10 day Morocco itinerary
“Imperial Cities, Majestic Dunes”

Your 10 day Morocco itinerary from Casablanca - "Imperial Cities, Majestic Dunes" starts when we pick you up at the Casablanca airport or your hotel.

First, we’ll stop for some Moroccan mint tea to welcome you before taking you to visit the impressive Hassan II Mosque at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The mosque is the one of the largest in the world, with beautiful Moroccan Islamic architecture, hand-crafted Zelig tile mosaics, & intricate plaster carving.

Next, we’ll drive about 1 hour north to Rabat, the current capital & Imperial City of Morocco. After checking in to your hotel, you’ll have some time to rest and freshen up before enjoying a welcome dinner in a local restaurant.

After breakfast, we’ll visit the 12th century Hassan Tower & mosque. The tower has been restored, and you can walk among the ruins of walls and pillars of the mosque, which create an open-air square.

Across from the tower is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, built for the king, who died in 1961. His son and successor, Hassan II, who died in 1999, is also entombed here. Here you’ll find more stunning examples of intricate Moroccan carving & zelig tilework. It may be possible to tour the Mausoleum, depending on the time and date.

Leaving Rabat, we’ll drive to the magnificent Roman ruins at Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There you’ll see stunning partially-excavated mosaics, buildings, arches, and columns. You’ll explore the ruins with a local guide.

After touring the ruins, we'll continue on to Meknes, one of Morocco’s four Imperial Cities. Originally founded as a fortress in the 11th century, Meknes later became the capital of Morocco in the 17th century. We’ll visit the Moulay Ismail shrine, see the impressive Bab el Mansour gate, and tour the remains of the Imperial Stables.

After lunch in Meknes, we'll drive to Fes, the oldest of Morocco’s four Imperial Cities, where you’ll check in to your riad. We'll have a traditional Moroccan meal at a restaurant in the medina.

After breakfast in the riad, a local guide will take you on a tour inside the Fes medina (old walled city), with its narrow winding alleys. It's like stepping back in time. Fes was established in the middle ages and in many ways still functions as a medieval city today. Around every corner there is something fascinating to see. You'll visit the famous tanneries of Fes where centuries-old natural methods are still used to cure and dye leather, which is then fashioned by local craftspeople into world-renowned leather clothing and accessories in every colour of the rainbow.

You'll have lunch in the medina with your guide.

After the tour, we'll go outside the medina to visit a pottery co-operative where you will see how Morocco's colourful pottery and intricate zelig tile mosaics are made, completely by hand, by skilled artisans. A long day, but this stop is fascinating and not to be missed.

Back at your riad, you'll have time to relax before dinner.

Your 10 day Morocco itinerary from Casablanca continues on Day 4. You’ll see the amazing change in the landscape as we travel through the Middle Atlas Mountains to the Sahara Desert

On the way, we’ll pass through Ifrane, a popular ski resort town known as the "Switzerland of Morocco", with its steeply-peaked rooves designed to shed show easily. We’ll stop for a rest in Azrou to see the Barbary apes that live in the cedar forests on the mountainsides.

After lunch in Midelt, the “apple capital” of Morocco, we’ll follow the meandering Ziz Valley. We’ll stop at a panoramic lookout point so you can take pictures of the palm-filled Ziz Oasis that stretches for hundreds of kilometres along the valley floor.

Heading towards the desert, we’ll pass through Erfoud, famous for its Date Festival each October and known for its abundant fossils. Eventually, we’ll leave the highway to drive off-road across the flat rocky desert to the Merzouga region of the Sahara Desert and the magnificent sand dunes of Erg Chebbi. Erg Chebbi has the highest dunes in North Africa, and the sight of them rising suddenly out of the desert floor never fails to impress!

By late afternoon, we’ll reach the desert hotel, where your camels will be waiting. You’ll leave civilization behind and camel-trek into the high dunes, watching the sands change colour as the sun moves across the sky. You’ll have time to explore, take pictures, and watch the sunset before camel-trekking back out of the big dunes.

When you reach the desert camp, you’ll enjoy a traditional Moroccan meal, followed by African music – drumming and singing and dancing – around a campfire. You’ll spend the night in tents surrounded by small dunes.

Your desert adventure continues the next day. After breakfast, you’ll camel-trek back into the big dunes for about 3 hours. Eventually, you’ll exit the dunes on the east side of the Erg, crossing the flat hamada to reach the desert home of a local Berber nomad family. You’ll have tea with them and learn about their life in the harsh desert. Don’t worry – your guide will translate! The nomad women will demonstrate some typical Berber handicrafts such as weaving and embroidery.

Your nomad hosts will prepare a delicious lunch for you – a traditional Berber pizza, which is flat bread stuffed with ground meat, onions, and spices. If you wish, you can watch them prepare the meal.

After lunch, you’ll camel-trek back into the big dunes. Once again, you’ll be surrounded by sand and sky and the unique silence of the desert. Maybe your guide will explain how he is able to navigate this sea of sand when there are no landmarks visible!

When you reach the desert hotel, you’ll be able to shower, change, and have some refreshing tea while you rest and enjoy the sunset.

After dinner at the hotel, you’ll spend a second night in a tent in the desert camp or in a room in the hotel – your choice.

Leave the dunes behind on Day 6 of your 10 days from Casablanca tour. After breakfast in the desert, we'll drive to the town of Rissani, where you'll visit the local souk (market). This jumble of covered stalls is where local people do most of the their everyday shopping. On Tuesdays, the travelling market arrives, and people flock from nearby villages to shop.

Later in the morning, we’ll reach Tinghir and the Todra Gorge.
Tinghir contains a lush green oasis full of palm trees and gardens. Todra Gorge has 300-metre-high vertical rock walls and a shallow river, making it a popular shady picnic spot.

After lunch and a walk along the river, we’ll drive through the winding Dades Valley, known as the "Valley of the Thousand Kasbahs", as we head towards the Atlas Mountains. We’ll take a side road to reach the spectacular Dades Gorge and the nearby rock formation “Monkey Toes”. You’ll spend the night in a Berber guesthouse in the gorge.

In the morning you’ll have time for a walk along the gorge before our journey resumes. Following the winding road, we’ll arrive at Kalaat M’Gouna, the “Valley of the Roses”, Morocco’s rose-growing region. Every year, millions of rose petals are harvested to produce a wide variety of rose-infused products for culinary and cosmetic use. The harvest is celebrated in May with the annual Rose Festival – worth attending if you can arrange your visit around this popular festival. We'll make a stop here so that you can see, smell, and, if you wish, purchase some products made from local roses.

From there, we’ll head to Skoura, where we’ll visit the picturesque Kasbah Amridil. Built in the late 19th century, it’s considered one of the most impressive kasbahs in Morocco. It is still owned and maintained by the same family today.

After lunch in Skoura, we’ll drive to Ouarzazate, known as the "Hollywood of Morocco" because of its thriving film industry. Ouarzazate is home to several film studios, both Moroccan and international. In addition, the surrounding barren landscape is a popular on-location site for movies, portraying everything from the Egyptian desert to the surface of Mars.

You’ll tour one of the Moroccan film studios in the afternoon and spend the night in Ouarzazate.

Your 10 day Morocco tour from Casablanca continues on Day 8. After breakfast, we’ll drive a short way to Ait Ben Haddou, the oldest Kasbah in the south of Morocco, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although the village was originally built in the 17th century, people still live and work there today. Their homes are built right into the rock or with mud bricks, which are made locally using the same methods as in ancient times. Ait Ben Haddou has also featured in many films, including The Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven.

After lunch in the village, you’ll have time to explore the Kasbah. It’s a gentle climb through winding streets to the top, where you can see in all directions.

Next, we’ll head into the High Atlas Mountains. We’ll take a side road to visit the ruins of Telouet Kasbah (Palace of Glaoui) before crossing over Morocco’s highest road pass – the Tizi-n-Tichka pass at 2260m. We’ll take a break at the top of the pass, and you can take pictures of the stunning views before we descend towards Marrakesh.

We’ll reach the Imperial City of Marrakesh in the evening. After checking in to your riad, you’ll have the evening free. You may want to visit the world-famous Jmaa El Fna square, which fills every night with tourists and Moroccan families alike, out to enjoy fresh-cooked food and be entertained by storytellers, musicians, and dancers. It’s a carnival-like atmosphere and not to be missed!

After breakfast in your riad, a local guide will show you the best of Morocco's "red city". There are many fascinating cultural and historic sites to visit, such as the Saadian Tombs, in addition to the bustling souks in the medina. You'll have lunch with your guide at a local restaurant.

After the tour, you’ll have some free time to relax & explore on your own. Or, if you wish, we can arrange a visit to the famous Majorelle Gardens outside the medina.

You’ll spend a second night at the riad.

After breakfast in your riad, we'll return to Casablanca. If time permits, we can take an indirect route to enjoy some beautiful scenery and stop for lunch on the way. We'll drop you off at your hotel or the airport, to complete your 10 day Morocco itinerary from Casablanca, "Imperial Cities, Majestic Dunes".