Trip overview
A full loop of Morocco by shared minibus: Casablanca and Rabat first, then Chefchaouen, Fez, a night in the dunes and back to Marrakech over the Atlas.
- Duration10 days / 9 nights
- Starts inMarrakech
- GroupSmall group · 1–17 people
- DifficultyEasy
- LanguageEspañol
- DeparturesLeaves Marrakech every Monday and Friday
Highlights
- Departures on Mondays and Fridays from Marrakech
- Guided morning in the souks and palaces of Marrakech
- Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, beside the Atlantic
- Stop in Rabat for the Hassan Tower and the royal mausoleum
- A night in Chefchaouen and a free morning in the blue medina
- Full day in Fez with a guided visit of Fez el Bali
- By camel to a desert camp among the Erg Chebbi dunes
- Todra Gorge, Dades Valley and the Skoura palm grove
- Climb up the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou before crossing the Tichka
- Departures
- Mondays and Fridays
- Duration
- 10 days, 9 nights
- Group
- Up to 17 people
- Distance
- ≈ 1,900 km by minibus
Who it's for
It suits you if…
You're travelling alone or as a couple, flying into Marrakech and want to see the north, Fez and the desert with hotels and transport sorted for a fixed price.
- People travelling alone
- Couples with around two weeks of holiday
Pick something else if…
You want to choose the stops or you're travelling with small children. Privately you can do a similar route with a car and driver to yourselves.
See the 10-day private tourDriving hours and nights
The figures are approximate and don't count the long stops for visits.
Before you book
Departures need a minimum number of travellers, so don't buy a non-changeable flight until we've confirmed your seat in writing. If you're landing in Casablanca rather than Marrakech, the group tour from Casablanca covers the same regions with departures on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
For the desert part, the Merzouga guide helps, and for clothes and luggage, see what to pack for Morocco. If you have any questions, write to us.
Day-by-day itinerary
Day 1: Landing in Marrakech and a free evening
Our driver is waiting for you outside the Menara terminal and drops you at your hotel or riad in about 20 minutes. The rest of the day is free. If you land early, Jemaa el Fna square is close by and in the late afternoon it fills with food stalls and musicians. At reception we leave you the meeting time for the next morning's visit.
Day 2: Marrakech, a guided morning and an afternoon on your own
In the morning an official guide takes you round the medina. You start at the Koutoubia, whose minaret, about 77 metres tall, helps you work out where you are, and carry on to the Bahia Palace, with its tiled courtyards and painted cedar ceilings. Then come the Saadian Tombs and the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, before you go into the souks. Dyers, blacksmiths and slipper sellers each work in their own street, and the guide shows you how to find your way so you can come back alone later.
The afternoon is free. You can visit the Jardin Majorelle, which is best booked ahead because tickets are sold by time slot, or climb to a terrace over Jemaa el Fna to watch the square set up at dusk. Monument entry fees are paid separately.
Day 3: Marrakech – Casablanca and the Hassan II Mosque
After breakfast the minibus takes the motorway north. It's about 240 kilometres and a little under three hours, with a coffee stop halfway. The landscape is flat, cereal fields all the way until the heavy traffic of Morocco's biggest city begins.
The afternoon visit is the Hassan II Mosque, whose prayer hall reaches out over the ocean. Unlike most Moroccan mosques, it lets non-Muslims in, always on a guided visit at set times and with a separate ticket. To go in you need shoulders and knees covered. Afterwards there's time to walk along the Aïn Diab corniche or round the Habous quarter, a new medina laid out by the French in the 20th century, with bookshops and almond-pastry bakeries. Dinner and overnight at a hotel in Casablanca.
Day 4: Casablanca – Chefchaouen by way of the capital
Today is the most varied stage. Rabat is just over an hour up the road, where we stop to see the Hassan Tower, the minaret the Almohads left half-built, and the tomb of Mohammed V, watched over by the royal guard. If time allows, we take a short walk through the Kasbah of the Oudayas, with its white and blue houses above the mouth of the Bouregreg.
After lunch the road leaves the coast via Kenitra and Souk El Arbaa and climbs into the Rif hills via Ouezzane. The last stretch has plenty of bends. We reach Chefchaouen between mid-afternoon and nightfall, after some 5 or 6 hours of driving in all, about 340 kilometres. After dinner you can walk out to Outa el Hammam square, which is quiet at night.
Day 5: Morning in Chefchaouen, afternoon on the road to Fez
The morning belongs to Chefchaouen. Early on, before the coaches from Tangier and Tetouan arrive, the only people on the blue lanes are locals and bakers. From the Ras el Ma spring a path climbs in about 30 minutes to the Spanish Mosque, with the whole town below you.
We leave around midday. The road comes down from the Rif through olive groves and wheat fields, passes near Ouezzane again and reaches the Saïss plain. It's about 200 kilometres and around four hours with one stop. You get to Fez in the afternoon, with time to settle in before dinner. If you're staying inside the medina, the last stretch to the door is on foot and a porter carries the bags on a handcart.
Day 6: Fez with a local guide
A day with no driving. With an official guide you enter Fez el Bali through the blue Bab Boujloud gate and follow the Talaa Kebira downhill, the spine of the medieval medina. You see the Al Qarawiyyin mosque and university, founded in the 9th century, from its doorway, and go into the Bou Inania or the Attarine madrasa, two Koranic schools with carved wood and hand-worked plaster.
From a terrace above the Chouara tannery you look down on the coloured pits where the hides are dyed; at the entrance they hand out mint leaves to cope with the smell. The guide also takes you to a pottery or weaving workshop, where you can look without buying. At the end of the visit the minibus climbs to the Merenid Tombs for a view over the medina and passes the gates of the Royal Palace. The afternoon is free.
Day 7: Fez – Merzouga, from the Middle Atlas to the dunes
No day on the tour is longer: about 470 kilometres and 8 to 9 hours with stops. We leave early for the Middle Atlas. First stop is Ifrane, a town of steep roofs that looks like the Alps, then the cedar forest near Azrou, where Barbary macaques often come up to the road.
Lunch is in Midelt, below the Jbel Ayachi range, and then we head south through the Ziz Valley, a canyon of palm trees and mud-brick villages. Errachidia and Erfoud fall behind and the minibus pulls into Merzouga when the sun is already low. There your suitcase is stored and you pack a small bag for the night before getting on the camel. The caravan takes an hour or so to bring you to the camp, surrounded by sand. Dinner is served at the camp and you sleep in a tent.
Day 8: Merzouga – Ouarzazate via the Todra and the Valley of the Roses
The camel handler calls at the tents before first light, and you climb the highest sand nearby in time to watch the sun come up in the east. Once you're back in the village and down from the camel, there's breakfast and a shower waiting at the guesthouse.
At about nine the group sets off towards Tinghir, via Rissani and Alnif. At the Todra you stroll along the bottom of the gorge, between rock walls close to 300 metres high. We carry on through Boumalne Dades, with views over the valley, and Kelaa M'Gouna, the rose-water town, which holds its harvest festival in spring. Before Ouarzazate you cross Skoura, an oasis dotted with mud kasbahs. Counting the stops, the day comes to roughly 370 kilometres and 7 to 8 hours.
Day 9: Ouarzazate – Marrakech across the High Atlas
Aït Ben Haddou is about 30 kilometres from Ouarzazate, so first thing in the morning you're crossing the Ounila river to climb up to the ksar, a fortified mud-brick village protected by UNESCO since 1987 that has appeared in a good number of film shoots. The granary at the top looks out over the whole valley. If you want a local guide for the ksar, you pay on the spot.
Then we climb the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka, which reaches about 2,260 metres. That's nearly two hours of hairpins, so anyone prone to motion sickness should take a tablet before leaving Ouarzazate. There's a stop at a viewpoint on the pass and another on the way down to stretch your legs. We reach Marrakech in mid-afternoon, after some 4 or 5 hours of driving, and it's the last night of the tour.
Day 10: Flying home from Marrakech, or the drive to Casablanca airport
The driver collects you from the hotel and takes you to Menara at whatever time your flight needs. If you're flying home from Casablanca, it's about three hours of motorway to Mohammed V, so plan to leave the hotel about six hours before take-off. If you'd rather stay more nights in Marrakech or carry on to Essaouira, we'll help you arrange it and book the hotel.
What's included
Included (7)
- Driver waiting for you at Menara on day one
- A seat in a shared air-conditioned minibus, with its driver, for all ten days
- Standard accommodation: 8 nights in hotels and riads, plus the night in a tent at Merzouga
- Half board, that is 9 breakfasts and 9 dinners
- Camel ride across the dunes to reach the camp and to get back to the village
- Official guide for the medina visits in Marrakech and Fez
- Last day, car to Menara or, if you ask, to Mohammed V in Casablanca
Not included (8)
- Flights
- Lunches
- Drinks
- Monument entry fees (Hassan II Mosque, Bahia Palace, madrasas, Majorelle and others)
- A guide in the Aït Ben Haddou ksar or at the Todra, should you want one
- Tips
- Travel insurance
- Single room supplement
Important information (6)
- No Monday or Friday minibus leaves without a minimum number of people signed up. We write to you once your seat is secured; until then, avoid flights that can't be changed.
- The 970 € is worked out on a double room for two. If you'd rather not share a room, there's a supplement we'll tell you when you book.
- For the desert night pack a small bag with warm clothes, a torch and your wash kit: the big suitcase stays in Merzouga.
- From November to February the nights in Ifrane, Midelt and Merzouga are cold. A proper coat and a hat take up little room.
- At the Hassan II Mosque and in the medinas it's best to keep shoulders and knees covered.
- Flying home from Casablanca? Mention it when you book and we'll work out a departure time on day 10 with room to spare.
Prices per person
Seat on the group tour
Price per person sharing a double room
Fixed price per person, whatever the size of your group.
Payment and cancellation
You pay a 15% deposit when you book. The rest is paid on the first day of the trip, in cash or by bank transfer. You can also pay it by PayPal or card, with a 5% surcharge.
Group: free up to 10 days before departure. If you cancel in time, we refund the full deposit.
Extras you can add
Chosen when you book and added to the total. You can also ask for them later, subject to availability.
Quad bike in the Merzouga dunes
Guided quad ride around Erg Chebbi, helmet included
Dune buggy in Merzouga
Two-seater buggy with a guide through the dunes, helmet included
Upgrade the accommodation
More characterful hotels and riads, and a superior desert camp
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Leave a reviewFrequently asked questions
How many people will I share the minibus with?
With 16 other travellers at most, because the group closes at 17 seats. In low season there are often far fewer. You don't choose your travelling companions: they tend to be couples and people travelling alone. If you'd rather go just with your own people, our private ten-day route from Casablanca covers almost the same regions.
Can I start this tour in Casablanca instead of Marrakech?
Not this one, because the group leaves Marrakech on Mondays and Fridays. To start in Casablanca we have another 10-day group tour that leaves from there on Tuesdays and Saturdays, covers the same regions and ends with a full day in Marrakech. The price is the same.
What happens if my date doesn't reach the minimum number of travellers?
We let you know in advance and offer you the nearest departure, usually the following Monday or Friday. If that date doesn't work for you, we look for another solution with you, such as switching to a private trip and paying the difference. That's why we ask you not to buy non-changeable flights until your seat is confirmed.
Is there a guide for the whole trip or just a driver?
On the road you're accompanied by the driver, who knows the routes and the stops and gets by in Spanish with the group. In Marrakech and Fez an official local guide leads the medina visit, included in the price. At Aït Ben Haddou and the Todra you can hire a local guide on the spot if you want more explanation.
Can I add nights in Marrakech at the end of the tour?
Yes, and plenty of travellers whose flight is a few days later do exactly that. We book those nights wherever you prefer and move the airport car to the day you actually fly. Give us the dates when you book and we'll send you the price of the extra nights.
