9-Day Grand Morocco Small Group TourThe Full Loop — Atlas, Sahara & Imperial Fes
9 days / 8 nights·Max 10
About this journey
Nine days is where a Morocco small-group tour stops feeling like a highlights reel and starts feeling like you've actually seen the country. This loop takes in everything our 5-day and 7-day versions cover individually — the Atlas crossing, a night in the Sahara, the Fes medina — and adds real time in each, rather than rushing between them. The shape is a full loop: south from Marrakech through kasbah country to the Sahara, north through the Middle Atlas cedar forests to Fes, then back to Marrakech on a different road through Middle Atlas towns most tourists never see. You're never retracing the exact same stretch of road twice. This suits travellers who've decided Morocco deserves more than a long weekend but don't have two full weeks. It's a good middle-ground pick if you're torn between our 7-day one-way crossing and a longer 12-day circuit — you get the imperial cities without sacrificing the return to Marrakech for onward flights. Nine days with the same guide and the same nine other travellers changes the dynamic — by day 5 people have stopped being polite strangers. We've had groups add each other on social media before the tour even ends.
- Full loop: Atlas Mountains, Sahara, Fes medina and Middle Atlas — back to Marrakech
- Two nights in the Sahara region including one full bivouac night at Erg Chebbi
- Two full days exploring Fes, the best-preserved medieval medina in the Arab world
- Different roads out and back — no repeated driving
- Small group capped at 10 for the full nine days
Day by day
The loop starts over the Tichka Pass, Morocco's highest year-round mountain road, with a coffee stop at a viewpoint over Berber villages built into the hillside. Ait Benhaddou, the UNESCO kasbah from Gladiator and Game of Thrones, is walked properly before the afternoon coach groups arrive. Overnight in Ouarzazate, Morocco's film-industry hub.
- Tichka Pass
- Ait Benhaddou UNESCO ksar
- Overnight Ouarzazate
A rose-water cooperative stop breaks up the Dadès Valley drive, then a walk into the Dadès Gorge itself. You arrive in Merzouga as the dunes turn gold, with the camel trek to the bivouac camp timed for roughly 90 minutes before sunset — not at midday with every other group's camels.
- Dadès Valley rose cooperative
- Dadès Gorge walk
- Sunset camel trek to bivouac
Sunrise from the dunes, then camels back to the vehicle by mid-morning. The drive north follows the Ziz Valley, a green ribbon of date palms through otherwise bare hills, with a stop at the Ziz Gorge viewpoint. Overnight in Midelt, a quiet Middle Atlas town most tours skip past entirely.
- Sunrise from the dunes
- Ziz Valley palm groves
- Ziz Gorge viewpoint
The morning climbs into the Middle Atlas cedar forests near Ifrane, where troops of Barbary macaques often gather roadside. We stop properly here rather than treating it as transit. Arrival in Fes by late afternoon, with the evening free before two full days in the medina.
- Ifrane cedar forest stop
- Barbary macaques (weather dependent)
- Arrival in Fes
A local Fes guide leads a half-day walking tour of Fes el-Bali — the Chouara tanneries, the Al Quaraouiyine exterior (the world's oldest continuously operating university), and the souks organised by trade. The afternoon is free to get properly lost in the medina, which most people end up doing anyway.
- Chouara Tanneries viewpoint
- Al Quaraouiyine exterior
- Free afternoon in the medina
Meknes, the smallest and most underrated of Morocco's four imperial cities, followed by Volubilis, the country's best-preserved Roman ruins, still scattered with intact mosaics. Both see a fraction of Fes's visitor numbers. Back in Fes for the evening.
- Meknes imperial city
- Volubilis Roman mosaics
The return leg deliberately avoids the outbound road. You cross the Middle Atlas via Azrou and Khenifra, market towns that see almost no foreign tourists, through greener, higher-altitude country than the desert route. Overnight in Beni Mellal, roughly the halfway point back to Marrakech.
- Azrou and Khenifra market towns
- Middle Atlas scenery
- Overnight Beni Mellal
A shorter final drive back into Marrakech, arriving by early afternoon. The rest of the day is free — a hammam, a last walk through the souks, or simply resting before the group's final dinner together in the medina.
- Short final drive
- Free afternoon in Marrakech
- Final group dinner
The tour ends after breakfast. Airport transfers are arranged around your actual departure time, not a fixed group schedule.
- Flexible airport transfer
Inclusions & exclusions
What’s included
- 8 nights accommodation (2 kasbah guesthouses, 1 desert bivouac, 3 Fes riad nights, 2 Middle Atlas/Marrakech nights)
- All transport in an air-conditioned minivan (max 10 seats)
- Licensed English-speaking guide for the full 9 days
- Camel trek to and from the bivouac camp
- 8 breakfasts, 6 dinners
- Entry fees at Ait Benhaddou, Dadès/Todra Gorge, Volubilis and Meknes
- Local Fes medina guide for a half-day walking tour
Not included
- International flights
- Lunches (budget $8–$14/day)
- Personal travel insurance (required)
- Tips for guide and driver
- Alcohol and personal purchases
Choose your style
Small-Group Tour
- Max 10 travellers
- Full loop back to Marrakech
- 8 nights accommodation included
- English-speaking guide throughout
- Private minivan transport
What travelers say
“By day 9 our group of ten felt like we'd known each other for years — a few of us are already planning a reunion trip.”
“The Middle Atlas route back through Azrou and Khenifra was completely different from anything I expected — no other tourists at all, just normal Moroccan market towns.”
“Nine days was the right amount of time. We didn't feel like we were racing the clock at any point, even with how much ground we covered.”
Why choose AZA Morocco Tours
- Local expert guides — born and raised in Morocco
- Small groups capped at 10 people maximum
- All-inclusive pricing — no hidden fees
- Free cancellation up to 30 days before departure
- Weekly departures year-round (except desert tours Jul–Aug)
- Verified reviews on TripAdvisor
Questions about this tour
It's a full loop — you start and end in Marrakech, which makes flights simpler than our one-way 7-day crossing. The outbound and return roads are different, so you're not retracing the same stretch twice.
The 7-day tour ends in Fes (one-way). This 9-day version adds a full loop back to Marrakech via a different Middle Atlas route, plus an extra desert-region night, so there's less rushing.
Most days are 3–5 hours, with days 4 and 7 the longest at around 5–6 hours. It's broken up with stops throughout, not done in one push.
It's enough to cover the Atlas, Sahara, and imperial north without feeling rushed. If you want the coast (Essaouira) as well, our 12-day version has room for it.
February to May and September to December. The Sahara section is punishing in peak summer, and the Middle Atlas can see snow in deep winter, which we monitor closely.
Yes — solo travellers make up a large share of our small-group bookings, and the single supplement is modest relative to the trip length.
As a guideline, $8–$10 per traveller per day for the guide and $5–$6 per day for the driver, given directly at the end of the tour.