The 10 Days Morocco Holiday from Tangier is the version with room to breathe. Three of the ten days involve no driving at all: a free day in Chefchaouen, a free day in the desert, and a guided day in Marrakech.
It starts on the Strait with a day around Tangier, Cape Spartel and the whitewashed port of Asilah, then works south through Tetouan and the Rif, Volubilis and Meknes, a full day in the Fes medina, and the long descent through the Ziz Valley to the dunes.
Erg Chebbi gets two nights with a day for nomad camps, the black desert and the Gnaoua musicians of Khamlia. The route then heads west by Todra, the Dades and Ait Ben Haddou, finishing with a full day in Marrakech rather than a late arrival and an early flight.
Pickup at Tangier airport, at the ferry port or at your hotel. The morning covers the city: the Kasbah above the bay, the small medina and the Grand Socco.
Out of town, Cape Spartel marks the meeting of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and the Caves of Hercules just below open to the sea through a gap shaped like the map of Africa.
In the afternoon a short drive south to Asilah, a walled town of white houses whose ramparts are repainted with murals each summer. Back to Tangier for the night.
Accommodation: Hotel in Tangier
East along the Mediterranean to Tetouan, whose UNESCO-listed medina was built by Andalusian refugees after the fall of Granada. It is compact, whitewashed and much quieter than Fes.
Lunch in Tetouan, then the road climbs into the Rif.
Arrival in Chefchaouen in the afternoon, in time for the walk up to the Spanish mosque for the view over the blue medina at sunset.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Chefchaouen
A day with no driving. The medina is steep, small and painted lime blue, and rewards walking without a plan.
The kasbah in the main square has a garden and a tower with a view. Ras el Maa, the spring at the top of the town, is a short climb, and the path continues into the hills.
For a longer walk, the Akchour waterfalls and the natural arch called the God Bridge are about an hour away.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Chefchaouen
Down out of the Rif to Volubilis, the Roman provincial capital, where mosaic floors, the basilica and the triumphal arch stand in open farmland below the hill town of Moulay Idriss.
A stop in Meknes for the Bab Mansour gate, the walls and the royal granaries built to feed twelve thousand horses.
Arrival in Fes in the late afternoon, evening free.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Fes
A full day inside Fes el Bali, a working ninth-century city with no cars and around nine thousand lanes.
The circuit takes in the Bou Inania and Attarine madrasas, the Nejjarine fountain and woodwork museum, the Al Quaraouiyine mosque and library, and the Chouara tanneries with their stone dye vats.
A licensed guide is recommended. The afternoon is free for the souks, the brass quarter or the Merenid tombs at sunset.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Fes
South across the Middle Atlas through Ifrane and the cedar forest at Azrou, where Barbary macaques come down to the roadside.
Lunch at Midelt on the plateau, then down through the Tizi n Talghomt into the Ziz Valley, a green corridor of date palms between bare cliffs, with a viewpoint above the gorge.
Arrival at Merzouga in the late afternoon and the camel ride into Erg Chebbi, reaching camp at sunset for dinner and drums under the tent.
Accommodation: Berber desert camp, Erg Chebbi
Sunrise from a dune crest, camel ride back, breakfast and a shower at your hotel.
A 4×4 circuit fills the day: tea with a nomad family on the open hamada, the seasonal lake at Dayet Srji, the black volcanic desert and the abandoned kohl mines at Mfis.
Late afternoon at Khamlia for a Gnaoua session, then a second sunset at the edge of the erg.
Accommodation: Hotel or kasbah in Merzouga
West after breakfast, with stops at Rissani and its covered souk and at Erfoud for the fossil workshops.
The afternoon reaches Todra Gorge, where the walls rise about 300 metres and the canyon narrows to a few paces above the streambed. A walk on the valley floor is the best of the day.
Short drive on to the Dades Valley, with time for the winding gorge road above your hotel.
Accommodation: Hotel or guesthouse in the Dades Valley
The kasbah road west through El Kelaa des Mgouna, where most of the Moroccan rose crop is distilled, and the Skoura oasis with Kasbah Amerhidil among the palms.
Ouarzazate for lunch, with the Taourirt Kasbah and the film studios, then Ait Ben Haddou and the climb through the ksar to the granary at the top.
Over the High Atlas by the Tizi n Tichka pass, with viewpoints on the descent into Marrakech.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Marrakech
The last day is spent in Marrakech. The morning covers the Koutoubia minaret, the Saadian tombs, the Bahia Palace and the Ben Youssef Madrasa, with a local guide if you want the history.
The afternoon is free for the souks, the Majorelle garden and the Yves Saint Laurent museum, or a hammam after ten days on the road.
Transfer to Marrakech airport or to your hotel at the end of the day, depending on your flight.
Three days have no transfer at all, and two more are half days. The long stages are Fes to Merzouga and the Dades to Marrakech.
Yes. Pickup at Tanger Med or the city port is standard, and the first day is built around Tangier so a mid-morning sailing still works.
It can, but it adds a full day of driving or an internal flight. Most travellers fly out of Marrakech instead. Tell us your flights and we will advise.
A 4×4 circuit: a nomad family camp, the seasonal flamingo lake, the black volcanic desert, the old mines at Mfis, and Gnaoua musicians at Khamlia.
Breakfast daily, plus dinner at the desert camp, in Merzouga and in the Dades Valley. City dinners are left open.
Yes, two extra days from Marrakech covers the argan road and the coast. We can also add the Ouzoud waterfalls as a day trip.
Ten days is enough to travel the length of Morocco without any day being a pure transfer. The north gets three days rather than a corridor, the Sahara gets two nights, and Marrakech gets a day rather than an arrival.
Everything is private, and the route is a straight line from the Strait to the south, so nothing is driven twice.
