Self-Launched Morocco: Sahara and Beyond

Land at Mohammed V and take the train straight into the city (about 60 MAD / £5, every 45-60 mins, ~35 mins to Casa Voyageurs), then a petit taxi to your hotel (20-30 MAD). Morocco's trains and coaches are easy to book on the day, so no arrival transfer needed. Check in near the old medina or the Centre Ville, then stretch your legs: the Hassan II Mosque exterior at sunset is spectacular, and the Habous quarter and Marché Central give you a first taste of the city. Cheap first-night dinner of tagine or grilled sardines for 60-80 MAD.

🚌Airport train ~£5 + local petit taxi ~£2

🛏Mid-range riad or guesthouse in Centre Ville/old medina, double/twin ~£30-40

• →Hassan II Mosque exterior and Corniche walk
• →Habous quarter and Marché Central browse

Catch an early CTM or Supratours coach from Casablanca to Meknès (roughly 4 hrs, ~90-120 MAD / £8-10), or the train (~£9). Leave bags at a café or station locker and take a petit taxi to Volubilis — the best-preserved Roman ruins in Morocco — where a licensed site guide at the gate will explain the mosaics and arches for 150-250 MAD. Grab a taxi on to Moulay Idriss or back into Meknès for lunch; for the community-lunch angle, the AFER Association's women's cooperative near Meknès welcomes small independent visitors (email ahead or ask at the Meknès tourist office — donations ~£8-12). Walk the Bab Mansour and Bab El Khemis gates, then take an evening train or coach to Fes (1 hr, ~40-60 MAD).

🚌Coach/train Casablanca–Meknès ~£10, taxis to Volubilis ~£15 shared, Meknès–Fes ~£5

🛏Riad or pension inside or beside the Fes medina, ~£25-35

• →Volubilis guided tour (gate guide)
• →Meknès imperial city walk
• →AFER community lunch / women's cooperative visit

The Fes medina has 9,000+ lanes — this is the one place a guide is genuinely worth it. Book a licensed medina guide direct through your riad or via GetYourGuide (roughly £25-40 for a half-day, cheaper shared). Expect Bou Inania madrasa, the Nejjarine fountain, the tanneries viewed from a leather-shop terrace (tip 20-30 MAD, ignore the hard sell), and artisan workshops. In the afternoon, do it yourself: the Jnan Sbil gardens are free, and Café Clock is a good spot for camel burgers and storytelling. Optional: a riad dinner with music (150-250 MAD).

🚌Walking; petit taxis ~£2-3 if you flag one

🛏Same Fes riad

• →Guided Fes medina walking tour
• →Chouara tanneries viewpoint
• →Bou Inania madrasa entry

Take the morning train or CTM coach Fes–Marrakech (about 7 hrs, 200-260 MAD / £17-22; the train is more comfortable). Arrive, drop bags at your riad in the medina, and head to Djemaa el Fna at dusk when it transforms into a circus of storytellers, Gnaoua musicians, acrobats and snail stalls. Eat at the food stalls (grilled skewers, harira, fresh orange juice) for 60-90 MAD — agree prices before ordering. Skip the snake charmers if you'd rather not pay for photos.

🚌Train/coach Fes–Marrakech ~£20

🛏Riad or dar in the Marrakech medina, ~£25-35

• →Djemaa el Fna night market and street-food dinner

Do the historic core on foot with a self-guided route or a cheap local guide: Bahia Palace (70 MAD), the Saadian Tombs (70 MAD), El Badi Palace (70 MAD) and the Koutoubia gardens. After lunch, get lost in the souks — the spice square, the dyers' souk, the metalworkers. Optional add-ons: Jardin Majorelle + YSL Museum (combined ~250 MAD, book the timed slot online to skip queues), or a hammam (150-300 MAD). A Marrakech cooking class booked via GetYourGuide/Klook runs about £30-40 and includes dinner.

🚌Walking

🛏Same Marrakech riad

• →Bahia Palace and Saadian Tombs
• →Souk browsing and spice market
• →Optional Jardin Majorelle or cooking class

Take a shared grand taxi or CTM/Supratours bus to Ouarzazate (roughly 4 hrs, 100-150 MAD; buses leave Marrakech in the morning), then a shared taxi on to Aït Ben Haddou (30-45 mins, ~30-50 MAD). Cross the riverbed and climb through the ksar — a UNESCO site and film set for Gladiator and Game of Thrones. Local guides at the base charge ~100-150 MAD; honestly, the self-guided walk is excellent too. Watch sunset from the hill opposite, then dinner in a guesthouse (tagine ~70-90 MAD).

🚌Bus Marrakech–Ouarzazate ~£12, shared taxi to Aït Ben Haddou ~£4

🛏Guesthouse in Aït Ben Haddou village or nearby, ~£20-30

• →Aït Ben Haddou ksar climb and sunset viewpoint

Travel south through the Draa Valley palm oases to Zagora (shared taxi or bus, ~3-4 hrs, ~£10). In Zagora, arrange a 4x4 transfer into Erg Chigaga — this is standard, bookable locally or in advance via a Zagora agency or Klook/GetYourGuide for roughly £70-100 per person including a night at a desert camp. Stop at Tamegroute for its ancient Koranic library and green pottery workshops (small entry donation). Then it's 2-3 hours off-road to the dunes; arrive for sunset, take the optional camel ride (150-200 MAD), climb the ridge and eat couscous under the stars.

🚌Shared taxi/bus Aït Ben Haddou–Zagora ~£10, 4x4 into Erg Chigaga included in camp package

🛏Desert camp with private tent and shared bathrooms, included in 4x4 package (~£45-60 pp with dinner and breakfast)

• →Tamegroute library and pottery workshops
• →4x4 off-road into Erg Chigaga
• →Camel ride and dune sunset

Sunrise on the dunes is the highlight — get up early. After breakfast the 4x4 runs you back to Zagora (arranged with your camp). Check into a simple hotel or guesthouse, then spend the afternoon on the Draa region: the Amazrou Jewish quarter and kasbah, the Jebel Zagora viewpoint (30-40 mins walk up), and an informal talk with a local guide about Draa Valley history (ask at your hotel; guides charge ~150-250 MAD for a half-day). Cheap dinner of harira and brochettes.

🚌4x4 back to Zagora (included in camp package)

🛏Simple hotel/guesthouse in Zagora, ~£15-25

• →Dune sunrise
• →Jebel Zagora viewpoint
• →Amazrou quarter and kasbah walk

A long travel day — take a shared grand taxi or bus from Zagora toward Ouarzazate/Taliouine and on to Taroudant, breaking the journey at Tazenakht (carpet cooperatives) and Taliouine (saffron farms and the saffron cooperative, worth a 30-min visit and a small purchase). Total road time is 7-8 hrs, so start early; budget ~£15-20 in shared transport. Taroudant itself is a lovely walled town — walk the ramparts at golden hour and browse the leather and spice souks inside the medina.

🚌Shared taxis/bus Zagora–Taroudant ~£18

🛏Guesthouse or budget hotel in Taroudant, ~£20-30

• →Taliouine saffron cooperative
• →Tazenakht carpet shops
• →Taroudant ramparts and souks

Take a bus or shared taxi from Taroudant over the Tizi n'Tichka-style passes into the Anti-Atlas to Tafraoute (about 3 hrs, ~£8-10). This is Morocco's most underrated landscape: pink granite boulders, almond groves and Berber villages. Settle into a family-run guesthouse in town, walk the centre and the weekly/local market, and book tomorrow's palm-valley walk and guide directly with your host (typically 200-300 MAD for a half-day).

🚌Bus/shared taxi Taroudant–Tafraoute ~£10

🛏Family-run guesthouse in Tafraoute, ~£18-28

• →Tafraoute town and market stroll
• →Book local guide for palm valley

Hire a local guide and a car (or a guide with a 4x4, ~£40-60 split between a few travellers) for Aït Mansour Gorge, the surreal blue-painted Painted Rocks and the Chapeau de Napoléon rock formation. Midday, walk a palm valley and have lunch in a village house (agree a fair price, ~£8-12). Finish at a women's argan oil and handicraft cooperative — buy direct; it's far cheaper than Marrakech and supports the makers. Back in town for dinner.

🚌Local guide with vehicle ~£25 pp shared

🛏Same Tafraoute guesthouse

• →Aït Mansour Gorge
• →Painted Rocks and Chapeau de Napoléon
• →Palm valley walk with village lunch
• →Women's argan cooperative

Travel from Tafraoute back via Taroudant or Agadir to Essaouira — the fastest route is shared taxi to Agadir (~3 hrs, ~£10) then CTM bus to Essaouira (~3 hrs, ~£8). Arrive in time to walk the ramparts at sunset. Essaouira is breezy, blue-and-white and relaxed: fish grills at the port, Gnaoua music drifting out of bars, and excellent cheap guesthouses inside the walls.

🚌Shared taxi Tafraoute–Agadir ~£10, coach Agadir–Essaouira ~£8

🛏Riad or guesthouse inside the Essaouira medina, ~£25-35

• →Essaouira ramparts and harbour sunset

Morning at the fishing port watching the blue boats unload, then the woodworking and marquetry workshops and the spice square. Afternoon options, all bookable locally or via GetYourGuide: a beginner surf lesson at Diabat or Sidi Kaouki (~£25-35), windsurfing (~£40), a hammam (£8-15) or a horse ride on the beach. Eat grilled sardines at the port for under £5.

🚌Walking; local taxi to beach ~£3

🛏Same Essaouira riad

• →Fishing port and artisan workshops
• →Optional surf lesson or hammam

Coach back to Marrakech (about 2.5-3 hrs, 90-110 MAD / £8-10). Afternoon free: if you missed the Jardin Majorelle or Menara Gardens earlier, do them now; otherwise hit the souks for last-minute shopping (haggle to about half the opening price) and the spice and leather markets. Final-night dinner at a rooftop overlooking Djemaa el Fna, or a cheap and excellent local favourite like Mechoui Alley for lamb.

🚌Coach Essaouira–Marrakech ~£9

🛏Riad or budget hotel in Marrakech, ~£25-35

• →Jardin Majorelle or Menara Gardens
• →Rooftop dinner over Djemaa el Fna

Morning at leisure — a final mint tea and msemen breakfast, maybe the last wander through the mellah or the Majorelle area. Take a petit taxi to Menara Airport (about 100-150 MAD / £8-12, ~20 mins) in good time for your flight. If you need a late checkout, most riads will hold bags for free.

🚌Petit taxi to airport ~£10

🛏None (departure day)

• →Final medina wander and breakfast