This is the most-asked-for route in our catalogue — the trip travellers describe as 'the complete Morocco'. Ten days, eight destinations, two UNESCO ksar, four imperial-influenced cities (Tangier, Fes, Aït Benhaddou, Marrakech), one Sahara overnight, and the Tizi n'Tichka descent on the final morning. It starts at the Strait of Gibraltar and ends at the medina gates of Marrakech.
The arc runs Tangier (1 night) → Chefchaouen (2 nights) → Fes (2 nights) → Middle Atlas → Merzouga overnight Sahara camp → Dadès Valley → Aït Benhaddou → Marrakech (2 nights). Total driving distance is ~1,950 km distributed so no single day exceeds 7 hours of road time except the desert approach (which is 8 hours broken into 4 stops). The route works particularly well for travellers entering Morocco by ferry from Spain (35 minutes from Tarifa to Tangier).
We use a private 4×4 with an English-speaking driver throughout. Accommodations are mid-range to luxury riads in the medinas (Chefchaouen, Fes, Marrakech), a small boutique hotel in Tangier, and Sahrawi-run Berber camps at the dunes. The Marrakech end can be extended with 2 nights in Essaouira for the 12-day version, or with a 5-day Imlil-and-Toubkal trek for the 15-day adventurer build.
The reverse direction (Marrakech → Sahara → north → Tangier) is identical in price; we run it both ways. Travellers landing in Casablanca with a long-haul connection might prefer our [10-day Casablanca-start Grand Journey](/tours/10-days-casablanca) which has the same destinations in a slightly different sequence. For the 7-day fast version that drops Chefchaouen and shortens Fes, see [The Imperial-to-Desert 7-Day Tour](/blog/7-days-morocco-imperial-to-desert).
- Tangier and Cap Spartel where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean
- Two nights in Chefchaouen — proper time inside the blue medina
- Fes medina with a local guide — the world's largest car-free urban area
- Tizi n'Talghemt pass through the Middle Atlas cedars (1,900 m)
- Sahara overnight at Erg Chebbi — sunset camel trek, sunrise from the dune crest
- Dadès and Todra gorges on the route west
- Aït Benhaddou UNESCO ksar with a 2-hour stop including the climb to the kasbah summit
- Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 m before descending into Marrakech
- Optional Essaouira coast extension as days 11–12
Day by day
- Day 1
Tangier arrival → Cap Spartel
Port pickup at Tangier (35 minutes by fast ferry from Tarifa, Spain) or airport pickup at Ibn Battuta. Drop bags at a modern beachfront hotel. Afternoon: the Tangier old-town walk — the medina, the Kasbah, the American Legation. Sunset at Cap Spartel where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean. Dinner at a port-side fish restaurant.
Drive · 4h
- Day 2
Tangier → Chefchaouen via the Rif
Morning departure south into the Rif Mountains — winding road through cork-oak and cedar forests. Lunch at a roadside Berber restaurant. Arrival in Chefchaouen by mid-afternoon, with light still on the blue walls. Check in to a small family-run riad inside the medina. Walk the Plaza Uta el-Hammam at golden hour.
Stay overnight
- Day 3
Chefchaouen at slow pace
Sunrise from the Spanish Mosque viewpoint above town (15-minute uphill walk). Late breakfast on the riad terrace. Morning: wander the blue medina without a map. Optional half-day hike to the Akchour waterfalls in the Talassemtane National Park. Dinner under the kasbah walls.
Drive · 3h
- Day 4
Chefchaouen → Volubilis → Fes
Morning descent out of the Rif. Late-morning stop at Volubilis (the best-preserved Roman city in North Africa — mosaic floors still in situ, 90 minutes including the walk). Lunch at nearby Moulay Idriss, the holy hilltop town. Arrive Fes by mid-afternoon. Sunset walk to the Marinid tombs viewpoint over the medina. Dinner inside the medina.
Stay overnight
- Day 5
Fes medina with a local guide
Full day with a licensed Fassi guide: Bou Inania Medersa, Al-Qarawiyyin (the world's oldest continuously-operating university), the Andalusian quarter, the Chouara tanneries, the brass and copper quarters. Lunch at a converted riad. Afternoon at leisure for shopping or rest.
Drive · 6h
- Day 6
Fes → Middle Atlas → Midelt
Drive south through the Middle Atlas cedars near Ifrane National Park — wild Barbary macaque colony at the Cèdre Gouraud. Lunch in Ifrane. Continue over the Col du Zad to Midelt (the apple capital, at 1,500 metres elevation) for the overnight at a comfortable mountain auberge. ~6 hours on the road, broken into 3 stops.
Drive · 4h
- Day 7
Midelt → Ziz Valley → Merzouga
Morning descent into the Ziz Valley palmerie — 250,000 date palms along a single ribbon of green water cutting through orange rock. Lunch at Erfoud. Late afternoon arrival at the edge of Erg Chebbi. Meet your camel team. One-hour camel trek into the dunes, arriving at the Sahrawi camp as the sun sets. Tagine dinner, Gnawa drumming, the Milky Way overhead.
Camel trek · 1h
- Day 8
Sahara sunrise → Todra Gorge → Dadès
Sunrise from the dune crest behind camp. Camel ride back to the auberge for breakfast and shower. Long drive west through Tinghir and the Todra Gorge (lunch stop with a short walk under 300-metre cliffs). Continue to the Dadès Valley, overnight at a rooftop kasbah-hotel above the Rose Valley.
Drive · 6h
- Day 9
Dadès → Skoura → Aït Benhaddou
Morning at the Dadès gorges — short walks to the Monkey Fingers rock formations. Continue west through Skoura (the palm oasis with the famous Amerhidil kasbah). Late afternoon at Aït Benhaddou: 2-hour visit including the climb to the top of the kasbah for the southern view across the Ounila Valley. Overnight at a riad facing the ksar.
Drive · 4h
- Day 10
Aït Benhaddou → Tizi n'Tichka → Marrakech
Last morning at Aït Benhaddou with the early light on the mud-brick walls. Drive over the Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres — the highest paved road in North Africa. Lunch stop at a Berber co-operative for argan oil. Descent into Marrakech by mid-afternoon. Drop at your Marrakech riad. End of the road.
End of journey
What's included
- Port or airport pickup at Tangier and drop-off in Marrakech
- Private 4×4 with English-speaking driver throughout
- All 9 nights of accommodation: modern hotel in Tangier, mid-range to luxury riads in Chefchaouen, Fes, Aït Benhaddou, and Marrakech; mountain auberge at Midelt; Sahrawi-run Berber camp at Erg Chebbi; kasbah-hotel in the Dadès Valley
- Camel trek (sunset arrival, sunrise option) with experienced cameleer
- Licensed local guide for the Fes medina (full day) and Volubilis (90 minutes)
- All breakfasts and the camp dinner
- Driver expenses (fuel, parking, tolls)
- 24/7 WhatsApp support from the Marrakech office
Not included
- International flights to/from Morocco
- Lunches and the dinners not specified above
- Drinks, personal purchases, and tips
- Travel insurance — strongly recommended; we can suggest HeyMondo or SafetyWing
- Optional 2nd Sahara overnight (~$180–280/person depending on camp class)
- Optional Essaouira 2-night extension at the end (~$420–620/person)
- Total distance
- ~1,950 km (Tangier → Marrakech)
- Destinations
- 8 — Tangier, Chefchaouen, Fes, Atlas, Merzouga, Aït Benhaddou, Marrakech, optional Essaouira
- UNESCO sites
- 4 — Fes medina, Aït Benhaddou, Volubilis stop on the Fes leg, optional Essaouira
- Sahara nights
- 1 at Erg Chebbi (extendable to 2)
- Highest altitude
- Tizi n'Tichka at 2,260 m
“If a traveller has 10 days and asks for 'the complete Morocco', this is the trip I build. The Tangier start is what makes it work — entering the country from the Strait of Gibraltar with the Atlantic on your right and Spain still visible behind you sets a totally different tone than landing at Casablanca airport. You feel like you're crossing into the country, not just disembarking. The other 9 days then unfold like a single long arc south.”
What past travellers say
Sophie & Marc
Paris, France
“The best trip of our lives. Our guide knew every village, every viewpoint, every hidden riad. Seven days in Morocco felt like a month somewhere else.”
James H.
London, UK
“Everything was seamless from landing in Fes to the Sahara camp and back to Marrakech. The night under the stars is something I'll never forget.”
Ana Rodrigues
Lisbon, Portugal
“Organized, warm, professional. They built the itinerary around what we loved and gave us complete freedom to stop anywhere along the way.”
Coast to Kasbah — frequently asked
- What's the difference between this tour and the 10-day Casablanca-start version?
- Same 10 days, same desert overnight, mostly same destinations — but the entry city differs. Tangier start works for travellers ferrying in from Spain (Tarifa is 35 minutes by fast boat) and Mediterranean travellers wanting a north-to-south arc. Casablanca start works for direct long-haul arrivals from North America or the Gulf. The Tangier route gets an extra hour in the Rif and slightly less of the Atlantic coast.
- Can we add Essaouira at the end?
- Yes — extend to 12 days with 2 nights in the Atlantic medina of Essaouira at the end. Adds ~$420–620/person depending on riad class. We re-time the Marrakech leg to leave for Essaouira on day 11. See our [4-Day Coast Tour](/tours/4-days-coast) for what the Essaouira leg looks like.
- Is the Sahara overnight comfortable?
- Yes — the Sahrawi-run camps at Erg Chebbi are not roughing-it. Mid-range has canvas tents with proper beds, en-suite bucket showers, carpets, communal dining around a low table. Luxury has full bathrooms with plumbing, electricity, king beds. Both serve the same tagine dinner; the dunes around them are the same dunes. Luxury adds ~$150/person to the per-day total.
- What if Tizi n'Tichka closes for snow on day 10?
- The Royal Gendarmerie closes the pass 3–4 times each winter (Nov–Mar). If the forecast points to closure on our planned travel day, we re-route via Boumalne Dadès → Skoura → Ouarzazate → the alternative south-of-Tichka road into Marrakech. Adds 1.5 hours but stays open. We monitor the gendarmerie portal the night before.
- Can we take the train from Tangier to Fes instead of driving?
- Yes — Morocco's Al Boraq high-speed train runs Tangier → Casablanca in 2h10, then a 4-hour Al Boraq-connected train Casa → Fes. Skipping the Chefchaouen leg drops 2 days and ~$300/person, and you arrive in Fes rested instead of road-tired. We can build either version; ask at booking if you'd prefer the train option.
- Is this tour suitable for travellers with kids?
- Yes for kids 8+. The driving days are the constraint — three of them are 6–7 hours, and small kids do not enjoy that. Families with younger children typically swap to a 12-day version with extra nights at the midpoints, or split into two shorter trips (north-only + desert) with a gap day at home in between.
