Morocco Excursions Review: 10 Days in Imperial Cities & Desert

So you’re thinking about a trip to Morocco, and frankly, a 10-day tour covering the old cities and the big desert seems like a good plan. This kind of trip is pretty popular, and honestly, for a good reason. You, like, get to see a huge slice of what the country has to offer, from huge mosques by the sea to these absolutely endless dunes of sand. Well, we went on a tour like this, specifically the ‘Imperial Cities and the Desert’ 10-day package, to see what it’s really like. I mean, we wanted to give you the real story, sort of beyond the perfect pictures you see online. At the end of the day, it’s about seeing if a trip like this gives you a genuine feel for the place. You know, we were looking for an experience that felt authentic, something that actually stays with you. And so on, this review covers pretty much everything we saw and felt along the way.

First Impressions: Arriving in Casablanca and Rabat

Actually, arriving in Casablanca feels like stepping into a movie, you know, just a little. The first big stop for us was the Hassan II Mosque, and it’s almost hard to put into words how massive it is. Basically, the fact that a big part of it is built right over the Atlantic Ocean is kind of mind-blowing. Honestly, we spent a fair bit of time just walking around its massive courtyard, feeling really small next to it all. It is that a place like this really sets the tone for the whole trip, you know? Anyway, after soaking that in, we took a drive up the coast to Rabat, which is the capital. In a way, Rabat feels a bit calmer, a little more orderly than Casablanca. We saw the Kasbah of the Udayas, which has these very pretty white-and-blue-washed walls and offers really amazing views of the ocean, which is pretty nice. More or less, it’s a mix of the old and the new, and so on, it feels like a really good introduction to the country’s long history.

Into the Blue and the Ancient: Chefchaouen and Fes

By the way, driving inland towards Chefchaouen is where the scenery starts to get really interesting. You start climbing these Rif Mountains, and frankly, the views are incredible. Then, you arrive, and literally, everything is painted in shades of blue. I mean, Chefchaouen is as stunning as everyone says it is; it’s basically like walking through a dream. Actually, the best thing to do here is just to wander without a map. We, like, got lost in the little alleys, found tiny shops selling handmade goods, and just took about a million photos. At the end of the day, the vibe here is super relaxed. It’s a place where you kind of just want to sit at a cafe and watch the world go by. People are often just sitting around, and you sort of feel you can slow down a bit too.

So, after the quiet of the blue city, Fes is a total sensory overload, you know, in a good way. The medina in Fes, which is called Fes el-Bali, is one of the world’s biggest car-free city areas, and it seriously feels like you’ve gone back in time. It’s almost a maze of over 9,000 tiny streets and alleys. We definitely got a local guide for this part, which to be honest, was a lifesaver. You could so easily get lost for hours, which might be fun for a bit, but you’d miss all the cool stuff. We saw the famous Chouara Tannery from a leather shop terrace, and yes, the smell is very, very strong, but seeing the whole process is fascinating. You get a little sprig of mint to hold under your nose, which, actually, helps a lot. It is that Fes is where you can almost feel the history in the walls around you.

Crossing the Atlas and Reaching the Sahara

Alright, leaving Fes and heading towards the desert is a very big travel day. As a matter of fact, you spend most of the day in a vehicle, but the view is constantly changing and it’s honestly not boring at all. First, you pass through Ifrane, which they call ‘Little Switzerland’ because it has these alpine-style houses, and it is pretty weird to see in Morocco. Then, as I was saying, you start the real climb into the Middle Atlas mountains. You know, you go through these huge cedar forests where you can actually see Barbary macaque monkeys just hanging out on the side of the road. Anyway, the landscape becomes much drier and rockier as you keep going. The change is so gradual, yet totally complete by the time you reach the Ziz Valley, which is this amazing strip of green palm trees cutting through a huge canyon. In short, it’s a beautiful preview of the oasis life you’re about to see.

A Night Under the Desert Stars

Okay, so arriving in Merzouga, at the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes, is a really special moment. The sand dunes here are these massive, flowing waves of orange sand, and they are honestly breathtaking. The next step is, of course, the camel trek into the desert. Actually, swaying along on a camel as the sun starts to set is one of those top-tier travel memories. The shadows get very long, and the color of the sand changes every minute, it’s just incredibly beautiful. We finally got to our desert camp for the night, which was surprisingly comfortable. I mean, we had a pretty good tent and a real bed. After a really tasty tagine dinner, the Berber guides played drums around a campfire. Still, the absolute best part was just walking away from the fire, lying on the cool sand, and looking up. You have never, ever seen so many stars; with no city lights, the Milky Way is just this big, bright streak across the sky. It is completely, utterly silent out there too, which is a very powerful feeling.

From Gorges to Hollywood in Morocco

Well, waking up for the sunrise over the dunes is something you just have to do. The colors are, you know, completely different from the sunset and seeing the world come to light like that is pretty unforgettable. After breakfast and the camel ride back, we started the drive towards the Todra Gorge. This is another really dramatic landscape shift. You are literally driving into a giant canyon with these sheer rock walls that are hundreds of feet high. It is pretty cool to get out and walk along the little river at the bottom, just feeling dwarfed by the cliffs around you. From there, we continued along what they call the ‘Road of a Thousand Kasbahs’. You can just sort of see why, as there are so many of these old fortified citadels dotting the landscape. Eventually, we got to Ouarzazate, a town that’s basically the center of Morocco’s film industry. It’s kind of funny because the landscape around there has been used for everything from Gladiator to Game of Thrones.

The Final Stretch: Ait Benhaddou and Marrakech

Frankly, just outside Ouarzazate is the Ksar of Aït Benhaddou, and this place is the real deal. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it is a totally amazing example of a traditional southern Moroccan fortified village. I mean, it’s a whole village made of reddish mudbrick, climbing up a hillside, and it’s pretty much perfectly preserved. Exploring its winding alleys feels like you’re actually an extra in some historical epic movie; it is actually very fun. After that, we had the last big drive of the trip, which goes over the High Atlas Mountains. This part of the drive uses the Tizi n’Tichka pass, which is a seriously winding mountain road with absolutely stunning views around every corner. You see little Berber villages clinging to the mountainsides, and the landscape is just massive. It’s a rather spectacular way to make the final approach to our last city.

The Red City’s Endless Energy

And then, just like that, you are in Marrakech. To be honest, this city has an energy all its own. The center of it all is the Djemaa el-Fna square, and you just have to experience it, especially at night. It literally transforms into a huge open-air theater and restaurant. You know, you’ve got snake charmers, musicians, storytellers, and rows and rows of food stalls cooking up snails, sausages, and all kinds of other things. Anyway, the smoke and the smells and the sounds are almost overwhelming. During the day, we spent hours exploring the souks, which are these endless markets where you can buy spices, lanterns, leather bags, and pretty much everything else. Unlike Fes, the souks here feel a bit more open and maybe a little less intense. We also visited the Jardin Majorelle, a really beautiful garden that was once owned by Yves Saint Laurent. Basically, the super intense blue color used everywhere in the garden is a perfect, peaceful break from the energy of the medina.

• You see a lot: Actually, this kind of tour really does pack in an incredible amount of stuff in just 10 days.
• The driving is significant: You should be ready for a few long days in the car, but, like, the scenery is almost always worth it.
• Highlights are real highlights: For instance, the night in the Sahara and exploring the Fes medina are experiences that totally live up to the hype.
• Food is amazing: Seriously, get ready to eat a lot of delicious tagine and couscous; every region has its own little twist.
• Guides are useful: Especially in Fes, having a local guide can make a huge difference in what you see and learn, you know.

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