Ideal 8 days Tour From Tangier

About This Tour

8 days - 7 nights · Tangier → Marrakech

This 8 days - 7 nights private tour begins in Tangier and ends in Marrakech, and it is run for your party alone: your own driver-guide, your own vehicle, no group to keep up with and no fixed departure date.

Along the way it takes in Tangier, where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, Chefchaouen, the blue-washed town in the Rif mountains and the Roman ruins of Volubilis, with mosaics still in place where the houses stood.

The Sahara is the centre of the trip: a camel ride into the dunes of Erg Chebbi for sunset, dinner and a night at a desert camp, and sunrise back over the sand the next morning.

The itinerary below is the one most travellers follow, but none of it is fixed. Days can be added or dropped, the pace slowed, and the accommodation moved up or down to suit you. Tell us your dates and what you want to see, and we will send a plan and a price for your own group.

Tour Highlights

The best of this journey

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Ideal 8 days Tour From Tangier

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Tour Itinerary

Day by day, 8 days

• Iti1

  Day 1: Tangier → Tetouan → Chefchaouen:

  We start our journey by going to Chefchaouen, one of the stunning settlements at the base of the Rif mountains, we will enjoy the views of the beautiful mountains as we pass through Tetouan and the Rif highlands.

  The medina at Chefchaouen included a Spanish-style square that was surrounded by a variety of quirky art and craft shops, rooftop eateries and cafes where you could spend the evening in a relaxing setting while taking in the scenery.

  E una giornata di strada nel senso migliore: il paesaggio cambia di continuo e si passa per Tangier, where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic and Chefchaouen, the blue-washed town in the Rif mountains.

  Las paradas las decides tu: un mirador, un cafe de carretera, un pueblo que merece diez minutos a pie.

  Accommodation: Dar Echchaouen, Chefchaouen — or similar Meals: Breakfast
• Iti2

  Day 2: Chefchaouen → Old Roman City: Volubilis → Meknes → Fes:

  Our 8 Days Tour From Tangier to Marrakech begins with a delicious breakfast in the riad and travels through Ouazan and other Rif towns on its way to Volubilis. We will explore the Roman ruins in Volubilis and learn about Moroccan history there.

  Then we’ll drive to Meknes, a city with a rich history dating back to the 17th century, where we’ll stop for lunch before exploring the medina’s ancient fortifications, bab el Mansour, and the shrine of Moulay Ismail. We travel to Fes city later in the afternoon to spend the night.

  Today is on foot with a licensed local guide, because the old city is a place you have to be walked through to understand.

  In Fes that means Fes el-Bali, the walled medina founded in the ninth century, the Chouara tanneries seen from the terraces above, the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque and university, and the mosaic and brass workshops still working in the lanes.

  The Chouara tanneries are still worked by hand in stone vats of lime and pigeon droppings, and are best seen from the leather shops' terraces above.

  The medina holds some nine thousand lanes, and the ones that matter are the ones a local knows: the brass beaters, the dyers' souk, the bread ovens.

  Accommodation: Riad Fes Salam, Fes — or similar Meals: Breakfast
• Iti3

  Day 3: Fes guided tour

  We will begin our exploration of Morocco’s oldest city today by strolling through its narrow lanes. The first stop on our tour is the Royal Palace gate, which dates back to the 16th century and served as the Jewish community’s administrative center.

  The renowned Al Qaraouine University, the oldest in the area, the tanneries, the Attarine Museum, and the Moulay Idriss Mausoleum are just a few of the places we’ll make sure you visit. Following lunch, you will see the cooperative for tiles before taking in a breathtaking 360-degree perspective of the entire Medina of Fes.

  Today is on foot with a licensed local guide, because the old city is a place you have to be walked through to understand.

  In Fes that means Fes el-Bali, the walled medina founded in the ninth century, the Chouara tanneries seen from the terraces above, the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque and university, and the mosaic and brass workshops still working in the lanes.

  The Chouara tanneries are still worked by hand in stone vats of lime and pigeon droppings, and are best seen from the leather shops' terraces above.

  Al-Qarawiyyin was founded in 859 by Fatima al-Fihri and is recognised as the oldest continuously operating university in the world.

  Accommodation: Riad Fes Salam, Fes — or similar Meals: Breakfast
• Iti4

  Day 4: Fes → Azrou cedar forest → Midelt → Merzouga (Erg Chebbi Dunes):

  After having breakfast in your accommodation, our program for the day is going to Merzouga via Errachidia and Erfoud. The Ziz Gorge and the beautiful Tizi Ntalghamt pass will be passed through on your journey. As you get closer to Errachidia, where you’ll have lunch and experience the warmth of the Berber people, you’ll note how the landscape shifts to reveal indications of the desert.

  Then, on our journey to Erfoud (a famous fossils city) and Rissani, we’ll travel down the Ziz Valley and stop for panoramic views along the route (with its famous souk). After we arrive in Merzouga in the late afternoon, you’ll be given a drink of mint tea as a greeting before setting off on a camel ride to spend the night in a desert camp listening to Berber music and sandboarding.

  The desert takes the second half of the day: a camel ride into the dunes timed for the light, with the sand turning from gold to deep orange as the sun drops.

  Dinner is at camp under a sky with no light pollution at all, usually with drums around the fire, and the night is spent in a tent before the sunrise back over the dunes.

  Dinner at camp is tagine cooked over the fire, and the drums usually come out once the plates are cleared.

  The tents have proper beds and rugs rather than sleeping mats, and the larger camps have private bathrooms.

  Accommodation: Tawada Desert Camp, Erg Chebbi — or similar Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
• Iti5

  Day 5: Merzouga → Jerf → Todgha Gorges → Dades Valley:

  The nicest sunrise of your life may be waiting for you when your camel guy wakes you up early in the morning, after which you will calmly ride your camel back to the village.

  You are bound to notice the amazing Erg Chebbi dunes’ distinctive beauty as you drive because it changes with the light throughout the day. You will go for the tallest, smallest gorges in Morocco—the Rissani, Tinghir, and Todra gorges—after breakfast and a shower in the riad.

  We’ll drive into the Dades Valley after lunch in the valley, where you can see the magnificent sand castles and the remarkable rock formations known as “monkey toes.” Dinner and breakfast are included when staying the night at our traditional guesthouse.

  The desert takes the second half of the day: a camel ride into the dunes timed for the light, with the sand turning from gold to deep orange as the sun drops.

  Dinner is at camp under a sky with no light pollution at all, usually with drums around the fire, and the night is spent in a tent before the sunrise back over the dunes.

  Dinner at camp is tagine cooked over the fire, and the drums usually come out once the plates are cleared.

  The tents have proper beds and rugs rather than sleeping mats, and the larger camps have private bathrooms.

  Accommodation: Riad Paradise Dades, Dades Valley — or similar Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
• Iti6

  Day 6: Dades valley → Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou kasbah → Marrakech:

  You will travel through the Dades Valley to reach Kalaa M’gouna and Ouarzazate after breakfast at the hotel. The Way of the Thousand Kasbahs runs through Dades Valley. We’ll go to the Ouarzazate film industry and the T-Hami El Glaoui-built Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah, which is Morocco’s biggest Kasbah (the UNESCO heritage site).

  Then, as we travel through the High Atlas mountains, you may take in the stunning scenery and charming Berber communities until we arrive in Marrakech, where we spend the night in a local hotel.

  Oggi la distanza si sente, ma ne vale la pena: la strada attraversa the Dades gorge, where the road folds back on itself between walls of red rock and Ouarzazate, the desert film town behind the Atlas Studios and the Taourirt kasbah.

  There is no schedule to hold to but your own, so the good stops get the time they deserve.

  Accommodation: Riad Aslal, Marrakech — or similar Meals: Breakfast
• Iti7

  Day 7: Marrakesh sightseeing tour with a local guide

  As we continue our 8 days tour from Tangier to Marrakech, we will begin by getting to know “the crimson city of Morocco.” The most significant sites of historical and cultural interest will be made sure you see. This comprises the Bahia Palace, the Koutoubia mosque, the Majorelle Gardens, and the Saadian Tombs.

  You will go through the souks after lunch at a nearby restaurant where you may appreciate the handicrafts and shop for gifts. You will have some free time in the afternoon to explore the city on your own.

  A local guide who lives in the city walks you through it on foot, which is the only way the medina makes sense.

  In Marrakech that usually means the Koutoubia minaret, the Bahia palace, the Saadian tombs and the souks behind Jemaa el-Fna, ending in the square itself as the food stalls are lit.

  The Saadian tombs sat walled up and forgotten until 1917, which is why the tilework inside survived as well as it did.

  The Ben Youssef madrasa housed students for four centuries, and its carved stucco and zellij are the finest surviving work of their kind in the city.

  Accommodation: Riad Aslal, Marrakech — or similar Meals: Breakfast
• Iti8

  Day 8: Transfer to the airport

  Depending on your flight today, you’ll be transferred to the airport to catch it.

  Departure: Departure day — transfer to the airport

What the Price Includes

Everything covered in the price

If this itinerary does not quite match what you had in mind, tell us your ideas and we will rebuild it around them.

Tour Map

Tangier → Marrakech

Know Before You Go

Practical travel notes

• The cost of your tour varies depending on the number of participants in your group.
• The estimated driving durations do not include stops for sightseeing, photos, or meals, so plan accordingly.
• Our comfortable 4x4 vehicles seat up to four adults. For groups of five or larger, we provide a spacious van.
• Sandboards are available at your Luxury Desert Camp for you to enjoy at any time during your stay.