The Perfect 11 Day Morocco Itinerary

Morocco is a beautiful country with a rich culture and so many incredible places to visit. GIven how vast the country is, it is difficult to visit everywhere and everyone's itinerary will be different depending on what you want to prioritise visiting. For example, someone who has been to Tunisia or Algeria, may have less interest in going to the Sahara Desert if they have already been. As this was my first time in North Africa, I made visiting the desert a priority - this decision was buoyed by the exciting road trip destinations between Marrakech and Mergouza on the edge of the Sahara.

The main spots that this itinerary leaves out are Essouaria and Chefchaoun. The reason for Essouaria is because of flight costs, visiting Agadir became the better option and I did not feel the need to go to two coastal cities with my time. Whereas with Chefchaoun, driving times meant skipping the North entirely but knowing that one day I would like to take the ferry from Spain and so I have bookmarked Tangier and Chefchaoun for a visit in the future.

So without further justifications, this is the ultimate 11-day Morocco itinerary!

Day 1 - 2 : Agadir

My time in Morocco began in Agadir. It is just under 4 hours from London and can be reached with budget airlines, such as EasyJet, given it's popularity as a holiday destination particularly for Brits and Germans.

Landing in Agadir Al-Massira Airport for me was very smooth, which as we will see will not be the case for all of Morocco's airports. I would highly recommend taking the bus as it has regular departures, is affordable and you can get a ticket in the terminal with ease. I took the bus quite late at night and felt very safe.

Now, Agadir is not one of the traditional locations I would go to on my itinerary. You should expect all-inclusive hotels as well as tourist-catered restaurants to occupy the majority of the beachfront. I opted for one such hotel, however, I was not on an all inclusive package. Nevertheless, being able to relax by a pool, watch a bit of football in the lobby and have a few drinks was a welcome and relaxing start to my trip.

The first day I arrived late in the evening and the second was a relaxing day, with a beautiful sunset over the Atlantic Ocean. I stayed at the Amadil Ocean Club - which I must admit was a bit more of a luxury hotel than I would normally opt for. I would recommend it as there is a lot in the complex, it has a perfect beachfront location and there is a lot to do - including waterslides which I definitely used as well as darts and zumba by the pool.

One other recommendation if you find yourself in Agadir is walking to the Marina. I thoroughly enjoyed the walk along the promenade and at night the walkway is bustling with the local people, with few tourists, and there are some excellent restaurants by the Marina. Pure Passion is one such restaurant which served up very tasty seafood and given the amount of plates which are brought to your table comes out to a very reasonable price.

Day 3-4 : Marrakesh

After a relaxing time by the beach, it was time to head to the city everyone thinks of when they think of Morocco - a city probably more known to tourists than the country itself - Marrakesh. I took the bus from Agadir, which was around 5 hours but a fraction of the price of a private transfer.

Arriving in Marrakesh, particularly from somewhere as laid back as Agadir, certainly throws you in at the deep end. I was staying in a riad [icyw: a riad is a traditional Moroccan house with built around a central courtyard and is a popular option as an affordable and traditional place to stay when visiting Morocco - think homestay with traditional architecture] on the eastern side of the Medina and you really do see what makes Marrakesh so famous after walking little more than 3 minutes while trying to avoid getting hit by motorbikes and donkeys.

As for Marrakesh itself, it is simply the one place you have to visit if you are coming to Morocco. The culture reasonates with every step in the Medina from the sights, the sounds, the smells and the buzz of the city. However - if you do want to get around Morocco and see as much as you can you do not need to spend too much time in Marrakesh. I say this for the simple fact of there is not an awful lot to do. I spent two days in Marrakesh and found that to be perfectly adequate.

As for a to-do list:

Bahia Palace - probably the best examples of the Moroccan architecture I imagined before coming and some really good spots for photos.
Le Jardin Secret - a beautiful and relaxing oasis in the middle of the Medina, set inside a former riad - and also a great spot to stop for a beer.
The Saadian Tombs - incredibly inticately designed mausoleum.
The area around Jardin Marjorelle and the Yves Saint Lauren Museum - a really lovely part of town and Cafe Marjorelle was probably the best breakfast I had in Morocco.
Koutoubia - You can't miss it - it is the giant mosque and the most famous landmark in Marrakesh.
Jemaa el-Fnaa - The famous square in Marrakesh which is absolutely bustling with life day and night.

In terms of restaurant recommendations, I would recommend both of the places we chose to go for our evening meals (and yes my dining was more low key for the rest of the trip but since Marrakesh had such great options of restaurants it made sense to go with these).

Le Jardin - (photographed left top) it is a beautiful restaurant and I found the staff to be friendly. I had the grill plate and it was delicious.

La Pergola - (photographed left bottom) this restaurant was really cool and had a live jazz bar. I had the Joel Robuchon-inspired Tanjia, which was a bit odd but tasty and filling nevertheless.

And that's my experience of Marrakesh. The real beauty of Marrakesh, however, is not in the places of interest, or even the restaurants, but in just getting lost in the souks and the chaos of the Medina and it is certainly a city which everyone should have on their bucket list.

Day 5 - Through the High Atlas (Marrakesh to Tinghir)

The fifth day of my Moroccan itinerary was the point where we collected our car. If you choose you can collect your car in Agadir when following this itinerary, however as a car is unnecessary in Marrakesh collecting it today will save quite a bit of money, particularly if you opt for the bus between Agadir and Marrakesh instead of private transfer.

Driving and Car Rental Advice (Morocco):

If you are collecting from Marrkesh Menara Airport, the rental is located in the car park facing the airport entrance, it may be a branded booth or, in our case, operating out of the rear of a car.
The company we used was called addCar - they were actually okay however I very seldom go out of my way to recommend rental companies as more often than not the interactions I have with them are not pleasant no matter where I am.
Driving in Morocco in general is not too bad particularly if you are used to driving abroad, however driving in Marrakesh can be intimidating and is confusing - I would recommend getting our of Marrakesh with your car as quickly as possible.
I found the major cities of Rabat and Casablanca to be much easier to drive than Fes and Marrakesh owing to wider roads.
There are quite a few police checkpoints all over the country, make sure you slow down at these - we were always politely waved through and never had any issues. You will know when you are approaching one as it will likely be a red and white circular sign stating "Halte; Gendarmerie Royale".
If you are on a motorway, the maximum speed limit will likely be 120km/h, other roads in the country will be 100km/h, and through towns and villages it can range from 40km/h - 60km/h.

We opted for the cheapest car option which ended up being a rather large Dacia Lodgy - not ideal for windy Medina streets but probably came in handy on the unpaved roads we encountered.

Now it's time to get behind the wheel and head out of Marrakesh into the High Atlas Mountains. Once you have drove for around an hour, you will notice the terrain become more mountainous. We opted to stop for a coffee and a bite to eat at Tafraout Cafe Restaurant, which has lovely views as well as excellent service and food.

We continued for another hour crossing the beautiful Tizi n'Tichka pass - probably the most famous scenic drive in Morocco reaching the famous viewpoints of the top of the High Atlas, around 3 hours after leaving Marrakesh (including a stop for food).

From Tizi n'Tichka, we continued on for around another 90 minutes until we reached Ait Ben-Haddou. The kasbah is world famous for being in a number of movies and television shows (none of which I have seen) including Game of Thrones. It is impossible to come to this town without being rewarded with some excellent views. I do think we got scammed for a parking fee but since the damage was around 50 pence I didn't bother to question it.

For our itinerary, it was too far to drive Marrakesh to the Sahara (near Merzouga) in one day. Our day involved collecting the car and of course the stops we wanted to make. It is important to note I would recommend not driving at night especially around this area as there is virtually no lighting for the majority of the drive, and everyone we spoke to told us the same. It is up to you whether you spend longer at designated stops and spend the night in Ourazazate or continue through to Tinghir. We opted to go straight to Tinghir as we wanted to maximise our time in the desert. Atlas Movie Studios is based in Ouarzazate and if this is of particular interest to you, I can imagine it being a worthwhile stop. In any case we opted against it and drove the final three hours of the day from Ait Ben-Haddou, to Tinghir arriving in perfect time just as got dark.

I would highly recommend our hotel mostly down to the friendliness of the owner. It has a pool and a good restaurant with beers, although I found the wifi to be lacking but that's okay. The hotel was the Hotel La Vallee des Kasbahs.

Day 6 - The Sahara Desert

Today's the day you're going to set off for the Sahara Desert. There is such a wide array of accommodation options in and around the Sahara that you can choose from. I personally wanted to make sure my accommodation was in the dunes as opposed to in Merzouga city. We ended up choosing a company called Merzouga Glamping and I would strongly recommend them. I have stayed in these kind of "glamping camps" before in other countries and I will say for the quality of accomodation this was probably the best. There is plenty of tea, which after 5 days in Morocco I'm sure you will have a taste for, traditional Berber music and dancing and they have sandboards which you are free to take out with you. I couldn't recommend this option any more highly.

We were asked to not arrive before 4pm, which was fine as the drive from Tinghir is 3 hours and it gave us the chance that morning to go to the Todra Gorge. In all honesty, the Gorge is probably a bit underwhelming and busy with tourists and tourist buses so I wouldn't plan to stay there for any more than an hour. Nevertheless, it is one of the must stops in this part of Morocco and it is quite beautiful.

Now you have made it to the desert, the choice of activity is yours. Whether you want to take a camel ride, which is what the majority of people do choose to do, or a horse ride or just hike with a Berber guide into the dune. Make sure you get a good spot in the dunes for sunset and just enjoy being in this incredible landscape.

Day 7 - The Long Drive (The Sahara to Fes)

After an unforgettable day in the Sahara, today's the day where you have to lock in for the long drive across Morocco to Fes. Our day started waking up early to watch the sunrise over the dunes, with the company of a cat who apparently belonged to the camp. I think this morning was one of the most memorable moments of the trip. And after a swift breakfast it's time to get on the road.

Now this is certainly a long drive, but if you are a seasoned roadtripper it should not be an issue. In fact prior to going to Morocco I was warned by other blog posts against attempting such long drives and warned how Google Maps is not accurate in predicting travel times. Just speaking on my experience, I did not particularly find this to be the case and what Google Maps said generally turned out to be the case. This drive is estimated at around 7 hours and it took us 9 and a half, with a fairly long lunch stop and a rather unfortunate but funny detour which I will go onto.

The first goal of the drive should be to make it to Midelt (aptly named as it falls pretty much at the Mid point of the drive). This will take between 3 and 4 hours and en-route you should get some lovely views over the Al-Hassan Addakhil Lake. Once you get to Midelt, head to Restaurant Merzouga for a delicious lunch.

Once you have left Midelt it is a 1-2 hour drive to the next location of interest which is the Cedar Forest, located in the Middle Atlas - yes you do have to cross the Atlas Mountains again. Now, this part of Morocco is beautiful and if I had more time in the country I would love to spend more time in and around Irfane. The difference in vibe from near Tinghir, where you really feel like you are in Africa to the more Mediterranean flora and of the Middle Atlas is unbelievable stark. Now, my reason for visiting the Cedar Forest was to see the population of Barbary Macaques. To this end is was a success, we saw a lot of monkeys. However, the road on google maps does not connect and is completely unpaved. This involved going over large rocks (the Dacia came in handy for this) and at the end the road did not connect and we ended up being guided by a man on a horse through the cedar trees back to the highway. I am not sure what the workaround to this is other than going to the carpark (which is on the Fes-end not the Merzouga-end) and going on foot to see the monkeys.

Nevertheless another 1-2 hours and you have made it to Fes, well done because it is a hell of drive. Now enjoy yourself as Fes was probably my favourite location in all of Morocco.

Day 8 - Fes

Fes, similar to Marrakesh, is one of those cities which is not full of attractions and really is more about the vibe. What set it apart from Marrakesh to me was the history. Fes is home to arguably the oldest university in the world, which you can see in the Medina, as well as some of the oldest tanneries in the world (an instagram hotspot) and it was one of Morocco's first "Royal Cities". I also found the architecture to be more beautiful.

How to Visit the Fes Tanneries

First and foremost, it is important to note that the tanneries are FREE TO VIEW. I am aware a lot of people go through the leather shops to get a view point but this is not the only way. I know Google Maps really struggles in the Medinas, both in Marrakesh and Fes, but look for Chouara Tannery on the map (this is the famous Instagram one). You should be able to work out where to go as it is a large gate, and you will be able to smell it and probably see the workers walking to and from it. Once you find it you will be in the Tanneries at ground level, which gives a very interesting perspective as you can see it in action. To your left (facing the tannery) there are steps that you can walk up. This gives you "that shot" that you will have seen hundreds of times while researching Fes. People may also give you mint leaves to mask the smell. I did have one individual (who to be fair pointed me to the stairs and gave me leaves) asking for an entry fee but I simply said no and he left me alone - which was good because given the notes he was holding I can't imagine he would have asked for a small amount.

Fes is also where I took the opportunity to experience an authentic Moroccan Hammam. I found the whole experience of another gentleman washing me (and himself simultaneously) a bit strange and I'm not 100% sure if this is what the experience is supposed to be like. Of course most Moroccans will do it themselves in a public Hammam but as a tourist I certainly preferred it to be private and someone to show me what to do. I certainly felt fresh after the experience salts and clays. I went to Hammam Mernissi and Spa, where a private Hammam Beldi costs 350 dh.

In terms of things to see in Fes, I would recommend going to the Royal Palace. Although it is a bit of walk from the Medina, I would recommend it as you go through the Botanical Gardens and well as the Jewish Quater. You are also going to want to see the University of al-Qarawiyyin, which is one of the oldest in the world and located in the Medina. And, like Marrakesh, just walking around is the vibe. I find the Souks here felt more authentic than in Marrakesh with more going on and more food being sold.

Day 9-10 - Rabat and Casablanca

After an amazing time in Fes, it's time to head back south towards Marrakesh. This is a great opportunity to visit two of the most important cities in Morocco. Rabat, the nation's capital, and Casablanca, the nation's biggest city.

Rabat

Although I only spent a few hours in Rabat - to take in the major sights - from what I saw Rabat might be the most underrated city in Morocco. I did not see it appear on most itineries and it is such a beautiful and clean city. The Rabat/Casablanca is much "newer" than Marrakesh and Fes, in the way that you won't be walking through ancient medinas in the same way for the majority of your time there. Of course, both Marrkesh and Fes have newer areas (particularly Fes) but this is not where you are likely to spend your time if you are only there for a day or two.

The Kasbah des Oudayas; This is the old Kasbah in Rabat, which is absolutely beautiful to walk around with gorgeous white buildings. For me, the main reason to visit however is for the views. It has the most amazing views over the Atlantic Ocean as well as over the city of Rabat and if you are really on a time crunch you can see all the major sites from up here. Plus it is free to enter!

The Mausoleum of Mohammed V / Hassan Tower; These two sites are located next to one another and is probably the most famous site in Rabat. This is where you will be able to see the Royal Guards on horseback and also (if you can climb up) sit on one of the famous plinths in the square. It is clean and beautiful with a gorgeous mausloem in a really pretty area of the city. The mauseolum and square is also free!

Casablanca

Ahead of visiting Casablanca, I had not read glowing reviews from fellow bloggers who had visited. Nevertheless I had two days to get from Fes back to Marrakesh and Casablanca seemed the most logical stop.

Having now visited Casablanca, I certainly not put anyone off going because there are incredible things to see and the vibe is so different from the rest of the country - however, I do think one day is long enough. One thing I really loved was the art deco architecture.

Where should I stay in Casablanca?

I stayed in the Ain Diab area and really enjoyed it. The Corniche is known as the more affluent area of the city and I will say the more central you get the streets do become more hit and miss in how they feel, this was certainly my experience. Ain Diab on the other hand feels super safe, there is a great beach promenade, Morocco Mall (the largest shopping centre in Africa) and more. I wouldn't pin it is a beach destination though as I found the actual beach to be quite ugly and dirty. Nevertheless, I loved running the length of the promenade and back as well as the sunset over the Atlantic.

Hassan II Mosque - If you are coming to Casablanca you are almost certainly going to see the Hassan II Mosque, which is one of the largest in the world. It's waterfront location and magnificience certainly isn't to be missed in Morocco.

Rick's Cafe - The other spot on the radar of visitors to Casablanca will be Rick's Cafe, which is designed to replicate from one of the greatest movies of all time 'Casablanca'. They do lunch and evenings, given my timings I visited for a lunch service and was treated to delicious food as well as a couple of drinks. And I had to get myself a gin martini in honour of the famous quote, as well as sitting at Sam's piano!