Private Guided Morocco Tours and Travel
Morocco Road Trips
For over 20 years we've created affordable, hassle free travel in Morocco that starts any day. Because your tour will be private, it's unique, so we can't show your exact route on the map or quote exact prices here.
Our sample 14 Day Tour below will give you an idea of what you might include in your own Morocco itinerary.
Upgrades to hotels may be added any time, even when you're on the road. We're flexible and do our best to make it happen.
Hotels include medina riads, ancient kasbahs, a desert camel trek camp in the Sahara dunes, and small local inns. Off road routes in the Sahgro massif or High Atlas mountains can be included.
Throughout you will be immersed in Berber and Arab cultures flavored with African ways and ancient traditions. You will visit nomads, markets, imperial cities, world heritage sites, kasbahs, palaces, Berber villages, and Roman ruins and travel ancient caravan routes.
To learn more go to Tours and Frequently Asked Questions.
Sample Road Trips
Casablanca to Marrakech 14 Days (map)
Marrakech to Marrakech 10 Days (map)
Tangier to Marrakech 8 Days (map)
14 Days
Casablanca to Marrakech
Day 1
From Casablanca to North Central Morocco
Your driver will meet you in your hotel reception and take you to the waiting car. Visit the magnificent King Hassan II Mosque before leaving the city for Rabat, the newly built capital of Morocco. Settlements from the 3rd century BC were located near the ancient Chellah. The Romans abandoned this site around 1150 to build Volubilis, where it was more profitable for olive oil production. The Chellah became a cemetery for royalty and the Sultans added gardens to the outer walls and inner sanctum, still looked after 800 years later. Mystical ruins and springs overlook the broad river plain where herds of elephants once roamed during Roman times. Back on the road drive to Chefchaouen to check in to your hotel near the central square in the heart of the old town.
Day 2
The Blue Town of Chefchaouen
100 years ago Chefchaouen was forbidden to non-Muslims and if one did manage to enter, it was risking their life to do so. Today the walkable medina is welcoming to anyone who wanders the narrow passages throughout this charming town, known as the Blue City. The houses and mosques are painted blue to mirror the sky and remind of god. Photographic opportunities are endless, especially in the mid day sunlight. Chefchaouen or Chaouen as it's called locally, is known to have 100 weavers workshops where fine woolens are made. Visit the 15th C kasbah and museum in the heart of the old town. Fine views of the lush Rif mountains can be seen from the high ramparts. And don't miss the dungeon.
Day 3
The Ancient Roman City of Volubilis
Transfer to Fez after breakfast. Along the way you can visit the ancient city of Volubilis, the furthest outpost of the Roman Empire used as a trading doorway into Africa for 200 years in the 2nd and 3rdC. It's beautiful mosaics and carved columns are notable, and an olive press can be seen operating exactly the way it did in Roman times.
Nearby is the town named after Moulay Idriss I who arrived here in 789 with the teachings of Islam, creating a dynasty that changed Morocco forever. In addition to founding the town, he also initiated construction of Fez as a unprecedented learning center devoted to the study of Islam and the Koran.
Day 4
Take a Walking Tour of the Fez Medina
With your local Fez specialist guide you'll explore this fascinating storybook medina to learn about her secrets and charms. The endless labyrinth of narrow streets is like no other, with hundreds of tiny shops, a dyers souk, and craft manufacturers who ply their trade in narrow medieval grottoes. Visit the famous leather tanneries, still using techniques from ancient times to produce fine leather in beautiful colours. Fez is also famous for its robust and beautiful pottery, brass and copper trays and tea services, regional cuisine and ancient medersas (schools of Islam).
Day 5
To the Gateway of Sahara
Today you'll travel into the Middle Atlas mountains to visit Azrou where there are opportunities to see wild Barbary apes in the native cedar forests. After leaving the green forests the landscape changes dramatically crossing over the Atlas passes. Midelt on the edge of Sahara is another world in contrast. This bustling desert town has interesting shops that sell carpets with striking abstract designs woven by the women in the region. Here is a Sunday market where desert dwellers and nomads travel from the surrounding hills and desert villages to sell their goods and resupply.
Day 6
Camel Trek to a Tented Camp
Today you will arrive in the Sahara desert. Travel south until the red Erg Chebbi dunes appear on the horizon. Along the route the Ziz date palm oasis stretches all the way to Erfoud. In Erfoud you’ll have time to stop to visit the (Saturday) date market, and resupply for anything you need at the local super market. Your destination is the desert camp beyond the town of Merzouga, far from hotels lining the dunes. Have tea or a drink by the pool in the desert inn before meeting your camel guides to ride to the camp. Dinner is served (vegetarians welcome) under the evening stars. Climb the massive dunes and watch the moon rise in the star filled sky before retiring to your bed.
Read all about camel trekking.
Day 7
Local Markets,
Fossils and Donkey Parking
Leaving the desert dunes you'll travel through the remote volcanic Saghro Massif towards Tinehir. Along the way you can visit fossil workshops for a closer look at the Sahara’s wonderful variety of ancient sea life. Stop to hunt for fossils in the rocks, explore any local markets at your leisure, and visit a small museum about Berber life in an ancient mud walled village. Rissani has a lively thrice weekly souk selling many goods, animals and spices brought in from the surrounding villages, where it's fun to explore, buy camel milk, see the largest donkey parking lot, and people watch. Arrive in Tinehir and settle into your room in a 100 years old kasbah.
Day 8
Dades Kasbahs and Todra Gorge
A short drive from Tinehir takes you to Todra gorge to walk through this massive fault dividing the High Atlas mountains. The sheer rock walls rise to 300 m in the narrowest part. Wander with a Berber guide through desert gardens for a close look at Berber ways of life. Back in the car you'll drive to theDades valley of a thousand kasbahs. You will pass through many villages, riverside gardens and barren hillsides clustered with fortified mud dwellings that house families and their livestock. Aside from the many large kasbahs in this valley, Dades is noted for the Tamnalt hill formations called the Monkey Fingers.
Day 9
Nomads and Ait Ben Haddou Kasbahs
Your destination today is Ait Benhaddou Unesco world heritage site. Along the way you'll drive off road, (weather permitting) across the mountains to the remote village of Boutaghrah and visit nomads in the area, then pass through the Skoura oasis and Valley of the Rose, famous for elegant Persian rose oil. Back on the main road to Ouarzazate you’ll have time to stop at the kasbah museum and explore around the inner sanctum of a sultan’s private home. Next is the magnificent Ait Benhaddou casbahs. Arrive to an overlook view before settling in to your riad with views of the kasbah fortress.
Day 10
High Atlas Valleys, Telouet, Salt Mines and Marrakech
This morning you can take time to explore the World Heritage Site of Ait Benhaddou before the crowds from Marrakech arrive. The village of clustered Berber Kasbahs has been used as a backdrop for countless adventure films. In its prime it was one of the most powerful fortress strongholds on the Salt Road protecting camel caravans plagued by thieves and raiders in the High Atlas mountains. You'll follow the old salt trade camel caravan route to Telouet and explore the old Glaoui kasbah. This once beautiful palace now stands crumbling to ruins because no one wants to remember "the vulture" sultan and his son who lived, played and schemed here until the 1950's. After lunch descend the High Atlas mountains Tichka pass (2260m) to the lowlands of Marrakech with time to stop and enjoy impressive landscapes over coffee or fresh-squeezed orange juice.
Day 11 & 12
The Red City Called Marrakech
Explore the back street maze of Marrakech with your guide. Visit Ben Youssef Medersa, the Koutoubia mosque, and the Marrakech Museum or the Saadian tombs. You'll have free time to explore the many restaurants and shops in this most iconic city. The vast souk (market) is comprised of many specialist areas e.g. metalwork, carvers, dyers souk, weavers: where you can watch crafters ply their trade. Carpets and carpet sellers entice you into their shop with a glass of sweet of mint tea. Search hidden shops for treasure, selling Berber jewelry, old silver and African beads; or spices, olives, fresh herbs; or traditional apothecaries where you can buy all manner of potions to heal or cast spells of love or revenge. Marrakech is also called the Paris of Africa for her flower lined boulevards and gardens. Most notable is the Majorelle estate gardens and museum, previously owned by Yves Saint Laurent.
Day 13
Tree Goats, Seafood, Artists and the Beach
Transfer to Essaouira, a laid back town west of Marrakech set on the Atlantic coast peppered with Argan trees (yes - there are goats in the trees). Staying in Essaouira on the Atlantic coast is a perfect way to finish a tour of Morocco. The expansive beach is great for long walks. The town is famous for fresh seafood, thuja wood crafts and artists colony. Old Portuguese ramparts guard the walled city where you can watch silver crafters and wood carvers at work in one of the most charming medinas in all of Morocco. Visit a traditional pharmacy and learn about natural medicines and cures, and a Women's cooperative where Argan nuts are processed by hand into healthful oils. In winter Essaouira is generally warmer and wetter than Marrakech, and in summer pleasantly cool and breezy, rarely going beyond high 20's (78 F). Celcius.
Day 14
Essaouira on the Atlantic Coast
Wander around the old grotto shops and markets filled with spices, African trade goods, wooden carvings and masks, colorful textiles and carpets, and discover unique artists galleries. Essaouira is also an active fishing port where fish is bought and sold right on the docks. Fresh seafood is served in the simple beachside cafes and market lanes in this most fascinating medina. Swim, kite sail, ride horses or camels or just relax on the golden seaside sands. A perfect finish to your Morocco experience. Depart the tour from Marrakech.
Making Your Private Tour is Easy
Personalize your private (custom bespoke) trip to start any day, for any length of time, for any number of explorers. Our expert English speaking driver guides will show you Morocco's beautiful landscapes, expansive history, soulful sunsets, incredible desert skies, and storybook ancient cities. You'll discover delicious food, welcoming people, African music and arts, tribal traditions and so much more. We invite you to travel with us and discover the real Morocco.
We'll help you decide what you want to do based upon your interests, and advise where to start and end with your travel plans. Sample tour outlines can be found on each of the tour pages for Day Tours, Road Trips, or Sahara Treks. When you're ready to book the tour, our Payment page helps you get started step by step. It's easy!
FAQs answers questions about visas, safety, weather, our guides, what to wear, tipping, how to buy a carpet, changing money, and a whole lot more that will help you become a well informed traveller.
What People Say About Us
About Morocco Explored Tours
For over 20 years Morocco Explored has created safe, mid-priced, small group holidays as an alternative to set packaged excursion tours. We create unique experiences tailored to your interests. All private custom made (bespoke) tours combine cultural immersion with unique experiences, often along routes less traveled by many Morocco visitors.
We are a fully insured Morocco tour operator, our transport vehicles and drivers are licensed as required by law.
Our work is diversified among many regions and families. When you choose Morocco Explored you'll be supporting our Moroccan partners who are dedicated to provide the best experiences for our explorers.
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Our Awards
From 2013 to 2019 Morocco Explored has won TripAdvisor's Certificate of Excellence award for continual 5 star reviews year over year. In 2020 we won the Travelers Choice Award given to the top 10% reviewed travel providers in the TripAdvisor travel registry.