Through my extensive travel around Morocco working for many years as a tour guide and curating customized itineraries that suit each traveler, I think this is one of the best One Week in Morocco itineraries that allows you to see as much as possible while traveling from one city to another.
The estimated minimum days is 10 days, the ideal is between 12 and 15 days to enjoy some places a little longer and visit surrounding areas, Please find below the best Morocco Vacation Itinerary starting and ending in Casablanca or Marrakech (the two main airports In Morocco with flight connections all over the world)
7 Days Morocco Itinerary
Day 1 : Arrive in Casablanca
Welcome to Morocco! On arrival at Casablanca Airport, you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel. While this is an arrival day and you may arrive at any time, If you arrive early we will visit the Hassan II mosque, the second largest mosque in Africa, Its minaret is the world’s second tallest minaret at 210 meters. Completed in 1993,
Activities: Casablanca Hassan 2 Mosque
Day 2 ; Casablanca – Rabat – Fes
After breakfast, a guided tour in Rabat is scheduled where we will start by the Udayas Kasbah (or as it’s also known Oudayas Kasbah) kasbah, a haven of tranquility, with its flower-filled little streets, Andalusian garden, and Moorish café, the kasbah is the first milestone of the city of Rabat. It’s located at the mouth of the Bou Regreg River, opposite the city of Salé. Another interesting site to visit is the Hassan Tower or Sawm’at Hassan in Arabic, referring to the significant minaret shaft following the special Moroccan and Spanish style of architecture of the same time, the minaret is incomplete. Begun in 1195, the tower was intended to be the largest minaret in the world. In 1199, Sultan Yacoub al-Mansour died and construction on the mosque stopped. The tower, according to tradition, was designed by an architect named Jabir who used a similar design plan for Hassan’s sister tower, the Giralda in Seville, modern-day Spain.
Just before sunset, we will arrive at our last stop before Fes, Volubilus also known as Walili, a Unesco World Heritage site, the ancient city was founded in the 3rd century BC by the Berbers and was Romanized during the reign of the Roman Empire now contains mainly Roman remains (arch of Caracalla, basilica, Capitol, baths of Gallien). They can be seen from the road from Meknes to Moulay Idriss. After visiting Volubilis we will hit the road to Fes to spend the night.
Activities: Rabat Guided Walking Tour / Chella, Oudaya, Hassan Tower/ Guided walking Tour Volubilis
Day 3: Explore Fes
After breakfast, you will have a sightseeing tour where you can Walk through high-walled streets, and watch the daily procession of mourners entering the tomb of Fez’s founder Moulay Idriss II. The Medina of Fez is Founded in the 9th century and is home to the oldest university in the world which makes it the spiritual and cultural heart of Morocco. Spend the day exploring the old city, visiting, Mederassa Bou Inania, the tanneries, and the splendid Funduk Nejjarine, a beautifully restored 18th-century inn. return to your hotel to spend the night and enjoy a delicious Moroccan dinner.
Activities: Guided walking tour Fes / Fondouk Nejjarine / Mederassa Bou Inania, Tanneries, Jewish Quarter
Day 4: Fes — Sahara desert
After breakfast, we will start our long driving day to Merzouga crossing the Atlas Mountains, on the way we will pass through the clean and the most modern city in the country Ifrane arriving at the trailing edge of the Cedar Forest to – Azrou – a city located on a steep hill through a variety of woods to the famed cedar forests inhabited by endangered Barbary monkeys. We will have lunch in a Berber village before driving down the curves and join the pre-Saharan zone passing first by Errachidia and Erfoud famous for its pottery and the interesting fossil quarries in which we’ll feel the beginning of the Saharan oasis of Tafilalet then From a vast plateau you will get impressed by the vast sand dune of Merzouga appearing from the horizon, you will ride the camel to explore inside the mysterious sand-sea of the Erg-Chebbi, one of the fascinating sights you will ever see. spend the night in a Berber desert camp and enjoy the stars.
Day 5: Sahara desert — Todra Valley — Dades Valley
from Merzouga, we continue our journey towards Rissani which was the location of the famed desert capital, Sijilmassa, between the 14th and 18th centuries, where fortunes in gold and slaves were traded via caravans crossing the Sahel. We will have a short visit to Zawiya Moulay Ali ash-Sharif and the possibility to explore the Souk (market) and the Fondouks where donkeys gather. then we will drive through the Dades Valley towards the great canyons of Morocco Todgha Gorges situated beyond the central high Atlas Mountains. Here, the contrasting landscapes remind visitors of Colorado, with its high plateau. we will go along the famous road of 1000 kasbahs, driving through The Dades Valley where we will visit the Dades gorge & valley. and we head to the Berber family for Lunch, a cooking course, a walk to discover the valley and spend some time with the Berbers before we head to our hotel near the valley. Overnight in Roses Valley. Car: 4 hours – Walk: 2:30 hours /
Day 6 : Dades Valley — Aitbenhaddou — Marrakech
Aït Benhaddou Kasbah has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, this Unesco-protected red mudbrick ksar (fortified village) was built in the 11th century and used to be a strategic stop for caravans of camels, often numbering hundreds, on the trans-Saharan trade route from Sudan to Marrakech carrying gold, silver, and slaves and returning with salt, Afterword we will head to Marrakech via the tizin’tichka pass .we’ll stop to visit the town of Telouet and its ancient 17th century Kasbah then we’ll continue exploring the tIzin’tichka road, especially its great landscape of Berber’s villages. Overnight in a local riad in the medina of Marrakech.
Activities: Visit Cinema Studios / Ait Benhaddou Kasbah
Day 7 : Explore Marrakech
Welcome to Marrakech or “the red city ” situated near the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountain, In Marrakech Europe, Africa, and the Middle East mingle and merge as there are two parts one is the old town called “Medina” where you will visit with your local guide the interesting monuments of the city like the “Koutoubia mosque”,” the Bahia palace” and the famous square Jama Elfna.The other part is the new modern town “Gueliz”, built during the French occupation.
Activities: Guided walking tour Marrakech: Majorelle Gardens / Bahia Palace / Souks Jamaa Elfna & Koutoubia
