Morocco 10-Day Itinerary

Land at Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK), check into your riad, and give yourself the afternoon to decompress. The medina is a sensory overload in the best possible way — narrow alleys that bend unexpectedly, the smell of fresh bread from a bakery you'll never find again, calls to prayer echoing off ancient walls. Don't rush it.

By early evening, make your way to Jemaa el-Fna — the great square at the heart of the medina. As the sun goes down, the square transforms: food stalls set up, musicians appear, storytellers gather crowds. Find a rooftop café overlooking the square and watch it all unfold over a pot of mint tea. This is one of the great urban spectacles on earth.

• Arrive, check in, freshen up
• Explore the souks near Jemaa el-Fna (Souk Semmarine is the main artery)
• Rooftop tea overlooking the square at sunset
• Dinner at a food stall on the square — try the harira soup and lamb brochettes

Day two is for the monuments. Start early at the Bahia Palace (open from 9am) before the tour groups arrive — the carved cedar ceilings and tiled courtyards are extraordinary in the morning light. From there, walk to the ruins of the El Badi Palace, where storks nest on every turret and the scale of what was once the greatest palace in the Islamic world still registers.

After lunch (try one of the small restaurants in the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter), take a taxi to the Jardin Majorelle — Yves Saint Laurent's legendary cobalt-blue garden, now immaculately maintained and home to the Berber Museum. Arrive late afternoon to avoid the peak crowds.

• Bahia Palace — one of the most beautiful buildings in Morocco
• El Badi Palace ruins and stork towers
• Lunch in the Mellah neighbourhood
• Jardin Majorelle and the Berber Museum
• Evening hammam — essential Marrakech experience

Leave Marrakech early — aim to be on the road by 8am. The route south over the Tizi n'Tichka mountain pass (at 2,260 metres, the highest paved pass in Morocco) is one of the most spectacular drives in the country. The landscape shifts from ochre plains to pine forests to bare, dramatic peaks. Stop at the top for the view — and for the women selling saffron and argan oil from roadside stalls.

By midday you will reach Ait Benhaddou, the ancient fortified village (ksar) that UNESCO listed as a World Heritage Site and that has appeared as a backdrop in Gladiator, Game of Thrones, and dozens of other productions. Cross the river on foot (there are stepping stones) and climb to the top of the ksar for the view over the palmery. Lunch at one of the terrace restaurants facing the village.

• Tizi n'Tichka pass — stop for photos and local stalls
• Ait Benhaddou UNESCO ksar — 1–2 hours exploring
• Lunch on a terrace overlooking the village
• Continue towards Ouarzazate or push on to Skoura for the night

The drive east from Ait Benhaddou to Merzouga is a journey through Morocco's deep south — the Draa Valley, with its 45-kilometre corridor of date palms; the Dadès Valley with its crumbling mud kasbahs; the Todra Gorge with its 300-metre vertical walls. Take the N10 highway and allow 5–6 hours including stops. This is not a drive to rush.

Arrive at Merzouga in the late afternoon. Drop your bags at your guesthouse and walk to the edge of Erg Chebbi — the massive sea of orange and gold dunes that rises 150 metres from the flat stony desert. The late afternoon light on the dunes is unforgettable. If your accommodation includes a camel trek, this is when you join it: a one-hour ride into the dunes as the sun sets, arriving at a Berber camp for dinner under the stars.

• Drive the N10 east — stop at Dadès Valley viewpoint
• Todra Gorge — 20-minute walk between the canyon walls
• Arrive Merzouga late afternoon
• Camel trek into Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset
• Overnight in a Berber desert camp

Wake before dawn — your camp will have an alarm call if you want. Walk or ride to a dune crest and watch the sun rise over the Algerian border. In the early morning, the dunes are raked with shadows and the air is cold and clear. This is the moment that makes the long drive worthwhile.

Return to your guesthouse for breakfast and spend the morning at your own pace — some people hire a 4x4 for a deeper desert excursion, others simply sit and read with the dunes as a backdrop. The village of Merzouga has a few good cafés and a lively Wednesday market if you are there mid-week. Depart early afternoon toward Dades, or spend a second night in the desert.

• Pre-dawn dune climb for sunrise
• Breakfast back at the guesthouse
• Optional: quad bike or 4x4 desert excursion
• Relax in the afternoon before heading north

The N10 heading west from Merzouga is known as the Route des Mille Kasbahs — the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs. It is one of the most dramatic drives in Morocco, passing through a string of ancient fortified villages, walled gardens of date palms, and eroded rock formations of every imaginable shade of red and ochre. Stop often. Many of the kasbahs are still inhabited and welcome visitors with tea.

The highlight of this day is the Dades Gorge — a dramatically carved canyon with a switchback road that climbs to a viewpoint above the valley. The formations here are nicknamed "monkey fingers" for their uncanny shapes. Continue north in the afternoon and overnight somewhere in the Midelt area or push all the way to the outskirts of Fes.

• Route des Mille Kasbahs — stop at Kalaat M'Gouna (rose capital of Morocco)
• Dades Gorge road and viewpoint
• Tinghir palmery (largest oasis in Morocco)
• Drive north via Midelt toward Fes

Fes is a different Morocco entirely. Where Marrakech is flamboyant and tourist-polished, Fes is dense, ancient and still profoundly functional as a living city. The medina, Fes el-Bali, is the largest car-free urban area in the world — 9,400 narrow streets and alleys, about 20,000 workshops, and 156,000 people who call it home. It has been essentially unchanged since the 9th century.

Spend the first afternoon simply walking — accept that you will get lost, because getting lost is how you find the good things. The main arteries (Talaa Kebira and Talaa Seghira) are navigable; everything else is an adventure. Aim to reach the Bou Inania Madrasa by late afternoon — it is the most architecturally magnificent building in Fes and is open to non-Muslim visitors.

• Check into your riad in the Fes medina
• Walk Talaa Kebira from Bab Bou Jeloud (the Blue Gate)
• Bou Inania Madrasa — carved plaster and cedar at its finest
• Dinner in the medina — Riad Fes restaurant is outstanding

The second day in Fes is for the things you couldn't find on the first. The Chouara Tannery is the most photographed spot in Morocco — an ancient leather-dyeing workshop where hides have been processed in the same stone vats using the same natural pigments for over a thousand years. The viewing terraces at the leather shops surrounding it are free to access (they will try to sell you leather goods, which is fair enough).

Visit the Attarine Souks — the spice and perfume market around the Kairaouine Mosque — and the nearby Nejjarine Fountain, a beautifully tiled 18th-century fountain in the woodworkers' souk. In the afternoon, climb to the Borj Nord fortress above the city for the view over the medina rooftops — an extraordinary sight at any time of day.

• Chouara Tannery viewing terrace — go in the morning for best light
• Attarine souks and Nejjarine Fountain
• Kairaouine Mosque exterior (entry restricted to Muslims)
• Borj Nord fortress — panoramic view over Fes
• Buy spices, ceramics, or leather before leaving

The drive from Fes to Chefchaouen takes about four hours and passes through the cedar forests and limestone plateaux of the Middle Atlas — keep an eye out for Barbary macaques along the roadside near Azrou. Chefchaouen sits in a valley in the Rif Mountains and has been painted in shades of blue and white for centuries, originally by its Jewish community, later adopted by the whole town.

Arrive in the afternoon and walk straight into the medina. The blue walls are even more vivid in real life than in photographs. Climb to the Spanish mosque above the town for the classic view over the rooftops and the valley below. The medina here is small enough to know well by the end of your first evening — which means you can stop worrying about getting somewhere and just be somewhere.

• Drive via Azrou — Barbary macaque territory in the cedar forest
• Arrive Chefchaouen mid-afternoon
• Walk the blue medina — Plaza Uta el-Hammam is the heart
• Climb to the Spanish mosque at sunset for the famous view
• Ras el-Maa waterfall — 15-minute walk from the centre
• Final night dinner: Lala Mesouda restaurant for authentic mountain cooking

Spend the morning in Chefchaouen at your own pace — the blue medina is at its most peaceful before 9am and the streets are almost empty. Buy a last round of argan oil soap, local honey, or hand-painted ceramics. Have breakfast at a rooftop café with the mountains visible in every direction.

Your departure options from Chefchaouen depend on your return flight. Fes-Saïss Airport (FEZ) is 3.5 hours away — a good option if your flight is in the afternoon or evening. Casablanca Mohammed V Airport (CMN) is about 4.5 hours and serves more international routes. If your flight home is from Marrakech, the drive is around 7 hours — an overnight in Casablanca the night before is worth considering.

• Final walk through the blue medina at sunrise
• Breakfast and last-minute shopping
• Drive to Fes (3.5 hrs) or Casablanca (4.5 hrs)
• Airport drop-off and fly home — with very full memory cards