7-Day Morocco Itinerary from Casablanca to Marrakech

A week is the sweet spot for a first trip to Morocco, and this private itinerary uses it well. It begins on the Atlantic coast with the Hassan II Mosque and a night in the capital, Rabat. It continues through the Rif Mountains to the blue town of Chefchaouen, then south to the Roman city of Volubilis and the imperial city of Meknes, before two nights and a full guided day in Fes. The second half of the week crosses the Atlas to the dunes of Erg Chebbi for a night at our luxury camp, and returns west through the gorges and kasbahs of the south to Marrakech.

The first three days are deliberately short on the road and long on sightseeing, so you can settle into Morocco before the bigger drives to and from the desert.

The route at a glance

• Day 1: Casablanca → Hassan II Mosque → Rabat (about 125 km)
• Day 2: Rabat → Rif Mountains → Chefchaouen (about 250 km)
• Day 3: Chefchaouen → Volubilis → Meknes → Fes (about 260 km)
• Day 4: Full day in Fes with a licensed guide
• Day 5: Fes → Ifrane → Middle Atlas → Ziz Valley → Merzouga, then by camel to camp (about 470 km)
• Day 6: Erg Chebbi → Rissani → Todra Gorge → Dades Valley (about 310 km)
• Day 7: Dades Valley → Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou → Tizi n’Tichka → Marrakech (about 350 km)

The Atlantic and the capital

The trip begins gently. After pickup at Mohammed V Airport or your hotel, you visit the Hassan II Mosque, whose 210-metre minaret rises above the ocean at the edge of Casablanca. Guided tours take you into the vast prayer hall, a showcase of Moroccan craftsmanship in cedar, marble, plaster and tile.

It’s only two hours to Rabat, so you have the whole afternoon in the capital. In the Kasbah of the Udayas, blue-and-white lanes lead to a terrace over the mouth of the Bou Regreg river and a quiet Andalusian garden. Across town, the Hassan Tower, the unfinished minaret of a 12th-century mosque, stands among the stumps of the columns that were meant to hold up its prayer hall. Beside it is the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the white marble tomb of the king who led Morocco to independence. You spend the night at a riad in the Rabat medina, which is quieter and more relaxed than those of Fes or Marrakech.

The blue city of Chefchaouen

From Rabat, the road heads north and climbs into the Rif Mountains, arriving in Chefchaouen around lunchtime. You have the afternoon to explore the medina, where the walls, doors and steps are painted in shades of blue. Browse the small shops of local weavers, have mint tea on the main square below the kasbah, and at the end of the day walk up to the Spanish Mosque on the hillside for the sunset over the town.

Volubilis, Meknes and Fes

Day three is a journey through Moroccan history. Volubilis was one of the most important Roman cities in North Africa, and its ruins spread across a hillside overlooking olive groves. Walk along the main street to the triumphal arch and the basilica, and admire the floor mosaics, still in place in the houses where they were laid nearly 2,000 years ago. A guide at Volubilis is available as an optional extra.

A short drive away is Meknes, the imperial city built by Sultan Moulay Ismail in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Its monumental gate, Bab Mansour, covered in tilework, is one of the finest in Morocco, and the sultan’s mausoleum is one of the few Moroccan shrines open to non-Muslims. You reach Fes in the late afternoon.

The next day, a licensed local guide leads you through Fes el-Bali, the old medina, for a full day. You see the gates of the Royal Palace, the Mellah, the richly decorated Al-Attarine and Bou Inania madrasas, the Nejjarine fountain, the Chouara tanneries and the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque and university, founded in 859. You end the day at the Merenid Tombs, looking out over the medina as the sun sets.

The Sahara

On day five you leave the imperial cities behind for the desert. It’s the longest drive of the week, about seven and a half hours: through Ifrane and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, across the high plateau and down the Ziz Valley to Merzouga. There, at the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes, your camels are waiting for the ride into the sand at sunset. You spend the night at our luxury camp, with dinner and drums around the fire.

Gorges, kasbahs and Marrakech

The last two days bring you west. After sunrise over the dunes, you pass through Rissani, walk along the floor of the Todra Gorge between cliffs around 300 metres high, and spend the night in the Dades Valley. On the final day, the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs leads through the Valley of Roses to Ouarzazate and Ait Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed ksar. After exploring it, you cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass and arrive in Marrakech in the late afternoon.

Where you’ll sleep

• Rabat (1 night): a riad in the medina.
• Chefchaouen (1 night): a riad in the medina.
• Fes (2 nights): a riad in the medina.
• 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.
• Dades Valley (1 night): a kasbah hotel.

Breakfast is included every day, and dinner at the desert camp and in the Dades Valley. City dinners are left free so you can try local restaurants.

Best time to go

Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are the best seasons for this route. Spring is especially lovely in the Rif and around Volubilis, when the hills are green and covered in wildflowers. In winter, the north can be rainy and the desert cold at night. In summer, the coast is pleasant, but Fes, Meknes and the desert are hot, so sightseeing is planned for mornings and late afternoons.

Who this tour is for

Travellers with a full week who want Morocco’s history (Roman, imperial and Andalusian) as well as its landscapes, at a comfortable pace. It’s a good fit for couples, families with older children and anyone who enjoys culture and scenery in equal measure.

Good to know

• The pace: the first three days are short to moderate drives with plenty of sightseeing. Day five (Fes to the dunes) is the longest, at about 7.5 hours.
• Modest dress is appreciated in Meknes, Fes and at the Hassan II Mosque: shoulders and knees covered.
• Hassan II Mosque tours run outside prayer times and are reduced on Fridays. Tickets are sold on site.
• Extend in Marrakech: the 8-day itinerary adds a riad night and a guided day in Marrakech.