Private Morocco tours, planned around you

Private or group tour?

Both get you round Morocco. They suit different travellers.

A group tour is usually cheaper for a solo traveller. With a private tour, the more of you share the car, the lower the price per person. The real difference is control: a long lunch in Fès or an extra hour in the dunes is your decision.

Our tours, by starting city

From Casablanca. Mohammed V is Morocco's busiest airport and the hub of Royal Air Maroc, so these tours can start in the arrivals hall. They go north and inland first, to Rabat, Chefchaouen and Fès, before the Sahara and Marrakech. All tours from Casablanca.

From Marrakech. These go the other way round: over the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass and Aït Ben Haddou, through the Dadès and Todra gorges, to the dunes of Merzouga. The short ones come back to Marrakech or end in Fès; the longer ones carry on to Fès, Chefchaouen and Rabat.

From Fès. One loop of ten days that starts at Fès-Saïss airport, with two nights in the medina, two in the Sahara, Marrakech, Casablanca and the north.

From Tangier. For travellers arriving by ferry or flying into Tangier. Both tours go down by Tetouan and Chefchaouen to Fès and the Sahara, then Marrakech, and come back north by Casablanca and Rabat.

Which tour is right for you?

A first trip, about a week. The 8 days from Casablanca or the 7 days from Marrakech. Both cover Fès, a night in the Sahara and the kasbahs. Choose by the airport you fly into.

Only a few days, and the desert is the point. The 3 days from Marrakech and back, or the 3 days from Marrakech to Fès if you continue north. See all Sahara desert tours.

Ten days or more. The 10 days from Casablanca add Chefchaouen, two nights in the dunes and Essaouira. The 14 days add the remote dunes of Erg Chegaga.

Families with children. Choose a tour with two nights at the big stops, such as the nine or ten days, so not every day is a drive. Child seats are on request, and you can ask for as many breaks as you need.

You want the north. The 11 days from Casablanca or the tours from Tangier: Tangier, Cape Spartel, Tetouan and Chefchaouen.

You want the coast. The tours that include Essaouira: the 10 days from Casablanca, the 10 days from Marrakech by the coast, the 11 and the 14 days.

The classic Morocco route, and why it runs this way

Most Morocco tours, ours included, share the same backbone, and the map explains it. The imperial cities sit in the north-west: Rabat on the Atlantic, Meknès and Fès inland. Marrakech is in the south-west, below the High Atlas. The big dunes of the Sahara are in the far east, past the Middle Atlas from Fès or over the High Atlas from Marrakech. A loop that links them is the classic tour.

Rabat, Meknès, Fès and Marrakech, the imperial cities, have each been the royal capital at some point in Morocco's history. Give Fès two nights: its old medina, Fès el-Bali, was Morocco's first UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 1981, and it is best explored on foot with a local guide.

Between the cities and the desert come the mountains. From Fès you cross the Middle Atlas by Ifrane, at 1,665 m, through cedar forests where endangered Barbary macaques live. From Marrakech you climb the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka, above 2,200 m.

Then the Sahara: the dunes of Erg Chebbi at Merzouga, up to 150 m high, where every one of our tours spends at least a night in a camp. On the way back come the Todra and Dadès gorges, Ouarzazate and Aït Ben Haddou, a fortified village of earth houses on the UNESCO list since 1987.

The longer tours add the rest: Chefchaouen, the blue town of the Rif founded in 1471, Essaouira and the Atlantic coast, Tangier and the north.

The UNESCO World Heritage Sites on our routes

Morocco has nine cultural sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list, and our tours pass all of them.

Tour ideas by interest

History and architecture. The imperial cities are the heart of it: two nights in Fès, a morning in Meknès and Volubilis, Rabat's kasbah and the Hassan Tower, and the palaces and madrasas of Marrakech. The 10 days from Casablanca or the 10 days from Fès give each city its time.

Landscapes. The High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka, the Todra and Dadès gorges, the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas and the dunes. Any tour that crosses from Marrakech to Fès through the south covers them, and the 14 days add the Draa Valley and the Erg Chegaga.

The coast. Essaouira's ramparts and fishing port, the whitewashed town of Asilah, the Portuguese walls of El Jadida. The tours that run along the Atlantic end or start by the sea.

Photography. The blue lanes of Chefchaouen early in the morning, the earth houses of Aït Ben Haddou at sunset, and the dunes at both ends of the day. Tell your driver what you want to shoot, and the day is planned around the light.

What fits in 3, 7, 10 or 14 days

Food on tour

Breakfast is served at your riad or hotel, often with Moroccan breads, pancakes, olive oil and honey. On the road, lunch is simple and good: a tagine slow-cooked in its clay pot, grilled meat, salads, fresh orange juice. Friday is couscous day in Moroccan homes, and many restaurants serve it then. In the desert, dinner is cooked at the camp. Vegetarians, children and travellers with allergies eat well too: tell us in advance and your driver will choose the places with you.

Where you sleep

Most nights on tour are in riads, traditional houses built around an inner courtyard, many of them now small hotels inside the medinas. Outside the medinas you stay in hotels and, in the south, in kasbah-style guesthouses. In the Sahara, you sleep in a desert camp: tents among the dunes, from simple ones with shared bathrooms to large tents with beds and a private bathroom.

Tell us the level you want, from simple and charming to the best riads in each city, and the quote follows.

Local guides in the medinas

Your driver takes you from city to city and helps you plan each day. In the medinas of Fès and Marrakech, where the lanes are a maze, a licensed local guide for half a day makes the visit easier and richer. Ask us when you book.

How much does a private tour of Morocco cost?

The price of a private tour depends on four things:

1. The number of days. The car and the driver are with you every day.
2. The car. A sedan for up to three, an SUV for four, a minivan or a van for up to seven. As a reference, a car and driver costs from €120 a day with us.
3. Where you sleep. Riads and hotels range from simple to luxurious, and the desert camp from standard tents to tents with a private bathroom.
4. What you add. A local guide in Fès or Marrakech, entry tickets, the camel ride, special meals.

We do not publish one price per tour, because two travellers in a sedan and a family of six in a van do not pay the same. Send us your dates, your group and the tour you like, and we reply with one fixed quote, usually within the hour. The quote lists what is included, and it does not change once you accept it.

What a day on tour looks like

You leave after breakfast, at a time you agree with your driver the evening before. On a driving day you spend three to eight hours on the road depending on the stage, with stops: a viewpoint, a café, a village, lunch. On the long days, such as the crossing from Fès to the Sahara, you leave early and arrive in the afternoon in time for the sunset in the dunes. On city days the car stays parked and you explore on foot.

The pace is yours. If a place deserves another hour, you take it.

Tailor-made: your own route

Every tour on this page can be changed, and you can also start from a blank page. Tell us:

• your arrival and departure airports and dates;
• who is travelling, with the children's ages;
• what you want to see, and what you would rather skip;
• the kind of places you like to sleep in.

We plan the route with you, check the drive times and send one fixed price. Plan my own route.

Only one day in Casablanca? See our Casablanca day tours.

Good to know before you travel

• Passports. Citizens of many countries, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada, enter Morocco without a visa for a short stay. Check the rules for your passport.
• Money. The dirham is a closed currency, so you get it once you arrive, from cash machines or exchange counters. Cards work in hotels and larger shops; markets and small cafés want cash.
• Phone. A Moroccan SIM card, sold at the airports, is cheap and handy for the trip.
• Dress. Light clothes that cover the shoulders and knees are comfortable and respectful, and required to visit the Hassan II Mosque.
• Tipping. Tips are never included in our prices and always your choice. Travel guides usually suggest about 100 to 200 dirhams a day for a private driver, given at the end of the trip.
• Ramadan. During the month of Ramadan, some restaurants close in the daytime and opening hours change, including the visits of the Hassan II Mosque. Travel is still easy, and the evenings are lively.

When to go and when to book

Spring and autumn are the easiest seasons for a tour that includes the Sahara. Summer is very hot inland and in the desert, so plan it with early starts and end on the coast. Winter days are often sunny, but desert nights are cold and the High Atlas passes can see snow. More on the seasons.

The good riads in Fès and Marrakech fill up first in spring, in autumn and over Christmas and New Year. For those dates, ask for your quote early.

How booking works

1. Send your dates and your group on WhatsApp, with the tour you like or your own ideas.
2. We send a fixed quote, usually within the hour, with the route day by day and what is included.
3. You confirm on WhatsApp. Nothing is booked until we confirm.
4. On the first day, your driver meets you at the airport or your hotel, with your name on a sign.

What travellers say

We have 17 reviews on TripAdvisor, all five stars. Read them on TripAdvisor (opens in a new tab).