9-Day Imperial Cities & Sahara TourThe Historic North, Then the Desert
9 days / 8 nights·Max 12
About this journey
This extends our 6-day Imperial Cities tour with a proper Sahara stretch, for travellers who want the history-and-architecture depth of the north plus at least one night in the desert, without committing to a full grand circuit. The first six days follow the same route as our dedicated imperial cities tour — Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes, Fes — before turning south through the Middle Atlas to a Sahara bivouac at Merzouga, then a return west to Marrakech via kasbah country. This suits travellers who initially assumed they only wanted the imperial cities but don't want to rule out the desert entirely, and anyone who prefers Morocco's history to be the main course with the Sahara as a well-earned final act rather than the whole trip. It's a longer, more varied route than our 6-day city-only tour, and a more history-forward alternative to our classic circuits, which spend proportionally less time in each imperial city.
- All three northern imperial cities: Rabat, Meknes and Fes, plus Casablanca
- One night in a Sahara bivouac camp at Merzouga
- Meknes's Bab Mansour gate and imperial granaries
- Two full days in the Fes medina
- Ends with a return to Marrakech via Ait Benhaddou
Day by day
Your guide meets you at the airport for an orientation drive past the Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world, built on land reclaimed from the Atlantic. Overnight in Casablanca.
- Hassan II Mosque exterior
- Casablanca corniche
Rabat, Morocco's political capital since 1912, gets a proper full day: the 12th-century Hassan Tower, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the Kasbah of the Udayas, and the exterior of the Royal Palace. Overnight in Rabat.
- Hassan Tower and Mausoleum of Mohammed V
- Kasbah of the Udayas
Meknes, the smallest and most underrated of the four imperial cities, gets real time here — the monumental Bab Mansour gate, the royal granaries built to feed 12,000 horses, and the mausoleum of Sultan Moulay Ismail. On to Fes for the evening.
- Bab Mansour gate
- Royal granaries and stables
A local guide leads a walking tour of Fes el-Bali — the Chouara tanneries, the Al Quaraouiyine exterior, and souks organised by trade rather than geography. The afternoon is free to explore independently.
- Fes medina walking tour
- Chouara Tanneries
Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage site with intact mosaics still in place among the columns, sits an hour from Fes and rarely gets the crowds of the medina. The afternoon is free back in Fes before tomorrow's drive south to the Sahara.
- Volubilis Roman ruins and mosaics
The drive south passes through the Middle Atlas cedar forests near Ifrane and the Ziz Valley's palm groves before arriving in Merzouga as the dunes turn gold, with a sunset camel trek to the bivouac camp.
- Ifrane cedar forest
- Ziz Valley
- Sunset camel trek to bivouac
Sunrise over the dunes, then west through the Dadès Valley to Ouarzazate, Morocco's film-industry hub.
- Sunrise from the dunes
- Dadès Valley
Ait Benhaddou, the UNESCO kasbah from Gladiator and Game of Thrones, is walked properly before crossing the Tichka Pass into Marrakech for a final group dinner.
- Ait Benhaddou UNESCO ksar
- Tichka Pass into Marrakech
- Final group dinner
The tour ends after breakfast, with airport transfers arranged around your actual departure time.
- Flexible airport transfer
Inclusions & exclusions
What’s included
- 8 nights accommodation (hotels and riads in each city, 1 desert bivouac)
- All transport in an air-conditioned vehicle
- Licensed English-speaking guide for the full 9 days
- Camel trek to and from the bivouac camp
- 8 breakfasts, 6 dinners
- Entry fees at major historical sites
- 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 12 travellers
- Weekly departures Feb–May & Sep–Dec
- 8 nights accommodation included
- English-speaking guide throughout
What travelers say
“Started out thinking we only wanted the cities but glad the Sahara was included in the end — the bivouac night was a highlight none of us expected to love as much.”
“The history-first structure meant we understood a lot more context by the time we reached the desert than we would have with a desert-first tour.”
“Meknes was genuinely underrated — barely any other tourists compared to Fes.”
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
This adds three more days: a night in a Sahara bivouac camp at Merzouga and a return to Marrakech via Ait Benhaddou, rather than ending the trip in Fes.
Yes — this leads with history and architecture in the imperial cities before the Sahara, rather than the other way round, which changes the feel of the trip even though the desert content is similar.
Marrakech — the route returns west after the desert section, ending where most international flights arrive.
February to May and September to December, avoiding peak Sahara heat in summer.
Yes — solo travellers are common on this route, and you're never travelling alone once the group forms.
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.