8-Day Morocco Tour from Casablanca: Imperial Cities & Sahara

Your driver meets you at Casablanca Airport for a stop at the Hassan II Mosque — built out over the Atlantic on its own promontory, with a 210-metre minaret that was among the tallest in the world for many years. Continuing to Rabat, the day covers the Kasbah of the Oudayas overlooking the Bou Regreg River, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, and the Hassan Tower, the unfinished 12th-century minaret of an ambitious mosque project. The route then heads north to Chefchaouen, the blue city in the Rif Mountains.

A morning wandering Chefchaouen's blue alleyways and artisan shops precedes the drive south via Ouazzane to Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage Roman site with well-preserved mosaics, temples and columns. Meknes follows, an imperial city with Spanish-Moorish influences: the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, the Heri es-Souani granaries, and the monumental Bab Mansour gate. The day ends in Fes, settling into a traditional riad.

Volubilis is inscribed as "an exceptionally well preserved example of a large Roman colonial town" — UNESCO World Heritage

A local guide leads a full day through Fes el-Bali, Morocco's oldest medina and a UNESCO World Heritage Site: the exterior of the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque and university — often cited as the world's oldest continuously operating educational institution, though entry is reserved for worshippers and students — the Chouara Tanneries, the outer gates of the Royal Palace, and the Nejjarine Fountain and Bou Inania Madrasa. The evening is free to explore the medina at your own pace.

Fes has "retained its status as the country's cultural and spiritual centre" — UNESCO World Heritage

One of the longer driving days on the route. Ifrane, often called the "Switzerland of Morocco" for its European-style architecture, precedes the Azrou cedar forest, where Barbary macaques may sometimes be seen near the road. After lunch in Midelt, the route follows the Ziz Valley's kasbahs and palm groves to Erfoud, a fossil-trade town at the edge of the Sahara. By afternoon, a camel trek carries you into the Erg Chebbi dunes for sunset — a 4x4 transfer can replace this if you'd prefer not to ride — followed by dinner and Berber music at your desert camp.

An early wake-up for sunrise over the dunes, then a return to Merzouga before the drive toward Alnif and the Todra Gorges, where sheer canyon walls narrow dramatically above the valley floor — a short walk on foot is well worth the stop. The route continues to the Dades Gorge, known for its rock formations and the "Monkey Fingers" landscape in the Tamnalt Hills.

The Valley of Roses brings an optional stop at a local rose cooperative before continuing along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the Skoura palm oasis to Ouarzazate. Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage ksar, is the day's centerpiece — its earthen architecture has featured in films including Gladiator and Game of Thrones, though its real significance is as a historic stop on the caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech. The road then crosses the Tizi n'Tichka Pass, the highest road pass in Morocco, descending into Marrakech by evening.

Ait Ben Haddou is called "a striking example of the architecture of southern Morocco" by UNESCO World Heritage

A local guide leads a full day through the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, and the exterior of the Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech's largest, before the souks and Jemaa el-Fna Square. The afternoon is free for the souks or a rooftop café overlooking the medina.

After breakfast, your driver transfers you to Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca according to your flight schedule, bringing this 8-day journey through Morocco to a close.

The Marrakech-to-Casablanca drive takes around 2.5-3 hours — for early flights, an earlier departure from Marrakech can be arranged when you request your quote.