10 Days Morocco Private Tour: Marrakech to Tangier

Your driver meets you at Marrakech airport and takes you to your riad or hotel. If you arrive early, you can take a first walk through the lanes and souks of the medina.

In the evening, head to Jemaa el-Fna, the great square at the heart of the old city, when the food stalls, musicians and storytellers fill it with life. It is the best introduction to Marrakech.

Moment to remember: dinner among the smoke and lanterns of the Jemaa el-Fna food stalls.

A local guide spends the day with you in the medina. You see the 19th-century Bahia Palace with its painted ceilings and gardens, the 16th-century Saadian Tombs, the ruins of the El Badi Palace and the carved courtyard of the Ben Youssef Madrasa. The Koutoubia Mosque, the city's best-known landmark, can be admired from outside, as non-Muslims cannot enter.

You also walk through the Mellah, the historic Jewish quarter, and the souks, where each lane has its own craft: spices, textiles, ceramics, lanterns and leather. If you like gardens, finish at the Jardin Majorelle, with its blue buildings, exotic plants and Berber museum.

Moment to remember: the quiet courtyards of the Bahia Palace after the noise of the souks.

You cross the High Atlas on the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with stops for views over the peaks and Berber villages. On the southern side you reach Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO-listed fortified village of earthen houses that has appeared in many films and series. You walk up through its lanes to the top for the view over the valley.

In Ouarzazate you can visit the film studios, then continue to the Skoura palm oasis and Kasbah Amridil, one of the best-preserved kasbahs in the south. The road follows the Rose Valley around Kelaa M'Gouna, known for its rose water, and reaches Boumalne Dades. In the Dades Gorges nearby you can see the rounded rock formations known as the Monkey Fingers.

Moment to remember: the first view of Aït Ben Haddou rising above the riverbed.

After breakfast you drive to Tinghir and walk among the date palms of its oasis, where earthen villages line the river. A little further, the Todra Gorges close in between rock walls that rise high above the stream, and you have time to walk through the narrowest part.

In the afternoon you reach Merzouga at the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes. Your camel and guide are waiting: you ride across the dunes as the sun goes down and arrive at your luxury desert camp. After a traditional dinner, the camp team plays Berber music around the fire under the stars.

Moment to remember: riding into the dunes as the sand turns orange at sunset.

Wake early to watch the sunrise over the dunes, then ride your camel back to Merzouga for breakfast and a shower. In Erfoud you can stop at a fossil museum, where the stones of the region tell the story of ancient seas.

The road follows the Ziz Valley, a long ribbon of date palms and irrigated gardens, and climbs over the Tizi n'Talghamt pass into the Middle Atlas. In the cedar forest near Azrou you may see Barbary macaques among the old trees, then stop in Ifrane, a mountain town with sloping roofs that locals call the Switzerland of Morocco. You arrive in Fes in the evening.

Moment to remember: the silence of the dunes at sunrise before the long road north.

A local guide shows you Fes el-Bali, the UNESCO-listed old medina and one of the largest car-free urban areas in the world. You enter through Bab Bou Jeloud, the blue and green tiled gate, and walk to the Bou Inania and Attarine madrasas, with their carved stucco, cedar wood and tilework, and to the area around Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in the 9th century and often called one of the world's oldest universities.

You also visit the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter with the restored Ibn Danan Synagogue, see the Chouara tannery from a terrace above the dye pits, and can add the Dar Batha museum of crafts or a pottery workshop. End the day at the Merenid Tombs on the hill for a view over the whole medina.

Moment to remember: the view over the rooftops of Fes from the Merenid Tombs.

Your first stop is Meknes, the 17th-century capital of Sultan Moulay Ismail. You see Place el-Hedim and the monumental Bab Mansour gate with its tilework, the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail and the huge Heri es-Souani granaries and stables, built to supply thousands of horses.

A short drive away, Volubilis preserves the ruins of a Roman city, listed by UNESCO, with columns, a triumphal arch and fine floor mosaics. In the afternoon the road climbs into the Rif mountains to Chefchaouen, where you arrive in time for a first walk in the blue medina.

Moment to remember: the mosaics of Volubilis with the olive groves all around.

Today is free to enjoy Chefchaouen slowly. Wander the blue lanes of the medina, visit the kasbah and its garden on Outa el-Hammam square, and browse the small shops for woven blankets and local crafts.

Follow the Ras El-Ma stream to its spring and small waterfalls, then walk up to the Spanish Mosque on the hill for the sunset view over the town and the Rif mountains. In the evening, have dinner at one of the cafés around Outa el-Hammam square.

Moment to remember: sunset over the blue town from the Spanish Mosque.

You drive north through the Rif to Tangier. First you visit Cap Spartel, the north-western tip of Africa, where the Atlantic meets the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, with its lighthouse and sea views. Nearby, the Hercules Caves are linked in legend to the hero Hercules, and one opening frames the ocean in a famous shape.

In the afternoon you explore Tangier: the kasbah with its views over the port and the strait, the busy Grand Socco square and the American Legation Museum, which tells the long story of ties between Morocco and the United States. End with a walk along the Corniche by the sea.

Moment to remember: standing at Cap Spartel where the ocean meets the strait.

After breakfast, and depending on your flight time, your driver takes you to Tangier airport for your journey home.

If you are crossing to Spain, we can take you to the ferry port instead. With a later departure, you still have time for a last coffee in the medina or a walk on the Corniche.

Moment to remember: looking back on ten days from Marrakech to the Strait of Gibraltar.