The 12 Days Morocco Tour from Casablanca is the first of the long itineraries to reach the Mediterranean. The northern leg runs up the Atlantic through Asilah to Tangier, then east along the coast to Tetouan and up into the Rif for two nights in Chefchaouen.
From there it becomes the classic route done properly: Volubilis and Meknes, a full day in the Fes medina, the long descent through the Ziz Valley, two nights at Erg Chebbi with a free desert day, and the gorge road back west through Todra, the Dades and Ait Ben Haddou.
The last three days cover Marrakech with a full day in the city, then Essaouira and the Atlantic before the drive back up the coast to Casablanca.
Pickup at Casablanca airport, port or hotel, beginning with the Hassan II Mosque if your arrival allows.
North to Rabat for the Kasbah of the Udayas and the Hassan Tower, then on up the coast to Asilah, a small walled town of whitewashed houses where artists paint murals on the ramparts each summer. Lunch by the sea.
Arrival in Tangier in the late afternoon. If there is light left, the Cape Spartel headland where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean is twenty minutes out of town.
Accommodation: Hotel in Tangier
Morning in Tangier: the Kasbah on the hill, the small medina, the Grand Socco, and the Caves of Hercules on the coast west of the city.
The road east follows the Mediterranean to Tetouan, whose medina is UNESCO-listed and unmistakably Andalusian, built by refugees from Granada. It is smaller and less visited than Fes and easy to walk.
The afternoon climbs into the Rif to Chefchaouen, arriving in time for the walk up to the Spanish mosque and the view over the blue rooftops.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Chefchaouen
A day with no driving. The medina is steep, compact and painted lime blue, and best explored without a route.
The kasbah in the main square has a garden and a tower with a view over the rooftops. Ras el Maa, the spring at the top of the town, is a ten-minute climb.
The Akchour waterfalls and the natural arch known as the God Bridge are about an hour away and make a good half-day walk for anyone who wants the mountains rather than the lanes.
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 Moulay Idriss.
A stop in Meknes for the Bab Mansour gate, the walls and the royal granaries.
Arrival in Fes in the late afternoon, with the evening free.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Fes
A full day in Fes el Bali, a working ninth-century city with no cars and around nine thousand lanes.
You visit 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 or the Merenid tombs above the city at sunset.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Fes
South across the Middle Atlas through Ifrane and the Azrou cedar forest, where Barbary macaques come to the roadside.
Lunch at Midelt, then the descent into the Ziz Valley with its long belt of date palms and the viewpoint above the gorge.
Arrival at Merzouga in the late afternoon, then the camel ride into Erg Chebbi, reaching camp at sunset for dinner and drumming 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 hamada, the seasonal lake at Dayet Srji, the black volcanic desert and the abandoned mines at Mfis.
Late afternoon at Khamlia for Gnaoua music, then a second sunset at the dunes.
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 close 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 for the night, below the eroded rock towers.
Accommodation: Hotel or guesthouse in the Dades Valley
The kasbah road west through El Kelaa des Mgouna, where most of the country rose water is distilled, and the Skoura oasis with Kasbah Amerhidil among the palms.
Ouarzazate for lunch, 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
A full day in Marrakech: the Koutoubia minaret, the Saadian tombs, the Bahia Palace and the Ben Youssef Madrasa, with a local guide if you want the history behind them.
The afternoon is free for the souks, the Majorelle garden and the Yves Saint Laurent museum, or a hammam.
After dark, Jemaa el Fna fills with food stalls, storytellers and musicians.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Marrakech
West across the Haouz plain into argan country. The tree grows only in this part of the world, and there are women cooperatives along the road where the oil is still pressed by hand.
Arrival in Essaouira around midday, leaving the afternoon free for the harbour, the Skala ramparts and the medina.
Dinner is best taken at the port, where the day catch is grilled at the stalls.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Essaouira
The coast road north, with a stop at the Oualidia lagoon, known for its oyster beds, and at El Jadida, where the Portuguese cistern beneath the old town is worth the short detour.
Arrival in Casablanca in the afternoon, with time for the Hassan II Mosque or the Corniche.
Drop-off at the airport, at the port or at your hotel, timed around your flight.
Asilah, Tangier and Tetouan, which most Morocco itineraries skip entirely. Tangier is the point where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, and Tetouan medina is Andalusian rather than Arab-Berber in character.
For the Kasbah, the medina and Cape Spartel, yes. If you want the Caves of Hercules and a slower morning, we can add a second night.
The eleven-day version returns from the desert through the Draa Valley and skips the far north. This one adds Tangier and Tetouan and comes back by the gorges. The fourteen-day tour includes both.
Day six to Merzouga is the longest at about eight hours. Three days have no transfer at all, and the coastal stages are short.
Breakfast daily, plus dinner at the desert camp, in Merzouga and in the Dades Valley. Elsewhere you eat where you like.
Yes. If you are continuing to Tarifa or Algeciras we can reverse the route so it finishes in Tangier at the port.
Twelve days covers the two coasts, the Rif, the imperial cities and the Sahara without any day being a pure transfer. It is the first length at which Morocco can be seen as a whole country rather than a single region.
Private vehicle and driver throughout, and any day can be reshaped before departure or on the road.
