Imperial Cities & Desert Grand Tour – 10 Days
- 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
- All four imperial cities — Rabat, Fes, Meknes (en route) and Marrakech
- Chefchaouen overnight on the northern leg
- Guided days in both Fes and Marrakech
A private 10-day itinerary starting in Casablanca — from €1500 per person with accommodation and guiding included, never shared with a group. You will see Rabat, Fes and Meknes along the route.
Ten days that lock together Morocco’s two great itineraries — the imperial cities and the Sahara — into one loop from Casablanca. Rabat and blue Chefchaouen open it, Fes gets its full guided day, then the route drops south to the Erg Chebbi for a camp night before riding the kasbah road through Todra, the Dadès and Aït Ben Haddou to a guided Marrakech and home.
The balance is the design: four royal cities, one desert night, and no day wasted on repositioning. If you have ten days and want to see why Morocco has four capitals and one Sahara, this is the cleanest possible answer.
Private vehicle and driver-guide throughout; licensed guides in Fes and Marrakech; ensuite camp at the erg; riads in the medinas.
- All four imperial cities — Rabat, Fes, Meknes (en route) and Marrakech
- Chefchaouen overnight on the northern leg
- Guided days in both Fes and Marrakech
- Erg Chebbi camel trek and ensuite camp night
- Todra, the Dadès and Aït Ben Haddou strung on the return
Photos from the tour
Itinerary
Open a day to see the detail: transport, accommodation, meals and activity time.
Day 1 Casablanca arrival
Casablanca first — and one visit that repays the whole stop: the Hassan II Mosque, guided, inside, with the Atlantic moving under the glass floor panels and a minaret you can navigate by. The evening is a soft landing: the Corniche, a seafood dinner, and the trip's map spread mentally over dessert.
Day 2 Rabat, then the blue city
Two cities before dinner: Rabat at midday for the Oudayas kasbah and the Hassan Tower — the calm capital nobody expects to love and everybody does — then the climb into the Rif. Chefchaouen turns on its blue for your arrival; the evening in the lanes is the day's dessert.
Day 3 Volubilis and Meknes to Fes
The blue city at dawn for those who set alarms, then the historic road south: Volubilis' Roman stones and storks, Meknes' imperial gate, and Fes by late afternoon. Behind your riad door, the world's largest car-free city is already murmuring.
Day 4 Fes, guided
Fes gets its due: a full guided day through Bab Boujeloud, the madrasas' cedar and zellige, the tannery terraces, the artisan rows where crafts never became souvenirs. Ten centuries in eight hours, then a rooftop evening to let them settle.
Day 5 Over the Atlas to the Sahara
The crossing: Middle Atlas cedars, the Midelt plain, the Ziz palm gorges, and the sand arriving on cue at Merzouga. Camels at golden hour, the hour's sway into the Erg Chebbi, and camp — ensuite tents, dinner under lanterns, drums, and a sky that refuses to be photographed accurately.
Day 6 Oases and the Todra Gorge
Sunrise from the crest, then westward through the oasis belt: Tinghir stacked above its palmery and the Todra Gorge for the walk between 300-metre walls. The afternoon eases along the gorge country to a kasbah-style night, rock faces doing their colour show at dusk.
Day 7 Dades, Ouarzazate and Aït Ben Haddou
The Road of a Thousand Kasbahs earns its name all day: the Dadès fortresses, Ouarzazate's studios and Taourirt kasbah, and the finale at Aït Ben Haddou — the UNESCO ksar climbed lane by lane to the granary while golden hour holds. Night within sight of the walls.
Day 8 The Tichka pass to Marrakech
Over the Tizi n'Tichka — 2,260 m, viewpoints, the ritual mint tea — and down into Marrakech by afternoon. First souk contact at dusk; Jemaa el-Fna, ten minutes from your riad, provides the soundtrack for as long as you let it.
Day 9 Marrakech, guided
Marrakech unlocked with a licensed guide: Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, the Koutoubia gardens and the souk system decoded. The afternoon offers Majorelle (tickets arranged) or the hammam; the evening offers rooftops. All answers are correct.
Day 10 Return to Casablanca
The motorway north to Casablanca, timed to your flight — with, if the schedule smiles, a last café on the Corniche to close the loop where it opened. Ten days: four capitals, one desert, zero repetition.
Casablanca in, Casablanca out — the loop suits single-airport tickets and closes without repetition. Two longer driving days frame the desert, both on the country's most beautiful roads. October–April is prime; the desert night wants a warm layer year-round.
Included in your tour
- Private air-conditioned 4×4 or minivan with English/French-speaking driver-guide — 10 days
- Pickup at Casablanca airport or your hotel
- Night 1: Casablanca hotel — half-board
- Night 2: Chefchaouen riad — half-board
- Nights 3–4: Fes riad (2 nights) — half-board
- Night 5: luxury ensuite desert camp — half-board
- Night 6: kasbah hotel, Todra Gorges — half-board
- Night 7: kasbah hotel, Ait Ben Haddou — half-board
- Nights 8–9: Marrakech riad (2 nights) — half-board
- Guided visit of Fes with a licensed local guide (Day 4)
- Guided visit of Marrakech with a licensed local guide (Day 9)
- Guided visit inside the Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca
- Guided visit of the Aït Ben Haddou ksar (UNESCO)
- Camel trek in the dunes
- Drop-off at your Casablanca 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)
Questions travellers ask
What is a desert camp actually like?+
Our standard is the luxury ensuite camp: a proper bed with linen, a private bathroom with hot shower, rugs, lanterns, dinner served at camp and music by the fire. It is under canvas and off-grid — but closer to a small hotel in the dunes than to camping.
How long is the camel ride, and is it hard?+
About an hour into the dunes at sunset, at walking pace with a handler leading — no experience needed, and children love it. If camels are not for you, a 4×4 transfer to the same camp takes minutes; just tell us.
How cold does the desert get at night?+
Colder than anyone expects: near freezing on December–February nights, and a sharp drop after sunset in any season. Camps provide thick blankets; you provide a warm layer and something for your head.
Erg Chebbi or Zagora — which desert should I choose?+
Erg Chebbi (Merzouga) is the great dune sea — 150-metre dunes and the classic Sahara picture — but it is a long drive. Zagora's dunes are smaller and a day closer to Marrakech, ideal for 2-day tasters and young children. Our tour pages say clearly which one each route visits.
More answers in the “The desert experience” chapter of our Travel FAQ →
