12-Day Morocco Tour: The Grand Circuit from Casablanca

Pickup location:

Day 1: Arrival in Casablanca

Day 2: Casablanca to Marrakech

Stop

Breakfast in Casablanca, then, as an option, the Hassan II Mosque, built facing the ocean. The rest of Day 2 is the drive south across the Moroccan countryside to Marrakech, where you check in to your riad or hotel. Free time follows for a first look at the city's streets, and dinner closes the day.

Day 3: Marrakech, a full guided day

Sightseeing

Day 3 is spent entirely in Marrakech with a professional local guide, the first of the loop's two guided city days. It takes in Jemaa el-Fna, where storytellers and spice sellers keep the square busy all day; the Majorelle Gardens, laid out by the painter Jacques Majorelle and later restored by Yves Saint Laurent; the carved woodwork of the Bahia Palace; the Koutoubia and its emblematic minaret; and the souks, where artisans make leather goods, carpets, lanterns and cosmetics.

Day 4: Marrakech, High Atlas, Ait Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate

Stop

Day 4 leaves Marrakech and climbs the hairpin bends of the Tizi n'Tichka, the High Atlas pass, with Berber villages scattered through the mountain views. The main visit is the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, listed as a World Heritage site and used as a set for many films. The night is in Ouarzazate, often called the last stop before the desert, before the long drive to Merzouga.

Day 5: Ouarzazate, Draa valley and Merzouga

Stop

The first of three long road days. From Ouarzazate the route follows the Draa valley, with its palm groves, fortified villages and oasis scenery, on to Merzouga. There the Erg Chebbi dunes rise like waves, and at sunset camels take you across the sand to the camp for a traditional dinner, Berber music around the fire and a night under a sky full of stars.

Day 6: Merzouga, Khamlia and Rissani

Sightseeing

Day 6 stays in the desert region and is about the people who live there. In Khamlia, a village known for its Gnawa music and a Saharan culture with sub-Saharan roots, the music is played for a small group right there in the village. The next stop is Rissani, a historic Tafilalet town, and its traditional souk. The drive back to Merzouga runs through the Erg Chebbi dunes.

Day 7: Merzouga to Fes through the Ziz valley

Stop

Day 7 turns the loop north. You rise before dawn to watch the sun come up over the Sahara, and breakfast is taken in the desert before the long drive to Fes. The road follows the palm groves of the Ziz valley, passes through Midelt and crosses the Middle Atlas cedar forests; around Azrou, Barbary macaques are often seen in the trees. You reach Fes in the evening.

Day 8: Fes, a full guided day

Sightseeing

The second guided city day, this time with a licensed guide in Fes el-Bali, a World Heritage medina. Stops include the al-Qarawiyyin mosque-university; the Bou Inania madrasa, a Marinid building whose entry fee is not included; the dyeing pits of the Chouara tanneries; pottery and zellige workshops; and, to finish, the Andalusian and Jewish quarters.

Day 9: Fes, Meknes, Volubilis and Chefchaouen

Stop

Leaving Fes on Day 9, the road passes Meknes, an imperial city, along its ramparts and the Bab el-Mansour gate, then stops at Volubilis, whose Roman ruins are a World Heritage site. From there it climbs into the Rif to Chefchaouen, the blue pearl, where you explore its painted lanes and Andalusian architecture on foot. Dinner and the next morning's breakfast are at the hotel.

Day 10: Chefchaouen to Tangier

Sightseeing

The road to Tangier, a city where Europe and Africa face each other. The afternoon is free to walk the cosmopolitan medina, follow the corniche, or visit the kasbah, the American Legation Museum and Café Hafa, perched above the Strait of Gibraltar. The mix of cultures reads more plainly here than anywhere else in Morocco.

Day 11: Tangier, Asilah, Rabat and back to Casablanca

Stop

Day 11 heads back south along the Atlantic. First comes Asilah, a small whitewashed town by the sea, known for the murals on its walls, then Rabat, the kingdom's capital: Hassan Tower, Mohammed V mausoleum and Udayas Kasbah. This long road day ends in Casablanca for the circuit's last night.

Arrive back at:

Day 12: Casablanca, departure