Morocco 12 day Private Tour Itinerary from Tangier is one of the most complete Morocco Adventure available — traveling the full length of the country from the Strait of Gibraltar in the north to the Sahara desert in the south, then west through the Gorge landscapes of the Dades Berbe Villages and Todra, the ancient kasbahs of Ait Ben Haddou, and the imperial grandeur of Marrakech, before ending at Casablanca or returning north to Tangier.
Starting at Tangier Med Port or Tangier Airport, you travel through the Atlantic art town of Asilah, the Andalusian medina of Tetouan, the legendary blue village of Chefchaouen, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, the imperial city of Meknes, and the medieval world of Fes — then south through the cedar forests of Ifrane and the Middle Atlas into the Sahara at Merzouga, west through Todra Gorge and the Dades Valley, through the palm oasis of Skoura and the UNESCO kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou into Marrakech, with a full city tour and a final afternoon in Casablanca before departure.
why This Trip 12-11 day version adds an extra day in Casablanca for travelers flying home from Mohammed V Airport. The 11-day version works for travelers whose flight departs from Tangier or for those flying from Casablanca on the same evening as the arrival there.
Route of this 12 Day : Tangier → Asilah → Tetouan → Chefchaouen → Volubilis → Meknes → Fes → Ifrane → Midelt → Merzouga Sahara → Todra Gorge → Dades Valley → Skoura → Ait Ben Haddou → Marrakech → Casablanca → Tangier or Casablanca Airport
Tour Duration: 11 or 12 Days / 10 or 11 Nights
Starts: Tangier Med Port or Tangier Ibn Battuta Airport
Ends: Tangier Airport or Casablanca Airport — depending on your flight
Type: Private Guided Tour
Arrive at Tangier Med Port by ferry from Spain, or at Tangier Ibn Battuta Airport by flight. Your private driver guide meets you at the port gate or airport arrivals and transfers you to Tangier for a brief orientation — a walk through the Kasbah, a look at the Petit Socco, and the panoramic terrace above the Strait of Gibraltar where the Atlantic and Mediterranean meet just 14 kilometers from the European shore. Depart south along the Atlantic coast to Asilah — one of Morocco’s most beautiful and most artistically significant small cities. Walk the perfectly preserved Portuguese ramparts of 1471, the whitewashed medina lanes with their year-round murals painted by international and Moroccan artists during the annual Asilah Arts Festival, and the art galleries of the medina. Sunset on the sea ramparts above the Atlantic. Dinner in Asilah.
Overnight: Asilah medina guesthouse
Morning free in Asilah — walk to the ramparts before breakfast, the most peaceful hour in the city. After breakfast, drive east and south to Tetouan — a UNESCO World Heritage city and the most complete Andalusian medina in Morocco, built almost entirely by Muslim and Jewish refugees expelled from Granada after 1492. Guided walk through the Tetouan medina: the Place Hassan II and Royal Palace facade, the Guersa el-Kebira cloth market, the Jewish mellah, and the artisan school where traditional Tetouani crafts — silk embroidery, zellij mosaic, woodcarving — are taught using techniques unchanged for 500 years. Visit the Tetouan Museum of Moroccan Arts. Lunch in Tetouan. Continue south into the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen. Arrive in the late afternoon. First walk through the blue-painted lanes.
Overnight: Chefchaouen medina riad
Wake early for the medina at dawn — the blue lanes before any visitor arrives, in the first light of the Rif mountains, is the most atmospheric hour Chefchaouen offers. Morning guided walk through the medina: the Plaza Uta el-Hammam and its 15th-century Kasbah, the Kasbah Museum, the artisan weaving and dye workshops, and the mountain spring of Ras el-Ma. Afternoon free — hike the Rif foothills for panoramic views over the valley, browse Berber textiles and craft shops, sit in a café on the plaza, or hike to the Spanish mosque viewpoint above the town. Sunset from the viewpoint as the blue rooftops turn gold.
Overnight: Chefchaouen medina riad
Early morning departure east from Chefchaouen. Drive to Volubilis — Morocco’s finest Roman city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walk the ancient forum, the Triumphal Arch of Caracalla, the Capitol, and the extraordinary floor mosaics of Orpheus, Bacchus, and Diana preserved for 1,800 years. Brief stop at Moulay Idriss Zerhoun — Morocco’s holiest pilgrimage town above Volubilis. Lunch. Afternoon in Meknes — the monumental Bab Mansour gate, the Heri es-Souani royal granaries, and the Place el-Hedim. Late afternoon arrival in Fes. Check into your medina riad. Evening walk through Fes el-Bali by lantern light.
Overnight: Fes medina riad
A complete guided day inside Fes el-Bali — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the world’s largest living car-free urban area. Your licensed local guide leads you through: the Chouara Tanneries seen from the terrace above, the Bou Inania Madrasa, the Al-Attarine Madrasa, the Kairaouine Mosque and University (founded 859 AD, the world’s oldest continuously operating university), the spice souk, the brass and copper market, and the Mellah — the ancient Jewish quarter with its 17th-century Ibn Danan synagogue. Lunch at a traditional Fassi riad restaurant. Afternoon free in the Andalusian quarter and pottery district.
Overnight: Fes medina riad
Early departure south from Fes. Drive through Ifrane — Morocco’s alpine town at 1,665m altitude, built by the French in the 1930s with red-roofed chalets and pine avenues. Continue to the cedar forests of Azrou where Barbary macaques roam freely through the ancient Atlas cedars. Lunch in Midelt — the apple city of the Middle Atlas at 1,500m. Continue south through the dramatic Ziz Gorge — a deep canyon lined with hundreds of thousands of date palms. Arrive in Merzouga in the late afternoon. Mount your camel for the guided sunset trek into the Erg Chebbi dunes. Arrive at your luxury desert camp as the sky turns gold. Moroccan dinner by firelight with live Gnawa drumming under the stars.
Overnight: Luxury desert camp, Erg Chebbi
Wake before sunrise for the dawn over the Erg Chebbi. Camel ride back to Merzouga village after breakfast. The day is entirely yours. Active options: guided 4×4 dune excursion, sandboarding, visit to the Gnawa musicians’ village of Khamlia for live trance music. Cultural options: visit a traditional Berber nomad family in their tent near the dunes, explore the fossil and mineral market of the Tafilalt. Relaxed option: rest on your hotel terrace watching the light shift across the Erg Chebbi through the day. Late afternoon optional return to the dunes for a second sunset.
Overnight: Merzouga hotel
Morning departure west from the Sahara. Drive through the Valley of Roses — Damask rose fields stretching from road to mountain base. Arrive at Todra Gorge — walk the canyon floor between 300m walls of pale orange limestone with the river running cold through the base. Lunch in the gorge. Continue into the Dades Valley. Settle into your kasbah hotel with views over the oasis and the desert mountains.
Overnight: Dades Valley kasbah hotel
Morning drive through the spectacular Dades Gorge — red and ochre rock formations with ancient kasbah villages in the cliff face. Continue west to the Skoura palm oasis — 5,000 hectares of date palms laced with ancient irrigation channels. Visit Kasbah Amridil — one of the most beautifully preserved kasbahs in Morocco, partially inhabited by the same family that built it in the 17th century. Continue to the UNESCO kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou — guided walk through the ksar, climbing to the ancient granary at the summit. Cross the Tizi n’Tichka Pass (2,260m) through the High Atlas. Descend into the Marrakech plain. Arrive at your riad in the evening. Night walk on the Djemaa el-Fna.
Overnight: Marrakech medina riad
A complete guided day in Marrakech with your licensed local medina guide. Morning: the Djemaa el-Fna — a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage site; the Koutoubia Mosque (1158 AD); the Bahia Palace — 19th-century vizier’s palace of 160 rooms with hand-painted cedarwood ceilings and garden courtyards; the Saadian Tombs — 16th-century royal mausoleum sealed for two centuries and rediscovered in 1917; and the medina souks — spices, leather, silver, lanterns, carpets, each in its traditional street. Lunch in the medina. Afternoon free: optional Majorelle Garden, traditional hammam, cooking class, or final souk shopping. Evening farewell dinner in the medina.
Overnight: Marrakech medina riad
Morning free in Marrakech — a last walk on the Djemaa el-Fna, a visit to the Majorelle Garden, or a traditional hammam. After lunch, drive north to Casablanca. Afternoon visit to the Hassan II Mosque — built on the Atlantic waterfront, one of the largest mosques in the world, open to non-Muslim visitors with a guided interior of extraordinary craftsmanship. Walk the Corniche and the Art Deco streets of the old downtown. Dinner in Casablanca.
Overnight (12-day version): Casablanca city hotel
For 11-day version: drop-off at Casablanca Airport after the Hassan II Mosque visit, or continue to Tangier Airport (3.5 hrs from Casablanca) for late evening departures.
After breakfast, your driver guide transfers you to your departure airport depending on your flight.
Option A — Casablanca Mohammed V Airport (CMN): 30 minutes from the city center. The most convenient option for travelers flying to North America, Europe, or beyond from Morocco’s main international hub. Morning free in Casablanca before the transfer.
Option B — Tangier Ibn Battuta Airport (TNG): drive north approximately 3.5 hours along the motorway — completing the geographic circle from where the journey began. This option suits travelers flying from Tangier, taking a ferry back to Spain, or who simply want to close the loop in the city where it started.
Your driver guide drops you at departures and the tour ends.
Tour ends at Casablanca or Tangier Airport
All prices per person in USD-EURO-MAD based on double occupancy. Private tour — your group only.
Why does the tour offer both 11 and 12 days?
The difference is one night in Casablanca. The 11-day version works for travelers flying directly from Casablanca on the same evening they arrive from Marrakech, or for those continuing to Tangier by road for a late flight or ferry. The 12-day version adds a Casablanca hotel night and a relaxed morning before the airport transfer — strongly recommended for anyone with a midday or afternoon flight from Casablanca. Share your flight details when booking and we will confirm which version fits your schedule.
Does the tour really start at Tangier Med Port?
Yes. Tangier Med is the main ferry port, located approximately 45 km east of Tangier city center. We meet you at the port gate after customs clearance and transfer you to Tangier or directly to Asilah depending on your arrival time. If you arrive at Tangier Ibn Battuta Airport (TNG), we meet you at the terminal instead — the pick-up point makes no difference to the itinerary.
Why does Day 2 include Tetouan — most tours skip it?
Tetouan is the most historically significant and most overlooked city in northern Morocco. Its UNESCO medina is the finest Andalusian medina in the country — built by refugees from Granada after 1492, preserving medieval Spanish-Islamic architecture in a form that has largely disappeared from Spain itself. Because it sits directly between Asilah and Chefchaouen, visiting it adds nothing to the driving distance and an enormous amount to the historical depth of the day. We always include it.
Is Day 4 (Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Meknes, and Fes) feasible in one day?
Yes, with an early departure from Chefchaouen. The route flows naturally east — Volubilis takes 1.5 hours, Meknes highlights take 1 hour, and Fes is 1 hour from Meknes. The Rif Mountain scenery makes the drive enjoyable throughout. If you prefer to overnight in Meknes and arrive in Fes the following morning, we can add a night and extend to a 12 or 13-day itinerary.
What is the best time of year for this tour?
March to May and September to November are ideal. Spring brings green Rif Mountain scenery and mild Sahara temperatures. Autumn has warm days, cool desert nights, and clear skies. Summer is manageable in the north but very hot in the Sahara. Winter is mild in Marrakech and Casablanca but Chefchaouen can be cool and rainy in January and February.
Can extra nights be added anywhere?
Yes. The most popular additions are an extra night in Chefchaouen, an extra night in the Sahara, or extra nights in Marrakech at the end. Contact us with your preferred total length and we will build the custom version. Request a Free Quote:
Choose the comfort level that best fits your travel style. Both options follow the exact same incredible itinerary and include your private vehicle, driver, and local guides.
Stay in hand-picked, authentic 3-star and 4-star traditional Riads and hotels. Perfect for travelers wanting comfort, local charm, and great value.
Upgrade to premium 4-star and 5-star boutique Riads and high-end hotels. Features larger rooms, excellent amenities, and enhanced comfort.
Premium Upgrade Available: Want to experience Morocco like royalty? Contact our team for a custom quote to upgrade your tour to our Ultra-Luxury Tier. This includes world-class 5-star luxury palaces and VIP glamping in the Sahara Desert.
based on double occupancy during the standard travel season. Final pricing may vary depending on your exact travel dates (such as peak holiday seasons like Christmas, New Year's, and Easter) or for solo travelers requesting private rooms.
You cannot copy content of this page
