Day 1: Get to Casablanca and take a 2-hour transfer to the Rabat airport.

Depending on what time you arrive, you might want to see some of Casablanca’s sights after your driver drops you off at your hotel. The Hassan II Mosque has the world’s largest minaret. This guide tells you everything you need to know about Casablanca. If you don’t get there early enough, you can stay the night in Casablanca and go to Rabat the next day.

Day 2: Travel from Meknes to Volubilis and then to Fez (4 hours), breakfast and dinner.

If you didn’t have time to see the sights of Rabat yesterday, you can do so this morning before going to Meknes, which is one of Morocco’s less well-known imperial cities. Moulay Ismail, a cruel tyrant, hired tens of thousands of slaves to build it. They intended it to be the “Versailles of Morocco.” Many travelers skip this attraction, but if you choose to go on an optional guided tour, you will find many interesting things to see. These include Heri es Souani, where Moulay Ismail kept his 12,000 horses; his peaceful tomb, which he built during his reign to match the glory of his imperial city; and the Bab Mansour, which is said to be one of Morocco’s most beautiful gates. Your next stop, Volubilis, has the most amazing Roman ruins in Morocco. It was also one of the Empire’s most remote outposts, since the tough legionnaires were stopped from expanding further by the Berber tribes. It’s easy to imagine senators in togas and plebeians running through the streets of what used to be a busy provincial city. Tonight you will stay in Fez, which is the ancient center of science and art in Morocco.

Day 3: Visit Fez with a GuidePrivate tour with a guide, breakfast and lunchFez is more than just a hat with a tassel that spins around.

On this Best of Morocco tour, Fez is a gem box full of exotic treats. The UNESCO-protected Fez Medina has nine thousand streets and alleyways that are very complicated. It would take a lifetime to figure them all out, but your Fez-born-and-bred guide will show you the city’s most interesting spots, like the Fondouk Nejjarine, the tanneries, and the different craft souks. Do you understand why the bakery also functions as a marriage bureau? Most likely not, but your guide will explain it to you along with many other fascinating facts about this wonderful city. With lunch, the tour runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. You can get more ready for your trip by reading our guide to Fez. There are also the King’s Palace and Mellah (the Jewish Quarter), the Pottery Complex, and the Batha Museum that are worth seeing in Fez.

Day 4: Ifrane, Ziz Valley, and Erfoud

Get around 7 hours. Walks, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all optional.Today is a long drive, but it shows how beautiful Morocco is. Around 7 a.m., you’ll depart and head to Ifrane, built during the French Protectorate as an administrative center and a refuge from the scorching summer heat. From there, you’ll continue through Midelt. The Ziz Valley, home to most of Morocco’s dates, will be visible to you along the way. If you look closely, you’ll see that not all palm trees are the same height. The height varies depending on the variety, and there are 283 known varieties grown in the country. Mejhoul are the tallest and most expensive. Lunch with Tata’s family, who is the local organizer for Journey Beyond Travel, will be one of the best parts of your trip. He shares the traditional kasbah with his entire family. It has a lovely yard where they grow a lot of the food they eat. The family has a pony, goats, and chickens that the kids on this trip will love seeing. Around this small town are farms and date palms, so you can take a short walk before or after your meal. After that, we’ll go to Erfoud for the night.

Day 5: Exploring Erg Chebbi and the Sahara Desert
Get around (3 hours), A short walk, breakfast, lunch, and dinner

You’ll have some free time this morning before going south to Merzouga, which is the starting point for tours of the Sahara Desert’s golden dunes. Before you pick up your “ship of the desert,” or personal camel, which will take you into the sand seas, you’ll have time to pack an overnight bag. You’ll be able to see the sun go down over the Saharan dunes after your hour-long camel ride. You’ll spend the night in a Bedouin-style tent in a private tented area. Beds, blankets, and sheets will be included in the tents, as well as rich Moroccan carpets on the sand and western-style bathrooms. There are also luxury tents where you can spend the night. Each tent has its own hot-water shower, sink, and western toilet. This night in the desert, under the stars, is the best thing ever.

Days 6 and 7: Tinjedad and Skoura (Valley of Kasbahs).

Get around (5 hours), breakfast, and dinnerYou’ll be able to rise with the sun this morning as it starts its beautiful journey through the sky for another day. Take some pictures of your new camel friend before getting back on it for the short ride back to the hotel. After a hot show and a hearty breakfast, you’ll hit the road and head to Rissani. If you have the time, you can explore the famous million-year-old fossils found there. After that, you’ll go to Tinjedad for lunch. Tinjedad is an amazing ksar, which means a completely walled-in town. There, you can see a museum of Berber culture and even go for a walk in the oasis. After that, you’ll keep going to Skoura, which is also known as the Valley of Kasbahs.

Days 7 and 8: Ouarzazate, Ait Ben Haddou, Telouet, and Marrakesh.

Transport (5–6 hours), breakfast, and dinner
You’ll leave Skoura and go to Ouarzazate, which is where the Taorirt Kasbah is. This was one of the homes of the Glaoui family, who used to rule south Morocco. Ait Ben Haddou is the next stop on your trip. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has one of the best-preserved Kasbahs in the whole Atlas area. Don’t be surprised if you feel like you’re entering a different, older world. The Kasbah has been the setting for many historical movies, such as Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, and The Last Temptation of Christ. You will also have the chance to see Telouet, a Kasbah that not many people see. It was once the rich and powerful throne of the Gloaui family, whose huge wealth came in part from the taxes they charged camel trains that passed through their land. This will make the trip today take an extra hour. We also offer a local lunch experience where a local artist who used to be famous will perform for you after your food. A lot of people say that the Tizi n’Tichka pass has 340 turns, but there are really only two: left and right. These two turns happen a lot. This amazing zigzag work of French engineering, which goes up to 2,260m (7,400ft), took the place of the old camel trains that carried cash, spices, and slaves from Timbuktu to Marrakech. The Tiz n’Tichka pass in the High Atlas Mountains is the final part of your journey. It leads you to Marrakesh.

Day 8: Marrakesh tour with a guide

Private tour with a guide, breakfast and lunch
Your trip to see the “best of Morocco” keeps going today with a private guided tour of the Medina in Marrakech. As you walk with your guide through the souk’s arms-width streets, the years seem to slip away as he tells you about the city’s famous landmarks and their not-so-famous past. He also tells you about a culture whose daily routine hasn’t changed much over the years. Our guide to Marrakesh has more information that will help you get a sense of what this old city has to offer.

On Day 9, travel from Marrakesh to El Jadida.

Breakfast, transportation (3 hours),
Depending on the time of your flight tomorrow, you have the option to either stay in Marrakesh or travel to El Jadida this afternoon, where you can rest in a charming guesthouse and enjoy dinner before your departure. If you want to do this tour at the 4/5-star level, you need to stay in Marrakesh for at least 3 nights. Tomorrow, plan to leave from Marrakesh (or Casablanca in the afternoon).

Day 10: Leave Casablanca

Drive to the airport (1.5 hours)
Today is the last day of this “best of Morocco” tour. We hope you had a great trip with our group!