Amazing Desert tour Casablanca in 10-day

About This Tour

10 days - 9 days · Casablanca → Sahara Desert

This 10 days - 9 days private tour begins in Casablanca and ends in Sahara Desert, 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 Casablanca and the Hassan II mosque, built out over the Atlantic, Rabat, the capital, with the Hassan Tower and the Kasbah of the Udayas above the river and Meknes, the imperial city of Moulay Ismail and the Bab Mansour gate.

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

Photo Gallery

Amazing Desert tour Casablanca in 10-day

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Tour Itinerary

Day by day, 10 days

• Iti1

  Day 1: Casablanca → Rabat:

  Your 10-day tour from Casablanca begins with a pickup from your hotel or the airport. You’ll see the vast Hassan II Mosque, whose minaret rises 210 metres above the Atlantic, and walk a stretch of the seafront corniche.

  In the afternoon you’ll drive north to Rabat, Morocco’s capital, to visit the Hassan Tower, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the cliff-top Kasbah of the Udayas with its blue-and-white lanes. Dinner and overnight in Rabat.

  Accommodation: Riad El Bahi, Rabat — or similar Meals: Breakfast
• Iti2

  Day 2: Rabat → Meknes → Volubilis → Moulay Idriss → Fes:

  After breakfast you’ll travel to Meknes, the imperial city of Sultan Moulay Ismail, to see the monumental Bab Mansour gate, the royal granaries and El-Hedim square.

  Next is Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman city in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, followed by the sacred hilltop town of Moulay Idriss. You’ll reach Fes in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.

  Today is a driving day in the best sense, with the country changing as you go, passing Rabat, the capital, with the Hassan Tower and the Kasbah of the Udayas above the river and Meknes, the imperial city of Moulay Ismail and the Bab Mansour gate.

  The vehicle is private and the pace is yours, so the driver stops wherever the view, a mint tea or a photograph is worth it.

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

  Day 3: Fes Sightseeing

  A full guided day in Fes, Morocco’s oldest imperial city and its spiritual heart, founded in the 8th century. With a local guide you’ll explore Fes el-Bali — a UNESCO World Heritage medina of some 9,000 lanes.

  You’ll visit the Al-Qarawiyyin, the Bou Inania and Attarine madrasas, the Chouara tanneries and the artisan quarters of coppersmiths, weavers and potters, with time to browse the souks. Overnight in Fes.

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

  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 mosaic workshops still cut each zellij tile by hand with a chisel, which is the only way the pieces lock without a gap.

  The Bou Inania madrasa is one of the few religious buildings in Fes open to non-Muslim visitors, and its cedar and zellij work repays the stop.

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

  Day 4: Fes → Midelt → Errachidia → Merzouga:

  Today you cross the Middle Atlas toward the Sahara. You’ll pass alpine-style Ifrane and stop in the Azrou cedar forest to meet its wild Barbary macaques.

  Continuing via Midelt and Errachidia, you’ll follow the palm-lined Ziz Valley as the landscape turns Saharan. In the late afternoon you’ll reach Merzouga for a sunset camel trek over the Erg Chebbi dunes to your desert camp — dinner, Berber drums and a night beneath the stars.

  The afternoon belongs to the desert. Camels are met at the edge of the dunes and the ride out to camp is timed so the sun goes down while you are among the sand.

  Dinner is served at the camp, the drums come out after it, and the stars over Erg Chebbi are the reason most people remember this night above the rest.

  The camp is far enough from any town that the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye on a clear night.

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

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

  Day 5: Sahara Desert Tour → Camel Trekking:

  A full day in the Sahara. After sunrise over the dunes and breakfast at camp, you’ll explore the Merzouga region by 4x4: the village of Khamlia, home to Gnaoua musicians of Malian descent, the nomad families who still live out in the desert, and the old Mfis mines.

  Late in the afternoon you’ll ride out again by camel to watch the sun set from a high dune, returning to camp for dinner and a second night in the Erg Chebbi dunes.

  A full day out in the Sahara: the nomad families who still live in the black tents around the erg, the old Mascara galleries where kohl was mined, the village of Khamlia and its Gnawa musicians, whose sung history came north with the caravans from Mali.

  The Mascara galleries are old hand-dug workings where kohl was mined, and the tunnels run further into the rock than you would expect.

  A 4x4 run over the flat hammada beyond the dunes reaches ground no ordinary car gets to, including the dry lake bed that floods in a wet spring.

  Sunset is watched from a high dune, and the sand shifts through gold, orange and finally a deep red as the light goes.

  Accommodation: Tawada Desert Camp, Erg Chebbi — or similar Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
• Iti6

  Day 6: Merzouga → Rissani → Todra Gorges → Dades Gorges:

  After breakfast you’ll head west, stopping at the lively souk of Rissani — one of the region’s oldest markets — and the Tafilalet palm groves.

  You’ll reach Tinghir and the Todra Gorge, where cliffs nearly 300 metres high enclose a cool river, perfect for a short walk. The day ends in the Dades Gorges, with dinner and an overnight stay in a local hotel or riad.

  Hoy hay distancia, pero compensa: la carretera recorre Merzouga, the last village before the sand and Rissani, the old caravan capital of Sijilmassa and its covered souk.

  Because nobody else is on the vehicle, stops happen when you want them, whether for photographs, a coffee or simply to stretch.

  Accommodation: Riad Paradise Dades, Dades Valley — or similar Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
• Iti7

  Day 7: Dades Gorges → Rose Valley → Ouarzazate → Ait Ben-Haddou → Marrakech:

  You’ll follow the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the Dades Valley and the Rose Valley of Kalaat M’Gouna to Ouarzazate, “the Hollywood of Africa,” with its Taourirt Kasbah and Atlas Film Studios.

  Then comes the fortified ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site seen in Gladiator and Game of Thrones. After lunch you’ll cross the High Atlas via the Tizi n’Tichka pass (2,260 m) to Marrakech for dinner and an overnight stay.

  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 the Valley of Roses, where the damask harvest scents the whole valley each May.

  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
• Iti8

  Day 8: Marrakech ( Visit The City With A Local Guide )

  A guided day in Marrakech, the Red City. With a local guide you’ll explore the medina and its landmarks — the Koutoubia minaret, the Saadian Tombs, the Bahia Palace and the Ben Youssef Madrasa.

  You’ll wander the souks of the old town and finish at Jemaa el-Fna, the great square that fills each evening with food stalls, musicians and storytellers. Overnight in Marrakech.

  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 Koutoubia minaret sets the scale for the whole city: no building in the old town is allowed to stand higher than the palm trees around it.

  Accommodation: Riad Aslal, Marrakech — or similar Meals: Breakfast
• Iti9

  Day 9: Marrakech → Essaouira → Marrakech

  A day trip west to Essaouira, the breezy Atlantic port. On the way you’ll stop at a women’s argan oil cooperative and, with luck, see goats perched in the argan trees.

  In Essaouira you’ll walk the blue-and-white medina, the ramparts and the old Portuguese Skala fortress, with free time on the beach and a fresh fish lunch by the harbour before returning to Marrakech in the evening.

  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.

  Jemaa el-Fna is worth timing for dusk, when the food stalls are lit and the storytellers and musicians take over the square.

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

  Accommodation: Riad Aslal, Marrakech — or similar Meals: Breakfast
• Iti10

  Day 10: Marrakech → Airport

  After breakfast, and depending on your flight time, you’ll have a last chance to explore Marrakech or pick up souvenirs in the souks.

  Your driver will then transfer you to Marrakech Menara airport (or your onward accommodation), where your 10-day Morocco tour comes to an end.

  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

Casablanca → Sahara Desert

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.