Morocco · Private and tailor-made
Fez, the Sahara and Six Nights in Marrakech
Watch Omar, a master leather artisan, cut and stitch vegetable-tanned leather in his Fez workshop.
Suggested length
14 days
Price guide
From $19,984 per person, excl. flights, based on two sharing
Includes hotels, private guiding, experiences and transfers
When
March to April and late September to November
or call +1 (727) 699-5439
A planner replies within one business day
American precision with local expertise · Planned from Europe since 2002 · Nearly 17,000 American travelers · Never cancelled a journey
Omar, a master leather artisan, cuts and stitches vegetable-tanned leather by hand in his Fez workshop, and you watch the work up close. This 14-day private tour of Morocco follows the classic loop at an unhurried pace, from Casablanca and Rabat to Fez and Roman Volubilis, over the Middle Atlas to the Erg Chebbi dunes for a camel ride at sunset. The road turns west by the Todra Gorge and Aït Benhaddou to Marrakech, with days out to the Ourika Valley and Essaouira. Marrakech’s own slow dish is tanjia, lamb sealed in a clay urn and slow-cooked in embers. A private driver and your own guides travel the whole loop with you. Every day can be reshaped around you.
Walk the lanes of Fez el-Bali to the Qarawiyyin and the Attarine Madrasa, Fez.
Walk among the mosaic floors and under the Arch of Caracalla at Volubilis, near Meknès.
Ride a camel into the Erg Chebbi dunes for the sunset, near Merzouga.
Climb through the earthen lanes of the Ksar of Aït Benhaddou, outside Ouarzazate.
Meet the storytellers and musicians of Jemaa el-Fna at dusk, Marrakech.
Taste a tagine of your own making at a cooking class with a chef, Marrakech.
“We love to tailor-make trips you’ll talk about for years, built on our local relationships & story-worthy experiences.” – Magical’s American founder, in Europe since 1998, culinary enthusiast & world traveler.
A Journey Designed Just for You
Our resident experts wrote this itinerary as a starting point, and your planner shapes every day around your interests, pace and travel style.
What do our American travelers say?
“Our trip was very smooth, organized from start to finish, excellent guides, comfortable transfers, luxury hotels in good locations, well chosen experiences, and all the details handled.”
“We also really appreciated the suggestion and planning of a winery visit. We did not even know that was an option in Morocco, and it turned out to be a wonderful treat and one of the special surprises of the trip.”
The 14-day Morocco itinerary at a glance
The route uses five bases and thirteen nights: one in Casablanca, three in Fez, one in a desert camp at the edge of the Sahara near Merzouga, two in Ouarzazate and six in Marrakech. The hotel changes four times in fourteen days. The trip moves slowly at both ends and fastest in the middle, where days five and six each end in a new base as the road crosses from the imperial cities to the south. The last week runs from one hotel in Marrakech, with day trips to the mountains and the coast.
A private driver links every base by road. Casablanca to Rabat runs about 1 hour and Rabat to Fez about 2 hours. From Fez the road across the Middle Atlas to Merzouga takes about 7 hours 15 minutes, the longest day of the trip. Merzouga to Ouarzazate runs about 5 hours 45 minutes on the direct road, and Ouarzazate to Marrakech over the High Atlas about 3 hours 30 minutes. Each time leaves out stops, and the road days carry plenty of them.
Spring and autumn suit the route best, since it spends time in the cities, the mountains and the desert, and the shoulder months sit comfortably across all three. Ifrane, the Middle Atlas town on the road south from Fez, has snowy winters. Summer and winter departures both work with a different daily rhythm, and our team plans the hours of each road day around the season you choose.
Licensed guides we work with on this route include Youssef and Yassine, who guide travelers across Morocco. Each is a highly educated local expert who cares about the people in their group. We request your guides by name, and your planner confirms who leads each day once your dates are set.
Why the route runs from Casablanca to Marrakech by way of Fez and the Sahara
Two weeks gives Morocco’s classic loop room to breathe. The route starts in the north with two imperial capitals, Rabat on the road and Fez as a base, and gives Fez three nights, so the medina and Volubilis each get a full day without a hotel change. It then reaches the Sahara through the Middle Atlas and the Ziz valley and returns west along the road of the kasbahs to Ouarzazate, so the desert sits in the middle of the trip and the long drives fall between two slow stays.
Marrakech closes the journey with six nights in one hotel. From there the Ourika Valley in the High Atlas, the Atlantic port of Essaouira and a cooking class each fill a day, and you return each evening to the same room. Marrakech Menara airport sits at the end of the route for the flight home, so the trip never doubles back to Casablanca.
Journey at a glance
Length
14 days
From
$19,984 per person, double occupancy
Route
Casablanca, Fez, Volubilis, Merzouga, Ouarzazate, Marrakech, Essaouira
Your planner adjusts every day to your dates.
Day One
Casablanca: Arrival on the Atlantic
Your private driver meets you at Mohammed V airport, the busiest in Morocco, and brings you to your hotel in the city. The rest of the day follows your energy after the flight. Where it suits your party, our team arranges spa time at the hotel, or a licensed guide leads a short orientation visit to the Hassan II Mosque, which stands on a promontory over the Atlantic with part of the building on a platform above the sea. Michel Pinseau designed it, builders completed it in 1993, and its minaret rises 210 meters. The guide then turns inland to the Habous quarter, which the planner Henri Prost laid out from 1916, where bookshops of Moroccan and Arabic publishers line the lanes. Dinner brings grilled fish from the Atlantic at a restaurant near your hotel. Logistics: Mohammed V airport to central Casablanca by road, about 30 minutes, private driver, with a licensed guide for the optional afternoon visit.
Day Two
Rabat and the Road to Fez
Your private driver takes you north to Rabat, the capital, where a licensed guide meets you for a morning visit. UNESCO inscribed Rabat as a World Heritage site in 2012, covering both the new town of the early 20th century and the older city. The Almohad caliph Ya'qub al-Mansur planned the Hassan Mosque as the largest mosque in the western Islamic world, and work stopped at his death in 1199, which left its minaret, the Hassan Tower, at 44 meters. Beside it stands the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, completed in 1971. The guide then leads you through the Bab Oudaia gate into the Kasbah of the Udayas, on a hill above the mouth of the Bou Regreg, where blue and white lanes run down to the Andalusian Garden and the river views toward Salé. After lunch the road turns inland, and you reach Fez in the late afternoon. Logistics: Casablanca to Rabat by road, about 1 hour, then Rabat to Fez by road, about 2 hours, private driver, with a licensed guide in Rabat.
Day Three
Fez el-Bali: The Qarawiyyin, the Madrasas and the Tanneries
UNESCO inscribed the Medina of Fez in 1981, and its old town, Fez el-Bali, grew from the Idrisid foundation of the late 8th and early 9th centuries. Your licensed guide leads you on foot through its lanes for the day. Tradition holds Fatima al-Fihri founded the Qarawiyyin mosque in 857 to 859, and Guinness World Records lists it as the oldest existing educational institution in the world still in operation. Nearby, the Marinid sultan Abu Sa'id Uthman II built the Attarine Madrasa between 1323 and 1325, with zellij tiles, carved stucco and cedar, and its name comes from the spice and perfume souk outside its door. The Nejjarine fondouk, a merchants' inn from 1711, now holds a museum of woodwork, and the guide walks you to the cedar doors of the Zawiya of Moulay Idris II, the shrine of the city's patron saint. At the Chouara tannery, dyers work hides in stone vats colored with poppy, indigo and henna, and the smell of leather follows you up the stairs to the terrace. Where it suits your party, your guide introduces you to artisans at work in the souks. Logistics: a walking day in the medina with your licensed guide, and your private driver for the transfers to and from the hotel.
Day Four
Volubilis: A Roman City on the Edge of the Empire
Your private driver takes you west of Fez to Volubilis, which UNESCO inscribed in 1997. The city began in the 3rd century BC as a capital of the Mauretanian kingdom, grew into a Roman town of the province of Mauretania Tingitana on the fringes of the empire, and fell to local tribes around 285. Your licensed guide walks you along the main street to the Arch of Caracalla, which the governor Marcus Aurelius Sebastenus raised in 217, and through houses whose floors keep their mosaics, among them Orpheus playing his harp to the animals in the House of Orpheus. Olive oil made the city rich, and archaeologists have found 58 oil-pressing complexes, one of them with a full-size replica of a Roman press. A few kilometers away, the hill town of Moulay Idriss holds the tomb of Idris I, founder of the Idrisid dynasty. Where it suits your party, a wine lunch follows on the way back, since the Meknès and Fez region holds appellations such as Guerrouane and Beni M'tir. Logistics: Fez to Volubilis by road, about 1 hour 15 minutes each way, private driver and licensed guide.
Day Five
Over the Middle Atlas to the Erg Chebbi Dunes
Day five is the longest road day of the trip, about 7 hours 15 minutes of driving before stops, and your private driver breaks it into short legs. The road climbs into the Middle Atlas to Ifrane, a town at about 1,665 meters which the French laid out in 1929 as a hill station, with chalet-style houses behind its local name, Little Switzerland. Atlas cedar forests surround the town, and Barbary macaques live in the forests of the Middle Atlas. South of the mountains the road follows the Ziz river, whose water feeds the palm groves of its valley, past Errachidia and Erfoud. Erg Chebbi rises up to 150 meters above the surrounding desert and runs about 28 kilometers from north to south, with Merzouga on its western side. In the late afternoon a camel ride takes you into the dunes for the sunset, then dinner follows in a desert camp with real beds and a private bathroom, Moroccan music after the meal and the stars over the sand once the lamps go out. Logistics: Fez to Merzouga by road, about 7 hours 15 minutes plus stops, private driver and licensed guide.
Day Six
The Todra Gorge and the Dades Valley to Ouarzazate
Day six starts at sunrise over the dunes and runs west on the road of the kasbahs. Near Tinghir the Todra Gorge narrows in its last 600 meters to a floor as little as 10 meters wide, between smooth walls up to 160 meters high, and the river runs over the stones beside the path. Further west the road follows the Dades valley, where the southern gorges grow roses for rose water among palm and almond groves. Ouarzazate, at 1,151 meters and known as the Door of the Desert, closes the day, and the evening stays free at your hotel. Logistics: Merzouga to Ouarzazate by road, about 5 hours 45 minutes on the direct road and longer with the Todra Gorge and the stops, private driver and licensed guide.
Day Seven
Ouarzazate and the Ksar of Aït Benhaddou
UNESCO inscribed the Ksar of Aït Benhaddou in 1987, a village of earthen houses packed inside high walls with corner towers, in the Ounila valley in the foothills of the High Atlas. The ksar stood on the trade route between the Sahara and Marrakech, and its oldest buildings date from no earlier than the 17th century. Your licensed guide walks you up through the lanes, past the mosque, the public square and the old caravanserai, to the view over the valley. Directors have filmed Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy and Gladiator here, and Ouarzazate has run its own film studio, Atlas Studios, since 1983. Back in town, the guide shows you the Taourirt Kasbah, which the Glaoui family took over and expanded in the 19th century, with corner towers in rammed earth and ceilings of woven reed in some of its rooms. Lunch brings a tagine on a terrace facing the ksar. Logistics: Ouarzazate to Aït Benhaddou by road, about 40 minutes each way, private driver and licensed guide.
Day Eight
Over the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka to Marrakech
The French military built the road over the Tizi n'Tichka in 1936 along an old caravan trail, and National Route 9 now crosses the High Atlas there at about 2,200 meters. Your private driver takes the climb at an easy pace, with stops at viewpoints over terraced valleys and earthen villages, and the air cools as the road gains height. Where it suits your party, lunch follows with a Berber family in a mountain village, with bread warm from the oven and a tagine at the table. On the north side the road winds down to the plain, and Marrakech comes into view in the afternoon, the first of six nights in the city. Logistics: Ouarzazate to Marrakech by road, about 3 hours 30 minutes plus stops, private driver.
Day Nine
Marrakech: The Koutoubia, the Ben Youssef Madrasa and Jemaa el-Fna
The Almoravids founded Marrakech in 1070 to 1072, and UNESCO inscribed its medina in 1985. Your licensed guide begins at the Koutoubia, whose name comes from the booksellers who once traded at its base, as many as 100 of them. The Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu'min rebuilt the mosque around 1158, and its minaret rises about 77 meters over the rooftops. The Saadian sultan Abdallah al-Ghalib completed the Ben Youssef Madrasa in 1564 and 1565, with 130 student rooms around a courtyard and its shallow pool. Between the monuments, the souks stack cones of cumin and paprika beside lanterns and leather, and the guide leads you through them to Jemaa el-Fna, which UNESCO proclaimed a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage in 2001 for its storytellers, poets, Berber musicians and Gnaoua dancers. As the light fades, dinner follows at a restaurant in the medina. Logistics: a walking day in the medina with your licensed guide, and your private driver for the evening transfer to dinner.
Day Ten
The Ourika Valley and the Villages of the High Atlas
The Ourika Valley opens into the High Atlas about 30 kilometers from Marrakech, along the Ourika river, and most of its people are Berbers who speak Shilha. Your private driver and licensed guide follow the valley road to Setti Fatma, the last village on the paved road, where a path climbs beside a mountain torrent to a series of cascades. Lunch follows on a terrace above the river, with the sound of the water below and a tagine of the day. If your day falls on a Monday, your guide is glad to stop at the weekly souk in the valley, where villagers gather to trade. The drive back reaches Marrakech in the late afternoon, with the evening free in the city. Logistics: Marrakech to Setti Fatma by road, about 1 hour 10 minutes each way, private driver and licensed guide.
Day Eleven
Majorelle, the Bahia Palace and the Saadian Tombs
Jacques Majorelle began his garden in 1923 and worked on it for almost forty years, painting its walls the cobalt shade named after him. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé bought the property in the 1980s, the villa has housed the Berber Museum since 2011, and the Musée Yves Saint Laurent, a building by the architects of Studio KO, opened a short walk away in October 2017. Back in the medina, the grand vizier Si Musa began the Bahia Palace in the 1860s and his son Ba Ahmed expanded it from 1894 to 1900, and Italian Carrara marble paves its grand courtyard, 50 by 30 meters. At the Saadian Tombs, the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur lies at the center of the Chamber of the Twelve Columns, and the Moroccan antiquities service rediscovered the tombs in 1917. The day ends with dinner at a restaurant serving pastilla and tagines. Logistics: a day in Marrakech by private vehicle and on foot, private driver and licensed guide.
Day Twelve
Essaouira on the Atlantic
Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah founded Essaouira in the mid-18th century as a royal port open to the outside world, and a French architect shaped its walls on the model of Vauban. UNESCO inscribed the medina in 2001. Your licensed guide walks you from the Clock Tower and Place Moulay Hassan to the Skala, the sea bastion, where gulls wheel over the fishing port and the boats land sardines and conger eels. In the mellah, the old Jewish quarter, synagogues such as Slat Lkahal and Chaim Pinto stand near Bayt Dakira, the House of Memory, a museum of the town's Jewish heritage. Woodcarvers in the medina work thuya from the roots of the Tetraclinis tree, and the Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum holds Phoenician and Roman finds from the island of Mogador offshore. Lunch brings grilled fish at the port, with time for a walk along the beach before the drive back. Logistics: Marrakech to Essaouira by road, about 2 hours 30 minutes each way, private driver, with a licensed guide in Essaouira.
Day Thirteen
A Cooking Class and the Mint Tea Ritual
Your last full day in Marrakech belongs to the kitchen. A chef leads a cooking class for your party with vegetables and herbs from the garden, and shows you the dishes of a Moroccan table, a tagine, cooked salads and couscous. UNESCO added the knowledge and practices of couscous to its intangible heritage list in 2020, on a joint nomination from Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. Marrakech has its own slow dish, tanjia, lamb with preserved lemon, cumin, garlic and saffron, sealed in a clay urn and cooked for hours in embers or an oven. The meal closes with mint tea, gunpowder green tea brewed with fresh spearmint and sugar and poured from a height, and custom calls for at least three glasses. The afternoon stays free for a last walk in the souks or a rest at the hotel. Logistics: hotel to the cooking class and back by road, private driver, with the afternoon at your own pace.
Day Fourteen
Departure from Marrakech
The morning stays free for a last coffee in a garden or a final walk in the medina. If your flight leaves in the afternoon, the Menara gardens, whose basin and pavilion appear in the UNESCO listing of the medina, make a calm last stop. Your private driver collects you from the hotel with time to spare for your flight home, and our team arranges VIP assistance at Marrakech Menara airport. Bslama, the Moroccan goodbye, usually comes with an invitation to return. Logistics: hotel to Marrakech Menara airport by road, private driver, with VIP assistance by prior arrangement.
What is a good 14-day Morocco itinerary?
A good 14-day Morocco itinerary covers the classic loop of imperial cities, desert and Marrakech, and spends the extra days on slower stays rather than more stops. This one gives day one to Casablanca, day two to Rabat on the road to Fez, days three and four to the Fez medina and Volubilis, day five to the Middle Atlas and the Erg Chebbi dunes, days six and seven to the Todra Gorge, Ouarzazate and Aït Benhaddou, and days eight to fourteen to the High Atlas crossing and six nights in Marrakech, with days out to the Ourika Valley and Essaouira and a cooking class. The hotel changes four times in fourteen days.
Is two weeks enough time for Morocco?
Two weeks covers the four parts of Morocco most first-time visitors put on their list, the imperial cities, the Sahara, the kasbah valleys and Marrakech, with time left for the coast and the mountains. On this route Fez gets three nights and Marrakech six, and the long drives sit together in the middle of the trip. Two weeks on this loop leaves out the far north, with Tangier and Chefchaouen, and the Anti-Atlas in the southwest, which other routes of ours cover. Travelers with ten days keep the same loop with shorter city stays.
How long is the drive from Fez to the Sahara?
The drive from Fez to Merzouga runs about 7 hours 15 minutes before stops, and it forms the longest road day on this route. Your private driver breaks it into short legs: Ifrane and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas in the morning, lunch on the road south, and the palm groves of the Ziz valley in the afternoon, with arrival at the dunes in time for the sunset camel ride. The next road day, from Merzouga to Ouarzazate, runs about 5 hours 45 minutes on the direct road, and the crossing of the High Atlas to Marrakech about 3 hours 30 minutes. Every other road leg on the route stays under about 3 hours.
This 14-day route, or a 10, 12 or 15-day Morocco journey?
Choose this route if you want the classic loop of Fez, the Sahara and Marrakech at an easy pace, with three nights in Fez, six in Marrakech and one hotel for the last week. The 10-day Morocco journey from Casablanca to Marrakech follows much the same road through Fez, Volubilis, the Sahara and the kasbah valleys, and it suits travelers with less time who accept shorter city stays. The 15-day Morocco journey starts with Tangier and Chefchaouen in the north before Fez and the desert, and it suits travelers who want the far north as well.
American travelers who have already seen Fez, or who prefer open country to medinas, often choose the 12-day southern Morocco journey through the Anti-Atlas and the Draa Valley. The 10-day imperial cities journey keeps to Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes, Fez and Marrakech without the desert, and the 8-day journey from Marrakech suits a week with short drives. Every route starts from our Morocco destination page, and our team adjusts any of them to your dates.
Who this journey suits
First-time visitors who want the whole classic loop in one trip without a new hotel every night. Couples who want a slower rhythm, with a long stay in Marrakech after the road days. Families with teenage or adult children, who share a driver and guide, set their own hours and tend to remember the camel ride, the tannery and the film sets. Friends traveling together as a private party, who want one plan and one point of contact. Travelers drawn to history, who want the Roman ruins of Volubilis, the Marinid madrasas of Fez and the Saadian monuments of Marrakech in one route. Food lovers, who get a cooking class, long dinners in the medinas and, where it suits them, a wine lunch near Meknès. Your guide is glad to advise on suitability before booking for anyone who prefers shorter road days.
What the 14-day journey costs and what it includes
The 14-day route starts from $19,984 per person, double occupancy. The from-price covers thirteen nights in deluxe four-star properties selected for comfort, location and service. Five-star luxury properties are available by request. On day five the night runs in a desert camp among the dunes of Erg Chebbi. Desert camps can be reserved for your party alone or shared with a few other guests, and your travel advisor helps you choose. The from-price includes a private driver for airport transfers and every road day, licensed guides for the visits described, and VIP assistance at the airports.
Four things move the price: the season, the hotel category, the size of your private party, and added experiences such as a second desert night, a wine lunch near Meknès or a night in Essaouira. Magical Private Travel maintains excellent ratings on Trustpilot and Google’s independent review platforms.
To shape this route around your dates and your party, speak with our team about your 14 days in Morocco.
Frequently asked questions about the 14-day Morocco itinerary
How much does a private 14-day Morocco tour cost?
This 14-day route starts from $19,984 per person, based on two people sharing a room. The from-price covers the route as written: thirteen nights, including the night in a desert camp at Erg Chebbi, a private driver for every road day and transfer, licensed guides for the visits described and VIP assistance at the airports, with the full list of inclusions set out in your written quote. Four things move the price. The season matters most, since hotel and camp rates rise and fall through the year. Five-star hotels raise it. Party size changes it, because the driver and guides serve the whole party, so larger private parties pay less per person. Added experiences, such as a second night in the desert or a wine lunch near Meknès, add to it. Our team sends a written quote for your dates and party before you commit.
When is the best time for this route?
March to April and late September to November suit this route best, since it spends time in the imperial cities, the Middle Atlas, the desert and the High Atlas, and the shoulder months sit comfortably across all four. Summer departures work well with early starts on the road days and long lunches indoors in the heat of the afternoon, and the Atlantic air of Essaouira stays fresher than the interior. Winter brings clear days, snow at times around Ifrane and cool nights in the desert camp, and our team plans the camp and the road hours around them. If your dates fall during Ramadan, our note on travel in Morocco during Ramadan explains how the days change. Our team plans each day around the season you choose.
Are the driver and the guide the same person?
In Morocco they are two different people. A private driver handles the vehicle and the road, and a licensed guide leads the visits. On this route your private driver stays with you through the road days from Casablanca to Marrakech, so you keep the same vehicle and the same face across the country. Licensed guides lead the visits in Casablanca, Rabat, Fez and Volubilis, travel with you through the desert and the kasbah country, and lead the days in Marrakech, the Ourika Valley and Essaouira. This split lets your driver focus on the road and your guide focus on the place, its history and its people. Both work for your own party only, and they set the pace around you, whether the day calls for an early start for the dunes or a long lunch in the Ourika Valley.
What is the night in the Sahara like?
Day five ends in a desert camp among the dunes of Erg Chebbi, near Merzouga. Tents hold real beds and a private bathroom, and dinner comes under canvas, with Moroccan music after the meal and the stars over the sand once the lamps go out. Before dinner a camel ride takes you into the dunes for the sunset, and most travelers wake early for the sunrise before the drive west to the Todra Gorge. Erg Chebbi rises up to 150 meters above the surrounding desert and runs about 28 kilometers from north to south, so the camp sits among real sand dunes. Travelers who prefer a hotel room stay in Erfoud, about 60 kilometers north of the dunes. Our note on the Agafay or the Sahara compares a night in the Agafay desert near Marrakech with a night at Erg Chebbi, if you weigh the two.
Why does the route spend three nights in Fez?
Fez carries two full days on this route, and three nights let you take them without packing. Day three belongs to the medina of Fez el-Bali, a full day on foot with your licensed guide among the Qarawiyyin, the Attarine Madrasa, the Nejjarine fondouk and the Chouara tannery. Day four goes to Volubilis, about 1 hour 15 minutes away by road, with the option of a wine lunch in the Meknès and Fez region on the way back. The evening of day two, after the drive from Rabat, stays free to settle in. Travelers who want a fourth day in the area often add Meknès, which Sultan Moulay Ismail chose as his capital in 1672 and which UNESCO inscribed in 1996. Three nights also put a calm stretch before the longest road day, the drive to the Sahara on day five.
Which airports should we fly into and out of?
Fly into Casablanca’s Mohammed V airport and home from Marrakech Menara. Mohammed V is the busiest airport in Morocco and sits about 30 minutes by road from the city, and Marrakech Menara serves the city where the route ends, so an open-jaw ticket of this kind avoids a drive back to Casablanca on the last day. Our team arranges VIP airport assistance at both ends, with meet-and-greet and help through the terminal, and your private driver meets you at arrivals and takes you to Menara on day fourteen. Once you have your flight times, our team aligns the first and last days of the itinerary with them.
How flexible is the 14-day route?
The route works as a starting point, and your planner shapes it around your party. Common changes include a second night at Erg Chebbi, a night in the Dades valley to slow the road of the kasbahs, or swapping the Ourika day for a longer stay in the High Atlas villages. Some travelers trade a Marrakech night for a night in Essaouira, so the coast gets an evening as well as a day. The direction also reverses well, starting in Marrakech and ending in Casablanca, if your flights fit it better. Your planner keeps the logic of the route, with the long drives in the middle and calm stays at each end, and confirms timings, guides and hotel nights once you settle the shape of the trip. You receive a revised day-by-day plan and price before you commit.
Does this journey suit families or travelers who prefer less walking?
Families travel this route often, because a private driver and guide set the pace around the youngest and the oldest in the party. Teenagers tend to respond to the camel ride, the dunes, the film sets of Ouarzazate and the evening in Jemaa el-Fna. The walking itself stays moderate: the medinas of Fez, Marrakech and Essaouira run on foot along narrow lanes, Volubilis spreads across an open hillside, and Aït Benhaddou climbs a slope of uneven steps. The long road days ask for patience more than stamina, and your driver stops wherever the party needs a break. Your guide is glad to advise on suitability before booking, and our page on accessible travel sets out how our team plans for travelers who need step-free routes or extra support.
How do we add Chefchaouen, the Atlantic coast or Spain?
Travelers who want the blue town of Chefchaouen usually add two days between Rabat and Fez, and our 15-day Morocco journey shows one way to bring Tangier and Chefchaouen into the same loop. A night in Essaouira instead of a day trip gives the Atlantic coast an evening, and a second night at Erg Chebbi gives a full day among the dunes and the villages around them. Each addition changes the road plan, so your planner reworks the whole route and price rather than adding days at the end. Travelers who want Spain as well often start in Andalusia, and our Spain and Morocco private journey and multi-country journeys show how the two countries fit together.
We keep a list of vetted four- and five-star hotels, well located and enjoyed by our past travelers and by our own team.
Examples for each overnight stop on this route. Choose a deluxe boutique hotel or a five-star stay, and your travel advisor matches each night to your wishes, the season and availability.
Casablanca
Boutique: Hôtel Particulier Le Doge, Relais & Châteaux. A 16-room Art Deco private mansion in central Casablanca, with a spa and hammam.
Five-star: Royal Mansour Casablanca. A rebuilt and raised 1950s landmark in the Art Deco city center, near the port.
Fez
Boutique: Dar Bensouda. A traditional riad in the Fes medina, with a spa, pool and roof terrace.
Five-star: Riad Fès, Relais & Châteaux. A restored medina palace with tiled patios, a contemporary 14-meter pool and a bar.
The Sahara, Erg Chebbi
You sleep in a desert camp among the dunes, in a tent with real beds and a private bathroom. Camps can be reserved for your party alone or shared with a few other guests, and your travel advisor helps you choose.
Ouarzazate
Boutique: Ksar Ighnda. A restored kasbah in Aït Benhaddou village, with terraces over the palm grove and a hammam.
Five-star: Le Berbère Palace. A kasbah-style hotel in Ouarzazate, long a base for crews at the nearby film studios.
Marrakech
Boutique: El Fenn. A color-filled medina hotel near Bab Ksour, with a large rooftop terrace and bar facing the Atlas.
Five-star: Royal Mansour Marrakech. A walled estate of 53 private riads by the medina ramparts, each with a rooftop terrace.
What's Included
A Very Personalized Itinerary, Just For You and Your Schedule
Hand-Picked Ultra-Luxury & Boutique Hotel Options
Insider Experiences + Inspiring Sightseeing + Magical Upgrades
Private Touring with Your Own Personal Expert Guide
Private Airport & Train Station Luxury Transfers
Full Breakfasts + Food & Wine Tasting Options
Your Choice of Activities on “Design Your Days”®
Expert Advice, Restaurant Ideas & Reservations
24/7 Support & Concierge Service from Spain, Portugal & Morocco
Magical is an award-winning luxury travel agency
Private journeys with soul & stories
Excellent independent reviews
Only five journeys per country, per week
Hidden gems, insider fun & vetted hotels
Your private guide, deluxe vehicle & flexible pace
24/7 concierge-style support
We handle everything — you live the dream
American Precision, Local Soul
Our Unforgettable Trips Are Tailored Just For You
Hi from Europe,
Along with our local partners across Portugal, Spain, Morocco and beyond we believe that our clients deserve the truly tailor-made private luxury trips, not generic "one-size-fits-all" plans.
Get inspired with our sample trips then get in touch about an expert-made personalized custom luxury itinerary, just for you.
Kind regards,
Dan O'Beirne & the MPT team
Request a Quote