Marrakech
Souks and palace rooms, rooftop evenings and the welcome calm behind a riad door. 4 nights here.
Day by day.
What our planner builds for a couple on a first visit in October, at a balanced pace, staying in restored riads, who asked for food, the souks and the desert, flying into Marrakech Menara and home from Tangier Ibn Battouta.
Day 1 · Marrakech
Arrival: Met at Marrakech Menara and driven to your riad. Afternoon: Street food crawl across Jemaa el-Fna with a local guide. Evening: Nomad, on the roof above Rahba Kedima, modern Moroccan with the spice square below. Sleep: a restored riad in the Mouassine.
Day 2 · Marrakech
Morning: The souks with a buyer who knows the honest workshops. Afternoon: Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs and Ben Youssef Madrasa. Evening: Al Fassia in Gueliz, a kitchen run entirely by women, and the pigeon pastilla. Sleep: a restored riad in the Mouassine.
Day 3 · Marrakech
Morning: Traditional hammam and gommage, then mint tea on the roof. Afternoon: Quad biking through the Palmeraie and the dry riverbeds. Evening: Le Jardin, under the banana trees and several hundred candles. Sleep: a restored riad in the Mouassine.
Day 4 · Marrakech
Morning: A slow morning with nowhere to be, breakfast on the terrace. Afternoon: Cooking class in a medina riad, market shopping first. Evening: A last evening in Marrakech: dinner close to your riad and an early night before the drive. Sleep: a restored riad in the Mouassine.
Day 5 · Merzouga
Morning: On the road early. About 9 hours by road to Merzouga. Afternoon: Still on the road. We stop where it is worth stopping and you are in Merzouga before dark. Evening: Dinner at the camp, and the fire lit after it. Sleep: a comfort camp with ensuite tents.
Day 6 · Merzouga
Morning: The dunes at first light, the only hour the sand is untouched. Afternoon: Bread baked in the sand under the fire. Evening: Dinner at the camp and an early night, with the car coming in the morning. Sleep: a comfort camp with ensuite tents.
Day 7 · Fes
Morning: On the road early. About 8 hours by road to Fes. Afternoon: Still on the road. We stop where it is worth stopping and you are in Fes before dark. Evening: Dar Roumana, Moroccan and French, widely called the best table in Fes. Sleep: a riad inside Fes el-Bali.
Day 8 · Fes
Morning: Fes food walk: bissara, khlii, camel sfenj. Afternoon: The Chouara tanneries and the leather souk. Evening: Your last night in Fes. Something simple close to the riad, and bags packed before bed. Sleep: a riad inside Fes el-Bali.
Day 9 · Tangier
Morning: About 5 hours by road to Tangier. Afternoon: Arrive, check in, and walk the neighbourhood before dinner. Evening: El Morocco Club near the Kasbah, for the room as much as the food. Sleep: a boutique hotel above the port.
Day 10 · Tangier
Morning: A tasting walk through the medina: bissara, msemen and the bakeries. Afternoon: The Grand Socco market, which is a working market not a display. Departure: Checked out, bags held, and driven to Tangier Ibn Battouta in good time for your flight.
Why it is this shape.
This runs one way: fly into Marrakech Menara and home from Tangier Ibn Battouta, which saves a day on the road. Book it as an open jaw, and not until you have seen this.
We will hold small houses nobody has written about, which is where the best rooms in Morocco are.
The places on it.
Merzouga
Dunes at dusk, a night at camp and an early morning that makes the distance worthwhile. 2 nights here.
Fes
A medina of working hands, tiled courtyards and discoveries made on foot. 2 nights here.
Tangier
Hilltop lanes, sea views and café life at the meeting point of many histories. 1 night here.
Other lengths.
7 days in Morocco
Marrakech and Essaouira.
14 days in Morocco
Marrakech, Merzouga, Fes and Tangier.