Tours

Morocco is a vivid tapestry best appreciated on a grand-circle tour that sweeps from the Mediterranean to the Sahara and back to the Atlantic. In roughly two weeks you can trace a millennium of history, climb from sea level to the roof of North Africa, and watch landscapes shift from cedar forests to apricot dunes to surfer beaches. You might self-drive, join a small escorted group, or hire a driver-guide; whichever mode you choose, the route rewards culture seekers, trekkers and sun-chasers alike, stitching together contrasting worlds so seamlessly that you finish each day feeling you’ve crossed borders without ever showing a passport.

Begin in the imperial cities. Rabat pairs palm-lined boulevards with the 12th-century Hassan Tower and the Andalusian Gardens of the Kasbah des Oudayas. Two hours inland, Meknes flaunts its gargantuan Bab Mansour gate; nearby Volubilis shows off Roman mosaics beneath almond-dotted hills. Fès—a car-free maze of 9,000 medieval lanes—echoes with hammer blows from copper workshops and the splash of rainbow dye in the Chouara tanneries. South across ochre plains lies Marrakech, where the pink Koutoubia minaret presides over Djemaa el-Fna, a nightly carnival of sizzling food stalls, storytellers and snake charmers.

From Marrakech the road loops over the Tizi n’Tichka Pass into the High Atlas, where 4,167-metre Mount Toubkal towers above terraced Amazigh villages. Casual walkers roam the Ourika or Imlil valleys; hardy trekkers attempt multi-day circuits past alpine wildflowers in May. Continuing east, the Valley of Roses bursts with pink blooms each spring, and the Todra and Dades gorges carve thousand-foot limestone walls glowing rose at dawn—irresistible to climbers and photographers. The route then rolls into the Dadès Valley’s “Road of a Thousand Kasbahs,” where earthen fortresses and apricot orchards flank the river, and cedar-scented Azrou forests shelter troops of Barbary macaques.

Beyond the mountains the land melts into desert, and few forget their first view of Erg Chebbi’s apricot dunes near Merzouga. Camel caravans leave at sunset, padding toward bivouacs where drums echo under star-rich skies. Even wilder is Erg Chigaga beyond M’Hamid, its dunes sprawling forty kilometres and marked only by fennec-fox tracks. Mix sand with heritage at the UNESCO-listed ksar of Aït Ben-Haddou, backdrop to films from Gladiator to Dune.

Swinging west, the Atlantic coast trades desert silence for seabreeze swagger. Laid-back Essaouira marries sky-blue Portuguese ramparts with Gnaoua rhythms and sardines grilled straight off colourful boats. Surfers chase swells at Taghazout and Tamraght, while Agadir provides a sweeping crescent beach and modern resorts rebuilding after the 1960 quake. North of Rabat, Spanish-tinged Asilah hosts a summer street-art festival, and the coastal train whisks you to Tangier’s hilltop kasbah overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. A detour inland leads through cannabis-green Rif hills to Chefchaouen, whose indigo lanes feel lifted from a painter’s palette. Pressing east along the capes, pebbly coves lead to the white-washed medina of Tetouan and the Spanish-built seaside promenade of Al-Hoceïma, proving Morocco’s Mediterranean shore is every bit as photogenic as its Atlantic neighbor.

Logistics are easy: fly into Casablanca, Marrakech, Fès, Tangier or Agadir, then hop between regions on ONCF trains, CTM coaches or chartered grand taxis. Spring (March–May) and autumn (late September–November) give mild weather nearly everywhere; midsummer suits the coast and peaks, while winter brings low prices and snow-capped panoramas.

Accommodation spans orange-blossom-scented riads, cedar-framed eco-lodges, kasbah guesthouses and luxury desert camps. Extra days let you press east to Oujda and the Zegzel canyon, or catch a ferry from Tangier for a quick taste of Andalusia. Whatever detours you choose, the warmth of Morocco’s hosts and its elemental landscapes will linger long after the last glass of mint tea.