Chefchaouen panorama on a nine-day Morocco tour

9 Days Morocco Tour

9 Days / 8 Nights Starts Casablanca Ends Marrakech Private Tour Easy–Moderate

Experience the journey with local hosts

Nine days is where Casablanca arrivals can have both Chefchaouen and Merzouga without cruelty. Rabat links the airport to the Rif; Fes links the Rif to the desert; Marrakech is the landing.

Places on this tour: Casablanca · Rabat · Chefchaouen · Fes · Merzouga · Marrakech

This is a private tour with Moroccan Travel. See all multi-day tours from Casablanca, or browse Morocco desert tours.

Useful official background for places on this route: Visit Morocco’s Chefchaouen destination page (Visit Morocco — Chefchaouen).

Private & Flexible Local Drivers Comfortable Transport Authentic Experiences

Tour Highlights

Rabat

Chefchaouen

Fes

Sahara

Marrakech

Itinerary

Day1

Casablanca Hassan II Mosque → Rabat, capital on the Bou Regreg

Approx. driving time: Approx. 90 km between cities, plus city visits

Casablanca is often just an airport, which is a pity if you have a morning. The Hassan II Mosque sits on a promontory above the Atlantic, one of the few Moroccan mosques open to non-Muslim visitors on a timed tour. The craftsmanship — zellige, cedar, marble — is a useful introduction to everything you will see later in Fes and Marrakech.

After lunch we drive north to Rabat, a calmer capital of gardens, wide avenues and a kasbah painted blue and white. The Kasbah of the Udayas overlooks the estuary; the Hassan Tower and Mausoleum of Mohammed V form the ceremonial heart of the city. Sunset from the Udayas platform, with fishing boats on the Bou Regreg, is a gentle first night in Morocco.

This day is designed around landing times. Late arrivals may see only the mosque exterior and continue to Rabat for dinner; early arrivals get the full walking circuit.

MealsDinner

AccommodationRiad or hotel in Rabat

Day2

Rabat → Chefchaouen

Approx. driving time: Approx. 250 km / 4.5 hours

A northward swing from the capital into the Rif, usually after a morning among the Udayas or a simple hotel breakfast. The road leaves boulevards for hills, then for the first blue walls. It is a landscape change as complete as Marrakech to the Atlas, only greener.

You arrive in Chefchaouen in the afternoon with time to settle into a riad and walk the medina before sunset. Climb toward the Spanish Mosque if legs allow; otherwise sit on Plaza Uta el-Hammam and let the town happen around the square.

This link is how Casablanca-start tours reach the blue city without backtracking through Fes first. Dinner is mountain cooking — goat cheese, honey, a tagine — on a terrace if the evening is mild.

MealsBreakfast, Dinner

AccommodationRiad in Chefchaouen

Day3

Chefchaouen at leisure, Akchour optional

Approx. driving time: Local walks; Akchour ~45 minutes

A second day in Chefchaouen lets you leave the main photo streets. Morning in the medina before the day-trip vans arrive is the quiet version of the blue city: laundry, schoolchildren, a cat on every tenth step. Breakfast can be slow.

Then either a hammam and terrace lunch, or a drive to Akchour for a walk toward God’s Bridge or the waterfalls. The paths are uneven; we match them to your knees. The Rif around Chefchaouen is green, sometimes steep, and a reminder that Morocco is not only desert and ochre cities.

Overnight again in blue rooms. If you only stay one night, you will still like Chefchaouen. If you stay two, you will understand why people overstay.

MealsBreakfast, Dinner

AccommodationRiad in Chefchaouen

Day4

Fes medina: artisans, tanneries & sacred city

Approx. driving time: Walking day in Fes el-Bali

Fes el-Bali is the largest car-free medieval city in the Arab world, and it rewards a local guide. After breakfast you enter through one of the great gates and move from the Andalusian quarter toward the Qarawiyyin mosque-university, the henna souk, and the Nejjarine woodworkers’ foundouk.

The Chouara tanneries are the most photographed scene in Fes: stone vats of white, brown and poppy-red dye, viewed from a terrace above. We time the visit so you are not rushed, and we skip aggressive shopping circuits unless you ask to see leather or carpet workshops. Lunch is in a restored palace or a simple medina restaurant, depending on your style.

Afternoon options include the Bou Inania madrasa, the pottery kilns of Fes Jdid, or simply getting lost — with your guide — in lanes that smell of cedar, cumin and wet wool. You return to the riad before dusk. Fes is intense; a private tour means you can step into a courtyard whenever the medina feels like too much.

MealsBreakfast, Dinner

AccommodationRiad in Fes

Day5

Fes → Ifrane → Midelt → Ziz Valley → Merzouga desert camp

Approx. driving time: Approx. 470 km / 8 hours plus camel trek

Pickup at your Fes riad after breakfast. You leave the medina behind and climb into the Middle Atlas, a cooler world of cedar and oak. Ifrane, built like a small alpine town, is a coffee stop; Azrou’s forest often offers a glimpse of macaques. The air is noticeably fresher than the plains.

South of Midelt the landscape dries. Apple trees give way to steppe, then to the first views of the Ziz gorges — a break in the plateau where the river has cut a deep green trench of palms. We pause at a belvedere before continuing through Errachidia and Erfoud, towns that live off dates, fossils and the desert road.

Erg Chebbi comes into view in the late afternoon. After a short rest in Merzouga, you mount camels and ride into the dunes for sunset. Dinner, Berber music and a night under an enormous sky follow at camp. If you would rather skip the camel, a 4x4 can take the same route into the sand.

MealsBreakfast, Dinner

AccommodationSahara camp at Erg Chebbi

Day6

Erg Chebbi free day: dunes, villages, 4x4 & camp

Approx. driving time: Local 4x4 circuits around Merzouga

A full day among the dunes changes the trip from a transit into a stay. After sunrise you can sandboard, walk a ridge in silence, or return to bed for a late breakfast. The heat of midday is best spent in shade — at camp, or at a kasbah hotel with a pool on the edge of the erg.

In the afternoon a 4x4 circuit can take you to nomad tents, the village of Khamlia known for Gnawa music, seasonal lakes if it has rained, and fossil workshops in the hamada. These visits are arranged at a human pace, with tea rather than a checklist.

Sunset is again in the dunes, perhaps from a different ridge than yesterday. A second night in camp lets the desert settle in: you start to recognize the shape of the nearest dune, and the night sky feels less like a spectacle and more like a place you are sleeping inside.

MealsBreakfast, Dinner

AccommodationDesert camp or kasbah hotel in Merzouga

Day7

Merzouga → Todra → Dades → Ouarzazate

Approx. driving time: Approx. 370 km / 7–8 hours with stops

After sunrise on the dunes you return by camel or 4x4 to Merzouga, collect the vehicle, and begin the westward road. Rissani’s market town is a last desert-edge stop for water and dates. The hamada looks emptier in morning light than it did on the way in.

Todra Gorge is the walking pause of the day: limestone walls, a cold stream, tea if you want it. Then the Dades Valley opens — kasbahs, roses in season, and the road of a thousand photographs. Skoura’s palmeraie appears before Ouarzazate, a green surprise after so much stone.

You reach Ouarzazate in the late afternoon. Taourirt Kasbah is optional if energy remains; most guests prefer a shower and a quiet dinner. Tomorrow is Ait Ben Haddou and, on many itineraries, the Atlas toward Marrakech.

MealsBreakfast, Dinner

AccommodationHotel or riad in Ouarzazate

Day8

Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou → Tizi n’Tichka → Marrakech

Approx. driving time: Approx. 200 km / 5–6 hours with the ksar visit

A morning visit to Ait Ben Haddou while many groups are still on the pass. You walk the ksar, climb toward the granary, and take the view over the Ounila Valley that has sold a thousand film stills — and still works in person.

Lunch is in the village or just below the pass. Then Tizi n’Tichka: switchbacks, walnut groves as you descend, and the first red walls of Marrakech in the late afternoon. We drop you at your riad and leave the evening free. Jemaa el-Fna is optional; a quiet courtyard is equally correct after the desert.

This is the classic final act of a southbound tour. If your flight is the same night, say so — we will time the pass and skip a long ksar walk.

MealsBreakfast, Dinner

AccommodationRiad in Marrakech

Day9

Marrakech medina, gardens & Jemaa el-Fna

Approx. driving time: City day with private driver on call

Marrakech is best taken slowly after a desert road. This day can be guided or self-guided with your driver available for gardens and the palmeraie. Typical highlights include the Koutoubia minaret, the Bahia Palace, and a wander through the souks of Semmarine and Attarine without a shopping agenda unless you want one.

In the afternoon, Jardin Majorelle and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, or the quieter secret gardens, offer shade and a different register of the city. Some guests prefer a hammam; others sit on a rooftop and watch storks on the ramparts.

At sunset Jemaa el-Fna comes alive — orange juice stalls, drums, steam from snail soup. We do not treat it as a show to be consumed in twenty minutes. Stay for the call to prayer from the Koutoubia, then eat where you like: a famous palace restaurant or a grilled-lamb stall. Your riad is never far.

MealsBreakfast

AccommodationRiad in Marrakech

What’s Included

  • Hotel or airport pickup and drop-off
  • Private air-conditioned vehicle for the itinerary
  • Professional driver-guide
  • Fuel and road taxes
  • Overnight accommodation as outlined (standard category, upgradeable)
  • Daily breakfasts
  • Luggage transportation
  • Flexible sightseeing stops along the route
  • Camel trek in the dunes (or 4x4 alternative on request)
  • Night in a Sahara camp with dinner when the itinerary includes the desert
  • Sandboarding at Erg Chebbi when conditions allow

Not Included

  • International and domestic flights
  • Lunches and drinks unless specified
  • Monument and museum entrance fees
  • Travel insurance
  • Tips for drivers, camp staff and local guides
  • Personal expenses and souvenirs

Accommodation

We offer a choice of standard, comfort or luxury options to suit your style of travel.

Comfortable Moroccan riad bedroom
Comfortable Hotels & RiadsHandpicked stays with warm Moroccan hospitality.
Desert camp tents in the Sahara
Desert CampsAuthentic camps in the Sahara with private tents and comfortable beds.

Good to Know

  • This is a private tour, flexible to your pace and interests.
  • Long driving days with scenic stops — we never treat the road as filler.
  • Desert nights can be cold even in summer. Bring a layer, closed shoes, sunscreen and a scarf.

Responsible travel

  • We support local communities and family-run accommodation.
  • Please respect local customs and traditions.
  • Reduce plastic use and leave no trace on the dunes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this tour private?

Yes. You travel in a private air-conditioned vehicle with a professional driver. Dates, pace and stops are yours — we do not combine you with other bookings.

Can we customize this itinerary?

Yes. Nights, hotel category, camel versus 4x4, extra cities and slower driving days can all be rewritten before you book. This outline is a starting point.

Is the camel trek required?

No. The usual sunset ride into Erg Chebbi lasts about 45–90 minutes at walking pace. You may take a 4x4 to camp instead — say so when you inquire.

What should we pack for the desert nights?

Layers, closed shoes, a scarf for wind, sunscreen and a small torch. Camps provide blankets. Duffels move more kindly than hard suitcases. Nights can be cold even after hot afternoons.

Is Chefchaouen better as a day trip or overnight?

Overnight. The blue medina is kinder in the evening when day-trip coaches have left. From Fes a day trip is possible; from Tangier an overnight is the default we recommend.

How much driving is there on a longer tour?

Some days are scenic transfers with stops; others stay in one medina. We will not hide hours. If you want fewer road days we cut a city rather than pretending Morocco is small.

Real experiences from our travelers

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