9 Days Tour from Casablanca

Day 4 is a long and beautiful driving day, so you leave Fes early after breakfast. You drive south to Ifrane, a small and clean town in the Middle Atlas Mountains with Swiss style houses, red roofs and green gardens, and you can stop for photos and a short walk.

Then you continue to the cedar forest near Azrou, one of the most beautiful forests in Morocco. Here you meet the wild Barbary monkeys, who love to take peanuts from your hand, and you can walk between the old giant cedar trees.

After the town of Midelt, the landscape slowly changes and becomes dry, wide and golden. You cross the Ziz Valley with its endless palm trees, and you stop for lunch on the way before you drive the last part of the road to Merzouga.

At sunset you ride a camel into the golden dunes of Erg Chebbi to your desert camp, and you can try sandboarding on the sand. Dinner and Berber drum music follow under a sky full of stars, and you sleep in your tent.

Driving distance: about 480 km
Driving time: about 8.5 hours, with stops
Overnight: desert camp in Merzouga

Day 5 of the 9 days morocco itinerary is a full day in the Merzouga area in a comfortable 4×4 jeep. After a slow breakfast, you leave the camp with your driver and drive across the open desert, where you see small villages, rocky plains and the high dunes from a different side.

You visit a nomad family who live in the desert in the traditional way. They welcome you with sweet mint tea and fresh bread, and they show you how they take care of their animals and how life is in the middle of the Sahara.

Then you see the old M’ifis mine and its dark tunnels in the mountains, and you drive to Khamlia, a small village where the Gnawa people live. You listen to their music and rhythm, and you drive to Lake Dayet Srij, where you can see flamingos and other birds when the lake has water.

You come back to your desert camp in the afternoon and have time to rest, to walk on the dunes or to try sandboarding. In the evening you enjoy a second night in the camp with a good dinner, a warm fire and a peaceful sky full of stars.

Driving distance: about 30 to 40 km
Driving time: about 3 to 4 hours, with stops
Overnight: desert camp in Merzouga

Day 6 starts early with the sunrise over the dunes, which is a magic moment in the quiet desert. You can walk or ride a camel back to the edge of the dunes, take your last photos and enjoy a good breakfast before you say goodbye to the desert camp.

Then you drive to Rissani, a market town with a long history and the old home of the royal family of Morocco. You can walk in the lively souk, see the donkeys, the dates and the spices, and feel the real daily life of the south.

After lunch you cross the rocky plains and small oases to Todra Gorge, where the red cliffs are more than 200 meters high. You can walk inside the gorge, take photos of the huge walls and cool your feet in the clear river.

In the late afternoon you continue to the Dades area near Boumalne Dades, with its strange rocks and green valley. You check in to your hotel or guesthouse, relax with a view of the mountains, and have a nice dinner in the evening.

Driving distance: about 300 km
Driving time: about 6 hours, with stops
Overnight: hotel or guesthouse in Boumalne Dades

Day 7 starts after a relaxed breakfast in the Dades area. You drive along the famous Road of the Kasbahs, where you see many old clay fortresses, green palm groves and small Berber villages, before you arrive in Ouarzazate, the door of the desert.

Then you visit Ait Ben Haddou, a famous fortified village and a UNESCO World Heritage Site where many movies and series were filmed. You walk up between the old clay houses to the top, and you enjoy a wide view over the valley and the river.

After lunch, you cross the High Atlas Mountains over the Tizi n’Tichka pass, one of the highest roads in Morocco. The road has many curves and wide views of the snowy peaks, and you can stop in small villages on the way for tea and photos.

In the evening you arrive in the Red City of Marrakech. Your driver takes you to your riad or hotel near the medina, and you can relax, have dinner and walk to the Jemaa el-Fnaa square if you have energy.

Driving distance: about 330 km
Driving time: about 6.5 hours, with stops
Overnight: riad or hotel in Marrakech

Day 8 is a full day in Marrakech with a friendly local guide, so there is no long drive. After breakfast, your guide meets you at your riad and shows you the Red City with its pink walls, old gates and busy streets.

You visit the Koutoubia Mosque and its famous minaret, the Saadian Tombs and the Bahia Palace with its painted ceilings and quiet gardens. Your guide tells you the stories of the sultans, and he helps you take the best photos in each place.

Then you walk in the medina and the colorful souks, where you can find lamps, leather bags, spices, carpets and tea sets. You stop for a traditional Moroccan lunch, and you end the day in the Jemaa el-Fnaa square, with its storytellers, musicians and food stalls.

In the evening you return to your riad to rest, or you can enjoy a nice dinner on a rooftop terrace with a view of the old city. Tomorrow you travel to the ocean town of Essaouira.

Driving distance: none, guided walking tour
Driving time: about 4 hours on foot
Overnight: riad in Marrakech

Day 9 of the 9 days in Morocco starts after breakfast in Marrakech. You drive west toward the Atlantic coast, and on the way you see small villages and the famous argan trees, where you can stop to learn how the local women make argan oil in their cooperatives.

After about three hours you arrive in Essaouira, a relaxed white and blue town by the ocean, with a fresh sea breeze. You walk in the old medina, on the old Portuguese ramparts with their black cannons, and in the colorful fishing port full of blue boats and seagulls.

You have free time for a nice lunch with fresh grilled fish and seafood, for shopping in the small art galleries and wooden craft shops, or for a walk on the long sandy beach. It is a quiet and happy end to your trip after the busy cities and the long desert roads.

In the afternoon your driver takes you back along the road to Casablanca. He drops you at the Casablanca airport for your flight, or at your hotel in Casablanca, and your private tour ends here with many beautiful memories of Morocco.

Driving distance: about 190 km to Essaouira, then about 370 km to Casablanca
Driving time: about 3 hours to Essaouira, then about 4.5 hours to Casablanca, with stops
Overnight: none, the tour ends at the Casablanca airport or hotel