Magical Best of Morocco Itinerary in 12 Days

What to expect on this itinerary
Handcrafted with the complete range of highlights, this luxurious 12-day adventure will lead you from walled cities to epic dunes and from spiritual towns to Berber histories. Morocco dazzles and delights with its old-world artisanal cities, Saharan adventure, and enchanting hillside towns. Explore all four imperial cities, escape to the coast, immerse yourself in Morocco's storied history, and gain incredible cultural insight from expert guides.
Customizable Itinerary
Marrakech – Gardens, Tombs, Souks, and Storytellers
After landing in Marrakech, you will be greeted at the airport and transferred to your boutique lodge in the old city. Your suite will be on the roof, so you can bask in the city’s sandstone allure before exploring it on a private walking tour. By venturing into the souk, you can fully lose your senses with spellbinding sounds and sights around every corner. Every lane is different in the souk, and the colors can be seemingly endless. Although the souks can appear overwhelming, you will not get lost because you will be with your expert guide. Eventually, your tour will conclude on Djemaa el-Fna, which is a central square where Berber storytellers weave narratives long into the evening.
What's Included:
Marrakech – The Heart of an Imperial City
Casablanca – The Hassan II Mosque and Amber City
Asilah – An Imperial Capital and Cobbled Town
Chefchaouen – Ports and Blue Town
Chefchaouen – The Highlights of Chefchaouen
Moulay Idriss – Roman History and Moroccan Spirituality
Fes – The World’s Greatest Walled City
Meknes – Private Artisanal Workshops
Zagora – Luxury Desert Camp and Sahara
Zagora – Continuing the 4WD Sahara Safari
Marrakech – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Explore the Sahara on an epic 4WD drive safari across the dunes east of Zagora
- Uncover the wonders of Marrakech, where Arab and Berber culture is juxtaposed in beautiful harmony
- Discover the marvels of Fes, which is the intriguing walled city that dwarfs every other in Morocco
- Relax in the enchanting blue-walled town of Chefchaouen during a two-night stop in the Moroccan hills
- Transport yourself back in history and explore the Roman ruins of Volubilis
- Learn some of Morocco’s artistic secrets with an artisanal workshop in Meknes, which is the country’s most beautiful imperial city
- Connect with Moroccan spirituality by spending a night in Moulay Idriss, which is the country’s mystical heartbeat
- Explore Morocco’s wonderful coastline, including legendary Tangier with a night in the whitewashed coastal town of Asilah
- Discover the beauty of Rabat and Casablanca, which are both mesmerizing cities with surreal highlights
Detailed Description
Morocco is quick to charm its guests. Artistic cities showcase the country’s beauty, Arab and Berber cultures provide an instant welcome, and small towns evoke the enchantment of yesteryear. This country is immersive, especially when you venture deep inside walled cities. It can also be very escapist as you cross sand dunes on a 4WD Sahara adventure and relax in luxury in hilltop towns. Handcrafted to celebrate the very best of Morocco, this exciting 12-day journey will reveal places, such as Moulay Idriss, Zagora, Casablanca, Asilah, and Tangier. You will be provided with private tours across the country’s highlights with local guides that will unveil secrets in ten exquisite destinations.
Your adventure will begin in Marrakech, where souks and storytellers will be the iconic highlights of your first day. With two nights here, you will be able to explore the key highlights and to soak in the atmosphere before traveling to Casablanca. Here, you will witness contemporary Islamic art and the laid-back tones of an amber-hued city. Rabat is a mysterious imperial city and a perfect stop en route to Asilah, which is a coastal town that feels more Greece than Morocco and where you will spend a night. Tangier is packed with iconic scenes, and you will spend two nights in Chefchaouen, which is a blue-walled town nestled on a hillside. This incredible locale will prove to be an idyllic place to rest in the middle of your vacation.
Volubilis will then immerse you in Roman times before Moulay Idriss reveals the calm-hearted spirituality at the core of Moroccan culture. From here, you will explore Fes and Meknes, which are incredible imperial cities that are also entirely unique. One hosts a variety of mazy streets, and the other is an artistic paradise of visual wonder. You will complete your incredible 12 days in Morocco with a laid-back two days in the Sahara Desert on a private 4WD drive adventure. This excursion will lead you to the dunes, where boutique camps will provide you with a luxurious place to rest beneath the stars.
Throughout your entire vacation, you will stay in luxurious accommodations and will have private transfers to and from all destinations. As with most of our trips, this itinerary is entirely customizable, so you can adjust nearly anything and everything to better suit your moods and interests once you are in Morocco.
Starting Price
$3,600 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
The starting price is based on travel during the low season for a minimum of two travelers staying in shared 3-star accommodations. Please inquire for a custom trip quote based on your travel preferences and travel dates.
Verified Traveler Reviews
Based on 173 reviews
Every detail of the itinerary was amazing. Thanks to Zicasso’s travel agent. From our driver to the riad and hotel accommodations, and each location we visited (Casablanca, Rabat, Chefchaouen, Fes, the Atlas Mountains, a camel ride at sunset with glamping in the Sahara Desert, and Marrakech), we were partnered with a local guide who showed us magnificent sights and enriched our experience with historical information. Everything was beyond our expectations!
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Our trip to Morocco was absolutely perfect from start to finish. Our driver was excellent and an excellent companion throughout the journey—reliable, friendly, and always helpful.
The guided tour through the medina in Marrakech with our guide was a standout experience, especially with the bonus of dining at a fantastic restaurant he recommended. Two major highlights of the trip were the unforgettable hot-air balloon ride and our magical night in the desert.
Although our time in Casablanca was brief, we thoroughly enjoyed it. Our guide in Rabat was knowledgeable and made the experience engaging and informative. We ended our trip in the stunning town of Chefchaouen, where another guide provided an exceptional tour—he was informative and passionate about his city.
The accommodations were perfect at every stop, and we truly appreciated the welcome gifts and meals provided by Zicasso's travel specialist and his team. Their attention to detail made all the difference.
I would highly recommend him and his company to anyone planning a trip to Morocco. It was an unforgettable experience that I will be sharing with friends and family for years to come.
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Flawless doesn't begin to describe how incredible and meticulous the planning and taste that went into designing our Spain and Morocco trip. I reached out to Zicasso’s travel specialist far in advance, describing a dream vacation for my husband and me that included a near-impossible amount of locations to cover through both countries in only two weeks. We had tried coming up with an itinerary with another planner prior to meeting the travel specialist, but it did not work out. When we shared our vision with the travel specialist, he materialized it on paper in a way that made sense and even made adjustments that fit within our budget. We got to see every location with enough time to savor each.
The order of travel from Barcelona to Andalucía to Morocco was an intricate weave that told a story of cross-cultural exchange. We started off with Gaudí architecture and the Sagrada Família, sunsets at the Puente Nuevo, Alhambra, and Córdoba, marveled at the grandeur of the mosque cathedral, savored seafood paella and Picasso art in Málaga. We finished off road-tripping in Morocco, starting from the blue city of Chefchaouhen, continuing our journey through Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, Marrakech, and the Atlas Mountains. It was nothing short of magical.
We will never forget the beauty of the sun rising above the Atlas Mountains, private candlelit dinners on our private terrace in the riads, the colors of the souks, and the hospitality of our Moroccan hosts. Each riad was carefully selected and far exceeded our expectations. And of course, our driver in Morocco was an absolute delight and went above and beyond. Besides providing transportation, he acted as a friend who showed us the ins and outs, helping us see Morocco in a way that we would not have if we went in a large group or had chosen to come alone. Overall, my husband and I cannot recommend our travel specialist enough.
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This was our fourth trip with Zicasso and, like the others, it was amazing and memorable. Even being back home for a while now, I’m still constantly thinking about how fun and unique this experience was. Morocco isn’t easy to navigate, but Zicasso, our travel specialist, and our team expertly guided and educated us on the special history, culture, food, traditions, and sites of this beautiful country.
We started in Marrakech and had night and day food tours in the medina. It was immersive and interesting, and almost an assault on the senses–super-cool experiences. We learned about the cultural influences through the centuries and our guides were experts in their historical and local knowledge. The street food night tour was an evening to remember, sampling all sorts of local foods at places that would be impossible to find on the web.
After our days in Marrakech, we traveled in a loop around Morocco for several days, passing through the High Atlas Mountains to Ouarzazate, Skoura Oasis, Merzouga, and the Sahara, followed by two and a half days in Fes, another cultural gem. It was an unforgettable journey, filled with highlights:
The boutique hotel in a literal oasis was beautiful and so well appointed–such friendly staff and owners, and perfect food.
Ait Ben Haddou (a kasbah) was like nothing we’d ever seen–no wonder it has been used in so many films. Our private guide there had been in nine movies!
The Sahara trek was unbelievable and my personal highlight. I almost still can’t believe it. A one-hour guided walk on a camel (they were friendly!), stopping to watch a beautiful sunset. It reminded me of the "Dune" movies. The moon literally rose on the opposite horizon as the sun was setting. Then, another 30 minutes on the camels under moonlight to a luxury camp. I say “camp,” but the small restaurant was deluxe and our tent was warm, luxurious, and, of course, had a full, regular bathroom. So not exactly camping!
Fes was super-interesting and our driver and guide ensured we saw so much of what makes Fes the cultural capital.
This was, overall, such a fun experience that will stay with me forever. We’ve recommended Morocco to many since returning!
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We had the most amazing time in Morocco, thanks to our wonderful Zicasso trip planners. From the very beginning of the planning stages, our agents were not only super-accommodating, but provided great ideas to make our trip as special as could be!
Once we landed, our guide and driver made sure we were comfortable throughout our trip. We visited Marrakech, Merzouga, Fes, and Chefchaouen. Each of these destinations were special in their own way and we had amazing tours in the medinas, visited gardens and museums, had a cooking class and, of course, a wonderful night in the desert.
None of this could have been possible without the expertise of the entire team at the travel agency. The logistics were impeccable, the hotels so beautiful, and suggestions for shopping and meals were perfect as well!
We cannot thank the team enough for such a special experience and we hope to work with them in the future! Thank you so much!
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We recently returned from a 12-day trip to Morocco. It was an incredible trip! We started in a kasbah in the High Atlas Mountains and then traveled to Essaouira, Casablanca, Rabat, Fes, and ended in Marrakech. We had excellent accommodations, transportation, and local guides.
The trip was planned and booked through the tour operator. Zicasso’s travel specialist was easy to communicate with and addressed all of our concerns. It was a pleasure to meet him in Marrakech for tea and an escort around the square. The people of Morocco were warm and kind. We look forward to returning and spending time in the desert, and we would definitely book with the tour operator again.
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