Rabat Desert Tour

A ten-day private round trip from Rabat: Chefchaouen and the Rif Mountains, Meknes and Volubilis, the Fez medina with a local guide, two nights at Merzouga with nomads, Gnawa music and a desert camp, the Todra and Dades gorges, Aït Ben Haddou and Marrakech. Your driver-guide explains the plan each day – there is a lot to see.

Day 1: Arrival in Rabat

We pick you up at Rabat airport and take you to your hotel. Overnight with breakfast.

Day 2: Rabat – Meknes – Volubilis – Chefchaouen

We leave at 8:00 am to see Rabat’s Hassan Tower and the Kasbah of the Udayas, then drive to Meknes for the Bab Mansour gate, the Roman ruins of Volubilis and the holy town of Moulay Idriss. We continue to Chefchaouen, the blue town in the Rif Mountains, with its blue- and white-washed medina, local handicrafts and beautiful views. Overnight at Puerta Azul or similar, with breakfast.

Day 3: Chefchaouen – Fez

After breakfast we drive to Fez, arriving in the afternoon. Overnight at Riad Dilar or similar, with breakfast.

Day 4: Fez

A full day exploring the old medina of Fez with a local guide. Overnight with breakfast.

Day 5: Fez – Ifrane – Azrou – Midelt – Merzouga

After breakfast we drive through Ifrane to the cedar forests near Azrou, home to wild Barbary macaques – a great place for photos. Lunch is in the small Berber village of Zaida. We continue through the Atlas Mountains via Midelt and Rich to Erfoud, where the Tafilalet oasis and the Sahara begin, and on to Merzouga. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Dar Morocco or similar.

Day 6: Gnawa Music – Nomads – Night in a Luxury Camp

After breakfast we drive to Khamlia, a village famous for Gnawa music, a spiritual tradition its families brought from West Africa. After listening (and maybe dancing), we follow part of the old Paris–Dakar rally route across the stony desert towards the old Mifis mines.

At midday we stop with a nomad family for tea and a Berber pizza lunch, and learn how people live in the desert through sandstorms and summer heat. In the afternoon you return to the hotel to relax, then ride a camel for about an hour into the dunes, with sandboarding and sunset on the way. Dinner, Berber music and overnight in a luxury camp in a tent with its own bathroom.

Day 7: Merzouga – Todra Gorge – Dades Gorge

After sunrise, breakfast and a shower in your tent, we drive west through Berber villages, Tinjdad and the palm grove of Tinghir to the Todra Gorge, then on to Boumalne Dades. Dinner and overnight at Ksar Sultan Dades or similar.

Day 8: Dades Gorge – Ouarzazate – Aït Ben Haddou – Marrakech

After breakfast we drive to Ouarzazate, where you can visit the film studios, and on to the UNESCO-listed kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou. We then cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass (2,260 m), with wide views of valleys and Berber villages, and arrive in Marrakech in the evening. Overnight at Riad Bahia Salam or similar, with breakfast.

Day 9: Marrakech

Explore Marrakech with a local guide. Overnight with breakfast.

Day 10: Marrakech – Casablanca – Rabat

After breakfast we drive north, stopping in Casablanca to visit the Hassan II Mosque, and drop you at Rabat airport.