Morocco 10-Day Itinerary

Arrive Marrakech — Settle In & Jemaa el-Fna

Fly into Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK). Most international flights arrive by early afternoon, giving you time to check into your riad before the evening rush. Taxis from the airport cost around 80–100 MAD; agree the price before getting in.

Keep the first evening simple: walk to Jemaa el-Fna as the sun goes down and watch the square transform from daytime market into a carnival of food stalls, snake charmers and musicians. Eat at the stalls or sit at a rooftop café with a mint tea and take it all in. An early night — tomorrow is full.

Marrakech Medina — Souks, Palaces & the Kasbah

Start early at Ben Youssef Madrasa before the crowds arrive — the carved cedar ceilings and zellij tilework are some of the finest in Morocco. Then explore the souks: the spice souk (Rahba Kedima), leather souk, lantern district. Let yourself get pleasantly lost for 2–3 hours.

After lunch in the medina, visit Bahia Palace and the ruins of El Badi Palace, then the Saadian Tombs — one of Marrakech's most underrated sites, especially beautiful in late afternoon light.

Marrakech — Majorelle Garden & the New City

Book Jardin Majorelle tickets online in advance (they sell out). The electric-blue Cubist villa, cobalt fountains and towering cacti are unlike anything else in Morocco. The Yves Saint Laurent Museum next door is worth an hour if fashion history interests you.

Afternoon in the Gueliz district — good coffee, galleries, and dinner at a modern Moroccan restaurant before an early night. Collect your rental car today if you haven't already — you'll need it for an early departure tomorrow.

Marrakech → Aït Benhaddou → Dades Gorge

Leave by 7am. The drive over Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260m) through the High Atlas is one of Morocco's great road journeys — snow-capped peaks in spring, ochre cliffs year-round, Berber villages on impossible ridgelines. Stop at the summit for photos.

After 3.5 hours, stop at Aït Benhaddou — the Unesco-listed ksar that served as backdrop for Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia and Game of Thrones. Climb to the top granary for panoramic views. Two hours is enough.

Continue east along the "Road of a Thousand Kasbahs" to Dades Gorge. Check into a gorge guesthouse. The valley goes almost completely dark after 9pm.

Dades → Todra Gorge → Merzouga (Sahara)

A dawn walk into the upper Dades canyon before breakfast — the light in the narrow gorge is extraordinary. Then drive east to Todra Gorge, where 300-metre walls close to just 10 metres apart. Walk the gorge floor, watch rock climbers on the walls above, and have a tagine lunch at a riverside restaurant.

The final drive to Merzouga crosses flat, lunar landscape before the great dunes of Erg Chebbi rise on the horizon. Join a late-afternoon camel trek into the dunes for sunset — the light on the sand at golden hour is extraordinary.

Sahara — Sunrise, Dunes & Stargazing

Wake at 5am for the Sahara sunrise — non-negotiable. The dunes shift from grey-blue to rose-gold to amber in 20 minutes. Bring a jacket; it's cold in the desert before dawn. Your camp will arrange the walk out to a viewpoint.

Spend the morning exploring on foot or by quad bike. Afternoon is for rest and hammam. After dark, the Sahara has virtually zero light pollution — on a clear night the Milky Way is vivid overhead. Your second night in camp or return to Merzouga.

Merzouga → Fes — The Long Drive (or Fly)

The drive from Merzouga to Fes is 6–7 hours via Midelt and Ifrane through the Middle Atlas — cedar forests, Barbary macaques at the roadside, and Morocco's unexpected "Swiss village" at Ifrane (1,650m). Leave by 8am and enjoy the changing landscape. Arrive Fes by evening.

Alternatively, check for flights from Errachidia (ERH) to Fes (FEZ) — seasonal routes exist and save the drive. Arrive Fes, check into a riad in Fes el-Bali, take a short evening walk through the Bou Jeloud gate into the medina and go to bed.

Fes — Chouara Tanneries & the Ancient Medina

Fes el-Bali is the world's largest car-free urban area — 9,000+ alleys, none of them straight. Hire a licensed guide for the morning (your riad will recommend one, around 300–400 MAD for 4 hours). You'll cover twice as much ground and the tanneries need context.

The Chouara Tanneries are the headline: view from leather shops above (free with polite refusal to buy). The coloured vats — chalk white, poppy red, saffron yellow — are unchanged since the 11th century. Bring a mint sprig. Afternoon: Al-Qarawiyyin (world's oldest university, founded 859 AD), Bou Inania Madrasa and Medersa el-Attarine.

Fes → Chefchaouen — The Blue City

Drive 3.5 hours through the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen. Arrive before 2pm for the best afternoon light in the blue alleys. The medina is small enough to explore without a guide — climb to the Spanish Mosque above town for panoramic views, wander the central plaza (Uta el-Hammam) and explore the dye-washed streets of the old quarter.

Chefchaouen → Casablanca or Tangier — Fly Home

A quiet early morning in Chefchaouen before the day-trippers arrive — the medina at 7am is genuinely serene. Then drive to your departure airport. Casablanca CMN is 3.5h away and has the widest range of international connections. Tangier TNG is only 2h away and is served by Ryanair and other low-cost carriers to Europe.

Marrakech — Two Full Days in the Red City

Follow the same plan as Route 1 Days 1–2: arrive, settle in, evening at Jemaa el-Fna. Day 2 covers the medina, souks and palaces. On Day 2 evening, consider a traditional hammam experience — Hammam el-Bacha is inexpensive and authentic, or book through your riad for a more upmarket version.

Marrakech → Essaouira — Atlantic Wind & Ramparts

The 2.5-hour drive to Essaouira passes through the argan forest (look for goats in the trees — genuinely not a myth). Essaouira is Morocco's most relaxed city: a blue-and-white Atlantic port with Unesco-listed medina, a long sandy beach, and a near-constant ocean wind that makes it the kitesurfing capital of Africa.

Explore the sea bastions and ramparts, browse the covered fish market, and watch craftsmen work with thuya root in the woodworking workshops. Dinner at a harbour-front fish restaurant.

Essaouira → Casablanca — Hassan II Mosque & the Modern City

Drive 3.5 hours north to Casablanca. The afternoon centres on Hassan II Mosque — the world's seventh-largest, built on a promontory over the Atlantic, with a retractable roof and a 210-metre minaret. Guided tours run throughout the day (book online at fmh2.ma to skip queues).

Explore the Art Deco Corniche, the Central Market, and dine in the Gauthier neighbourhood — some of Morocco's best contemporary restaurants are here.

Casablanca → Rabat — Morocco's Quiet Capital

Take the train to Rabat (1 hour, 50 MAD). Rabat is criminally undervisited. The Kasbah des Oudaïas — a 12th-century fortress with an Andalusian garden and views over the Bouregreg estuary — is one of Morocco's most peaceful spots. The Hassan Tower and adjacent Mausoleum of Mohammed V are next to each other and unmissable.

Afternoon in Rabat's medina and Mellah before a train to Fes (2.5h) to arrive by evening.

Fes — Two Days in the World's Oldest Living City

Day 6 covers the tanneries, madrasas and medina (same as Route 1 Day 8). Day 7: take a day trip to Meknes (45 minutes by train) — Morocco's most underrated imperial city, with the spectacular Bab Mansour gate. From Meknes, a 30km drive takes you to Volubilis, North Africa's best-preserved Roman ruins.

Fes → Chefchaouen — Two Nights in the Blue City

Route 2's extra night in Chefchaouen is a significant upgrade. Use it to hike to the Spanish Mosque at sunset (30 minutes from the medina), visit the Ras el-Maa waterfall at the top of the medina, and take an early morning walk through quiet neighbourhoods before the day-trippers arrive from Fes. Day 9 can include a half-day hike into the Rif Mountains above town.

Chefchaouen → Tangier — Fly Home

Tangier is just 2 hours from Chefchaouen — an easy end-point for this northern route. If time allows before your flight, the Kasbah Museum, Grand Socco and the Terrasse des Paresseux — a terrace with views across the Strait of Gibraltar to Spain — are all within walking distance of the centre. Tangier airport (TNG) is 15 minutes from the city.