Morocco · Sample itinerary

14 days in Morocco.

Marrakech, Merzouga, Fes and Tangier, in 13 nights.

Every drive on it is timed, the longest is about 9 hours, and it lands where it starts and flies home from where it ends.

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Marrakech, Morocco
MarrakechPhoto credits
Where you sleep
Marrakech 5, Merzouga 3, Fes 3, Tangier 2
Time in a car
About 22 hours over 3 drives
Fly
Into Marrakech Menara, home from Tangier Ibn Battouta
Built for
A first visit, at a balanced pace

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.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. 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: Rooftop dinner above the Kasbah, then a late walk through Gueliz. Sleep: a restored riad in the Mouassine.

  5. Day 5 · Marrakech

    Morning: The dyers souk, then Ensemble Artisanal for fixed prices. Afternoon: El Badi Palace as the light goes gold. 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.

  6. Day 6 · 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.

  7. Day 7 · 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 in the camp tent, then the stars, which need no booking. Sleep: a comfort camp with ensuite tents.

  8. Day 8 · Merzouga

    Morning: Sunrise from the high dune, breakfast back at camp. Afternoon: Camel out over Erg Chebbi for sunset. Evening: Dinner at the camp and an early night, with the car coming in the morning. Sleep: a comfort camp with ensuite tents.

  9. Day 9 · 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.

  10. Day 10 · Fes

    Morning: Fes food walk: bissara, khlii, camel sfenj. Afternoon: The Chouara tanneries and the leather souk. Evening: The Ruined Garden, slow-cooked mechoui ordered a day ahead. Sleep: a riad inside Fes el-Bali.

  11. Day 11 · Fes

    Morning: Al-Qarawiyyin, Bou Inania and the Mellah with a historian. Afternoon: A Fassi hammam, hotter and more serious than the ones built for visitors. Evening: Your last night in Fes. Something simple close to the riad, and bags packed before bed. Sleep: a riad inside Fes el-Bali.

  12. Day 12 · 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.

  13. Day 13 · 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. Evening: Dinner in the Ville Nouvelle, then somewhere that stays open. Sleep: a boutique hotel above the port.

  14. Day 14 · Tangier

    Morning: The Kasbah Museum and the sultans gardens. Afternoon: Cap Spartel, where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean meet. 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.

Marrakech

Souks and palace rooms, rooftop evenings and the welcome calm behind a riad door. 5 nights here.

Merzouga

Dunes at dusk, a night at camp and an early morning that makes the distance worthwhile. 3 nights here.

Fes

A medina of working hands, tiled courtyards and discoveries made on foot. 3 nights here.

Tangier

Hilltop lanes, sea views and café life at the meeting point of many histories. 2 nights here.

Other lengths.

Make this trip yours.

Opens the planner with this trip already answered, so you see its price for two in October straight away. Change the month, who is coming or the pace, then send it to us. Nothing is booked or charged until you approve a final price.

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