Self-Launched Marrakech to Casablanca: Atlas Mountains, Sahara & the Blue City

Take the morning CTM or Supratours bus from Marrakech to Ouarzazate (roughly 4–5 hrs, £8–10), which climbs the spectacular Tizi n'Tichka pass through the High Atlas with photo stops. From Ouarzazate, hire a shared grand taxi or a small private car with a driver for the afternoon run north-east to Ait Ben Haddou (about 30 min, ~£3–5 shared) and explore the UNESCO ksar on foot for free with a 1-hour local guide (£5–8 per group). Continue by shared taxi or bus to Boumalne Dades / Dades Valley (2–2.5 hrs, £4–6 shared) for the night. Many Dades guesthouses will arrange the transfer for you if you message ahead. Sleep in a valley-view guesthouse; ask for a rooftop dinner (tagine and bread, £6–8).

🚌CTM bus Marrakech–Ouarzazate ~£9; shared grand taxi to Ait Ben Haddou ~£4; shared taxi/bus Ouarzazate–Dades ~£5

🛏Budget guesthouse or riad in Dades Valley (e.g. simple valley-view auberge), twin/dorm ~£14–18

• →Drive the Tizi n'Tichka pass (High Atlas)
• →Explore Ait Ben Haddou kasbah with a local guide
• →Optional stop at Kelaat M'Gouna (Valley of the Roses)
• →Sunset over Dades Valley gorges

Early start: arrange a shared taxi or the local bus from Boumalne Dades to Tinghir (about 1 hr, £2–3), then a shared grand taxi up to the Todgha Gorges (25 min, £1–2) for a short walk between the canyon walls. From Tinghir, take the bus or shared taxi east via Tinejdad and Touroug — the palm-oasis stretches with traditional irrigation channels are best viewed from the window. Stop at Erfoud (fossil workshops) if your driver allows, then continue to Merzouga/Rissani. Pre-book a standard desert camp through GetYourGuide or a Merzouga-based operator (~£35–55 including camel trek out, dinner, Berber music around the fire and breakfast). Camels leave in late afternoon so you arrive at the dunes for sunset; dinner is served in camp and the evening ends with drums around the fire.

🚌Shared taxi/bus Dades–Tinghir–Todgha ~£4; bus/shared taxi Tinghir–Merzouga via Tinejdad & Erfoud ~£7–9

🛏Sahara desert camp, shared tent (pre-booked via GetYourGuide/local operator), dinner & breakfast included ~£45

• →Walk the Todgha Gorges canyon
• →Fossil shops in Erfoud
• →Camel trek into the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset
• →Berber music and fire in the desert camp

Wake for sunrise over the dunes, ride or walk back to Merzouga village and check into a cheap auberge in the village itself (dorms ~£10–14). This is your flexible day: hire a local guide with a 4x4 or take a mountain bike to Khamlia village (Gnaoua music, ~£8–12 for a shared tour), visit the Rissani market (Tuesday/Sunday are market days and the best time — bus or shared taxi ~£4 return), and optionally book quad biking on the dunes via GetYourGuide (~£22–30 for 1 hr) or a henna session in the village (£5). Eat at the village cafés rather than the camp — a tajine lunch is £4–6. Do bring a headscarf and sun protection; the dunes are relentless in midday heat.

🚌Local shared taxi to Rissani/Khamlia ~£6 return; walking for dunes access

🛏Budget auberge in Merzouga village, dorm or simple twin ~£12

• →Sunrise over Erg Chebbi dunes
• →Khamlia village Gnaoua music visit
• →Rissani market
• →Optional quad biking on the dunes (self-booked)
• →Optional short trek in the dunes

The big driving day — leave Merzouga early. Take the CTM or Supratours bus from Merzouga/Rissani to Meknes or Fes (7–8 hrs direct where available, £12–16), which runs through the Ziz Valley palmery, Midelt and the Middle Atlas cedar forests near Azrou/Ifrane — barbary apes are often spotted at the roadside stops. If direct buses don't line up, break the trip at Midelt or Meknes. Arrive in Fes in the evening, check into a riad inside or just outside the medina (dorms £10–15, private riad rooms £20–30), and eat dinner at a cheap medina café (harira soup, msemen, £5–7).

🚌CTM/Supratours bus Merzouga–Fes ~£14

🛏Budget riad or hostel in Fes medina ~£14–18

• →Ziz Valley viewpoints
• →Middle Atlas cedar forests and barbary apes
• →Optional stop in Ifrane

Book a half-day small-group medina walking tour online through GetYourGuide or a licensed Fes guide (~£18–25) — this gets you into the tanneries, the medersas, the souks and to a rooftop view over the old town without getting lost. Alternatively, join a free-walking-tour-style guide for a tip (£8–12). See the Royal Palace gates from the outside, watch the Chouara tanneries from a terrace, and shop directly with artisans for leather and ceramics. Afternoon is free: coffee on a medina rooftop, a hammam (£8–12 for a basic local bath), and dinner at a budget spot in the Ville Nouvelle. Fes is a heavy walking day in the heat — bring water.

🚌Local petit taxi around town ~£3; medina on foot

🛏Budget riad or hostel in Fes medina ~£14–18

• →Half-day guided medina walk (self-booked via GetYourGuide)
• →Chouara tanneries
• →Medersa and souk exploration
• →Royal Palace exterior
• →Optional local hammam

Take the direct CTM bus from Fes to Chefchaouen (about 4 hrs, £7–9), passing the Rif foothills. Check into a small guesthouse in the medina (dorms £10–14, private room £20–25) — most are within minutes of the blue alleys. Spend the afternoon wandering the blue-and-white streets, climbing to the Spanish Mosque for sunset over the Rif, and photographing the dye vats and stepped lanes. Dinner at a restaurant on Place Uta el-Hammam or a cheap street-food stall (grilled sardines, bissara, £5–8). Chefchaouen is very walkable and hilly — pack light for the bus.

🚌CTM bus Fes–Chefchaouen ~£8

🛏Small medina guesthouse in Chefchaouen ~£12–18

• →Wander the blue medina
• →Sunset at the Spanish Mosque
• →Kasbah and ethnographic museum (optional, ~£1.50)
• →Dinner on Place Uta el-Hammam

Morning in the medina before it fills up — the blue lanes are quietest at 7–9am and best for photos. Then take the bus or shared taxi to Tangier (2.5–3 hrs, £7–9) and hop the high-speed Al Boraq TGV from Tangier to Casablanca (2h10, ~£18 second class) — or, simpler, take the direct CTM Supratours bus Chefchaouen–Casablanca (about 7 hrs, £13–16) if you'd rather not change. Arrive in Casablanca for a late-afternoon walk to the Hassan II Mosque exterior (guided interior visits ~£12 if timing allows) and dinner near the Corniche. Tour ends here — add a night in Casablanca (hostel ~£14–20) if you need it before flying out.

🚌Shared taxi/bus Chefchaouen–Tangier ~£8 + Al Boraq TGV to Casablanca ~£18 (or direct bus ~£14)

🛏Budget hostel/hotel in Casablanca if staying on ~£14–20 (not included in total)

• →Early-morning Chefchaouen medina photography
• →Hassan II Mosque exterior (guided visit if timing allows)
• →Casablanca Corniche