13-Day Morocco
Tour from Tangier

Day 1: Tangier—Cape Spartel, Hercules Cave, and City Tour

Your 13-day Morocco tour from Tangier begins at the airport, port, or your hotel. The afternoon opens at Cape Spartel—the northwestern tip of Africa, where the Atlantic and Mediterranean converge below a 19th-century lighthouse—and continues to the Hercules Cave, whose seaside chamber has been carved by both the ocean and ancient hands.

The route then returns through Tangier’s old Medina and Kasbah—architecture shaped by eight centuries of contact between Europe and Africa—before dinner and an overnight stay in the city.

Day 2: Tangier ⇢ Rabat ⇢ Casablanca

After breakfast, the Atlantic coastal highway leads south to Rabat, Morocco’s capital. The Hassan Tower—an unfinished 12th-century minaret surrounded by rows of stone columns—is followed by the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Kasbah of the Udayas, a blue-and-white fortress above the Bou Regreg River with Andalusian gardens inside the walls.

By afternoon, the drive continues to Casablanca, where the Hassan II Mosque—one of the world’s largest, built directly above the Atlantic with a retractable glass roof—commands the seafront. A walk along the Corniche follows before dinner and an overnight stay in the city.

Day 3: Casablanca ⇢ Essaouira

After breakfast, the drive south cuts through argan tree forests—a landscape unique to this stretch of Morocco’s Atlantic coast—before arriving in Essaouira, a UNESCO-listed fortified port town where the 18th-century sea bastions, blue fishing boats, and Atlantic wind create an atmosphere unlike any other city on this route.

The afternoon is yours to explore the Skala fortress ramparts, the working fishing harbor, and the medina’s Thuya wood artisan workshops before dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 4: Essaouira ⇢ Marrakech

After a final morning in Essaouira, the drive east passes through more argan forest—the roadside goats climbing the trees to reach the fruit are one of Morocco’s more unexpected sights. Arriving in Marrakech, the evening belongs to Jemaa el-Fna Square—where snake charmers, food stalls, and musicians transform a paved square into Morocco’s most energetic public space after dark.

Day 5: Marrakech—Full-Day Guided City Tour

A local guide leads the full day—Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs, the Koutoubia Mosque, and Ben Youssef Madrasa—before an afternoon through the medina souks and an optional visit to the Majorelle Garden. The evening is yours on the square or at a rooftop café. Our Marrakech desert tours page has onward options if you’re extending your stay.

Day 6: Marrakech ⇢ Ait Benhaddou ⇢ Ouarzazate ⇢ Dades Valley

The route climbs the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n’Tichka Pass at 2,260 meters before descending to the UNESCO-listed Ait Benhaddou Kasbah—a filming location for Gladiator, Prince of Persia, and Game of Thrones. From there, Ouarzazate and its Taourirt Kasbah follow, with an optional Atlas Studios visit. Our dedicated Ouarzazate tours page covers the city in more depth. The day ends in Dades Valley.

Day 7: Dades Valley ⇢ Todra Gorge ⇢ Merzouga

After breakfast, the route passes through Todra Gorge—300-meter limestone canyon walls rising above a narrow river path—before continuing east to Merzouga. A camel trek into the Erg Chebbi dunes delivers sunset from atop a high dune, followed by dinner, Berber drumming, and a night at your luxury desert camp.

Day 8: Full Day Exploring the Merzouga Desert

An early sunrise is well worth the alarm. After breakfast, the day moves to Khamlia village for live Gnawa music—a tradition with roots in Mali, Sudan, and Niger—then off-road to the abandoned mining village of M’Fis and to a nomadic family’s tent for tea. The afternoon is free for sandboarding, a quad bike ride, or simply relaxing at your riad’s pool. Dinner and overnight at the riad.

Day 9: Merzouga ⇢ Ziz Valley ⇢ Cedar Forests ⇢ Ifrane ⇢ Fes

After breakfast, the route heads north through the Ziz Valley palm oasis, through Azrou’s cedar forests where Barbary macaques are frequently spotted roadside, and through Ifrane—the alpine mountain town that surprises most travelers with its sloped-roof buildings and cool air—before arriving in Fes by evening.

Day 10: Fes—Full-Day Guided Medina Tour

A knowledgeable local guide leads the full day inside the UNESCO-listed Fes medina—Bab Boujloud, the Bou Inania Madrasa, the Chouara Tanneries, Al-Qarawiyyin University (the oldest in the world), the Mellah, and a hilltop panoramic viewpoint. A second night in Fes follows.

Day 11: Fes ⇢ Volubilis ⇢ Chefchaouen

After breakfast, the route passes through Volubilis—a UNESCO-listed Roman city where floor mosaics, triumphal arches, and 3rd-century public buildings remain largely intact—before climbing into the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen. The evening is yours in the blue medina.

Day 12: Full Free Day in Chefchaouen

No driver, no schedule, no next stop. Walk the blue alleyways at your own pace, visit the Kasbah Museum, browse the wool and leather artisan shops, or climb to the Spanish Mosque for panoramic views over the Rif. Chefchaouen is the right place to end a 13-day circuit—unhurried, visually distinctive, and genuinely peaceful.

Day 13: Chefchaouen ⇢ Tangier—Airport Transfer

After breakfast, the drive north returns to Tangier for your departure from Ibn Battuta Airport or Tangier Med port, bringing your 13-day Morocco tour from Tangier full circle.