Fez to Casablanca: complete Morocco in 14 days

Itinerary: Fez to Casablanca: complete Morocco in 14 days

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   Day 1 · Arrival in Fez

   Welcome at Fez airport or station and check-in at a riad in the medina. Welcome dinner with harira, Moroccan salads and a lamb tajine with prunes.

   
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   Day 2 · Fez with a guide

   We meet the official guide in front of Bab Boujloud, the blue and green gate that marks the entrance to Fez el-Bali. From here the medina is a maze of more than nine thousand lanes where goods still travel on mules. We visit the Bou Inania madrasa, with its carved cedar wood, the Nejjarine fountain and the coppersmiths' quarter, where you hear the metal being hammered. From the terraces of a leather shop we look down on the Chouara tannery, with its vats coloured like a palette: they'll give you a sprig of mint for the smell.

   Lunch with pigeon or chicken pastilla and, in the afternoon, the Jewish quarter of the Mellah and the golden doors of the royal palace.

   
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   Day 3 · Fez — Chefchaouen

   About four hours' drive north, through hills of wheat and olive trees and then the green mountains of the Rif. Arrival in Chefchaouen for lunch and an afternoon in the blue lanes: Outa el-Hammam square with the kasbah, the weaving workshops and the goat's cheese shops. At sunset we climb to the Spanish mosque, the best viewpoint over the town.

   
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   Day 4 · Chefchaouen and Akchour

   A morning in nature: Akchour is about 45 minutes from Chefchaouen, at the end of a lush green valley. The trail follows the river among oaks, oleanders and small waterfalls; in summer you can swim in the pools. You reach the big waterfall and, if you like, God's Bridge, a natural arch over the canyon. Lunch with tajine under a pergola and back to town for sunset.

   
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   Day 5 · Chefchaouen — Volubilis — Meknes

   Last breakfast on the terrace in Chefchaouen and departure south through the Rif hills. At midday Volubilis, the most important Roman city in Morocco: you walk past the Arch of Caracalla, the forum and the houses with the mosaics of Orpheus and the labours of Hercules. Nearby is Moulay Idriss, the white holy town on two hills. In the afternoon we reach Meknes, the capital of Sultan Moulay Ismail: in the evening a visit of Bab Mansour and the mausoleum, then a night in Meknes.

   
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   Day 6 · Meknes — Ifrane — Midelt — Merzouga

   We climb into the Middle Atlas: Ifrane, the Azrou cedars with their macaques and Midelt for lunch. Then the Ziz gorges and the long palm grove to Erfoud. Arrival at the dunes in the late afternoon. Night in a hotel at the foot of Erg Chebbi.

   
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   Day 7 · Day in the desert

   A day devoted entirely to the desert, with no rush. In the morning a 4x4 tour around Erg Chebbi: the highest dunes, a well where dromedaries drink, a nomad family and the village of Khamlia with its Gnawa music. In Rissani we visit the souk and the Oulad Abdelhalim ksar and eat medfouna. Free afternoon at the hotel or for an optional activity: quad, buggy or sandboarding. Around five o'clock we set off by camel: an hour's ride through the dunes to the camp, just in time for sunset. Berber dinner and a night in the desert.

   
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   Day 8 · Merzouga — Todra — Dadès

   Sunrise on Erg Chebbi is worth the early start: the dunes turn from grey to pink to orange in a few minutes. Breakfast at camp and departure west through Erfoud and Jorf, among mud-brick ksars and date fields. Lunch in Tinghir overlooking the palm grove, then a walk in the Todra Gorge, where climbers scale the walls and Berber women cross the stream with their goats. A last hour's drive to the Dadès valley, among abandoned kasbahs and the famous winding road of Tamellalt. Night with a view over the gorge.

   
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   Day 9 · Dadès — Skoura — Aït Ben Haddou

   We drive down from the Dadès valley along the road of a thousand kasbahs. In Kelaat M'Gouna we stop at a rose water cooperative, then the Skoura palm grove, where we walk among channels and palms to the Amridil kasbah. After Ouarzazate we reach Aït Ben Haddou in the afternoon: we cross the river and climb among the earthen houses to the granary at the top, which overlooks the Ounila valley. Sunset here is unforgettable. Night in a kasbah at Aït Ben Haddou.

   
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    Day 10 · Aït Ben Haddou — Tizi n'Tichka — Marrakech

    Before leaving, a walk through the ksar in the morning light. Then the High Atlas: the Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres, earthen villages and women carrying bundles of grass on their backs. We stop at an argan cooperative and at a café overlooking the valley. Arrival in Marrakech late in the morning or early afternoon. In the evening, a stroll in Jemaa el-Fna.

    
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    Day 11 · Marrakech with a guide

    Visit of the red city with a guide: the Ben Youssef madrasa, with its marble and stucco courtyard, the Marrakech Museum and the Almoravid Koubba, one of the oldest buildings in the city. Then the souks, where the guide explains how to bargain without stress. In the afternoon the Majorelle Garden and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum, or a break in a hammam. At sunset, a terrace overlooking Jemaa el-Fna square as it fills with smoke and lights.

    
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    Day 12 · Marrakech — Essaouira

    A drive towards the Atlantic with a stop at a women's cooperative producing argan oil. Afternoon among the ramparts of Essaouira and the fishing harbour.

    
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    Day 13 · Essaouira

    A day without the car. Essaouira is best explored on foot: the orderly medina with its blue doors, the fish market and the carpenters' workshops under the ramparts. Sea lovers can take surf lessons or go horse riding on the beach; those who prefer to relax will find a hammam and terraces overlooking the ocean.

    
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    Day 14 · Essaouira — Casablanca

    A morning at Essaouira harbour for a last coffee by the sea, then about five hours' drive north along the coast, through Safi and El Jadida. Arrival in Casablanca in the afternoon. Transfer to the airport or hotel.