12 Days Desert Tour From Marrakech
The best 12 days tour from Marrakech
12 days tour itinerary from Marrakech to Chefchaouen, Casablanca, the desert, Fes, Essaouira and many more.
Easy tour navigation
- Comfortable vehicle
- +4 Hours
- +1 People
- Multilingual drivers
Tour info
- DEPARTURE LOCATION➥Marrakech
- RETURN LOCATION➥ Airport/accommodation
- DEPARTURE TIME ➥Arrival at airport/ 8am
- DURATION➥ 12 days/ 11 nights
Includes and Excludes
Includes
- Pickup & dropoff service
- English/Spanish speaking driver
- Accommodations
- 4WD vehicle with fuel
- Breakfasts
- Dinners
- Camel for each in the desert
Excludes
- Plane ticket
- Monuments fees
- Lunches
- Tips
- Drinks
Highlights
- Marrakech, the red city
- Essaouira Mogador
- Tangier
- Chefchaouen, the blue pearl
- Fes, the cultural city
- Merzouga desert
- Ouarzazate
- The Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou
Tour overview
The finest tour in all of Morocco Starting in Marrakech, your itinerary for the next 12 days will take you to the most popular tourist destinations and sites around Morocco. For example, you will travel to the north of the country, as well as Tangier and Chefchaouen. In addition, the south and west, the desert of Merzouga, and the red city of Marrakech.
Itinerary for 12 days tour from Marrakech
Day 1: Pick-up from the airport
When you land, our driver will be there to pick you up from the airport and start the 12 days tour from Marrakech. Spend the day at your own pace, wandering around Jemaa el Fnaa and the surrounding souks.
Day 2: Marrakech guided tour
In the morning, you can take your time getting ready for today’s private Guided Tour of the Medina in Marrakech with a local expert. You’ll see the well-known Koutubia Mosque, the Medina and its souks, and discover more of Marrakech’s hidden gems, including the Ali Ben Youssef Koranic School, the Saadian the Bahia Palace and Majorelle Gardens, etc and spend the night in a Medina riad.
Day 3: Marrakech to Essaouira (Goats on trees)
It is time to leave Marrakech and head to the coastal resort of Essaouira. This city is on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and getting there is as easy as taking a route that is flanked with argan oil cooperatives. On the way, we will make a stop by the Argan tree climbing goats. Long a favorite vacation spot, the windswept fishing harbor features wide beaches, an old walled medina, and walls constructed into the cliffs. Enjoy the calm atmosphere while exploring the compact yet vibrant medina, strolling along the beach or ramparts, or stopping by the port to admire the day’s catch. Essaouira hosts the Gnaouas Music Festival every June. Spend the night in Essaouira.
Day 4: Essaouira to Rabat
After breakfast, we continue our 12 days tour towards Rabat and proceed along the Atlantic coast. Pass through El Jadida, a once-Portuguese-controlled coastal city that is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, then stop in Casablanca to see Mohammed V Square and the majestic mosque of Hassan II. Explore the Imperial City of Rabat, including the Mechouar (the ramparts and walls around the Royal Palace), the magnificent Mohammed V Mausoleum, the Hassan Tower, and the Oudaya Kasbah, which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and offers spectacular views and is home to Moroccan artisan galleries. Spend the night in a Rabat hotel or riad.
Day 5: Rabat to Chefchaouen
Travel through the green valleys of the Rif Mountains on your way from Tangier to the charming mountain village of Chefchaouen, or shawen in Berber. Chefchaouen is known for its bright blue-washed houses, and both tourists and Moroccans love to go there, especially in the hot summer months. Explore Chefchaouen’s winding streets and narrow alleys, where there are many souks with food and handicrafts like woolen items, intricate embroidery, and goats cheese, which are all from the North of Morocco and can’t be found anywhere else in the country. Relax in the square, go to a nearby farm, or go hiking in one of the nearby parks. Spend the night at Chefchaouen.
Day 6: Chefchaouen to Fes
After your breakfast in the riad our authentic journey will start scenic drive that will take us from high in the Rif Mountains through the fertile agricultural hills to the Berber Roman Ruins at Volubilis, an open air museum . Volubilis is not as spectacular as the Berber Roman sites on the Mediterranean rim but it is still a relaxed way of envisaging an important part of Moroccan history. We will shift our way to Meknes, the fourth of Morocco’s imperial cities and the 17th century heritage where we will stop for lunch and hang around the historical huge walls of the medina. After launch, we take a glimpse to Bab el Mansour and enjoy the Lhdim square. After the visit of Meknes we will drive directly to Fes city where you will spend the night.
Day 7: Fes guided tour
On the seventh day of our 12 days tour from Marrakech, you will go with a local guide to the old imperial city of Fes, which was once known as the Mecca of the West and the Athena of Africa. With about 1 million people, it is the second largest city in the country after Casablanca. This city was once the capital and is one of the four imperial cities in the country. There are three different parts to Fez. The oldest part is Fes el Bali, which is surrounded by a big wall and has more than 9000 narrow streets and alleys. Fez-Jdid, also called “the new Fes,” is where the Jewish neighborhood of Mellah and the newest part of Fez, Ville Nouvelle, are located. Ville Nouvelle was built during the French occupation. UNESCO has named Fez el Bali a World Heritage Site. It has the biggest medina in the world. The University of Al-Karaouine, which was started in AD 859 and is the oldest university in the world, is located in its small streets and alleys. This University is still around and running.
Day 8: Fes to Merzouga
After breakfast, we left Fes and drove through Ifrane to get to the cedar forests of Azrou, where the monkeys live in the wild. It will be a good chance to take pictures of Morocco’s wild places. We ate lunch in Zaida, a small Berber village. We keep going through the Atlas Mountains, taking in the views of Medilt, until we reach the small town of Rich, Erfoud, where we’ll feel the start of the Saharan oasis of Tafilalet. From there, we’ll go on to Merzouga. We will stay in a hotel or riad in Merzouga for the night.
Day 9: Merzouga desert tour
On this day of the 12 days tour from Marrakech, we’ll start exploring the area of the desert. We’ll go to the village of the Khamlia, who were once slaves from Sudan, to see how they live and hear their music. We might also like to go to the Berber Nomad tents, where the prices of many Berber crafts are lower than in the big cities. In the afternoon, you will ride a camel through the mysterious Erg-Chebbi sand sea with the help of an experienced camel man. Here, you can spend your first night under the stars or in a traditional Berber nomad tent, if you prefer. You will sleep in a tent, where dinner will be served. Dinner and Breakfast included.
Day 10: Merzouga to Boumalne Dades
On the tenth day of our 12 days tour from Marrakech, you can wake up early to watch the sunrise from the top of a dune in the Sahara Desert, then have breakfast. After these beautiful times, you will ride your camel back to the hotel. We leave for Tineghir, going through Erfoud and Tinejdad on the way. Take a lunch break. In the afternoon, we’ll go through Tineghir to get to the Todra gorges. Stopping to take pictures and look at the scenery along the way. Arrive at Todra Gorges to enjoy the beautiful views of the Canyons while hiking. Later, we drive to Boumalne-Dades and stop for a view of the Dades Valley from a high point.
Day 11: Boumalne Dades to Marrakech
Today, after breakfast at the hotel, we will go to Ouarzazate by way of Skoura. After taking in the breathtaking vista of the Kasbah of Taourirt, we will make another photo stop close to the Atlas Film Studios. After that, you are going to go to the Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou, and then you are going to have lunch at a local restaurant in the village. After lunch, we will begin our journey to Marrakech, which will take us across the Tizi N’tichka pass and across the high Atlas Mountains (2260 m in altitude).
Day 12: Transfer to the Airport
We will drive you from your Riad to the airport. It’s up to you if you want us to drop you at the airport. Eventually, that would be the end of our Morocco itinerary 12 days tour from Marrakech.