It’s hard to pack more fascinating places into less time. On this tour from Marrakech to Tangier, passing through the desert and Fez, you don’t even need a week of travel to complete it: it’s 6 days full of attractions, spread throughout both the south and the north of the country. If you want to find out what this program includes, take a look below. And if you want to enjoy it as a private tour, book it in one click on our website.
Southern Morocco generally stretches from Marrakech to the depths of the desert. And we travel through this vast territory on this 6-day tour, including the aforementioned city. This is an area with a surprising variety of landscapes, with high mountains, deep valleys, green oases and, of course, the most spectacular dunes: those of Erg Chebbi. All of this is dotted with towns and monuments where you can appreciate the influence of Berber culture, such as in Ait Ben Haddou.
The Middle Atlas Mountains occupy a central position in Morocco, so all the territory located north of them can be considered the northern part of the country. And in that sector, the charms do not wane, not at all. Destinations related to history and culture, such as Volubilis, Fez and Chaouen, are particularly important here. And the landscapes, which become greener and more humid, reach great heights of beauty in the Rif and on the slopes of the aforementioned Middle Atlas.
To go from Marrakech to Tangier, this car (and dromedary) tour discards the most direct and fastest route to reach fascinating places that every traveler should know. Thus, in 6 days and 5 nights, the program completes the following stages:
The first day of this tour is designed for those who land at Marrakech airport in the morning. Thus, after receiving you at the same terminal and making the transfer in a private vehicle to the hotel, you can check in as soon as possible and make the most of the rest of the day.
And for this, nothing better than a guided tour with an official guide: at the agreed time, you will meet with this professional to explore the most interesting corners of the medina. These places, as well as their interior or exterior visit, will depend on the guide’s criteria, opening hours and the rules of the site. In any case, spaces such as the lively Jemaa el-Fna square, the Koutoubia mosque with its spectacular minaret and other historical buildings in the center (Ben Youssef medersa, Bahia Palace, Saadian Tombs) will surely be present in one way or another.
And at the end of the day, you will spend the night in the riad in the medina, to rest from an intense and long day due to the flight and the guided tour.
On the second day, we hit the road to start our route, in this case through southern Morocco. The first thing that will appear before us will be the mountains of the High Atlas, with the most imposing peaks in the country. We will cross this natural barrier through the Tizi n’Tichka pass, at more than 2,200 meters of altitude, and the route will enter increasingly arid areas.
Next to a small oasis in the Ounila River we will make our first stop of the day: that of the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou. It will appear imposing before our eyes, with a hamlet embraced by crenellated walls and watched over by a kasbah that, although in ruins, stands on top. We will enter the enclosure to walk and learn about this place that arose thanks to the caravan routes that passed through here in the past and to which it provided service. And given its beauty and uniqueness, movies and episodes of series, such as Game of Thrones, are usually filmed here. Because it is an unbeatable example of Berber architecture, it is declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
Another magnificent example of this type of defensive architecture will be at the end of the day, in Ouarzazate: we are talking about the kasbah of Taourirt, although in this case with a more palatial character, as it was the residence of the powerful Thami El Glaoui. In Ouarzazate are also the prestigious Atlas Studios, where scenes from very varied films have been shot, such as Gladiator.
In this city of Ouarzazate you will spend the second night of the tour, in a riad that has its own restaurant and where dinner will be served.
The third day of this tour is full of emotions and natural corners of extraordinary beauty. In the first section of the day we will travel through the Dades Valley, dotted with palm groves, rose bushes and adobe castles, as we are on the so-called Route of the Thousand Kasbahs.
At Tinghir we will take a detour along a road with winding curves and thus see the Todra Gorges: it is a canyon carved by the stream of the same name that will give us spectacular images, with walls of more than 100 meters in some places.
As we leave the Dades Valley behind, the desert becomes more obvious and in Erfoud it is almost a reality. However, the great attraction of this small city are its minerals and fossils, in some cases of animals that lived here millions of years ago.
Shortly after we will make a strategic stop: in Merzouga, we will park our vehicle and take dromedaries. These animals are the most suitable for walking through the dunes of Erg Chebbi, although there is also the possibility of exchanging them for 4×4 vehicles.
One way or another, crossing this sea of sand with gentle undulations everywhere is an unforgettable experience, especially with the last lights of the day. The tour will end at the haima camp, also located in the dunes. Welcome tea, dinner by the fire, a sky full of stars and rest in comfortable Berber tents will put the perfect epilogue to the day.
The sunrise acquires a special beauty over the dunes of Erg Chebbi, and that will be the proposal to start this fourth day. The lights of dawn gradually illuminate the sky and the sand, and contemplating them in silence becomes an almost regenerating experience.
Breakfast in the haimas will be taken later and, thus, begin the return by dromedary to Merzouga. You can take a shower in a partner hotel or in the haimas themselves, depending on the package contracted.
Back on the asphalt, we have one of the longest stages ahead in terms of mileage, which necessarily implies a contrast of landscapes to discover. The first stop will be Rissani, very close to Merzouga: if it coincides with market day, we will see a genuine atmosphere, with donkey parking included. In any case, its medina will be equally interesting, with a mixture of the popular and the monumental.
From here, the road heads north, through the Ziz Valley until crossing, hours later, the Middle Atlas. This is a natural and climatic barrier, as on the northern slopes we will discover more humid and fertile landscapes. The Ifrane National Park is a good example: known as Monkey Forest due to the abundance of Barbary macaques, it is a large forest mass composed mainly of cedars.
The nearby town of Ifrane will also be an interesting surprise, as its buildings with gabled roofs are a rarity for this country. Being at 1,700 meters of altitude, rainfall is common, with snow in winter.
From here, the city of Fez is just a stone’s throw away. And we will arrive in the last section of the day, just enough to take a free walk through the medina and understand why it is a city of reference in the cultural and religious sphere. The riad of this day will be precisely in a good place in the historic center.
On this fifth day, the route takes us through three very different corners, and all of them very good to understand the beauty of northern Morocco. From Fez we will head to the nearby Volubilis: an ancient Roman city that remained active in the early days of the Arab conquest and that, despite its subsequent abandonment, has preserved vestiges of that period.
These vestiges can be seen when visiting the site. Its extension and its remains give us an account of the importance of this ancient city, which became the capital of the Idrisid kingdom in its beginnings. A monumental arch, mosaics on the pavement of some residences or a large religious temple dedicated to Jupiter are among the main surviving vestiges.
After knowing Volubilis, the road returns to take direction north until arriving at the Rif: in these mountains, of Mediterranean climate and vegetation, is Chaouen. Its nickname cannot be more eloquent: the blue town. Many houses in the medina are painted in that color, and walking through its streets seems like an experience of another time or another world: stairs, corners with flowers, slopes, nooks and panoramic views of the surroundings, as this neighborhood extends along the slopes of two small mountains.
A riad located in this medina will be your fifth and last accommodation of the tour, adding a plus of charm to the trip.
The sixth day is the last of the package. Although there are no scheduled visits for this day, you will enjoy an important service: the trip from Chaouen to Tangier that, as a transfer, we will make as soon as we finish breakfast in the riad.
The specific times will depend on the time of the flight or the ferry, being able to have some free time in this city in northern Morocco, located in the Strait of Gibraltar. We will take you to the airport or the port, and there we will say goodbye until the next opportunity to discover other interesting cities and regions in Morocco.
6 days in which nothing will be missing in terms of transport and accommodation, and with other services included to fully enjoy your stay in Morocco. This is the complete list of what the package includes:
The following services are not included in the travel package. The client must take care of booking them and paying the expenses derived from them:
Fill out the form with your information, be specific about the tour you are interested in, and also if you want to personalize it in any way.
We will respond as soon as possible.