7 Days Morocco Private Tour: Tangier to Marrakech

Your private driver meets you at Tangier airport or port and you drive through the green hills of the Rif mountains to the blue town of Chefchaouen. You check in to your riad and have time to refresh.

In the afternoon, take a relaxed walk through the blue medina, where every alley looks like a painting, and browse the small souks for woven textiles and Rif crafts. Make your way to Outa el-Hammam square, framed by the historic kasbah, and have dinner at a restaurant overlooking it as the town glows in the evening light.

Moment to remember: dinner above Outa el-Hammam as the blue town lights up.

After breakfast you drive south through rolling countryside and olive groves to Fes, Morocco's spiritual and cultural capital. On arrival you start with a pottery and ceramic workshop, where artisans shape and paint tiles with techniques passed down through generations.

Then you enter Fes el-Bali, the UNESCO-listed old medina, through one of its historic gates and walk lanes of spice stalls, brass workshops and textile sellers. You pass the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque and university, founded in the 9th century and often described as the oldest operating university in the world, and finish at the Chouara tannery, seen from a terrace above the dye pits.

Moment to remember: the colors of the Chouara tannery from the terraces above.

After an early breakfast you head south through the Middle Atlas. In Ifrane, the Switzerland of Morocco, you see its alpine-style houses and fresh mountain air, then stop in the cedar forests near Azrou to watch and photograph the Barbary macaques.

The road continues through Midelt and over the mountain passes into the Ziz Valley, with its long palm groves and oasis villages. In the late afternoon you reach Merzouga, mount a camel and ride into the Erg Chebbi dunes as the sun sets, arriving at your luxury camp for dinner under the stars and Berber music around the fire.

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

Wake up early for sunrise over the dunes, have breakfast at the camp and return to Merzouga. Your first stop is Rissani, a historic caravan town, to see local life and its markets, then Tinghir, an oasis town between the High Atlas and the Jbel Saghro.

The highlight of the day is the Todra Gorge, where limestone cliffs rise on both sides of a clear river, with time to walk through the canyon. The road then follows the Dades Valley, with its rock formations, kasbahs and green riverbanks, to Boumalne Dades, where you have dinner at your riad.

Moment to remember: the sheer walls of the Todra Gorge above the river.

After breakfast you leave the Dades Valley through rock formations and oases to the Skoura palm groves, with their earthen kasbahs. In Ouarzazate, the Hollywood of Africa, you visit the Taourirt Kasbah and the Atlas Film Studios, where many films and series have been shot.

Then you explore Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO-listed fortified village on the old caravan routes, seen in Gladiator and Game of Thrones. In the afternoon you cross the High Atlas on the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with views of valleys and Berber villages, and reach Marrakech in the early evening.

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

With a licensed local guide, you start at Jemaa el-Fna, the heart of Marrakech, and wander into the souks, where artisans make leather goods, lamps, ceramics and textiles. You then visit the Bahia Palace with its painted ceilings and courtyards, and the Saadian Tombs, hidden for centuries and decorated with marble and carvings.

You admire the Koutoubia Mosque from outside and visit the Jardin Majorelle, once owned by Yves Saint Laurent. The afternoon is free to relax at your riad, enjoy a hammam or return to the medina at your own pace.

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

Enjoy a last breakfast in Marrakech and, depending on your flight, some final moments in the city.

Your driver then takes you to Marrakech airport, or to Casablanca airport if your flight leaves from there, with memories of the blue streets of Chefchaouen, the medina of Fes, the silence of the Sahara and the energy of Marrakech.

Moment to remember: looking back on one week from the Rif to the Red City.