Where to Go in Morocco
Morocco packs an unusual amount into one country: imperial cities with medieval medinas, the tallest dunes in the Sahara, 4,000-metre peaks in the High Atlas and an Atlantic coast with real surf. Below is a guide to each place we run tours through — what it is, how long to stay, when to go, and which of our itineraries include it.
Marrakech
Marrakech is Morocco's most-visited city and the usual starting point for a Moroccan tour. Its walled medina — a UNESCO World Heritage site — holds the Jemaa el-Fnaa square, the Koutoubia Mosque, the Saadian Tombs and the Bahia Palace, all within walking distance of each other. Most travellers spend two to three days here before heading to the desert or the Atlas Mountains.
Fes
Fes is the oldest of Morocco's four imperial cities and home to Fes el-Bali, one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world. Founded in the 9th century, it holds the al-Qarawiyyin — recognised as the world's oldest continuously operating university — along with the Chouara tanneries and the Bou Inania Madrasa. Two days is the usual stay.
Sahara Desert (Merzouga)
Merzouga is the village at the edge of Erg Chebbi, the dune field most travellers picture when they think of the Moroccan Sahara. Dunes reach around 150 metres, and the standard experience is a camel trek in at sunset, a night in a desert camp, and sunrise from the ridge above camp. Merzouga is roughly two days' drive from Marrakech or one long day from Fes.
Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen is a small town in the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco, known for the blue-washed walls that cover most of its medina. It sits at about 600 metres altitude, is compact enough to walk end to end in an afternoon, and is usually visited as an overnight stop between Fes and Tangier rather than as a destination in itself.
Atlas Mountains
The High Atlas runs south-west to north-east across Morocco and rises to Toubkal at 4,167 metres, the highest peak in North Africa. The range starts about an hour from Marrakech, which makes Berber villages, terraced valleys and serious mountain scenery an easy day trip — or the backbone of a multi-day trek.
Ouarzazate & Aït Benhaddou
Ouarzazate sits just south of the High Atlas and functions as the gateway to the desert and the Draa Valley. Thirty kilometres away, Aït Benhaddou is a fortified earthen ksar and UNESCO World Heritage site, familiar from Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia and Game of Thrones. Both are standard stops on the drive between Marrakech and Merzouga.
Dades & Todra Gorges
The Dades and Todra gorges cut north into the High Atlas from the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, the route linking Ouarzazate to Merzouga. Todra's narrowest section runs between limestone walls up to 300 metres high and barely 10 metres apart. Both are standard overnight stops on the drive to the Sahara.
Essaouira
Essaouira is a fortified port on Morocco's Atlantic coast, two and a half hours west of Marrakech. Its 18th-century medina is a UNESCO World Heritage site, laid out on a regular grid rather than the usual maze, and the constant Atlantic wind has made it a well-known kitesurfing and windsurfing spot. Most visitors come as a day trip or stay one or two nights.
Casablanca
Casablanca is Morocco's largest city, its economic centre, and the site of Mohammed V International Airport — the country's main international gateway. The Hassan II Mosque, built partly over the Atlantic with a 210-metre minaret, is the principal sight and one of the few working mosques in Morocco that non-Muslims may enter. Most itineraries allow half a day.
Rabat
Rabat is Morocco's capital and the calmest of its four imperial cities. Its historic core — the Kasbah of the Udayas, the Hassan Tower, the Chellah necropolis and the Mohammed V Mausoleum — is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the whole city can be seen comfortably in a day. It sits an hour north of Casablanca on the Atlantic.
Meknes & Volubilis
Meknes is the smallest and least crowded of Morocco's imperial cities, built up by Sultan Moulay Ismail in the 17th century and known for the monumental Bab Mansour gate and the vast Heri es-Souani granaries. Thirty kilometres north lie the ruins of Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman city in Morocco. Both are commonly done as a day trip from Fes.
Tangier
Tangier sits at the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, with Spain visible across the water on a clear day. It is the arrival point for ferries from Tarifa and Algeciras and the northern terminus of Morocco's high-speed rail line. The kasbah, the Caves of Hercules and Cap Spartel are the main sights, and a day or two is typical.
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