10-Day Tangier to Marrakech Tour via Fes & Merzouga

We meet you in Tangier, at your hotel, the airport or the port, and drive to Tetouan, the 'white dove' of the north, whose UNESCO-listed medina was built by families from Andalusia.

After a walk through its lanes, the road climbs south into the Rif, through cork oak and pine forests.

In the early afternoon you reach Chefchaouen and its blue houses. After lunch you wander the painted lanes and the main square, and finish at the Spanish Mosque for a sunset view of the town.

A free day in the blue town. Chefchaouen grew from a small fortress built in 1471, and its whitewashed and blue-washed houses still show the Andalusian roots of the families who settled here.

The lanes are quietest in the early morning, so that is the time for photos. Later you can explore the kasbah and its garden, visit a weaver's workshop and walk to Ras el Ma, the spring at the top of the town.

In the afternoon, relax on Plaza Uta el-Hammam, shop for woollen blankets and leather, or follow the path up to the Spanish Mosque, where the whole town glows blue at sunset.

Today you descend from the Rif to the plains and step back into Roman Africa at Volubilis. Its streets, arch and mosaic floors stand among olive trees and, in spring, wildflowers.

Moulay Idriss, the holy town where Morocco's first dynasty began, overlooks the ruins. In Meknes you have lunch and see Bab Mansour and the royal granaries.

In the late afternoon you reach Fes and walk into the medina to your riad.

A full day in Fes with a licensed local guide. You enter the medina at Bab Boujloud and walk down through lanes where craftsmen work as they have for centuries, cutting leather, hammering copper and weaving cloth.

Highlights include a madrasa of carved cedar, the doors of the Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859, the coppersmiths' square of Seffarine and the Chouara tannery, viewed from above with a sprig of mint.

In the afternoon you drive to the Royal Palace gates, the old Jewish quarter and a ceramics cooperative, and finish at a viewpoint over the medina. The evening is free before the drive to the desert.

Today you travel from the imperial city to the Sahara. You leave Fes early, climbing to Ifrane and through the cedar forest of the Middle Atlas, home of the Barbary macaques.

After lunch in Midelt, beneath Jbel Ayachi, the road follows the Ziz gorges and offers a view of the Ziz Valley's palm groves.

Past Erfoud the dunes appear, and in Merzouga you ride a camel into Erg Chebbi for sunset and a night in a desert camp.

Having come all the way from the Mediterranean, you now have a full day in the Sahara. It starts with sunrise from a dune near camp and breakfast before returning to Merzouga.

Your 4x4 excursion visits Khamlia, a village of Gnawa musicians descended from Saharan travellers, and the black desert, where a nomad family welcomes you to their tent for tea. Old lead mines and fossil-rich rocks are on the way.

The afternoon is free at your hotel, and you spend the night by the dunes before heading west through the gorges.

Climb a dune at dawn for sunrise, then ride or drive back to Merzouga for breakfast.

The road west leads through Rissani, the old caravan city of Sijilmassa; if it is a market day, its souk and donkey park are worth a look. Then comes a plateau of stones and khettara mounds.

In the afternoon you walk into Todra Gorge between orange cliffs and continue to the Dades Valley, where you spend the night among gardens and kasbahs.

You leave the Dades Valley and drive west through Kalaat M'Gouna, with a stop at a rosewater cooperative, and past Skoura's palm grove.

At Ait Ben Haddou you walk through the ksar and have lunch facing it.

In the afternoon the road climbs over the Tizi n'Tichka pass and descends to Marrakech, where you arrive in the early evening.

A guided day in Marrakech to end your journey. With a licensed local guide you see the Koutoubia, the great mosque whose minaret dominates the skyline, and the Bahia Palace with its gardens and painted rooms.

The Saadian Tombs and the spice market of the Mellah come next. After lunch you explore the souks, a maze of craftsmen's lanes, with your guide leading you to the workshops.

Add the Ben Youssef Madrasa or the Majorelle Garden if you wish, and finish the day at Jemaa el-Fna as the food stalls light up.

The final morning is yours. If you have not yet visited them, the Majorelle Garden, with its cobalt-blue villa and the neighbouring Yves Saint Laurent Museum, opens early and is quietest in the first hour. The Ben Youssef Madrasa and the Secret Garden are other good choices inside the medina.

It is also a good moment for unhurried shopping, now that you have seen how carpets, pottery and leather are made in the regions they come from.

Your driver collects you from your riad and takes you to Marrakech Menara Airport, the railway station or your next hotel. If you leave on an early flight, the transfer is arranged directly.