Complete Morocco: The Sahara to the Coast — Self-Launched
18 days · Morocco
G Adventures charges £1,520
No-markup version: ~£1,042 per person
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
An 18-day independent version of G Adventures' Complete Morocco trip, covering Tangier to Marrakech via the Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen, Fès, Casablanca, the Draa Valley Sahara camps and the Atlantic coast (Essaouira, Safi, Oualidia). Everything the group tour does — desert camping, goat cheese making, a tanjia cooking class, sandboarding, waterfall swims — but booked yourself using CTM/Supratours coaches, shared grand taxis and local guides. Budget roughly £55–70/day including private-ish accommodation, food and activities; costs are estimates.
Day-by-day
Arrive Tangier — old town orientation
Tangier
Fly into Tangier Ibn Battouta (TNG) or take the ferry from Tarifa. Check into a guesthouse in the medina or Ville Nouvelle, then walk the Kasbah, the Petit Socco and the Café Hafa terrace over the Strait of Gibraltar. Evening: cheap seafood tagine near the port. Buy a local SIM (Inwi/Orange, ~£10 for 10GB) and set up your CTM/Supratours apps for onward travel.
🚌Airport taxi ~£12-15 (shared possible); on foot in town
🛏Guesthouse in Tangier medina (double/twin ~£14 pp/night)
- →Self-guided walk of Tangier medina and Kasbah
- →Café Hafa mint tea
- →Local SIM card purchase
Tangier → Tetouan → Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen
Morning CTM or Supratours coach or shared grand taxi to Tetouan (~1 hr, £3-4). Wander the UNESCO medina, El Feddan Square and Mellah. Continue by shared grand taxi or bus to Chefchaouen (~1.5 hrs, £4-5). Arrive by late afternoon and climb to the Spanish Mosque at sunset for the classic view over the blue town.
🚌CTM/Supratours coach Tangier-Tetouan ~£3.50; shared grand taxi Tetouan-Chefchaouen ~£4.50
🛏Blue-and-white riad-style guesthouse in Chefchaouen (~£16 pp/night)
- →Tetouan medina walk (free, optional local guide £15)
- →Sunset at Spanish Mosque viewpoint
Rif Mountains hike & goat cheese farm → Fès
Fès
Book a half-day Rif hike with a local guide through a Chefchaouen guesthouse or GetYourGuide (~£25-30), including a visit to a farm family for hands-on goat cheese making and fresh bread. Stop in Ouazzane's quirky mint-green medina on the way out. Bus to Fès in the late afternoon (~4 hrs, CTM/Supratours £8-10).
🚌Local guide walk; CTM coach Ouazzane/Chefchaouen to Fès ~£9
🛏Riad in Fès medina (~£18 pp/night)
- →Guided Rif Mountains hike
- →Goat cheese making with a local family
- →Ouazzane medina stop
Fès medina deep dive
Fès
Hire a licensed medina guide at Bab Boujloud (~£20-25 for a half day, split if you team up with hostel-mates) for the 9,000-alley maze: Bou Inania madrasa, Nejjarine fountain, the Chaouwara tanneries and the pottery co-op. Lunch on harira and brochettes in the medina (£4). Evening: dinner of pastilla at a local restaurant (~£10).
🚌On foot
🛏Riad in Fès medina (~£18 pp/night)
- →Guided Fès medina tour
- →Tanneries viewpoint
- →Bou Inania madrasa
- →Pastilla dinner
Volubilis & Meknes → Casablanca
Casablanca
Morning bus or grand taxi to Moulay Idriss/Volubilis (~1 hr, £4). Explore the Roman ruins (£6 entry) with an audio guide. Continue to Meknes for the Bab Mansour gate and souk (£3 shared taxi). Evening train from Meknes to Casablanca (~4 hrs, ONCF 2nd class £10-13).
🚌Grand taxi/bus to Volubilis ~£4; ONCF train Meknes-Casablanca ~£12
🛏Budget hotel near Casa Voyageurs or the medina (~£18 pp/night)
- →Volubilis Roman ruins
- →Meknes medina and Bab Mansour
- →Souk Lhad handicraft market
Casablanca — mosque, corniche and bakeries
Casablanca
Hassan II Mosque guided tour (approx £12, timed slots bookable online). Then the Habous quarter, the old courthouse and Marché Central for a seafood lunch (£6). Walk the Ain Diab corniche at sunset. Optional group-style dinner at Rick's Café or a cheaper local grill.
🚌Tram/taxi around town ~£5
🛏Budget hotel in Casablanca (~£18 pp/night)
- →Hassan II Mosque interior tour
- →Habous quarter and Marché Central
- →Ain Diab corniche walk
Casablanca → Marrakech → Ouarzazate
Ouarzazate
Early ONCF train to Marrakech (~3.5 hrs, £9-11), then the afternoon CTM coach over the Tizi n'Tichka pass to Ouarzazate (~4.5 hrs, £10). Long travel day — bring snacks. Evening arrival, check into a kasbah-style guesthouse and eat a cheap tagine in town.
🚌ONCF train Casablanca-Marrakech ~£10; CTM coach Marrakech-Ouarzazate ~£10
🛏Kasbah guesthouse in Ouarzazate (~£16 pp/night)
- →High Atlas pass views from the coach
- →Ouarzazate evening stroll
Atlas Film Studios → Sahara camp at Erg Lihoudi
Erg Lihoudi desert camp
Morning at the Atlas Film Studios (£6) and Taourirt Kasbah (£2). Shared taxi/coach to Zagora then Mhamid (long, ~6 hrs total, £12-15). From Mhamid, join a local agency's camel trek and camp package (~£55-70 pp including dinner, breakfast, tents and camel): a 1.5-2 hr walk into the dunes arriving at sunset with mint tea and a fire.
🚌Shared taxi/coach to Mhamid ~£13; camel from Mhamid
🛏Berber desert camp, Erg Lihoudi (included in trek package)
- →Atlas Film Studios
- →Taourirt Kasbah
- →Camel trek into the Erg Lihoudi dunes
- →Sunset and bonfire at desert camp
Berber desert journey to Bertam Oasis
Bertam Oasis
Sunrise over the dunes and breakfast at camp. Walk or ride a camel to a lunch stop in the sand (organised with your desert guide), then transfer by 4x4 to the Bertam Oasis camp. Sunset, dinner fireside and Berber drumming with the camp crew. No showers tonight — pack wet wipes.
🚌Camel and 4x4 with local desert guide
🛏Simple desert camp at Bertam Oasis (part of the 2-night package, ~£40 pp supplement if booked separately)
- →Sunrise in the dunes
- →Camel or walking trek to lunch stop
- →4x4 transfer to Bertam Oasis
- →Fireside dinner and music
Desert exit → Zagora shower stop → Skoura
Skoura
Sunrise, breakfast, then 4x4 back to Zagora. Use a cheap hotel day room or hammam to shower (£5). Afternoon shared taxi/coach to Skoura via Ouarzazate (£10). Evening walk through the Skoura palmery — the date palms and kasbahs at golden hour are the highlight.
🚌4x4 to Zagora; shared taxi Skoura via Ouarzazate ~£10
🛏Guesthouse in Skoura palmery (~£16 pp/night)
- →Hammam/shower stop in Zagora
- →Skoura palmery walk and kasbah viewpoints
Skoura → Marrakech
Marrakech
Morning coach or shared taxi to Marrakech (~4 hrs, £10). Check into a medina riad, then free afternoon: Jemaa el-Fna at dusk, orange juice stalls, and a cheap grill dinner off the square. Book tomorrow's tanjia cooking session and Jardin Majorelle tickets online tonight.
🚌CTM coach/shared taxi Skoura-Marrakech ~£10
🛏Medina riad, Marrakech (~£18 pp/night)
- →Jemaa el-Fna square at dusk
- →Medina wander
Marrakech — palaces, bread baking and tanjia
Marrakech
Morning: Le Jardin Secret (£8) and Bahia Palace (£7). Join a half-day Marrakech cooking experience via GetYourGuide or a local cooking school (~£35) covering bread making and tanjia — slow-cooked meat in an earthenware pot, taken to the hammam furnace and collected at lunch. Eat your own tanjia on a riad terrace. Afternoon free; optional Jardin Majorelle + YSL Museum (£22).
🚌On foot; taxi ~£3
🛏Medina riad, Marrakech (~£18 pp/night)
- →Bahia Palace
- →Le Jardin Secret
- →Bread making and tanjia cooking class
- →Optional Jardin Majorelle & YSL Museum
Ouzoud waterfalls day trip
Marrakech / Ouzoud
Shared minibus or GetYourGuide day tour to the Ouzoud cascades (~2.5 hrs each way, £22-30 including transport and guide). Swim below the falls, eat a picnic lunch by the water and watch the Barbary macaques. Return to Marrakech for a street-food dinner.
🚌Shared minibus day trip ~£25
🛏Medina riad, Marrakech (~£18 pp/night)
- →Ouzoud waterfall swim and picnic
- →Barbary macaque spotting
Marrakech → Essaouira
Essaouira
Morning CTM/Supratours coach to Essaouira (~3 hrs, £8). Afternoon in the walled medina, the ramparts and the fishing port for grilled sardines (£5). Sunset on the beach. Book a sandboarding session in Tamri or a surf lesson for the morning.
🚌CTM coach Marrakech-Essaouira ~£8
🛏Guesthouse in Essaouira medina (~£16 pp/night)
- →Essaouira medina and ramparts
- →Port fish grill lunch
- →Beach sunset
Tamri sandboarding & Sidi Kaouki bread making
Sidi Kaouki
Shared taxi north to Tamri for sandboarding on the dunes (~£25 with board hire and instruction, book via an Essaouira surf school). Lunch at a beach shack, then continue to Sidi Kaouki village: arrange a bread-making and cooking session with a local family via your guesthouse or a community tourism operator (~£20 including lunch). Sunset on Sidi Kaouki beach.
🚌Shared taxi Essaouira-Tamri-Sidi Kaouki ~£8
🛏Beach guesthouse at Sidi Kaouki or return to Essaouira (~£16 pp/night)
- →Sandboarding at Tamri
- →Bread making and lunch with a local family
- →Sidi Kaouki beach
Safi pottery market & Oualidia lagoon
Oualidia
Coach south to Safi (~1.5 hrs, £5) to see the old Portuguese quarter, the colline des potiers and the pottery market. Continue to Oualidia (~1 hr, £4), a lagoon town famous for oysters. Optional oyster farm visit (£10-15). Evening walk on the lagoon sandbar.
🚌Coach/taxi Essaouira-Safi ~£5; Safi-Oualidia ~£4
🛏Lagoon guesthouse in Oualidia (~£18 pp/night)
- →Safi old town and pottery market
- →Optional oyster farm visit
- →Oualidia lagoon walk
Oualidia → Marrakech and farewell food-stall dinner
Marrakech
Morning swim in the lagoon, then coach back to Marrakech (~3.5 hrs, £9). Check into your riad, do a final medina food walk — msemen, snails, fresh juice, chebakia — and a farewell dinner at one of the Jemaa el-Fna food stalls (£8). Mint tea on a terrace overlooking the square.
🚌Coach Oualidia-Marrakech ~£9
🛏Medina riad, Marrakech (~£18 pp/night)
- →Lagoon swim
- →Medina food tasting walk
- →Jemaa el-Fna food-stall farewell dinner
Depart Marrakech
Marrakech
Breakfast on the riad roof, last-minute souk shopping, then airport transfer (£8-10 shared) for your flight out — RAK is 20 minutes from the medina. If you have a late flight, store bags and visit the Musée de Marrakech or El Badi Palace (£5).
🚌Taxi to Marrakech Menara Airport ~£9
🛏None (departure day)
- →Last souk shopping
- →Optional Musée de Marrakech
Self-launched vs. G Adventures
| This itinerary (self-launched) | G Adventures | |
|---|---|---|
| Price per person | ~£1,042 | £1,520 |
| Duration | 18 days | 18 days |
| Who books it | You and your group, direct | Tour operator, guided group |
| Savings | £478 per person (31%) | |
Estimate only, not a guaranteed price. Always verify costs independently before booking.
Want to see more G Adventures-style trips? Check them out here.~£1,042
estimated per person
You never pay Travel Crew for this — you pay hostels, transport, and activity providers directly, the same as if you'd booked it all yourself.
This publishes your dates so other travellers can find and join you — no tour operator needed.
Customise with Tour BusterCreated by
Travel Crew
0 trips
Frequently asked questions
How much does Complete Morocco: The Sahara to the Coast — Self-Launched cost?+
Doing it yourself with this self-launched itinerary costs an estimated £1,042 per person for 18 days in Morocco. This is an AI-generated estimate based on typical budget-traveller prices — actual costs will vary by season and how you book.
Is this cheaper than booking with G Adventures?+
Yes — G Adventures charges around £1,520 per person for a similar tour. Doing the same route independently, using the same standard of accommodation and activities, costs an estimated £1,042 — a saving of roughly £478 (31%) per person.
How long is the Morocco trip?+
This itinerary runs 18 days, covering 18 day-by-day stops through Morocco.
How do I join this trip?+
You can join an existing open departure using this itinerary if one is scheduled, or launch your own departure with your own dates and invite other travellers to join you — no tour operator required.
Isn't it easier to just use a tour operator?+
Well, yes, a tour operator will book all the individual parts of your travel for you and provide a guide. That's obvious, but doing this has the potential to save the group thousands, which can in turn improve your itinerary substantially or save you huge amounts of money. Also, when you launch a departure, Travel Crew has tools in place to help you book the individual sections of the trip or make it easier for you to do this as a group. Really, you do not need a middle man. If you are more comfortable paying more and using a middle man, then you should certainly do this.
Is it safer to book through a tour operator?+
Arguably, there isn't much difference. A self-launched trip runs on the same principle as a group travel crew: collective responsibility, everyone looking out for each other, the same way it would if a group of friends organised the trip themselves — because that's exactly what's happening. You should always take out travel insurance before you go, self-launched or not; that doesn't change either way. Every open departure is published publicly with real dates and a real trip organiser, so it's never an anonymous arrangement, and our support team is reachable any time you need help, including in an emergency while you're away. Longer-term, we're building direct relationships with ground DMCs in popular destinations, offered as an optional paid add-on for extra on-the-ground support. Ultimately, though, the group is responsible for its own conduct and safety on a self-launched trip, same as on any trip you plan yourself.
What kind of trip is this?+
This is a adventure, culture, foodie trip through Morocco, self-launched rather than run by a tour operator — you organise it with a group you find or bring yourself.
Would you like to name the operator, name the trip, or have any suggestions about how to improve this itinerary?
Drop your comment below — if you've done a similar route, tell us what worked, what you'd add, or what you'd skip.
No comments yet — be the first to share your take.
Sign in to leave a comment.