Authentic Morocco Tours: Culture, Sahara, Imperial Cities & Desert

Upon arrival in Casablanca, Morocco’s economic capital, meet your driver and transfer to your hotel to check in and relax. Depending on your arrival time, you may choose an optional visit to the Hassan II Mosque or take a stroll through the medina and Mohammed V Square.

After breakfast, depart Casablanca and travel toward Fes, stopping in Rabat, Morocco’s capital and royal residence. Enjoy time to explore the city’s historic sites and have lunch before continuing toward Meknes. Continue to Fes, a city known for its historic medina, traditional crafts, and important place in Moroccan cultural and religious life.

After breakfast, enjoy a guided walking tour of the Fes medina, one of the world’s largest historic walled urban areas. Explore its narrow streets, where stalls display fresh fruit, piles of spices, Berber carpets, and traditional Moroccan handicrafts. Visit the Royal Palace area, traditional tanneries, and local pottery workshops as outlined in the itinerary. These stops offer a closer look at the city’s architecture and long-established craft traditions. Enjoy lunch at a traditional restaurant in the heart of the medina. Afterward, continue exploring before returning to your hotel or riad for the evening.

Set out early after breakfast and cross the Middle Atlas Mountains, passing cedar forests, rugged rock formations, and Berber villages as the scenery changes on the way toward the Sahara. Stop for lunch in Midelt, a town known for mineral and fossil finds. Continue along mountain roads overlooking the Ziz Valley, passing kasbahs and palm groves on the way through Errachidia toward Merzouga. Arrive in the late afternoon near the Erg Chebbi dunes. Mount your camels for an approximately two-hour trek across the sand, enjoying the desert landscape around sunset. Spend the night in a traditional-style nomadic tent beneath the stars. The original itinerary also includes dinner and traditional Berber music at the camp.

After breakfast, return by camel to your waiting 4×4 vehicle and travel back toward Erfoud. Continue toward the Todra Gorges, known for their towering limestone cliffs and narrow canyon. Take a walk through the gorge and enjoy the surrounding landscape before continuing toward the Dades Gorge. Along the way, pass the distinctive rock formations of the Tamnalt Hills. Arrive in the Dades Gorge area, known for its red and mauve rock formations, and settle in for the night.

After breakfast, travel toward Ouarzazate and continue to Aït Benhaddou, a historic fortified settlement and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Explore its earthen architecture and narrow lanes. The site is also known as a filming location for productions including Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth, and Gladiator. Lunch can be taken in the Aït Benhaddou area. In the afternoon, cross the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n’Tichka pass, at approximately 2,260 meters, before continuing to Marrakech.

After breakfast, discover Marrakech on a guided tour. Visit the Bahia Palace and Saadian Tombs, then continue to the Koutoubia Mosque and Jemaa el-Fna, the city’s famous main square. Explore the medina’s souks, where stalls display spices, Berber carpets, ceramics, handmade leather goods, and local food. The tour offers an introduction to Marrakech’s historic landmarks, traditional crafts, and lively street life.

Travel west from Marrakech to Essaouira, the historic coastal town formerly known as Mogador. Its medina is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with a distinctive blend of Moroccan and European architectural influences. Explore the old medina and its surroundings, walk along the historic ramparts, or spend some time relaxing by the Atlantic beach.

Your tour concludes with a transfer to Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport for your departure flight. As you leave Morocco, you will have traveled through historic imperial cities, the Atlas Mountains, the valleys of the south, and the Sahara Desert.