Morocco Coastal Tour – 16 Days: Mediterranean to the Atlantic
- Private vehicle & driver — Pick-up at your riad, pace set by you
- Local licensed guide — Licensed guide nº2898 · since 2011
- Book on WhatsApp — Reply within 1 hour · no payment at this stage
- The Mediterranean chapter — the Rif corniche, Bades and two nights at Al Hoceima
- Asilah, Cape Spartel and the Caves of Hercules on the Atlantic leg
- A free day each in Tangier and Al Hoceima — beach time built in
A private 16-day tour from Casablanca: from €2400 per person, with vehicle, driver, licensed guide and accommodation included — no groups, departures on your dates. Along the way: Asilah, Tangier and Chefchaouen.
| Duration | 16 Days |
| Price | From €2400 per person — car, driver and accommodation included |
| Departures | Your dates — every departure is private, never a shared group |
| Languages | English- and French-speaking driver-guides; licensed city guides where included |
| Booking | WhatsApp +212 661 454 738 — written quote within 1 hour, no payment at this stage |
Sixteen days along the water’s edge — the itinerary for travellers who think Morocco is only sand. From Casablanca it runs up the Atlantic through Asilah’s painted ramparts to Tangier and Cape Spartel, into the Rif for Chefchaouen and the Akchour falls, then east along the Mediterranean corniche to Al Hoceima’s turquoise coves before turning inland: Fes, a winery day in the Guerrouane, Volubilis and Meknes, and a Marrakech finale of cooking class, Essaouira day and a dawn balloon.
There is no desert stage at all — and that is the point. This is the Morocco of sea light, fishing ports, Roman stones and vineyard rows, at sea-level pace, with swimming built in wherever the coast allows.
Fully private: your vehicle and driver-guide throughout, local guides in the medinas, riads and sea-view hotels chosen for their settings.
Sixteen days tracing Morocco’s two seas, from €2400 per person: Rabat and painted Asilah, Cape Spartel where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, Tangier at leisure, Chefchaouen with the Akchour falls, then the Rif coast to Al Hoceima before Taza, a deep Fes stay with the hammam, the Guerrouane vineyards and the imperial road home.
It is the 16-day sibling of our Mediterranean route, with the extra day spent where it counts — the blue city, slowly. The northern coast remains Morocco’s least-visited treasure: whitewashed medinas, Spanish echoes, beaches without resorts.
Summer is its season — while the desert circuits swelter, this coast stays kind. Travellers on a second Morocco trip, and Spain-Morocco combiners, book it most. Dates on WhatsApp; the full quote comes back within the hour.
Who this tour is for: sea-first travellers — this is the only route that strings the Mediterranean and the Atlantic into one 16-day line. If the desert matters more than the coast, the Morocco Grand Tour – 16 Days swaps beaches for dunes; with only two weeks, Two Weeks in Morocco covers Casablanca to Essaouira.
Coast to coast is the organizing idea: the Mediterranean’s painted Asilah, Cape Spartel where two seas meet, the Rif shore to Al Hoceima — then, via Taza and the imperial interior, the Atlantic at Essaouira and a balloon over Marrakech to close. Sixteen days that treat Morocco’s 3,500 kilometres of shoreline as the main road rather than the view from it; the hammam and the Guerrouane vines are the inland rewards.
- The Mediterranean chapter — the Rif corniche, Bades and two nights at Al Hoceima
- Asilah, Cape Spartel and the Caves of Hercules on the Atlantic leg
- A free day each in Tangier and Al Hoceima — beach time built in
- Winery tour and tasting lunch in the Guerrouane, Morocco's main appellation
- Cooking class in Marrakech and an Essaouira day trip
- Sunrise hot-air balloon over the palmery before departure
Photos from the tour
Itinerary
Open a day to see the detail: transport, accommodation, meals and activity time.
Day 1 Casablanca to Rabat
Arrival in Casablanca, a guided look at the city — the Hassan II Mosque above the ocean, the Art Deco centre — then the short coast road to Rabat. Evening in the capital: the Oudayas' blue lanes, the ocean wall, dinner near the medina.
Day 2 Asilah, the painted town
North along the Atlantic to Asilah, the painted town: ocean ramparts, commissioned murals, white lanes with Andalusian bones. An unhurried afternoon — this is a place for strolling and café sitting, and the sunset from the sea bastion is the day's main event.
Day 3 Cape Spartel to Tangier
Up the coast to where two seas meet: Cape Spartel's lighthouse marks the Atlantic–Mediterranean line, and below it the Caves of Hercules open to the ocean through their famous Africa-shaped window. Tangier by dusk — the kasbah, the strait views, the café terraces.
Day 4 Tangier at your own pace
Tangier at your own pace. The kasbah museum, the Grand Socco market, the legend cafés — Hafa's mint tea above the water has been poured since 1921 — or simply the beach. Your driver stands by for any of it; none of it is scheduled.
Day 5 Chefchaouen and the Akchour falls
Into the Rif for the blue city, then straight out into its mountains: the Akchour waterfall hike in Talassemtane National Park — a river-gorge trail with pools and path-side cafés, three to four hours to the great cascade and back. Chefchaouen's rooftops for sunset.
Day 6 The blue city, slowly
A guided morning in the blue lanes — the kasbah, the wool souks, the story of the colour — and a free afternoon on the rooftops. The town empties of day-trippers by five; the best photographs of the trip tend to happen after that.
Day 7 The Rif coast to Al Hoceima
The Rif corniche east — one of Morocco's great undiscovered drives — via the fishing hamlet of Bades to Al Hoceima, where the Mediterranean turns turquoise against limestone. Two nights here, on purpose.
Day 8 Al Hoceima, history and beaches
Al Hoceima's free day: Quemado's coves, the clear-water swimming, the Spanish-era town grid, boat options along the national park coast. This is Morocco's Mediterranean at its cleanest and least visited — the chapter that surprises everyone.
Day 9 Via Taza to Fes
South through the Taza gap — the mountain corridor armies and traders have used for two millennia — into Fes by late afternoon. First contact with the medina at dusk, when the lamps come on.
Day 10 The Fes medina, then the hammam
Fes el-Bali with a licensed guide: madrasas, tanneries from a leather terrace, the oldest university's doorways, artisans at working pace. The evening ends the northern chapter properly — a hammam, steam and scrub included.
Day 11 Vines of the Guerrouane
A different Morocco entirely: the Guerrouane vineyards near Meknes, where Morocco's main appellation grows on Atlantic-cooled slopes. Cellar visit, barrel talk and a long tasting lunch among the rows — designated drivers cheerfully provided by definition.
Day 12 Volubilis, Moulay Idriss and Meknes
The Roman day: Volubilis with its mosaics open to the sky, whitewashed Moulay Idriss on its holy hills, and Meknes for Bab Mansour and the royal granaries. Back in Fes by evening for a final medina dinner.
Day 13 The long road to Marrakech
The long transfer south — the one honest travel day of the route — broken with proper stops, arriving in Marrakech with the evening free. Jemaa el-Fna at dusk makes the introduction.
Day 14 Marrakech, then aprons on
Marrakech in two registers: a guided morning through the palaces and souks, then aprons on for a cooking class — market shopping with the chef, tagines from scratch, lunch eaten with justified pride. Evening free.
Day 15 Essaouira day trip
An Essaouira day on the Atlantic: the argan road west (cooperative stop included), the ramparts and blue boats, grilled sardines at the port stalls, and the windswept walk the town is famous for. Back to Marrakech for the last night.
Day 16 Balloon at dawn, then home
Dawn belongs to the balloon — lift-off over the palmery as the light arrives, breakfast on landing — and then the airport, sixteen coastal days in the luggage and not a grain of sand missed.
June to September is this route's season — the northern beaches at their best exactly when the desert circuits run hot. Water shoes for the coves, a windproof layer for the capes, and swimwear always in the daypack. Spring and autumn run milder but still lovely.
Included in your tour
- Private air-conditioned 4×4 or minivan with English/French-speaking driver-guide — 16 days
- Pickup at Casablanca airport or your hotel
- Night 1: Rabat riad — half-board
- Night 2: Asilah hotel — half-board
- Nights 3–4: Tangier hotel (2 nights) — half-board
- Nights 5–6: Chefchaouen riad (2 nights) — half-board
- Nights 7–8: Al Hoceima hotel (2 nights) — half-board
- Nights 9–10: Fes riad (2 nights) — half-board
- Nights 11–12: Meknes riad (2 nights) — half-board
- Nights 13–14: Marrakech riad (2 nights) — half-board
- Night 15: Essaouira riad — half-board
- Guided visit of Fes with a licensed local guide (Day 10)
- Guided visit of Marrakech with a licensed local guide (Day 14)
- Guided visit of Chefchaouen with a licensed local guide (Day 6)
- Sunrise hot-air balloon flight over the palmery
- Moroccan cooking class
- Traditional hammam session
- Boat trip
- Drop-off at your Marrakech hotel or at the airport
Not included
- International flights
- Lunches and beverages
- Entrance fees to monuments and historical sites (optional — pay directly)
- Tips for guide and driver
- Personal expenses
- Travel insurance (recommended)
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Questions travellers ask
How much does Morocco Coastal Tour – 16 Days: Mediterranean to the Atlantic cost?+
From €2400 per person, per person. The price includes private air-conditioned 4×4 or minivan with english/french-speaking driver-guide — 16 days, pickup at casablanca airport or your hotel, night 1: rabat riad — half-board. You receive a written itemised quote before paying anything — no hidden fees.
How long is this tour and when does it depart?+
16 Days, departing on the dates you choose — there is no fixed schedule, because every departure is arranged for you alone.
Is this a group tour or private?+
Fully private: your own vehicle, driver and licensed guide, never seat-in-coach and never mixed with other travellers. The daily pace flexes around you.
How many hours is it from Marrakech to Essaouira?+
About 2 and a half to 3 hours for the 190 km, on a good road through argan country — most trips break it at a women's argan cooperative. It works as a day trip, but one night in the medina shows you the town after the day-trippers leave.
What is Essaouira like?+
A flat, walled, gallery-lined medina on the Atlantic — windier, calmer and cooler than Marrakech in every sense. The rhythm is fishing port plus artists' town: blue boats unloading the catch, gulls in the rigging, ramparts with cannon, and no motorbikes in the lanes. It is where trips go to exhale.
What should you buy in Essaouira?+
Two things above all: thuya-wood marquetry, the local craft worked from the burl of a tree that grows only in this region, and argan oil bought at a cooperative rather than a tourist stall. The gallery scene is also real — Essaouira sells art, not just souvenirs — and the sales pressure is famously gentler than Marrakech.
What does Essaouira mean?+
The Arabic name is usually translated as 'the little rampart' or 'the well-walled' — fitting for a town defined by its 18th-century fortifications. Europeans long knew it by its Portuguese-era name, Mogador.
More answers in the “Essaouira & the Atlantic coast” chapter of our Travel FAQ →
Itinerary and prices last updated October 2026.
