Down the Atlantic from Tangier to Essaouira, across the High Atlas to the dunes by 4x4, and back north through Fes and Chefchaouen.
The country in one clockwise sweep. From Tangier down the Atlantic by Asilah, Rabat and Casablanca to Essaouira; inland to Marrakech; over the High Atlas by Telouet and Aït Ben Haddou to the gorges and the dunes of Erg Chebbi, with a day by 4x4 and a night at camp; then north by the Ziz Valley, Midelt, Volubilis, Fes and Chefchaouen back to Tangier.
A free morning in Tangier, perhaps mint tea at the Café Hafa above the strait, then the Caves of Hercules, open to the Atlantic, and on to Asilah, a small walled town of white houses and painted murals.
South to Rabat, the capital, with time to explore the city of gardens, the medina and the Kasbah of the Udayas.
Along the Atlantic to Casablanca and the Hassan II Mosque, open to non-Muslims on guided tours.
The coast road south to the walled port of Essaouira, and a free afternoon.
A last walk in Essaouira's medina, then inland to Marrakech and your riad.
A guided tour of Marrakech: the medina and Jemaa el-Fna, the Mellah, and the newer quarters of Guéliz, Hivernage and the Palmeraie.
Over the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m) to the Kasbah of Telouet, whose Glaoui palace hides carved cedar ceilings and silk-hung walls, then a track down the valley to Aït Ben Haddou. Through the Rose Valley to the Dades, where the road of a thousand kasbahs begins.
A walk between the walls of the Todra Gorge, then east through the Tafilalet palm groves to a hotel at the foot of Erg Chebbi.
A day by 4x4 around the dunes: nomad families, hidden oases and desert villages, and Gnawa music with tea at Khamlia. In the late afternoon, an hour and a half by camel into the dunes for sunset and a night at camp.
Sunrise in the dunes and the camels back for breakfast. Rissani's market, then Erfoud and the long palm valley of the Ziz to Midelt.
North across the Middle Atlas to the Roman ruins of Volubilis, then to Fes with the rest of the day free.
A day in Fes: Fes el-Bali inside its walls, Fes el-Jdid with the Mellah, and the tanneries where leather is still dyed in open pits.
Early departure for Chefchaouen in the Rif, a town of quiet lanes and very little traffic.
North to Tangier and the airport.
Starts from: Tangier — airport or ferry port
PrivateTwo weeks from Tangier round the whole country: Chefchaouen and Fes, two nights at Merzouga, Marrakech, Essaouira, and the Atlantic coast home.
PrivateA week in the far north from Tangier: Tetouan, two nights on the Mediterranean at Al Hoceima, two in Chefchaouen, then Larache and Asilah on the Atlantic.
PrivateFrom Rabat airport: two nights in Asilah by the sea, two in Chefchaouen, two in Fes, and Meknes on the way back to Rabat.
PrivateFrom the coast to a desert camp near Zagora by Taroudant and the carpet town of Taznakht, then home along the palm groves of the Draa Valley.
