DAY 1: CASABLANCA → RABAT

Welcome to Morocco. Your private driver meets you at Mohammed V International Airport or your hotel in Casablanca. The morning begins with a visit to the Hassan II Mosque — one of the world’s most magnificent places of worship, its soaring minaret dominating the Atlantic coastline.

From Casablanca, the road heads north to Rabat, Morocco’s elegant capital. Here, you will visit the Hassan Tower, the towering minaret of an incomplete 12th-century mosque surrounded by rows of ancient broken columns — one of Morocco’s most atmospheric monuments. Nearby stands the ornate Mausoleum of Mohammed V, and the ancient Oudayas Kasbah overlooks the mouth of the Bouregreg River with its distinctive blue-and-white lanes. You spend the night in Rabat.

DAY 2: RABAT → CHEFCHAOUEN

After breakfast in Rabat, you head northeast toward the Rif Mountains. The drive takes you along Morocco’s Atlantic coast before turning inland to climb into the forested hills of the Rif.

Chefchaouen — the famous Blue City — is one of Morocco’s most beloved destinations. Its medina is a world unto itself: narrow alleyways painted in infinite shades of indigo and cobalt, draped in bougainvillea and hanging lanterns, filled with the scent of cedar wood and freshly baked bread. The afternoon and evening are yours to explore freely — wander the souks, climb to the Spanish Mosque above the town for a panoramic view, or simply sit and absorb the extraordinary atmosphere.

DAY 3: CHEFCHAOUEN → VOLUBILIS → MEKNES → FES

A morning walk through Chefchaouen’s quietest lanes before departure. The drive south passes through the Rif Mountains and across the plains of the Gharb to the ancient Roman site of Volubilis — one of the best-preserved Roman ruins in North Africa. The mosaics, triumphal arch, and columns of this UNESCO World Heritage Site offer a remarkable window into Morocco’s pre-Islamic past.

From Volubilis, you continue to Meknes — the fourth of Morocco’s imperial cities, often overlooked by tourists but full of remarkable architecture: the monumental Bab Mansour gate, the granaries of Moulay Ismail, and a bustling medina that rewards exploration. A final hour’s drive brings you to Fes for the night.

DAY 4: FULL DAY TOUR OF FES

A full day exploring Fes Medina with a knowledgeable local guide. Founded in 789 AD, Fes is the oldest of Morocco’s imperial cities and home to the world’s oldest continuously operating university, Al-Qarawiyyin. Its medina — declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site — is a living, breathing city of extraordinary complexity: 9,000 narrow alleyways, hundreds of mosques, ancient madrasas, hammams, and markets.

Your guide leads you through the Chouara Tanneries (where leather has been processed in stone vats for over a thousand years), the spectacular Bou Inania Madrasa, the Jewish quarter of Mellah, the copper and brass souks, and the dyers’ market. It is an immersion that stays with you long after the journey ends.

DAY 5: FES → IFRANE → MIDDLE ATLAS MOUNTAINS → ZIZ VALLEY → MERZOUGA DESERT

An early departure from Fes begins the desert leg of your journey. Heading south through the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, you pass through Azrou — where Barbary macaques can often be spotted in the roadside trees — and through the alpine town of Ifrane with its red-roofed European-style buildings and crisp mountain air.

Descending from the mountains, the Ziz Valley unfolds ahead — a long, lush corridor of date palms tracing the course of one of Morocco’s great rivers through the pre-Saharan landscape. By late afternoon the great orange dunes of Erg Chebbi come into view. You mount your camel for a sunset ride into the heart of the dunes, arriving at your luxury desert camp as the sky fills with stars.

Dinner is served under the open sky, followed by an evening of traditional Berber music around the campfire.

DAY 6: MERZOUGA DESERT → RISSANI → TODRA GORGE → DADES GORGE

Rise before dawn to witness the desert sunrise from the top of a dune — a quiet, golden spectacle that is among the most beautiful of the entire journey. After breakfast at the camp, you head west by camel or 4×4.

Passing through the historic market town of Rissani — birthplace of Morocco’s ruling Alaouite dynasty — you continue to Tinghir and the extraordinary Todra Gorge. The canyon’s sheer limestone walls press in from both sides as you walk along the cool stream below. It is one of Morocco’s most dramatic and beautiful natural environments.

The afternoon drive brings you westward through the pre-Saharan valleys to the Dades Gorge, where your hotel is set among the layered red canyon walls for a well-deserved final night.

DAY 7: DADES GORGE → OUARZAZATE → AIT BEN HADDOU → HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS → MARRAKECH

The final day is a fitting climax. The morning drive through the Valley of Roses and into Ouarzazate — Morocco’s cinematic capital — sets the scene for the day’s centrepiece: the Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of extraordinary earthen towers that has appeared in countless international productions.

After exploring the kasbah, the road climbs through the dramatic High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n’Tichka Pass, with sweeping views across ridgelines and valleys stretching to the horizon. The descent into Marrakech brings your 7-day journey to a close, with drop-off at your hotel or riad in the early evening.