9 Days Morocco Experience: Imperial Cities & Sahara

This 9-day private tour is for first-time visitors who want to see Morocco's four imperial cities and the Sahara in one well-paced trip. It suits couples, friends and small families who prefer a driver of their own, and it leaves enough time in Fes and Marrakech to enjoy the medinas properly.

Imperial cities and the Sahara in one loop

We meet you at Casablanca airport or your hotel and start with the Hassan II Mosque, one of the few mosques in Morocco open to non-Muslim visitors on guided tours. The same afternoon we drive about an hour and a quarter to Rabat, the capital, for the Hassan Tower and the Kasbah of the Udayas. Day two continues to Meknes, with its monumental Bab Mansour gate, and the Roman ruins of Volubilis, before arriving in Fes for two nights.

Fes and the road south

A full day in Fes with a licensed local guide takes you through the lanes of Fes el-Bali, past the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque and the Chouara tanneries. From Fes we cross the Middle Atlas via Ifrane and Midelt and follow the Ziz Valley to Merzouga, where you spend two nights: one in a comfortable guesthouse at the foot of the dunes and one at our desert camp in Erg Chebbi after a sunset camel trek. The day in between is spent exploring Khamlia, Rissani and the dunes by 4x4.

Gorges, kasbahs and Marrakech

Heading west, you walk in the Todra Gorge, sleep in the Dades Valley, follow the road of a thousand kasbahs and spend a night in Ait Benhaddou itself, which is lovely in the evening once the day visitors leave. The final crossing of the Tizi n'Tichka brings you to Marrakech, where a guided walk on the last day covers the Bahia Palace, the Koutoubia and Jemaa el-Fna.

Pace and flexibility

Driving days range from about one to eight hours, and the longest are the Fes to Merzouga and Merzouga to Dades legs. Because this is a private tour, we can adjust hotel levels, add a night or start in Marrakech instead. If you have more time and want Chefchaouen and Essaouira too, look at our 12-day grand Morocco tour from Casablanca.