Day 1: Casablanca – Hassan II Mosque – Rabat – Chefchaouen

Your tour starts in Casablanca, Morocco’s largest and most modern city. Your English-speaking driver will pick you up from your hotel or from Mohammed V International Airport in the morning.

The first stop is the iconic Hassan II Mosque one of the largest and most beautiful mosques in the entire world. It sits right on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and was built by over 10,000 Moroccan craftsmen. The minaret stands 210 meters high and is the tallest religious building on earth. Even from the outside, it is an extraordinary thing to see. You can admire it from the esplanade and take photos before continuing your journey.

From Casablanca, you drive north along the Atlantic coast to Rabat Morocco’s quiet and elegant royal capital. Rabat is very different from the busy energy of Casablanca. It is clean, calm, and full of history.

In Rabat you will visit the Kasbah of the Udayas a beautiful old fortress with blue and white painted streets, ocean views, and a peaceful Andalusian garden inside. You will also see the Hassan Tower, an unfinished 12th century minaret that stands next to the Mausoleum of Mohammed V one of the most important royal monuments in Morocco. The mausoleum is decorated with stunning white marble, hand-carved plaster, and colorful zellige tilework.

After Rabat, continue driving north toward the mountains. The landscape changes from flat Atlantic plains to the green and hilly Rif Mountains. After a few hours of beautiful driving, you arrive in Chefchaouen the famous blue city.

Check in to your hotel and spend the evening walking through the blue streets of the medina. The atmosphere here is calm, artistic, and completely unique. Every corner is a photo opportunity.

Overnight: Chefchaouen

Day 2: Chefchaouen – Volubilis – Meknes – Fes

Wake up early and take a morning walk through Chefchaouen before the town gets busy. The blue streets in the soft early morning light are incredibly beautiful. Have breakfast at a cafe on the main square and take your time before leaving.

Today you head south toward Fes, but with two very worthwhile stops along the way.

The first stop is Volubilis the best-preserved ancient Roman ruins in Morocco. This city was founded over 2,000 years ago and served as an important outpost of the Roman Empire in North Africa. Today you can walk through the old streets, see stunning mosaic floors still in their original positions, and stand under the tall stone arches that have survived earthquakes, invasions, and centuries of time. Volubilis is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most impressive historical sites in all of Morocco.

From Volubilis, you drive a short distance to Meknes one of Morocco’s four imperial cities and often called the forgotten imperial city because it receives fewer tourists than Fes and Marrakech. But Meknes has some truly grand monuments. You will visit the massive Bab Mansour Gate, considered one of the most beautiful city gates in all of North Africa, and walk through the lively old medina where local people shop, eat, and go about their daily lives in a very authentic and relaxed way.

In the afternoon, you arrive in Fes the spiritual and cultural capital of Morocco. Check in to your hotel in or near the old medina. Spend the evening walking through the nearby streets, trying local food, and soaking in the ancient atmosphere of this extraordinary city.

Overnight: Fes

Day 3: Fes City Tour – Middle Atlas – Azrou – Ifrane – Midelt – Ziz Valley – Er Rachidia

Today starts with a guided walking tour of the Fes old medina. Your local guide will take you deep into one of the most fascinating and well-preserved medieval cities in the world.

You will visit the Chouara Tannery the oldest leather tannery in the world, where workers still dye animal skins by hand using the same traditional methods used for hundreds of years. Looking down at the colorful circular dye pots from a balcony above is one of the most iconic images of Morocco and one of the most memorable sights of any trip to this country.

You will also explore the Al-Attarine Madrasa, a 14th-century Islamic school with some of the most beautiful interior decoration you will see anywhere in Morocco hand-carved cedar wood ceilings, intricate plasterwork, and thousands of small mosaic tiles covering every wall and column. Other stops include the ancient copper and spice markets, the beautiful Bou Inania Madrasa, and the narrow winding lanes of the medina where donkeys are still the main way to carry goods.

After the Fes tour, you leave the city and drive south through the Middle Atlas Mountains. You pass through Ifrane a small, clean, and very unusual Moroccan town with red-roofed European-style buildings, wide streets, and a quiet mountain atmosphere. People call it the Switzerland of Morocco.

Next stop is Azrou, where the road passes through a beautiful cedar forest. This is where you can see wild Barbary macaque monkeys sitting in the trees or coming down to the roadside. These friendly monkeys are only found in Morocco and Algeria and seeing them in the wild is a fun and surprising experience, especially for children.

The road continues south through Midelt and down into the spectacular Ziz Valley a long and narrow gorge filled with thousands of palm trees, traditional villages, and a winding river that brings life to the middle of the desert. The contrast between the bare rocky mountains and the bright green palm valley is one of the most beautiful views of the whole journey.

You will arrive in Er Rachidia or a nearby guesthouse in the evening for dinner and rest.

Overnight: Er Rachidia area

Day 4: Er Rachidia – Erfoud – Rissani – Merzouga – Sahara Desert Camp

After breakfast, you continue the drive toward the Sahara Desert. Today is one of the most exciting days of the whole tour.

The road passes through Erfoud, a town famous for its fossils many of the rocks in this area contain 300 million year old marine fossils from when this entire region was at the bottom of the ocean. You can stop at a fossil workshop and see how local craftsmen polish and cut the stone to reveal the fossils inside.

From Erfoud, continue to Rissani an old desert trading town with a lively traditional market. Rissani is one of the most authentic market towns in Morocco and has been an important trading post for hundreds of years. It is also the historic home of the Alaoui dynasty, Morocco’s royal family.

In the late afternoon you finally arrive in Merzouga the village at the foot of the massive Erg Chebbi dunes. These dunes are up to 150 meters tall and stretch for kilometers across the flat desert. The sight of them rising suddenly from the flat ground is something that surprises every traveler the first time they see it.

After a quick stop at your guesthouse, you meet your camel guide and begin your sunset camel ride into the dunes. Riding slowly across the warm sand as the sun turns everything orange and red is one of the most magical experiences Morocco has to offer.

You arrive at your traditional Berber desert camp just as the sun disappears below the horizon. Dinner is served around a fire, local musicians play Gnawa and Berber music, and above you the Sahara sky fills with more stars than you have ever seen in your life. There is no light pollution, no noise, and no rush. Just the desert, the stars, and the sound of the fire.

Overnight: Traditional Berber Desert Camp, Merzouga

Day 5: Merzouga – Draa Valley – Ait Ben Haddou – High Atlas – Marrakech

Wake up before sunrise for one final magical moment in the Sahara. Climb a dune near the camp and watch the sun rise slowly over the Erg Chebbi. The colors go from deep blue to soft pink to bright gold. The desert is completely silent. It is one of the most peaceful and beautiful moments of the whole tour.

After breakfast and a shower at the guesthouse, you begin the long but beautiful drive back west toward Marrakech. Today you take the southern route through the Draa Valley — a different road from the one you used to reach the desert, so you see completely new landscapes.

The Draa Valley is the longest river valley in Morocco. The road follows the Draa River through hundreds of kilometers of date palm trees, ancient kasbahs, and traditional Berber villages made of red mud. Small children wave from rooftops. Old men sit in the shade of palm trees. Life here moves slowly and peacefully, and the scenery is simply stunning.

You pass through Agdz a quiet desert town with a beautiful old kasbah and palm groves and continue to Ouarzazate, the Hollywood of Morocco, where many famous films have been shot.

From Ouarzazate, a short drive brings you to Ait Ben Haddou the ancient fortified village that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This mud-brick ksar has been standing for centuries and has appeared in many famous films and TV shows. You will walk through the narrow old streets, climb to the top for a wide view of the valley, and hear about its long and fascinating history.

After Ait Ben Haddou, the final stretch of road takes you over the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n’Tichka Pass. The mountain views from the top are spectacular, and the drive down toward Marrakech is beautiful with wide valleys and small Berber villages all around.

You arrive in Marrakech in the late afternoon or early evening. Your driver will drop you at your hotel or at Marrakech airport, and your 5 Day Morocco Tour from Casablanca comes to a perfect end.

End of Tour: Marrakech