It can run in either direction and be adjusted in length and accommodation. It is private: no groups and no fixed dates.
8 days · 7 nights · from Fez to Marrakech
Fez airport → Fez
Pickup at Fez airport when your flight lands and transfer to a riad in the medina. The rest of the day is free to rest or take a first walk around the neighborhood. Fez el Bali, the larger of the imperial city's two medinas, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981 and still has its tannery quarter, well worth a visit.
Overnight: riad in the medina · Fez
Fez → Ifrane · Azrou → Midelt
After breakfast you head south. The first stop is Ifrane, known as Morocco's Little Switzerland, with steep-roofed houses built for the winter cold and the stone lion statue that recalls the lions once found in the Middle Atlas. Then Azrou and its cedar forest, home to Barbary macaques. You reach Midelt for the night.
Overnight: accommodation · Midelt
Midelt → Ziz Valley · Erfoud → Merzouga
The road runs south through the Ziz Valley, where riverside palm groves stand out against bare rock and you see daily life in the villages. The river flows for about 300 km (186 miles) before it fades into the Sahara. Around midday you reach Erfoud, known for its fossils and desert roses, and stop for lunch. You arrive in Merzouga in the afternoon, in time to walk on the sand and watch the sunset.
Overnight: hotel · Merzouga
Merzouga → Khamlia · Mefis → Erg Chebbi
A morning excursion around the dunes. Khamlia is the village of the Gnawa, descendants of people enslaved and brought from sub-Saharan Africa, known for their music. You cross a river of sand, climb a hill for views over the desert and reach Mefis, a former kohl mining settlement, to share tea with a nomad family. Lunch at the hotel, then about an hour by dromedary at sunset to the camp.
Overnight: tent in a Berber camp · Erg Chebbi
Merzouga → Rissani · Todra · Valley of Roses → Ouarzazate
Back to the hotel for a shower and breakfast, then west. Rissani and its market, an old stop for caravans traveling between north and south. Next, the Todra Gorge, with sheer walls about 300 m (985 ft) high and a walk along the river. The route continues through the Valley of Roses, between Kelaat M'Gouna and Boutaghrar, where roses are grown, and reaches Ouarzazate at the end of the day.
Overnight: hotel or riad · Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate → Aït Ben Haddou · Tizi n'Tichka → Marrakech
A morning in Ouarzazate, with the option to visit the film studios and the cinema museum, and the Taourirt Kasbah, once a residence of the Pasha of Marrakech. Then Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage ksar, an old caravan stop and the setting for films such as The Mummy and Kingdom of Heaven. You cross the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, at 2,260 m (7,415 ft), to Marrakech.
Overnight: riad or hotel · Marrakech
Marrakech → Essaouira
After breakfast you drive to the Atlantic coast. Essaouira, the old Mogador, has a walled medina listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a long history as a port where cultures, civilizations and religions met. The afternoon is free to explore the medina and its lanes at your own pace, with no rush and none of the inland heat.
Overnight: riad · Essaouira
Essaouira → Marrakech → airport
A free morning in Essaouira to walk the medina and the harbor and have grilled fish at the stalls by the port. If you prefer, we can arrange a local guide. In the afternoon you return to Marrakech, with an optional stop at a women's cooperative that makes argan oil, and transfer to the airport for your flight. End of our services.
Transfer included · any time
We’ll adapt it to your dates, your pace and the style of accommodation you prefer.
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“Every journey starts with a conversation.”