6-Day Casablanca to Marrakech: Imperial Cities & Sahara

Six days lets you see Morocco’s imperial cities properly instead of passing through them. This private tour starts on the Atlantic with the Hassan II Mosque and the capital, Rabat, spends a night in the blue town of Chefchaouen, and then gives you two nights and a full guided day in Fes, the country’s spiritual and cultural heart. After that comes the Sahara: over the Middle Atlas to the dunes of Erg Chebbi for a camel ride and a night at our luxury camp, then west through the Todra and Dades gorges and Ait Ben Haddou to Marrakech.

The balance is what makes it work. You get the depth of a city break in Fes, the scenery of the Rif and the Atlas, and a night in the desert, in less than a week.

The route at a glance

• Day 1: Casablanca → Hassan II Mosque → Rabat → Rif Mountains → Chefchaouen (about 370 km)
• Day 2: Chefchaouen → Fes (about 200 km)
• Day 3: Full day in Fes with a licensed guide
• Day 4: Fes → Ifrane → Middle Atlas → Ziz Valley → Merzouga, then by camel to camp (about 470 km)
• Day 5: Erg Chebbi → Rissani → Todra Gorge → Dades Valley (about 310 km)
• Day 6: Dades Valley → Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou → Tizi n’Tichka → Marrakech (about 350 km)

Day 1: the coast, the capital and the Rif

The day starts early, with pickup at Mohammed V Airport or your hotel. At the Hassan II Mosque, built on the edge of the Atlantic and completed in 1993, you join a guided tour of the prayer hall, with its retractable roof, carved cedar and acres of hand-cut zellige. Its minaret, about 210 metres tall, is visible from across the city.

In Rabat, you walk into the Kasbah of the Udayas, a fortified quarter of white and blue houses above the mouth of the Bou Regreg river, with an Andalusian garden and views over the ocean. Then you visit the Hassan Tower, the unfinished 12th-century minaret, and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V beside it. The afternoon drive takes you north into the Rif Mountains, and you arrive in Chefchaouen in time to settle in before dinner.

Day 2: the blue city and the road to Fes

Spend the morning exploring Chefchaouen. Its medina is a web of steep, blue-washed lanes where the colour seems to change with the light. Walk down to Ras el-Maa, the spring at the edge of town where the river bursts out of the mountain, and browse the small shops selling wool blankets and leather goods made in the town.

In the afternoon you drive south to Fes and settle into your riad in the medina. Once you’ve dropped your bags, take a first short walk through the lanes nearby, or simply relax on the roof terrace as the call to prayer echoes over the city.

Day 3: a full day in Fes

This is the day that sets the 6-day tour apart. A licensed local guide takes you through Fes el-Bali, founded in the 9th century and still one of the largest car-free cities in the world. The day covers:

• The Royal Palace gates, with their bronze doors and zellige, in the newer district of Fes el-Jdid.
• The Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, with its distinctive balconied houses and an old synagogue.
• The madrasas. The Al-Attarine and Bou Inania madrasas, 14th-century theological colleges decorated with carved cedar, stucco and tiles, are among the finest examples of Marinid architecture.
• The Nejjarine fountain and the woodworkers’ quarter around it.
• The Chouara tanneries, where hides are soaked and dyed in stone vats. You watch from a terrace above, with a sprig of mint to hold to your nose.
• Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri and considered one of the oldest continuously operating universities in the world. Non-Muslims can look in through the doors.

You finish the day at the Merenid Tombs, on a hill north of the city, to watch the sunset over the thousands of rooftops of the medina.

Day 4: Fes to the Sahara

Today is the long drive south, about seven and a half hours with stops. You pass through Ifrane and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, home to the Barbary macaque, and cross the high plateau to Midelt. Below the Tizi n’Talghemt pass, the Ziz river leads you through its gorge into a valley of palms.

At Merzouga, camels are waiting at the foot of Erg Chebbi. Ride out for the sunset and reach camp as the stars appear. Dinner is followed by drumming around the fire.

Day 5: the gorges

Wake up for the sunrise, then drive west through Rissani, with its souk on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, to Tinghir and the Todra Gorge. After a walk between its cliffs, you continue to the Dades Valley for dinner and the night at a kasbah hotel.

Day 6: kasbahs and Marrakech

The final day takes you along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the Valley of Roses and Ouarzazate to Ait Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed ksar where you can climb to the granary at the top. Then you cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass and descend to Marrakech, arriving in the late afternoon.

Where you’ll sleep

• Chefchaouen (1 night): a riad in the medina, with breakfast.
• Fes (2 nights): a riad in the medina, with breakfast.
• Erg Chebbi (1 night): our luxury desert camp, with a private tent for your booking, en-suite hot shower and flushing toilet, comfortable beds and electricity for charging. Heavy blankets are provided in winter, and family tents are available on request. Dinner and breakfast are included.
• Dades Valley (1 night): a kasbah hotel with dinner and breakfast.

Best time to go

Spring and autumn are ideal. In winter, the coast and Fes are mild but can be rainy, and the desert and the mountains are cold at night. In summer, Fes and the desert are very hot, so the medina tour starts early and the camel ride is planned for the evening.

Who this tour is for

Travellers with about a week who want to see Morocco’s imperial cities properly, not just drive through them, and still spend a night in the Sahara. It suits couples and families who like culture as much as scenery.

Good to know

• Day one is long (about 6 hours of driving plus the mosque tour and Rabat), so an early start is essential.
• Best months: March to May and September to November. In July and August Fes and the desert are very hot, so we plan visits for mornings and late afternoons.
• Fes is a walking city. Wear comfortable shoes for the full-day tour; the medina’s lanes are steep, narrow and sometimes slippery.
• Continuing in Marrakech? Add riad nights and a guided city tour, or see the 8-day itinerary, which includes both.