Morocco itinerary for 7 and 10 days

It depends on how many regions you want to combine. As a rule of thumb:

For a first visit, 10 days is the most comfortable length to see both north and south without spending the trip in the car. Seven days works if you accept a couple of long days on the road.

This is the day-by-day plan of our 10-day tour from Casablanca, the classic loop at a relaxed pace:

1. Day 1. Arrival in Casablanca and a visit to the Hassan II Mosque.
2. Day 2. Rabat, then into the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen.
3. Day 3. Volubilis, Meknes and on to Fes.
4. Day 4. Fes with a local guide: the Fes el-Bali medina, its souks and madrasas.
5. Day 5. Ifrane, the Middle Atlas cedar forest and the Ziz Valley to Merzouga. Night in the desert.
6. Day 6. A day by 4x4 around Merzouga: Khamlia, tea with a nomad family and an old mine. Second night in the dunes.
7. Day 7. Rissani, Erfoud, the Todra Gorge and the Dades Valley.
8. Day 8. The Valley of Roses, Ouarzazate, Ait Ben Haddou and over the High Atlas to Marrakech.
9. Day 9. Marrakech with a local guide, then Jemaa el-Fna square in the evening.
10. Day 10. Transfer to Marrakech airport.

Our other 10-day routes change the starting point or add the coast: from Tangier, with a full day in Chefchaouen; Marrakech to Tangier, with a day in Essaouira; and Fes to Tangier, via Essaouira, Casablanca and Rabat. See them side by side in our 10-day tours.

One week is enough for a complete loop if you keep moving. This is our 7-day tour from Fes:

1. Day 1. Fes · Meknes · Volubilis · Chefchaouen. The Bab Mansour gate in Meknes, the Roman ruins of Volubilis and, in the afternoon, the Rif Mountains to the blue city.
2. Day 2. Chefchaouen · Rabat. A morning in the blue medina, then on to the capital: the Hassan Tower, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Kasbah of the Udayas.
3. Day 3. Casablanca · Marrakech. The Hassan II Mosque on the Atlantic, then Marrakech in time for Jemaa el-Fna.
4. Day 4. Marrakech. The Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, the Koutoubia and the souks.
5. Day 5. The High Atlas and Ait Ben Haddou. The Tizi n’Tichka pass, the Ait Ben Haddou kasbah and a night in Ouarzazate.
6. Day 6. Valley of Roses, Todra Gorge and Merzouga. At sunset, by camel to the camp in the dunes.
7. Day 7. From the desert to Fes. Sunrise in the dunes, then back through the Ziz Valley, the Middle Atlas cedars and Ifrane.

Worth knowing: days 3, 6 and 7 are long drives, and there is no full day in Fes on this route. If you arrive the evening before, use it for the medina.

Two weeks let you add the Atlantic coast and stay two nights in a few places. Our 14-day tour from Casablanca heads up the coast through Rabat and Asilah to Tangier, comes down via Tetouan to Chefchaouen (with a full day there), continues through Volubilis, Meknes and Fes, spends two nights in the desert, follows the road of the kasbahs to Marrakech and finishes with a night in Essaouira.

With 12 days, the 12-day tour covers almost the same ground without Asilah, Tangier and Tetouan, and visits Essaouira on a day trip. With an extra day or two, leave a free day in Marrakech or add a trip to the Ourika Valley or the Ouzoud waterfalls.

On your own by public transport. Trains link the big cities of the north and centre (Tangier, Rabat, Casablanca, Meknes, Fes and Marrakech), and buses reach almost everywhere. A Morocco itinerary without a car works well for the imperial cities; for the Atlas, the kasbahs and the desert, timetables and connections make a 7- or 10-day route much harder. Chefchaouen has no train station.

By rental car. It gives you freedom, but expect mountain roads, long stretches, police checkpoints and medinas you cannot drive into. We cover it in getting around Morocco.

With a private driver. The vehicle and driver are for your group only: 4x4s or vans with air conditioning and a driver who speaks English, Spanish, French or Italian. You set the pace and the stops, and you never have to park or navigate. That is how our private tours work. The price is quoted on request: it depends on group size, accommodation, season and any changes to the route.