The 9 Days Desert Tour from Casablanca gives the Sahara the time the shorter loops cannot. Instead of arriving at Erg Chebbi at sunset and leaving at dawn, you stay two nights and spend a whole day in the desert itself.
That day is spent away from the dunes as well as on them: tea with a nomad family living on the open hamada, the black volcanic desert, the abandoned mine workings at Mfis, and an afternoon of Gnaoua music at Khamlia, a village founded by descendants of people brought north across the Sahara.
Around it, the itinerary covers the north and the south properly: Rabat, Chefchaouen in the Rif, Volubilis, Meknes, a full day in the Fes medina, then the gorges, the kasbah valleys, Ait Ben Haddou and Marrakech before the return to Casablanca.
Pickup at Casablanca airport, port or hotel, with the Hassan II Mosque first if your arrival allows it.
North to Rabat for the Kasbah of the Udayas above the river mouth, the Hassan Tower and the mausoleum of Mohammed V.
The road then climbs into the Rif to Chefchaouen, arriving in time to walk up to the Spanish mosque for the view over the blue medina at sunset.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Chefchaouen
Morning in the blue town: stepped lanes, the small kasbah and its garden, the Outa el Hammam square, and the Ras el Maa spring at the top.
After lunch you drop out of the mountains to Volubilis, the Roman city whose mosaics and triumphal arch stand among wheat fields below Moulay Idriss.
A stop in Meknes for Bab Mansour and the royal granaries, then on to Fes for the night.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Fes
A day on foot in Fes el Bali, the largest car-free urban area in the world and still a working medieval city.
You visit the Bou Inania and Attarine madrasas, the Nejjarine fountain and woodwork museum, the Al Quaraouiyine mosque and library, and the Chouara tanneries.
A licensed guide is recommended and can be booked. The afternoon is free for the souks, the brass quarter or the Merenid tombs at sunset.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Fes
South over the Middle Atlas through Ifrane and the Azrou cedar forest, where Barbary macaques gather by the road.
Lunch at Midelt, then the descent into the Ziz Valley and its palm groves, with a viewpoint over the gorge.
You arrive at Merzouga in the late afternoon and ride into Erg Chebbi by camel, reaching camp at sunset. Dinner under the tent and drums around the fire.
Accommodation: Berber desert camp, Erg Chebbi
Sunrise from a dune crest, then back by camel for breakfast and a shower at your hotel.
The day is a 4×4 circuit of the erg: tea with a nomad family on the hamada, the seasonal lake at Dayet Srji where flamingos stop in spring, 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 dunes before dinner at your hotel.
Accommodation: Hotel or kasbah in Merzouga
West after breakfast, with a stop at Rissani and its covered market, the trading centre of the Tafilalet, and at Erfoud for the fossil workshops.
The afternoon reaches Todra Gorge, where the walls close to a few paces above the streambed. A walk on the valley floor is the best part of the day.
A short drive on brings you 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 and the Skoura oasis, with Kasbah Amerhidil among the palms.
Ouarzazate for lunch, then Ait Ben Haddou, where a climb through the ksar ends at the granary with a view over the whole valley.
Over the Tizi n Tichka pass and down into Marrakech in the evening.
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 in the morning, 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.
Jemaa el Fna changes entirely after dark and is worth the walk.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Marrakech
Around three hours north on the motorway, with time in Casablanca for the Hassan II Mosque, the Corniche or the Habous quarter depending on your flight.
Drop-off at Casablanca airport, at the port or at your hotel.
If your flight leaves from Marrakech we finish there instead and the last transfer is dropped.
A 4×4 circuit rather than more camel riding: a nomad family camp, the seasonal flamingo lake, the black volcanic desert, the old mines at Mfis, and Gnaoua musicians at Khamlia. It is the day most travellers remember.
By default one night at the camp and one at a hotel or kasbah in Merzouga, which gives you a hot shower mid-trip. Two camp nights can be arranged instead.
Same northern route, but a second night and a free day at Erg Chebbi. Everything else stays the same.
Yes, along with the Khamlia visit and the nomad family stop.
Three of the nine days involve no transfer at all. The long stages are day four to Merzouga and day seven to Marrakech.
Essaouira fits well as a tenth day from Marrakech. Zagora is on the other desert road and would need a different routing, which we can quote separately.
Nine days is the point where the Sahara stops being a photo stop. Two nights, two sunsets, two sunrises and a full day out on the hamada change the trip from a tour of Morocco into a trip that includes the desert on its own terms.
The rest of the route still covers the north, the imperial cities and Marrakech, and the whole thing runs as a loop from Casablanca on a single return flight.
