12 Days Grand Tour from Casablanca

Overview

The best of Morocco on a private grand tour stretching from the Atlantic coast to the heart of the Sahara and beyond, visiting four imperial cities, ancient kasbahs, vast palm oases, and scenic mountain passes, concluding in Marrakech.

Highlights

• Personalized airport pickup and transfers
• Hassan II Mosque and Slaoui Museum in Casablanca
• Guided exploration of Marrakech
• High Atlas Mountains crossing via Tizi n'Tichka Pass
• Aït Ben Haddou UNESCO site and Ouarzazate film studios
• Dades Valley hiking and Todra Gorge
• Camel rides and luxury Berber camp stays at Erg Chebbi
• Ramlia desert and local Berber culture
• Erfoud fossil sites and the Ziz Valley
• Barbary macaque encounters in cedar forests
• The medinas of Fes and Meknes
• Luxury hotel accommodation finale

Day-by-Day Itinerary

1. 1

   Arrival in Casablanca

   Your driver-guide meets you at Mohammed V International Airport, about 30km south of the city center (~30 minutes), for the transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is free to rest after the flight or take a short walk along the Corniche before a welcome dinner and your first night in Morocco's largest city.

2. 2

   Casablanca Highlights and Transfer to Marrakech

   A morning visit to the Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world with a minaret that doubles as a lighthouse over the Atlantic, followed by the Slaoui Museum's collection of Moroccan art and furniture. After lunch at Rick's Café, the drive south to Marrakech covers about 240km (~2.5-3 hours) on the highway, arriving in time to settle into your riad before dinner.

3. 3

   Guided Tour of Marrakech

   A full day exploring Marrakech's medina with a local guide: the 19th-century Bahia Palace with its carved cedar ceilings and courtyards, Le Jardin Secret's restored Islamic gardens, and the maze of souks selling leather, spices, and lanterns. The day winds down at Jemaa el-Fna square as it fills with food stalls, musicians, and storytellers at dusk.

4. 4

   Marrakech to Ouarzazate via High Atlas

   The drive from Marrakech to Ouarzazate (about 200km, ~4 hours) climbs over the Tizi n'Tichka Pass at 2,260m, the highest road pass in North Africa, with photo stops in Berber villages along the way. Just before Ouarzazate, visit Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage ksar of earthen clay buildings that has featured in Gladiator and Game of Thrones, then tour the Atlas Film Studios where many of those productions were actually shot.

5. 5

   Ouarzazate to Dades Valley

   A shorter driving day (around 100km, ~2 hours) through the Skoura palm oasis to the well-preserved Kasbah Amridil, then on through the Valley of Roses — fragrant with Damascus roses each May — to Dades Valley, where a guided hike through the gorge's folded red rock formations, nicknamed the "Monkey Fingers," fills the afternoon before an overnight at a local guesthouse.

6. 6

   Off-Road Adventure to Ramlia Desert

   A morning stop at Todra Gorge, where limestone cliffs rise up to 300m above a narrow river canyon, then an off-road 4x4 route (around 150km, ~4 hours) across remote desert tracks, where wild camels are a common sight, to a picnic lunch with nomadic families. Arrival at the lesser-visited Ramlia dunes in time for sunset, with an overnight camp away from the crowds of Merzouga.

7. 7

   Ramlia to Merzouga via Paris-Dakar Route

   The route north to Merzouga follows tracks once used in the Paris-Dakar rally (around 120km, ~3 hours), passing centuries-old khettara irrigation channels still used to water palm groves. Stop for tea with a Berber family, visit the Ouzina children's literacy center, and Khamlia village to hear Gnawa musicians descended from Sub-Saharan settlers, before a camel trek into the Erg Chebbi dunes for the night in a desert camp.

8. 8

   Merzouga to Midelt

   An early climb up the dunes for sunrise over the Sahara, then breakfast and a camel ride back to the hotel. The route to Midelt (about 280km, ~5 hours) passes through Rissani's market town, Erfoud's fossil workshops where 400-million-year-old trilobites are cut from local limestone, and the palm-lined Ziz Valley before climbing into the Middle Atlas foothills.

9. 9

   Midelt to Fes via Middle Atlas

   The drive to Fes (around 210km, ~3.5 hours) crosses the Middle Atlas's cedar forests, where wild Barbary macaques often approach the roadside, and passes through Ifrane, a town of Alpine-style chalets nicknamed the "Switzerland of Morocco" for its architecture and winter snow. Afternoon arrival in Fes for check-in at your riad.

10. 10

    Full-Day Guided Tour of Fes

    A full day inside Fes el Bali, one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world, with a local guide navigating its maze of alleys and souks. Visit Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 CE and recognized by UNESCO as the oldest continuously operating university, and the Chouara Tannery, where hides have been dyed in stone vats since the 11th century.

11. 11

    Fes to Casablanca via Meknes

    En route to Casablanca (about 300km, ~3.5 hours total with stops), stop in Meknes, one of Morocco's four imperial cities, to see Moulay Ismail's monumental stables, built to house 12,000 horses, and the ornate Bou Inania madrasa. The return drive to Casablanca completes the loop in the late afternoon.

12. 12

    Departure

    A relaxed final morning before your private transfer to Mohammed V International Airport, timed to your flight — the drive from central Casablanca takes about 30 minutes outside rush hour.