Morocco Imperial Cities Tour – 7 Days: Tangier to Marrakech
- 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
- Tangier start — ideal off the Spain ferry
- Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Meknes, Fes, Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech in one line
- A UNESCO site or royal city every single day
The 7-day Imperial Cities tour runs Tangier to Marrakech as a private one-way, from €1050 per person with six riad and hotel nights half-board, your own driver throughout and licensed local guides in the great medinas — no group departures. It is the cities-only route: Chefchaouen’s blue lanes on night one, Roman Volubilis and Meknes’s Bab al-Mansour en route to a full Fes day, then Rabat’s capital monuments, Casablanca — where the Hassan II Mosque’s interior tours run in the morning, so the itinerary sleeps on the coast and visits properly — and finally Marrakech’s souks and Jemaa el-Fna. No desert detours, no doubled roads: entering at the Strait of Gibraltar and leaving from Marrakech means every driving hour buys a new region. Licensed Moroccan operator (authorisation 1550/TOUR/2018, est. 2011); the written quote with every hotel named comes back within the hour.
| Duration | 7 Days |
| Price | From €1050 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 |
Seven days, five cities, zero deserts: the pure imperial route, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Koutoubia. Starting in Tangier — perfect off the ferry from Spain — it strings Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Meknes, Fes, Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech into one southbound line through a thousand years of capitals.
This is the itinerary for history-first travellers: every day contains a UNESCO site, a royal city or both, and the driving stays civilised because the north’s cities sit close together. It is also the route we recommend pairing with Andalusia — Seville to Tarifa, ferry across, and the Moroccan chapter starts the same afternoon.
Private vehicle and driver-guide throughout, licensed local guides in Fes and Marrakech, riads inside the old walls.
Seven days, four imperial capitals, one private car. This is the itinerary people mean when they search for the imperial cities of Morocco in 7 days: Tangier into Chefchaouen’s blue lanes, Roman Volubilis and Meknes on the road to Fes, a full guided day inside the medieval Fes medina, then Rabat and Casablanca — including the Hassan II Mosque — before two days in Marrakech, the Red City. From €1050 per person with your own driver, a licensed guide in each city and every hotel included.
The pacing is the point. Group tours squeeze the four capitals into bus windows; here each medina gets real hours on foot, and the drive between them follows the historical road the dynasties themselves used — north to south, Idrisid Fes to Almohad Marrakech. Nothing doubles back.
It suits first-time visitors who want the country’s history rather than its beaches, and travellers connecting through Tangier by ferry from Spain. Departures run on your dates, never in a group — send your dates on WhatsApp and the full day-by-day quote, hotels named, comes back within the hour.
Every great city, no desert detours: seven days from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Red City collect Tangier, Chefchaouen, all the imperial heavyweights and Casablanca — where, yes, Rick’s Café exists and pours. One logistical detail this route gets right that rushed ones miss: the Hassan II Mosque’s interior tours run in the morning, so the itinerary sleeps in Casablanca and visits properly before the final leg to Marrakech.
- Tangier start — ideal off the Spain ferry
- Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Meknes, Fes, Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech in one line
- A UNESCO site or royal city every single day
- Guided days in both Fes and Marrakech
- The Hassan II Mosque timed for its guided visit
Photos from the tour
Itinerary
Open a day to see the detail: transport, accommodation, meals and activity time.
Day 1 Tangier — Chefchaouen
Welcome at Tangier port or airport — the city where Africa watches Europe across fourteen kilometres of water. If your arrival allows, an hour for the kasbah and a mint tea at a strait-view café; then the Rif road south, arriving in Chefchaouen for the blue hour. Dinner by the Uta el-Hammam square, mountains close enough to touch.
Day 2 Chefchaouen — Volubilis — Meknes — Fes
Chefchaouen's lanes at morning depth, then the day's southbound treasures: Volubilis, where Morocco's Roman chapter survives as open-air mosaics and a triumphal arch on a wheat hill, and Meknes, Moulay Ismail's capital, for Bab Mansour — the gate other gates dream about. Fes by evening; the medieval city starts at your riad's threshold.
Day 3 Fes, the medieval medina
The full Fes day, guided: madrasas of carved cedar and zellige, the world's oldest continuously operating university glimpsed through its doorways, tanneries from a terrace, coppersmiths in concert, and the human tide of the world's largest car-free city. Evening on the rooftops — or at a family dinner table if you asked us in advance.
Day 4 Fes — Rabat — Casablanca
West along the imperial corridor: Rabat at midday for the Hassan Tower, the mausoleum and the Oudayas kasbah — the calmest royal city and the current one — then down the coast to Casablanca. An Atlantic-side dinner and an early night: tomorrow starts with the country's grandest interior.
Day 5 Hassan II Mosque — Marrakech
The Hassan II Mosque's guided visit opens the day — the ocean beneath the glass floor is worth the whole detour — before the motorway south to Marrakech. Arrival mid-afternoon leaves time for a first walk: the Koutoubia at golden hour and Jemaa el-Fna as the smoke and drums begin. Rooftop table recommended.
Day 6 Marrakech, the Red City
Marrakech unlocked with a licensed guide: the Bahia Palace's painted ceilings, the Saadian Tombs hidden behind their wall, the souk system explained lane by lane until it becomes navigable pleasure. The afternoon offers the Jardin Majorelle (timed tickets arranged) or a hammam — both, if you refuse to choose.
Day 7 Departure
A free final morning for whatever Marrakech left unfinished — one more lane, one more mint tea, the photography museum's rooftop — then your transfer to the airport. Seven days, every capital Morocco has ever had, one continuous story.
Ferry arrivals slot straight in: tell us your sailing (Tarifa→Tangier Ville is about an hour) and the pickup waits at the port. The route runs all year; winter gives the cities their crispest light. It reverses cleanly for Marrakech-first flyers.
Included in your tour
- Private air-conditioned 4×4 or minivan with English/French-speaking driver-guide — 7 days
- Pickup at Tangier airport or your hotel
- Night 1: Chefchaouen riad — half-board
- Nights 2–3: Fes riad (2 nights) — half-board
- Night 4: Casablanca hotel — half-board
- Nights 5–6: Marrakech riad (2 nights) — half-board
- Guided visit of Fes with a licensed local guide (Day 3)
- Guided visit of Marrakech with a licensed local guide (Day 6)
- Guided visit inside the Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca
- 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)
Explore more
Historical sites Marrakech Fes Chefchaouen Casablanca Tangier
Questions travellers ask
How much does Morocco Imperial Cities Tour – 7 Days: Tangier to Marrakech cost?+
From €1050 per person, per person. The price includes private air-conditioned 4×4 or minivan with english/french-speaking driver-guide — 7 days, pickup at tangier airport or your hotel, night 1: chefchaouen 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?+
7 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 long does it take to get from Marrakech to Fes?+
Around 530 km: 5 to 6 hours by road across the Middle Atlas, or about 7 hours by train via Casablanca. The scenic answer is to not go direct at all — our 4-day desert crossings link the two cities through Merzouga, turning the transfer into the trip's highlight.
How do you navigate the Fes medina?+
Accept that you will be pleasantly lost, then use the system: the two main arteries (Talaa Kebira and Talaa Sghira) run downhill through the medina, downhill generally leads toward the river and the tanneries, and blue Bab Boujeloud is the compass point. Take a licensed guide the first day — the maze reads like a map afterwards.
Is Fes worth visiting?+
For history, unreservedly: it is the oldest imperial city, home to Al-Qarawiyyin — regarded as the world's oldest continuously operating university — the finest carved madrasas in the country and the famous tanneries. Give it a full guided day plus an evening on the rooftops.
How old is the Fes medina?+
Founded in 789 by Idriss I and built into a capital by his son from 809, Fes el-Bali is over 1,200 years old — and continuously inhabited the entire time, which is the real marvel. Al-Qarawiyyin, teaching since 859, is routinely cited as the world's oldest existing university. When you press against a wall to let a donkey pass, that scene has been running unchanged for a millennium.
More answers in the “Fes” chapter of our Travel FAQ →
Itinerary and prices last updated October 2026.
