MOROCCO · NORTH AFRICA
Souks, Sahara, and snow on the Atlas.
Marrakech, Fes and the blue lanes of Chefchaouen. Camel camps out in the Sahara, Berber villages in the High Atlas, and the walled surf towns down on the Atlantic coast.
Only in Morocco
Three days that could only be Morocco.
Souks, beaches and mountains turn up in plenty of countries. A night out in the Sahara, a dawn balloon over the Atlas and a whole town painted blue do not. Build the trip around these.
The deep south
A night out in the Sahara
Ride a camel over the dunes of Erg Chebbi as the light drops, then sleep in a tented camp with the whole sky overhead and silence in every direction. This is the trip most people come to Morocco for, and the real dunes are a world away from anything near the cities.
- 1 Marrakech: Agafay Desert Sunset, Camel Ride, and Dinner Show
- 2 Marrakech: Agafay Desert Quad & Camel Rides with Dinner Show
- 3 Marrakech: Agafay Desert Quad Biking Tour with Dinner-Show
First light
Sunrise over the Atlas, by balloon
Lift off before dawn from the plains outside Marrakech and drift over palm groves, Berber hamlets and dry riverbeds while the High Atlas catches the first sun on the horizon. Most flights set down to a Berber breakfast cooked in the open air.
- 1 Marrakech: Balloon Flight, Berber Breakfast & Certificate
- 2 Marrakesh: Early Morning 40-Minute Balloon Flight
- 3 Marrakech: Hot Air Balloon Flight with Berber Breakfast
The Rif
The blue lanes of Chefchaouen
A whole hill town washed in a hundred shades of blue, folded into the Rif mountains in the north. Every staircase, doorway and plant pot is some version of indigo. There is genuinely nowhere else that looks like it.
- 1 From Tangier: Chefchaouen Day Trip with Local Guide
- 2 Chefchaouen Day Trip from Fez (Shared Group Tour)
- 3 Blue City magic: Affordable Day Trip from Fez to Chefchaouen
The one everyone books
Start with Morocco's most popular day out.
If your trip runs through Marrakech, this is the day most travellers add first.
Most booked
Morocco's Most Popular Tours
Agafay desert dinners, the Sahara at Merzouga, the Ourika Valley and the Ouzoud Waterfalls. The days travellers come to Morocco for.
By region
Pick a region.
Each one is its own trip. Marrakech for the souks and the day trips. The Sahara for a night in the dunes. The Atlas for Berber villages and mountain air. Chefchaouen for the blue lanes.
By type
Or pick how you want to spend it.
A camel into the dunes if you want the Sahara. A balloon at first light. The High Atlas on foot, a tagine you cook yourself, a boat out of Essaouira, or a slow day trip with someone else at the wheel.
The big decision
Which desert, and how long?
Everyone wants the Sahara. The catch is distance: the great dunes sit a long way south of Marrakech. Here are the three real options, from a half-day in the stone desert to the three-day run out to the dunes.
Agafay
45 minutes from Marrakech
Not the true Sahara but a fast, cinematic fix. A rocky moon-desert right outside the city, with camel rides, quad bikes and dinner under the stars. You are back at your riad the same night.
Browse Agafay tours →Zagora & the Draa
The closest real dunes
An overnight run over the Atlas to the palm-lined Draa Valley and the dunes near Zagora. The shortest trip that still ends with a camel and a night in a desert camp.
Browse 2-day tours →Merzouga & Erg Chebbi
The great Sahara dunes
The full journey south, through Ait Ben Haddou and the gorges to the tallest dunes in the country. A sunset camel trek, a night in a tented camp, then sunrise over the sand. This is the one to do.
Browse 3-day tours →Into the mountains
The High Atlas, a day from Marrakech.
Snow-capped peaks, Berber villages stitched into the hillsides, and the waterfalls and walnut groves of the Ourika Valley. Three mountain days we would book first.
At the table
Eat your way through Morocco.
Tagines cooked low over coals, mint tea poured from a height, the grills of Jemaa el-Fnaa after dark, and a class where you learn to make it all yourself. If we picked three tables, these would be them.
On the Atlantic
The windblown coast.
Essaouira's ramparts and gnaoua rhythm, the long beaches at Agadir, and the surf and grilled sardines in between. Our three favourites for a day by the ocean.
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