10-Day Grand Morocco Circuit from Casablanca to Casablanca

Ten days in Morocco is the grand tour that travellers remember for a lifetime. This circular private journey from Casablanca sweeps through the country’s full geographic and cultural range — Atlantic coast, Berber highlands, ancient medinas, Saharan dunes, southern kasbah country, and Marrakech — before returning north along the coast. Two nights in Fez and two nights in the Sahara are the anchors of a trip designed to feel unhurried, immersive, and deeply rewarding at every stage.

Day 1 — Casablanca › Hassan II Mosque › Rabat

Begin with an interior or exterior visit to the Hassan II Mosque on the Casablanca Corniche — its 210-metre minaret, retractable roof, and location over the Atlantic are engineering achievements on a par with the great cathedrals of Europe. Then north to Rabat: the Hassan Tower (incomplete 12th-century minaret overlooking a field of 200 columns), the white marble Mohammed V Mausoleum with its Royal Guard ceremony, the Kasbah of the Udayas with Andalusian blue-and-white lanes, and the Chellah necropolis — a walled Roman-then-Merinid burial site where storks nest on the minarets and wild cats patrol the fig-overgrown ruins. Overnight Rabat.

Day 2 — Rabat › Meknès › Volubilis › Fez

Meknès: the imposing Bab Mansour gate (Morocco’s finest ceremonial arch), the underground Heri es-Souani granaries with walls thick enough to maintain grain freshness for decades, the Place el-Hedim (Meknès’s answer to Jemaa el-Fna), and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. Volubilis: triumphal arch, Capitol temple, Basilica, and the extraordinary in-situ Roman mosaics — the most complete in North Africa. Arrival in Fez for dinner. Overnight in medina riad.

Day 3 — Fez El-Bali: Tanneries, Madrasas & Souks

Morning: Chouara Tanneries (leather dyeing since the 11th century), Bou Inania Madrasa (14th-century theological college, finest carved cedar ceiling in Morocco), al-Qarawiyyin University quarter (founded 859 CE). Afternoon: Attarine Madrasa (spice souk adjacent, another Merinid masterpiece), the Nejjarine Fondouk woodworking museum, copper-smiths’ souk, and the Jewish Mellah with its Sephardic architecture and working synagogue. Overnight Fez.

Day 4 — Fez › Middle Atlas › Ziz Valley › Merzouga

South through Ifrane’s alpine streets, Azrou’s Barbary macaque cedar forest, the Zad Pass, and Midelt’s fossil market. The Ziz Valley palm corridor and Errachidia precede the pre-Saharan desert approach to Merzouga. Overnight at desert lodge.

Day 5 — Erg Chebbi Desert Immersion › Camp Overnight

4×4 circuit: Khamlia Gnawa music village, nomadic family camp deep in the open desert, fossil-strewn dry riverbed, and the dayet (seasonal lake) habitat. Sandboarding. Sunset camel caravan to the Berber camp. Tagine dinner, live music, stargazing. Overnight in luxury desert tent.

Day 6 — Desert Sunrise › Rissani › Todgha Gorge › Dadès Gorge › Boumalne

Pre-dawn dune sunrise. Rissani market (cradle of the Alaouite dynasty, vibrant weekly souk). Tinghir oasis stroll. Todgha Gorge canyon walk between 300-metre walls. Dadès Gorge scenic drive (monkey-paw rock formations). Overnight Boumalne Dadès.

Day 7 — Rose Valley › Skoura › Ouarzazate

Valley of Roses (Kalaat M’Gouna — rose water distilleries, annual May festival). Skoura palm grove and the photogenic Amerhidil Kasbah reflected in its irrigation pool. Ouarzazate: Atlas Studios (Gladiator, Troy, Babel sets still standing), Kasbah Taourirt (elaborate Glaoui tribal palace). Overnight Ouarzazate.

Day 8 — Aït Ben Haddou › Tizi n’Tichka › Marrakech

Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou UNESCO guided visit: earthen tower architecture, film history, hilltop granary panorama. Tizi n’Tichka pass (2,260 m) with High Atlas photo stops. Arrival Marrakech by evening. Overnight in riad.

Day 9 — Marrakech Full Guided Day

Licensed city guide: Koutoubia Mosque, Bahia Palace (160 decorated rooms), Saadian Tombs (sealed for 2 centuries, rediscovered 1917), the themed souk quarter (copper, textiles, spices, leather). Majorelle Garden (electric-blue Cubist garden, Berber museum). Evening: Jemaa el-Fna square at its theatrical best. Overnight Marrakech.

Day 10 — Marrakech › Essaouira › Casablanca

Morning drive through the argan forest to the Essaouira Atlantic port: UNESCO-listed medina ramparts over the crashing surf, blue fishing harbour, argan oil cooperative visit, and a browse through the thriving gallery quarter. Afternoon drive north via El Jadida (Portuguese underground cistern — famously atmospheric, used in Orson Welles’ Othello) to Casablanca airport or hotel drop-off.

What’s Included

• Private air-conditioned vehicle (fuel included)
• Casablanca pickup and drop-off
• Licensed guides in Fez and Marrakech
• 7 nights in hotels/riads (breakfast & dinner)
• 2 nights in desert camp (dinner & breakfast)
• Camel trek and sandboarding
• Complimentary bottled water throughout
• All taxes

Not Included

• Flights tickets
• Entrance fees to
• Monuments of any
• Lunches and drinks
• Anything not mentioned in the itinerary