The Long Way Round
14-Day Morocco Tour from Casablanca
Fourteen days, the whole country, and no driving day over six hours
- 14 days · 13 nights
- Casablanca → Casablanca
- About 42 hours over 14 days. No single day above 6. driving
The definitive circuit, and the trip where having the owner behind the wheel shows most clearly, because over two weeks a schedule either holds or it does not. The discipline is pacing. Operators sell sixteen destinations in ten days by putting you in a seat for nine hours at a stretch; here the longest leg is six, the Fes to desert run is broken at Midelt instead of driven in one push, and every place worth staying in gets two nights. North, imperial cities, Sahara, kasbah trail, Marrakech, and the Atlantic before home.
Why I run it this wayTwo weeks with one rule: no driving day longer than six hours. That rule is the entire reason this is fourteen days and not ten.
The things worth stopping for
- No driving day over six hours, in writing
- Two nights each in Chefchaouen, Fes, the desert, Marrakech and Essaouira
- The Fes to Merzouga leg broken at Midelt rather than driven in one go
- Guided days in Fes and Marrakech with licensed historians
- Ait Ben Haddou overnight with a dawn
- Ouzoud waterfalls, which almost no long itinerary includes
- Safi and El Jadida on the coastal run home
Where this trip takes you
Straight lines between stops, not the exact roads — the driving is the winding version of this.
How the trip goes
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Day 1: Arrive Casablanca
Driving: About 1 hourPickup, the Hassan II mosque, the corniche, an early night.
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Day 2: Casablanca to Chefchaouen via Rabat
Driving: About 6 hoursRabat's Udayas and Chellah, then north into the Rif.
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Day 3: Chefchaouen
Driving: No drivingDawn in the blue lanes, the Spanish mosque, and a free afternoon or the Akchour walk.
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Day 4: Chefchaouen to Fes via Volubilis
Driving: About 4 hoursVolubilis late in the day, then into Fes.
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Day 5: Fes, guided
Driving: No drivingA full guided day in the medina with a licensed historian.
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Day 6: Fes, free
Driving: No drivingA second day. Craft workshops, the tanneries at a different hour, or nothing at all.
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Day 7: Fes to Midelt
Driving: About 4 hoursA short day on purpose. Ifrane, the cedar forest, the macaques.
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Day 8: Midelt to Merzouga
Driving: About 5 hoursThe Ziz gorges and the palm corridor in daylight. 4x4 at the dunes, camel to camp.
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Day 9: The desert
Driving: About 2 hours localSunrise, then the 4x4 day: Khamlia, the nomads, the lake. Second night at camp.
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Day 10: Merzouga to Dades
Driving: About 5 hoursRissani, Tinghir, Todra, into the Dades.
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Day 11: Dades to Ait Ben Haddou
Driving: About 3 hoursRose Valley, Skoura, Ouarzazate. Overnight at the ksar.
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Day 12: Ait Ben Haddou to Marrakech
Driving: About 4 hoursDawn at the ksar, the Ounila valley, the Tichka, Marrakech by early afternoon.
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Day 13: Marrakech guided, then Essaouira
Driving: About 3 hoursGuided morning at the Bahia and the Saadian tombs, then west to the coast.
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Day 14: Essaouira to Casablanca via Safi and El Jadida
Driving: About 5 hoursThe port in the morning, then Safi's potteries and the Portuguese Cistern at El Jadida on the way to the airport.
I'll email you this itinerary — every day, what's included, what it costs — so you can think it over and share it.
One email with the itinerary. No account, and I don't pass your address to anyone — see the privacy policy.
What's included
Included
- Private van with me driving for 14 days
- 4x4 and local desert driver for the dune days
- 13 nights including 2 desert
- Licensed guides in Fes and Marrakech
- Breakfast daily, half board outside cities
- Camel ride
- Casablanca airport transfers both ends
- Written drive times for every leg
Not included
- Flights
- Most meals
- Entry fees
- Tips
Read more about where you'll be
A closer look
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Every route bends: more time somewhere, a different start, a night added. Send your dates and I'll plan it around you.