8-Day Group Tour from Casablanca

Today marks the start of your shared-group adventure across Morocco. On arrival at Mohammed V International Airport, a Marokko Travel representative will be waiting to transfer you to your centrally located hotel — group arrivals are typically staggered throughout the day, so transfers are organised individually or in small batches depending on flight times, rather than as one large group airport pickup. Casablanca, Morocco's largest city and commercial capital, makes a relaxed, easygoing introduction to the country before the older imperial cities and desert landscapes ahead. Time permitting, your driver may suggest a brief stop at the Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world and one of the very few in Morocco that non-Muslim visitors may enter, dramatically positioned on a rocky promontory over the Atlantic with a 210-metre minaret, the tallest in the world. This evening, your group will gather for a welcome briefing with your tour leader, a good opportunity to meet your fellow travellers — small groups typically range from six to sixteen people from a genuine mix of nationalities — go over the week ahead, and ask any last questions before the shared minibus departs tomorrow morning. A welcome dinner is often included, giving everyone a relaxed first chance to get acquainted before the real adventure begins.

This morning, your group boards the shared minibus and departs Casablanca for Rabat, Morocco's political capital and one of its four Imperial Cities, a journey of about an hour along the Atlantic coast. With your tour leader, the group explores the Kasbah des Oudayas, a 12th-century fortified citadel of blue-and-white lanes and tranquil Andalusian Gardens overlooking the Bou Regreg River, followed by the Hassan Tower and the adjoining Mausoleum of Mohammed V, guarded by the Royal Guard in ceremonial dress. After a group lunch stop near the medina, we continue inland toward Meknes, one of Morocco's four Imperial Cities, envisioned on a grand scale by Sultan Moulay Ismail in the late 17th century as Morocco's answer to Versailles, complete with vast royal granaries and stables built for 12,000 horses. We arrive in the late afternoon for a group visit to Bab Mansour, widely considered the most beautiful gate in North Africa. Meknes's UNESCO-listed medina is considerably quieter than Fes, offering a relaxed introduction to Moroccan imperial architecture, and the evening is free for the group to explore independently or gather for dinner together at a local restaurant serving regional specialities. Lunch during the group's stop in Rabat is a good first shared meal, giving everyone a chance to get acquainted.

This morning the group drives around thirty minutes to Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman ruins in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, once the thriving administrative capital of Roman Mauretania Tingitana. With your guide, we explore the Basilica, the Capitol, a triumphal arch honouring Emperor Caracalla, and a remarkable collection of intact mosaic floors depicting mythological scenes, preserved almost two thousand years thanks to Morocco's dry climate. A short drive brings the group to Moulay Idriss Zerhoun, Morocco's holiest town, built across two hills and named for the great-grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who founded the country's first Islamic dynasty here in the 8th century — we take a short group walk through its whitewashed, devotional streets. In the early afternoon, the minibus continues to Fes, Morocco's spiritual and cultural capital, arriving with time to check in and take an easy orientation walk before tomorrow's deeper exploration. Fes is widely regarded as Morocco's culinary capital, and many groups choose to share a dinner together tonight, trying a refined Fassi tagine as a group before the guided medina tour tomorrow. Lunch en route to Fes is typically a group stop in a small town, breaking up the day's driving.

Today the whole group explores Fes together, with an early start around 9am before the midday heat and crowds build. A licensed local guide (compulsory in Fes, given the medina's notoriously labyrinthine 9,000-plus alleyways) leads the group through Fes el-Bali, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981. We begin at Bab Boujloud, the ornate blue-and-green tiled 'Blue Gate', winding through souks organised by traditional guild — metalworkers, weavers, leatherworkers, and spice merchants with pyramids of saffron and cumin. A highlight is the Chouara Tannery, one of the oldest in the world, where hides are still dyed by hand in stone vats using methods essentially unchanged since the 11th century. The group also views the exterior of the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University, founded in 859 AD and recognised as the oldest continuously operating educational institution in the world, and visits the Bou Inania Madrasa, celebrated for its intricate cedar carving. A group lunch is taken at a traditional Fassi restaurant. The afternoon continues gently with time to browse the souks in smaller groups or independently before returning to the hotel, with the evening free ahead of tomorrow's long drive toward the Sahara.

Early departure this morning, ideally by 8am, for one of the longest and most scenic driving days of the trip, and one that tends to bond the group as the landscape transforms outside the minibus windows. The road climbs into the Middle Atlas, and within an hour the plains around Fes give way to pine and cedar forest. Our first stop is Ifrane, an alpine-style town built by the French in the 1930s, before continuing to the Azrou Cedar Forest, home to some of the largest Atlas cedars in the world and a resident troop of wild Barbary macaques — the group typically spends twenty to thirty minutes here walking among the ancient trees, a favourite photo stop. Continuing south, we descend toward Midelt, a former mining town and gateway to the High Atlas, for a group lunch stop. From Midelt, the road follows the Ziz Gorges and then the Ziz Valley, a ribbon of palm groves and mudbrick ksour villages winding through an otherwise barren landscape. As the afternoon light softens, the group arrives in Merzouga on the edge of the Erg Chebbi dune sea, where camel handlers meet everyone for a 45-60 minute sunset trek across the dunes to the shared desert camp. After a group dinner cooked over an open fire, everyone gathers around the campfire as Berber musicians play traditional drums under one of the most spectacular starscapes anywhere on Earth.

For those willing to wake before dawn, this morning offers one of the most memorable group experiences of the trip: climbing a nearby dune together in the dark to watch the sunrise transform the desert from soft pink to deep gold. Afterwards, the group enjoys a simple Berber breakfast at camp before returning by 4x4 to Merzouga village, where the minibus awaits. We drive west toward Todra Gorge, stopping for an hour so the group can walk along the canyon floor beneath sheer pink and orange limestone cliffs rising up to 300 metres, a popular destination for rock climbers worldwide. A group lunch is typically taken nearby, often on a terrace overlooking the palm oasis below. Continuing along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, we pass through the Dades Valley's dramatic rock formations before reaching Ouarzazate in the late afternoon, nicknamed the 'Hollywood of Africa' thanks to the Atlas Film Studios, where productions including Gladiator and Game of Thrones have been filmed. Time permitting, the group visits the Taourirt Kasbah, a former residence of the powerful Glaoui family, before continuing a short distance to Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified ksar above the Ounila River and UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, checking in nearby for the night.

This morning the group explores Ait Ben Haddou properly, one of the best-preserved examples of pre-Saharan earthen architecture in the world, its dramatic silhouette having appeared in films including Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator. With your guide, we take a walk through the ksar's narrow lanes up to the old communal granary at the top, where panoramic views over the surrounding valley await — a favourite group photo spot. After a group lunch nearby, the minibus begins the spectacular ascent of the Tizi n'Tichka Pass, the highest major mountain pass in North Africa at 2,260 metres, winding through the High Atlas via a long series of switchbacks with sweeping views over terraced Berber villages — the driver will stop at viewpoints along the way for photos, and roadside stalls sell local geodes and amethyst. As the road descends the western side of the Atlas, the palm groves surrounding Marrakech come into view. We arrive in the late afternoon and check in to your hotel, with the evening free — many groups choose to head together toward Jemaa el-Fna square, Marrakech's legendary main plaza, which comes alive after sunset with food stalls, storytellers, and musicians, for a lively final group dinner.

Your shared-group journey comes to an end this morning. Depending on flight times, the group will have time for a final breakfast together and, schedule permitting, a short guided visit to a highlight or two of the medina — perhaps the Bahia Palace, with its elaborately carved cedar ceilings, or the exterior of the Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech's largest and most recognisable landmark. There is also time for last-minute souvenir shopping in the souks — argan oil, saffron, ras el hanout spice blends, or handmade leather goods make excellent, easily packable gifts, and after a week together, many in the group enjoy comparing their finds and bargaining stories one last time. Airport transfers are organised individually or in small groups according to each traveller's flight time, coordinated by your tour leader throughout the morning. Over these eight days, your group will have travelled from the Atlantic coast at Casablanca through the royal cities of Rabat and Meknes, past the Roman ruins of Volubilis, into the spiritual heart of the country at Fes, across the Middle Atlas and into the golden dunes of the Sahara, through the dramatic Todra Gorge, over the High Atlas via the Tizi n'Tichka Pass, and finally into the vibrant beauty of Marrakech — a comprehensive, sociable introduction to Morocco's imperial history and desert landscapes, shared with fellow travellers from around the world. On behalf of your tour leader, drivers, and the entire Marokko Travel team, thank you for travelling with us.