Short Overview
Starting in Casablanca, this 10 days Morocco itinerary takes you through the blue streets of Chefchaouen, into the ancient medina of Fes, across the Middle Atlas mountains, and deep into the golden dunes of Merzouga. From the Sahara, the road winds south through dramatic valleys and kasbahs before crossing the High Atlas back to Marrakech.
10 days gives us something most shorter tours can’t offer: room to breathe. Room to linger over a long Moroccan lunch, stop for tea with a local family, wander a medina without watching the clock, and simply let the landscape change around you at a pace that feels human.
At Berber Hospitality, we don’t believe in cramming every hour with activity. We prefer a journey that feels natural, personal, and genuinely enjoyable; unplanned moments are just as valued as the famous landmarks. This is Morocco at a pace that lets you truly experience it, with a trusted local team taking care of everything from beginning to end.
Why Choose Our Journey?
Discover Morocco at your own pace with a private Morocco 10 day itinerary designed around your interests. Travel with your own group, enjoy the comfort of a private vehicle, and let a local team handle the details. From exploring ancient medinas and discovering traditional Berber villages to spending unforgettable nights in the Sahara Desert, every day is an opportunity to experience Morocco your way.
Your 10 days Morocco itinerary, tailored to you. This itinerary is a starting point, not a fixed plan. Would you prefer an extra night in the Sahara, more time exploring Marrakech or Fes, or a slower journey through the Atlas Mountains? Tell us what matters most to you, and we’ll customize your 10 days in Morocco itinerary to match your interests, travel style, and pace.
Tour Highlights
- Explore Casablanca and visit the magnificent Hassan II Mosque
- Walk the famous blue streets of Chefchaouen
- Discover the ancient Roman ruins of Volubilis
- Explore the old medina of Fes with a local guide
- Travel through the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas
- Journey through the Ziz Valley and its sweeping palm oasis
- Experience Merzouga and the towering golden dunes of Erg Chebbi
- Ride camels into the Sahara at sunset
- Spend a night in a luxury desert camp under a sky full of stars
- Meet a local nomadic family and learn about desert life
- Enjoy traditional Berber music and hospitality around the campfire
- Explore Todra Gorge and the Dades Valley
- Travel the legendary Road of a Thousand Kasbahs
- Visit the historic Aït Ben Haddou, filming location for Gladiator and Game of Thrones
- Cross the High Atlas Mountains via Tizi n’Tichka
- Discover the souks, palaces, and medina of Marrakech
- Travel privately with a trusted local team and a comfortable vehicle.
Details:
- Duration: 10 Days / 9 Nights
- Group Type: Private Experience
- Availability: Daily
- Start: Casablanca
- End: Flexible (can end in Marrakech or Casablanca if that suits your flights better)
What’s Included
- Private, comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle throughout
- Experienced local driver-guide who knows the roads and regions well
- Airport pickup in Casablanca and airport transfer at the end of the tour.
- 9 nights of carefully selected accommodation.
- Luxury desert camp in Merzouga with a private tent and private bathroom.
- Daily breakfast.
- 3 Dinner meals in Merzouga and Dades Valley.
- Traditional lunch on day 6 during the Sahara experience.
- Camel trekking in the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset.
- Visit to a local nomadic family.
- Sandboarding in the desert.
- Local guides for Fes and Marrakech.
- Flexible private travel, with the possibility of adjusting the pace when needed.
- Local assistance before and during your journey
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1
Arrival in Casablanca
Your journey begins at Mohammed V Airport, where we’ll welcome you and transfer you to your accommodation.
Depending on your arrival time, visit the breathtaking Hassan II Mosque one of the largest mosques in the world, set dramatically beside the Atlantic Ocean. Take time to admire the zellige tilework, carved cedar ceilings, and peaceful courtyards that showcase the finest of Moroccan craftsmanship.
Spend the evening with a relaxed walk along the Corniche or dinner by the sea.
Overnight: Casablanca
Day 2
Casablanca - Rabat - Chefchaouen
After breakfast, we head north towards the Rif Mountains, with a stop in Rabat, Morocco’s capital, to visit the Hassan Tower, an unfinished 12th-century minaret, and the elegant Mausoleum of Mohammed V, guarded by royal cavalry in traditional dress.
As the landscape grows greener and the roads begin to climb, you’ll know Chefchaouen is near. Arrive in the afternoon, settle into your riad, and take your first walk through the blue medina as the late afternoon light turns everything golden.
Overnight: Riad in Chefchaouen
Driving time: Around 5 hours
Day 3
Chefchaouen - Fes
After a relaxed breakfast at your riad: typically fresh bread, local honey, olive oil, goat’s cheese, and mint tea. The morning is yours to explore in whatever direction feels right. The medina is small enough to navigate without a map and interesting enough to wander for hours without retracing your steps. Every alley has something: a doorway painted in a color you haven’t seen before, a cat sleeping on a blue step, a craftsman working wool or leather or copper in a workshop barely wider than your shoulders, a view down a staircase lane to the valley below.
We leave Chefchaouen after breakfast, descending from the Rif and swinging south through countryside that grows flatter and more arid as we leave the mountains behind. The drive takes us through the agricultural heartland of northern Morocco; wide fields, roadside olive groves, and the occasional market town, before we reach our first destination of the day.
By evening, we’ll arrive at your riad in the heart of Fes.
Overnight: Traditional riad in Fes
Driving Time: Around 4 hours
Day 4
Exploring Fes - Ifrane - Cedar Forest - Aguelmame Sidi Ali
Fes is the kind of city that takes time to understand, and a morning spent with a good local guide is one of the best investments of the journey.
Your local guide will take you through the medina’s layers: the 9th-century Quaraouiyine a and University, regarded by UNESCO as the oldest continuously operating university in the world; the elaborately tiled Bou Inania Madrasa, whose carved plasterwork and cedarwood screens are among the finest examples of Marinid architecture anywhere; the Chouara Tannery, where leather has been treated using methods largely unchanged since the 10th century, and where the sight of the great circular stone vats filled with dye; saffron yellow, poppy red, indigo blue, mint green, is one of the most photographed images in all of Morocco. Your guide will also take you through the covered souks that specialize by craft: the copper souk, the spice souk, the weavers’ quarter, the woodworkers’ district, each with its own sounds and smells, each occupying the same position it has held in the city’s geography for generations.
After lunch, leave Fes behind and head south towards the Middle Atlas Mountains. Our first stop is Ifrane, a peaceful mountain town surrounded by forests and known for its cool climate and distinctive architecture.
From Ifrane, continue through the cedar forests, where you may have the chance to see Barbary macaques living among the trees. We’ll take a relaxed stop here to enjoy the forest and the changing landscape.
The road then becomes quieter as we continue deeper into the Middle Atlas towards Hotel Xaluca Aguelmame Sidi Ali, a beautiful mountain lake surrounded by open landscapes. After the busy streets of Fes, this is a chance to slow down and enjoy a completely different side of Morocco.
Arrive in the evening, settle into your accommodation, and enjoy the peaceful surroundings.
Overnight: Xaluca Hotel in Aguelmame Sidi Ali
Driving Time: Around 3 hours
Day 5
Aguelmame Sidi Ali - Midelt - Ziz Valley - Erfoud - Merzouga
Wake up surrounded by the quiet landscapes of the Middle Atlas before continuing south towards Midelt. As we leave the mountains behind, the scenery gradually becomes drier and more open. Midelt is known for its apples and its location between the Middle and High Atlas, making it a natural stop along the journey.
From here, we’ll continue towards the Ziz Valley, where the landscape changes dramatically. Green palm groves follow the river through the rocky desert, with small villages and old kasbahs appearing along the valley.
We’ll make stops along the way to enjoy the views and take photographs before continuing towards Erfoud, famous for its fossils and locally worked stone. If you’re interested, we can stop at a small workshop to see how local artisans work with fossils and minerals found in the region.
After arriving in Merzouga, take some time to relax and enjoy the desert surroundings before heading into the dunes.
In the late afternoon, we’ll meet our camel guide and begin the camel trek into the Erg Chebbi dunes. The journey takes you away from the village and deeper into the Sahara, with the landscape becoming quieter with every step. Along the way, we’ll stop at a beautiful spot to watch the sunset over the dunes as the sand changes from gold to orange and red.
Continue by camel to your desert camp, where you’ll be welcomed with traditional Moroccan tea. Your evening includes a freshly prepared Moroccan dinner, followed by Berber music and drumming around the campfire.
When the camp becomes quiet, take some time to look up at the desert sky. With very little light around you, the stars are one of the most beautiful parts of spending a night in the Sahara.
Overnight: Luxury Desert Camp
Driving Time: Around 5 hours
Camel Trek: Around 1–1.5 hours
Day 6
Explore the Sahara Like a Local
Wake up early to watch the sunrise over the golden dunes, one of the most peaceful moments of your journey. After breakfast, our adventure starts with a 4×4 drive across the Erg Chebbi dunes, following the tracks used by locals and nomads. We’ll stop in the heart of the desert, where you’ll have time to enjoy the silence, take in the endless views, and try sandboarding down the soft golden dunes, one of the most enjoyable ways to experience the Sahara.
We’ll then visit a local Berber nomadic family, where you’ll be welcomed with a glass of mint tea and discover their traditional way of life. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about the customs, hospitality, and daily life of families who have called the desert home for generations.
We’ll continue to the historic M’ifis Mines before visiting a local Lake, where flamingos and other migratory birds can often be seen during the right season. We’ll finish the day at one of our favorite panoramic viewpoints overlooking the dunes.
For lunch, you’ll enjoy a traditional homemade meal prepared by the family, offering an authentic taste of southern Moroccan cuisine in a truly unique setting, before returning to your riad
The rest of the afternoon is yours to relax by the pool, enjoy the peaceful surroundings, or choose an optional quad bike adventure before another beautiful Sahara sunset.
As locals from Merzouga, we’re most proud to share this side of the desert: simple moments, genuine hospitality, and experiences that help you connect with the Sahara beyond its beautiful dunes.
Meals Included: Breakfast & Traditional Lunch & Dinner
Overnight: Boutique Riad in Merzouga
Day 7
Merzouga - Todra Gorge - Dades Valley
Leaving the desert behind, the route passes through the Todra Gorges; The first significant stop of the day, and it announces itself dramatically. The road follows a river valley that narrows steadily until suddenly the cliffs on either side rise to 300 metres and close to within 10 metres of each other at the base. The gorge is one of Morocco’s most spectacular natural formations, the rock faces are a deep reddish-pink, striated with geological layers laid down over millions of years, and the light that reaches the gorge floor is indirect and cool even on hot days.
Continue into the Dades Valley to see the Monkey Fingers rock formations, known locally as Doigts de Singe, appear above the road near the upper valley. Wind and water have sculpted the canyon walls into organic shapes that twist and reach skyward in ways that the comparison to fingers only partly captures. The formations change as the light changes, and in the late afternoon they turn a deep shade of amber-red that makes them look almost alive.
The evening is a good time to slow down, enjoy dinner, and rest in your accommodation surrounded by the mountains.
Overnight: Riad or boutique hotel in Dades Valley
Driving Time: Around 4 hours
Day 8
Dades Valley - Ouarzazate - Aït Ben Haddou - Marrakech
After breakfast, the morning begins with the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, a landscape so dense with earthen fortresses, fortified granaries, and ancient villages that the name barely feels like an exaggeration.
After about 2 hours of driving, we arrive in Ouarzazate, known informally as the Hollywood of Africa, is a junction town that has found an unexpected second identity as a film production hub. Depending on your interests, we can visit the Atlas Film Studios.
The real destination in this area, though, is Aït Ben Haddou, a few kilometres west of Ouarzazate. This UNESCO World Heritage ksar is, in the truest sense, one of Morocco’s most remarkable places. A ksar is a fortified village of mud brick earthen architecture at its most sophisticated, with towers and ramparts and inner streets that have been refined over centuries into a form that is both beautiful and precisely suited to the desert climate. Aït Ben Haddou has been inhabited for at least a thousand years and was once a major stopping point on the caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech.
Today most of its permanent residents have moved to the new village across the river, but a handful of families still live within the old walls, and the ksar is maintained rather than frozen. This is where Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, Game of Thrones, The Mummy, Babel, and dozens of other productions have been filmed
From Aït Ben Haddou, the road begins to climb. The Tizi n’Tichka pass is the highest road pass in Morocco and the main route crossing the High Atlas between the south and Marrakech. The road gains altitude quickly, winding through mountain villages and past sharp drops to valleys far below. At the summit, 2260 metres
By late afternoon or early evening, you’re in Marrakech city, settled into your riad in the medina, and the mountains you just crossed already feel like another world.
Overnight: Riad in Marrakech
Driving Time: Around 6–7 hours
Day 9
Discovering Marrakech
The day begins with your local guide in the medina, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the old city, which was founded in the 11th century.
The Bahia Palace is one of the first stops: a late 19th-century complex built for the Grand Vizier Ba Ahmed over the course of years, using the finest materials and craftsmen available at the time.
The Saadian Tombs, discovered by accident in 1917 and opened to the public shortly afterward, are the burial site of members of the Saadian dynasty, rulers of Morocco in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The Koutoubia Mosque is the landmark that defines Marrakech’s skyline: a 70-metre minaret built in the 12th century that became the template for both the Hassan Tower in Rabat and the Giralda in Seville. Non-Muslims cannot enter, but the exterior and the gardens surrounding it are well worth time.
The souks are an afternoon unto themselves. The covered market streets of Marrakech are organized by trade in a system that has remained largely consistent for centuries: the dyers’ souk, the leatherworkers’ souk, the weavers’ souk, the woodcarvers’ souk, the spice market.
The evening belongs to Jemaa El Fna, the great central square of Marrakech and arguably the most extraordinary public space in Africa. During the day it’s a car park ringed by juice stalls and orange vendors.
Overnight: Riad in Marrakech
Day 10
Marrakech - Casablanca (Departure)
Enjoy a relaxed final morning in Marrakech with breakfast at your riad and some free time to explore the medina before departure.
Departure Options:
Option 1: Marrakech – End your journey in Marrakech with a drop-off at your hotel or Marrakech Menara Airport.
Option 2: Casablanca – Travel to Casablanca for a drop-off at Mohammed V International Airport, approximately 2.5 hours away.
Your 10-day Moroccan adventure comes to an end, leaving you with unforgettable memories of the imperial cities, Atlas Mountains, Sahara Desert, and the warm hospitality of Morocco.
faqs
Most Travelers Ask About
A Toyota Prado 4x4 for groups of up to 4 people, offering good ground clearance for the desert and mountain roads, or a Mercedes Vito or Sprinter for larger groups, always air-conditioned and driven by an experienced local guide.
Camel treks typically last 60-90 minutes (sunset trek to camp). The duration depends on camp location within the dunes.
If camel riding doesn't appeal, whether due to motion sickness concerns, physical limitations, or personal preference, 4x4 vehicles provide alternative transport directly to and from the camp. Many guests choose to ride camels one direction and take 4x4 the other way, complete flexibility with no judgment or pressure.
Yes, this tour welcomes families and works excellently for children. The private nature allows adjusting the pace to accommodate shorter attention spans, more frequent breaks, and family needs.
Young children (3-7): Can ride camels with parental assistance or share a camel with adults. Desert camp experience often proves magical for this age.
Children (8-12): Usually love the adventure aspects, camel riding, dunes, desert camp, meeting nomads.
Teenagers: Appreciate the unique experience, photography opportunities, and adventure activities like sandboarding.
Car seats can be arranged with advance notice. Children's meals and dietary preferences are easily accommodated. Many families count this among their most memorable travel experiences together.
Yes, with appropriate planning. The tour involves:
- Long driving days (manageable with frequent rest stops)
- Moderate walking at monuments (optional or can be shortened)
- Camel riding (can be replaced with 4x4 transfer)
- Some uneven terrain at kasbahs and gorges
We've successfully accommodated active seniors into their 70s and 80s. The private tour nature allows complete customization to physical abilities, reducing walking distances; our professional guides assist, ensuring adequate rest, and adjusting the pace entirely to your comfort.
Inform us of any mobility concerns or health conditions during booking, and we'll adapt the itinerary accordingly. Your comfort and safety remain our priorities.
Absolutely. As a private tour, complete flexibility exists. Common customizations include:
- Spending two nights in the desert instead of moving to Merzouga village
- Adding stops at specific locations (additional kasbahs, valleys, villages)
- Adjusting pace to spend more time at certain highlights
Including specific activities (longer hikes, pottery workshops, cooking classes) - Modifying start/end times to match flight schedules
Contact us to discuss customization options. Most modifications incur no additional cost unless they significantly alter distances or require special arrangements.
A small deposit is taken via PayPal or Bank Transfer to confirm your dates and lock in your itinerary, with the balance payable in cash (EUR, USD, or MAD) or Bank Transfer on day one of the tour, directly with your driver-guide.
Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast
Yes, this is common. Many travelers choose Standard or Traditional accommodation in the cities and upgrade to Luxury for the desert camp night, since that's often considered the highlight of the trip.