The 7-Day Imperial Cities & Sahara Tour from Marrakech is a round trip for first-time visitors who want Morocco's classic highlights in one week: Casablanca, Rabat, Meknes, Fes, the Merzouga dunes and the kasbah route back to Marrakech. It starts from €690 per person with six nights' accommodation, breakfasts and dinners, a licensed driver and local city guides, in a small group or private.
This itinerary links the four imperial cities of Marrakech, Rabat, Meknes and Fes with the Sahara and the southern valleys, forming a loop of roughly 2,000 km. Driving days are balanced with a full day in Fes, and your driver stays with you throughout, so there are no trains, connections or luggage worries. It is the route most people have in mind when they picture a first trip to Morocco.
You stay in comfortable, characterful mid-range hotels and riads: a hotel in Rabat, a traditional riad in the Fes medina for two nights, a desert camp in Erg Chebbi, a hotel in the Dades Valley and a kasbah hotel near Aït Benhaddou. Upgrades to boutique riads and luxury desert tents are available.
The longest driving days are Fes to Merzouga (around 470 km) and the return over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with regular stops. Local licensed guides join you in Fes and at Aït Benhaddou, while your driver shares context along the road. Entrance fees, including the Hassan II Mosque and Volubilis, are excluded so you can choose what to visit. Spring and autumn are ideal; summer is hot inland but still very doable with an air-conditioned vehicle.
For a day-by-day comparison with independent travel, read our classic 7-day Morocco itinerary, and before you go, our Morocco travel tips for first-timers cover money, dress code and etiquette.
As a private tour, the route can start in Casablanca, add a night in Chefchaouen, or end in Fes instead of looping back.
08:00 pickup in Marrakech. 11:00 visit the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, lunch on the Corniche (own expense), then continue to Rabat for the Hassan Tower and Kasbah of the Udayas. Dinner and overnight in Rabat.
08:30 drive to Meknes for Bab Mansour and the old medina, then 13:00 the Roman ruins of Volubilis. 17:30 arrive in Fes. Dinner and overnight in a riad.
09:00 full day with a licensed guide: Bab Boujloud, the Bou Inania Madrasa, Al-Qarawiyyin, the Chouara tannery and artisan quarters. Evening free. Dinner and overnight in Fes.
08:00 via Ifrane, the Azrou cedar forest, Midelt and the Ziz Valley. 17:00 camel trek into Erg Chebbi for sunset. Dinner and overnight in the desert camp.
06:00 sunrise, camel ride back and breakfast. Drive via Rissani and Tinghir to walk in the Todra Gorge, then continue to the Dades Valley. Dinner and overnight.
09:00 through the Valley of Roses, Skoura and Ouarzazate. 15:00 guided visit of Aït Benhaddou at golden hour. Dinner and overnight in a kasbah hotel.
09:00 cross the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m). 13:30 drop-off at your hotel or riad in Marrakech.
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Multi-Day Morocco Tours
10-day Grand Morocco tour from Marrakech: Casablanca, Rabat, two nights in Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Fes, Merzouga desert camp, Dades and Aït Benhaddou. From €1190.