Mountain drive to Chefchaouen
• Arrival in the Blue City

A full free day in one of Morocco's most photogenic towns. Wander the blue-painted alleyways of the medina at your own pace, browse the small artisan shops for handwoven blankets and local wool products, climb to the Spanish Mosque for a panoramic view of the town and valley below, and relax in the Plaza Uta el-Hammam with its outdoor cafés and 15th-century kasbah. Chefchaouen rewards slow exploration.

• Blue alleyways and medina squares
• Spanish Mosque panoramic viewpoint
• Plaza Uta el-Hammam and 15th-century kasbah
• Local artisan shops and woollen crafts
• Free day at your own pace

Depart Chefchaouen for the Atlantic coast, stopping in Rabat — Morocco's elegant capital. Visit the Mohammed V Mausoleum, where exquisite Moroccan marble craftsmanship surrounds the tombs of the late King Mohammed V and Hassan II, and the adjacent Hassan Tower — the 12th-century unfinished minaret that was intended to be the world's tallest. Continue south to Casablanca for an overnight stay.

• Mohammed V Mausoleum — royal tomb in pure white marble
• Hassan Tower — 12th-century unfinished minaret
• Drive along the Atlantic coast to Casablanca
• Overnight in Casablanca

Explore Casablanca's highlights before departing: the awe-inspiring Hassan II Mosque perched on a promontory over the Atlantic — its 210m minaret is the world's tallest — and the Art Deco grandeur of Mohammed V Square and the Corniche oceanfront boulevard. Drive south along the Atlantic coast via Safi and the Portuguese fortified city of El Jadida to reach the windswept port city of Essaouira, famous for its whitewashed medina, fresh seafood and laid-back Atlantic atmosphere.

• Hassan II Mosque — world's 5th largest mosque on the Atlantic
• Mohammed V Square and Art Deco Casablanca
• Scenic Atlantic coast drive
• Arrival in Essaouira — the Wind City of Africa

A full free day in Essaouira — one of Morocco's most relaxed and charming coastal cities. Explore the working fishing port where the day's catch is still auctioned at dawn, walk along the Skala de la Kasbah fortifications overlooking the ocean, wander the medina's UNESCO-listed streets lined with art galleries, music shops and woodcarving workshops, and enjoy the long sandy beach to the south. The city has a distinct creative energy — Jimi Hendrix famously visited in 1969.

• Essaouira fishing port and morning fish market
• Skala Kasbah fortifications and Atlantic views
• UNESCO medina: art galleries and music shops
• Thuya wood carving workshops — Essaouira's craft specialty
• Sandy Atlantic beach

After a final breakfast by the Atlantic, your driver will collect you and transfer you to Marrakech Airport (approximately 2.5–3 hours) according to your flight schedule. This concludes your 12-day grand circuit of Morocco.

• Final breakfast in Essaouira
• Transfer to Marrakech Airport (approx. 2.5–3h)
• Departure