Morocco in 9 Days: Sahara, Marrakech and Essaouira

Meet the local team at Casablanca Airport and transfer to your hotel for check-in. Meet the other travellers and the guide who will accompany the group through Morocco. Then take a relaxed introductory walk through Casablanca, absorbing the lively character of this Atlantic metropolis and settling into the rhythm of the journey ahead.

Visit the Hassan II Mosque on Casablanca's Atlantic shore, distinguished by its 200-metre minaret and richly worked Moroccan wood, zellige, marble and plaster. Continue to Chefchaouen, set on a mountainside in the Rif. A guided walk explores the blue-washed medina and its narrow, winding lanes, with time to appreciate the old quarter's architecture, craft traditions and daily life.

Travel to Fès, one of Morocco's historic imperial cities, and explore Fès el-Bali with your guide. Founded in the ninth century, this is the historic core of the UNESCO-listed medina. Its dense lanes lead past residences, fountains, religious buildings and traditional commercial spaces, revealing a living city where faith, craftsmanship and trade continue side by side.

Head towards the Sahara through the Middle Atlas, pausing in Ifrane at about 1,650 metres. Its mountain setting and red-roofed architecture make it a distinctive stop on the route. Continue through cedar country, where Barbary macaques live; they may be seen with luck, but wildlife sightings are not guaranteed. Reach Merzouga near sunset and ride camels into the Erg Chebbi dunes. At camp, the programme continues around the fire with dancing and Moroccan drum music.

Watch sunrise over the Saharan dunes before choosing whether to add an optional quad-bike or buggy ride. Continue across the Atlas region to Todgha Gorge near Tinghir, where the route passes beneath high canyon walls. Travel onward to Ouarzazate and visit Atlas Studios, founded near the city in 1983. Its film history includes productions such as The Mummy and Gladiator, although the precise visitor route and sets available to view can change.

Travel to the UNESCO-listed Ksar of Aït-Ben-Haddou, a fortified pre-Saharan settlement built from earth within defensive walls and corner towers. Explore the ksar and learn how its architecture and setting became part of productions including The Mummy, Gladiator, Prince of Persia and season three of Game of Thrones. Afterwards, continue through the southern landscape towards Marrakech and reach the city in the evening.

Begin at Jardin Majorelle, where pools, varied planting and Majorelle blue shape a garden created by painter Jacques Majorelle and later restored by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé. Continue to the nearby Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech, whose galleries present the designer's work through permanent and rotating displays. Visit Bahia Palace's decorated courtyards and reception spaces, then the remains of sixteenth-century El Badi Palace, subject to current restoration and access conditions. Finish at Jemaa el-Fna, Marrakech's historic meeting place and a UNESCO-recognised cultural space shaped by commerce, music and oral performance.

Leave Marrakech and travel west through Morocco's argan country, where goats naturally climb low branches to feed and may sometimes be seen from the road. Continue to Essaouira for free time in its UNESCO-listed medina, a fortified late-eighteenth-century Atlantic seaport. Walk its winding lanes, then take in the seafront, fishing harbour and markets as the city settles into the evening.

Leave Essaouira early and follow the Atlantic coast to Oualidia. Pause beside its calm lagoon, an established centre of Moroccan oyster farming, and learn about this local tradition. When local access is available, a farm visit and oyster tasting can be arranged; lunch is paid separately. Continue to Casablanca for a direct transfer to the airport and the end of the journey.