Morocco Itinerary: 13 Days from Casablanca

Land at Mohammed V International Airport and meet your driver-guide for the short transfer into Casablanca, Morocco's economic capital on the Atlantic. After settling in, you visit the colossal Hassan II Mosque, built partly over the ocean and topped by the world's tallest minaret at 210 metres. The evening is free to walk the seafront Corniche, watch the surf, and ease into Moroccan time after your flight.

Travel note · Casablanca is a working port city rather than a tourist showpiece - the mosque is the highlight, so don't over-plan the first day.

A short coastal drive north brings you to Rabat, the relaxed capital where palm-lined avenues meet a walled medina. You explore the Kasbah of the Udayas with its Andalusian garden and whitewashed lanes washed blue at the base, the soaring 12th-century Hassan Tower, and the marble Mausoleum of Mohammed V. Rabat's easy pace makes it a gentle second day before the trip ramps up.

Travel note · Rabat is a UNESCO World Heritage city in its own right and far calmer than Fes or Marrakech - a good place to find your feet.

Today you cross the fertile heartland to two more imperial sites. In Meknes, the monumental Bab Mansour gate and the granaries of Moulay Ismail recall a 17th-century sultan who dreamed of rivalling Versailles. A short hop north lies Volubilis, where Roman columns, a triumphal arch, and astonishing in-situ mosaics sit beneath the hills. You reach Fes by evening, the spiritual and intellectual heart of Morocco.

Travel note · Volubilis is best in late-afternoon light when the mosaics glow gold and the heat eases.

A full day with a local guide inside the medieval labyrinth of Fes el-Bali, founded in the 9th century and home to the world's oldest continuously operating university, Al-Qarawiyyin (859 AD). You visit ornate madrasas, the Nejjarine fountain, and the legendary Chouara tanneries where leather is still dyed in stone vats. With over 9,000 lanes, a guide is essential - and the day rewards you with crafts, scents, and sounds found nowhere else.

Travel note · Carry a small bunch of mint at the tanneries - the smell of the dye pits is famously pungent.

You climb north into the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen, the "Blue Pearl," where every wall, stair, and door is painted a different shade of indigo. The afternoon is for slow wandering: photographing the famous blue lanes, browsing wool djellabas and woven blankets, and pausing in Plaza Uta el-Hammam beneath the red-walled kasbah. This is a deliberately gentle day after the intensity of Fes.

Travel note · Mornings (before 9am) give you near-empty blue lanes for photography before day-trippers arrive.

A long but scenic transit day repositions you for the Sahara leg. You leave the blue town and drop back south, climbing onto the Middle Atlas plateau. Late afternoon you reach Ifrane, an oddly Alpine town of pitched roofs and clean streets nicknamed the "Switzerland of Morocco," and the surrounding cedar forests where troops of Barbary macaques live wild near Azrou. The cool mountain air is a refreshing change.

Travel note · Do not feed the macaques - it harms them and encourages aggressive behaviour. Photos from a few metres away are fine.

The grand desert approach. From Ifrane you cross the Middle Atlas, descend past Midelt (the apple town between two mountain ranges), and follow the spectacular Ziz Valley, where a ribbon of date palms threads through red gorges. By late afternoon you reach Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes. You mount your camel and trek over the sand to a desert camp, arriving in time for a fiery sunset, a Berber dinner, and drumming under a vast field of stars.

Travel note · Wear closed shoes and long trousers for the camel trek, and bring a warm layer - desert nights are cold even after hot days.

You wake before dawn to watch the sun lift over the Erg Chebbi dunes, then camel back to Merzouga for breakfast and a shower. The drive west follows the "Road of a Thousand Kasbahs" through Rissani and Tinghir to the magnificent Todra Gorge, where sheer 300m walls close to barely 10m apart. You end the day at a hotel overlooking the rose-coloured rock formations of the Dades Valley.

Travel note · This is a more relaxed driving day than yesterday, with the gorges breaking up the route nicely.

Following the Valley of Roses and the Skoura palm oasis, you reach Ouarzazate, the "Hollywood of Morocco" and home to Atlas Film Studios. Nearby stands Aït Benhaddou, the spectacular fortified earthen village inscribed by UNESCO in 1987 and a backdrop for Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, and Game of Thrones. You cross the river and climb its lanes to the agadir granary at the summit for sweeping views over the Ounila Valley.

Travel note · Staying overnight at Aït Benhaddou lets you see the ksar at sunset and sunrise without the midday tour-bus crowds.

You cross the High Atlas via the Tizi n'Tichka pass, Morocco's highest major road pass at 2,260m, on a serpentine route of switchbacks, Berber villages, and big-sky panoramas. Descending into the Haouz plain, you reach Marrakech, the Red City, by early afternoon. After checking into your riad, you step into Jemaa el-Fnaa as it transforms at dusk into a carnival of storytellers, musicians, and food stalls.

Travel note · The Tichka road is winding; take motion-sickness tablets if you are sensitive, and sit in the front for the best views.

A full guided day in the Red City's monuments and gardens. You tour the 19th-century Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs rediscovered in 1917, and the ruined El Badi Palace where storks nest on the walls. The afternoon brings the cobalt-blue Jardin Majorelle and YSL Museum, then a deep dive into the souks for carpets, lanterns, leather, and spices - with bargaining encouraged.

Travel note · Buy Majorelle Garden tickets online in advance - the on-site queue can swallow an hour in high season.

You swap the heat of the interior for Atlantic breezes, driving west through argan country - where you may spot goats perched in the trees - to the walled coastal town of Essaouira. The 18th-century ramparts of this former Portuguese port (UNESCO) front a working fishing harbour piled with blue boats. With its laid-back gnaoua music scene, art galleries, and fresh-off-the-boat seafood, Essaouira is the trip's relaxed finale.

Travel note · Essaouira is famously windy - the same trade winds that draw kitesurfers mean you will want a light jacket even in summer.

A final easy morning by the sea - a last walk on the wide beach or through the galleries - before the drive back inland to Marrakech for your departure flight. Your driver delivers you to Marrakech Menara Airport with memories spanning four imperial cities, a blue mountain town, the Sahara's dunes, two great gorges, a UNESCO kasbah, and the Atlantic coast.

Travel note · Allow at least 3 hours before international flights from Marrakech Menara; the airport is only 6km from the medina.