12-Day Self-Launched Morocco Grand Tour: Casablanca to Marrakech via the Sahara

Land at Mohammed V Airport and take the train (ONCF, ~40 min, about £3) to Casa Voyageurs or Casa Port station. Check into a budget guesthouse near the old medina. In the afternoon walk the Habous-style new medina, Mohammad V Square and the Corniche, then join a timed guided entry to Hassan II Mosque — the only way non-Muslims can go inside. Book the slot online in advance (approx £12). Evening: grilled fish and harira at a cheap local spot around Marché Central (~£6).

🚌Airport train ONCF to Casa Port, ~£3; walk/tram within city

🛏Budget guesthouse / hostel dorm near the old medina, ~£15

• →Hassan II Mosque guided interior visit (pre-booked slot, ~£12)
• →Mohammad V Square & old medina walk

Take the early ONCF train Casablanca–Rabat Ville (~1 hr, £4–5 each way, buy at the station). Walk to the Oudaya Kasbah and its Andalusian garden, the Hassan Tower and Mohammed V Mausoleum, then the Chellah necropolis. Grab a £4 lunch of grilled kefta near Rue des Consuls in the medina. Train back to Casablanca in the evening. Alternatively, if you want to cut down backtracking, stay the night in Rabat and head north from there tomorrow.

🚌ONCF train Casablanca–Rabat Ville, ~£9 return

🛏Budget guesthouse in Casablanca, ~£15

• →Oudaya Kasbah & Andalusian gardens (free/£2)
• →Hassan Tower & Mohammed V Mausoleum (free)
• →Chellah ruins (~£3)

Take the CTM or Supratours coach Casablanca–Asilah (~4.5 hrs, ~£12), or the faster Al Boraq high-speed train to Tangier and a local train back down to Asilah. Wander Asilah's whitewashed 15th-century medina, its ramparts and El Hamra tower, and the Church of San Bartolome. Mid-afternoon continue by train or shared grand taxi to Tangier (~1 hr, £4–6). Evening on the terrace of a cheap Tangier guesthouse overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar.

🚌CTM coach Casablanca–Asilah ~£12; train Asilah–Tangier ~£4

🛏Budget guesthouse in Tangier medina, ~£16

• →Asilah medina, ramparts & El Hamra Tower (free)
• →Asilah beach walk

Morning at Dar el Makhzen palace museum and the American Legation Museum (the only US National Historic Landmark abroad, ~£4), plus the Kasbah Museum with its Andalusian gardens. Shared grand taxi or local bus out to the Hercules Caves on the Atlantic coast (~£5 return, cave entry ~£3). Late afternoon take the CTM coach Tangier–Chefchaouen (~2.5 hrs, ~£6). Arrive in the blue city for dinner — a tajine and mint tea for ~£7.

🚌Shared taxi to Hercules Caves ~£5; CTM coach Tangier–Chefchaouen ~£6

🛏Riad dorm or budget guesthouse in Chefchaouen, ~£14

• →American Legation Museum (~£4)
• →Kasbah Museum & gardens (~£2)
• →Hercules Caves (~£3)

Full day in Chefchaouen. Early walk through the blue-washed medina, Place Outa el Hammam, the Kasbah and the Ethnographic Museum (~£2 each). Hike up to the Spanish Mosque for sunset views over the Rif (free, ~45 min each way) or take a half-day guided Rif foothills walk booked through your guesthouse (~£18). Lunch on goat cheese and bread; dinner at a rooftop cafe (~£8).

🚌On foot

🛏Riad dorm or budget guesthouse in Chefchaouen, ~£14

• →Chefchaouen Kasbah & Ethnographic Museum (~£4)
• →Spanish Mosque hike (free)
• →Optional Rif foothills walk with local guide ~£18

Take the early CTM coach Chefchaouen–Fes and hop off, or simpler: take the coach to Ouazzane/Meknes and onward. Practical route: shared grand taxi or bus Chefchaouen–Meknes (~£7), drop bags at the station, then grand taxi to Volubilis (Moulay Idriss, ~£4 each way, entry ~£5) for the Roman mosaics and triumphal arch. Back in Meknes see Bab Mansour gate and the medina, then the two-hour train Meknes–Fes (~£3). Evening in Fes' Ville Nouvelle cheap eats (~£6).

🚌Bus/shared taxi Chefchaouen–Meknes ~£7; taxi to Volubilis ~£8; train Meknes–Fes ~£3

🛏Riad dorm or budget guesthouse in Fes medina, ~£15

• →Volubilis Roman ruins (~£5)
• →Bab Mansour gate & Meknes medina (free)

Book a half-day licensed medina guide through GetYourGuide or your riad (approx £20–25, or £10 in a small group). Cover Madrasa El Bouinania (~£3), Nejjarine Square and the Nejjarine fountain, the Qarawiyyin mosque and university courtyard, the South Tower (Borj Sud) for the panorama, and a pottery/tile cooperative on the edge of the medina. Skip the hard-sell 'residences'; instead wander the tanneries from a terrace (~£1 tip). Evening: a cheap but excellent dinner of pastilla and harira in the medina (~£7).

🚌On foot in the medina; petit taxi back ~£2

🛏Riad dorm or budget guesthouse in Fes medina, ~£15

• →Half-day licensed medina guide (GetYourGuide/Klook, ~£22)
• →Madrasa El Bouinania & Nejjarine (~£4)
• →Borj Sud viewpoint (~£2)

Take the CTM/Supratours coach Fes–Merzouga (long day, ~9 hrs with change at Rissani or Errachidia, ~£20) or the overnight coach to save a hotel night. Stretch stops in Ifrane (the 'Moroccan Switzerland'), the Azrou cedar forests with Barbary macaques, and the dramatic Ziz Valley gorges near Errachidia — with a bus this needs a stopover; the simplest DIY option is a shared 4x4/van transfer booked the day before in Fes (~£35–45 pp) which allows photo stops. Arrive in Merzouga village for a cheap tagine dinner and guesthouse night (~£15).

🚌CTM coach Fes–Merzouga ~£20, or shared van transfer with stops ~£40

🛏Basic guesthouse in Merzouga village, ~£15

• →Ifrane, cedar forest & Ziz Valley photo stops
• →Merzouga village evening

Book a 1-night erg camp package direct with a Merzouga operator (widely available for £45–60 pp, including camel trek in/out, dinner, breakfast, campfire music and often a 4x4 dune excursion — the same product the group tour sells). Day: 4x4 or quad excursion into Erg Chebbi (~£20 optional), lunch of Medfouna (Berber stuffed flatbread) in a village family home (~£6). Late afternoon camel ride up the dunes for sunset, then campfire and drumming at the Berber camp under the stars.

🚌Camel trek and 4x4 transfers included in camp package

🛏Desert camp in Erg Chebbi (included in package), ~£50 pp all-in

• →Sunrise over Erg Chebbi (free)
• →4x4 dune excursion (~£20 optional)
• →Camel trek at sunset (in package)
• →Campfire & Berber music (in package)

Camel back to Merzouga village after sunrise and breakfast, then take a shared grand taxi or local bus to Rissani and on to Tinghir (~£8–10). Walk the Todgha Gorge — the 300 m canyon walls — with tea at a riverside cafe, then a grand taxi over to Boumalne Dades (~£5). Either overnight in a valley guesthouse (~£16) or push on to Ouarzazate by late bus. Sunset walk along the Dades Valley switchbacks.

🚌Shared grand taxis Merzouga–Tinghir–Boumalne Dades, ~£15 total

🛏Valley guesthouse in Boumalne Dades, ~£16

• →Todgha Gorge walk (free)
• →Dades Valley viewpoint sunset (free)

Early shared taxi or CTM bus to Ouarzazate (~£6). Cross the river to the UNESCO-listed Ait Ben Haddou ksar (free to enter, guides ~£5) — the film-set village of Gladiator and Game of Thrones. From Ouarzazate take the CTM coach over the Tizi n'Tichka pass to Marrakech (~4 hrs, ~£7). Book a medina riad dorm (~£16) and go straight to Jemaa el-Fnaa for the evening food stalls — snail soup, grilled skewers and fresh orange juice for under £8.

🚌Shared taxi to Ouarzazate ~£6; CTM coach Ouarzazate–Marrakech ~£7

🛏Riad dorm in Marrakech medina, ~£16

• →Ait Ben Haddou ksar visit (free, optional guide ~£5)
• →Tizi n'Tichka pass
• →Jemaa el-Fnaa evening

Morning self-guided walk of the medina: Koutoubia Mosque gardens (free), Saadian Tombs (~£6) and Bahia Palace (~£6) — go early to beat the queues. Optional: Supratours coach Marrakech–Essaouira (~2.5 hrs, ~£7 each way) for the fortified medina, fishing port and ramparts if you want the Atlantic hit, returning in the evening. Otherwise spend the afternoon in the souks and a hammam (~£10). Final dinner in a Gueliz cheap eatery (~£8); Marrakech Menara airport is a 15-min taxi (~£7) or bus for departure.

🚌Coach Marrakech–Essaouira return ~£14 (optional); airport taxi ~£7

🛏Riad dorm in Marrakech medina, ~£16

• →Saadian Tombs & Bahia Palace (~£12)
• →Koutoubia gardens (free)
• →Optional Essaouira coach trip (~£14)
• →Hammam (~£10)