Destinations · 42 curated guides
The best places to visit in Morocco.
Nine destinations cover ninety percent of what travellers come to Morocco for — from Marrakech to the Sahara dunes, Fes to Chefchaouen and the Atlantic coast. Each guide gives you the real number of days, the right time to visit, and a quote on request.
42 destinations
Marrakech
The red city: souks, riads, gardens and the gateway to the Atlas.
Fes
The world's largest car-free medieval city, and Morocco's spiritual capital.
Chefchaouen
Morocco's blue pearl — a 15th-century mountain medina painted in cobalt and lime.
Sahara & Merzouga
Real Sahara: 150m dunes, camel caravans, and luxury camps under more stars than you've ever seen.
Essaouira
The windy fortress city: ramparts, fishing boats, argan oil and the best seafood in Morocco.
Atlas Mountains
Berber villages, walnut groves and North Africa's highest summit — an hour from Marrakech.
Tangier
Where Africa meets Europe — kasbah, ferry port and the international city of Bowles and Matisse.
Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou
The Hollywood of Africa: kasbahs, film studios and the gateway to the dunes.
Casablanca
Morocco's modern economic capital — art deco, the Hassan II Mosque, and the easiest international gateway.
Rabat
Morocco's calm, green capital — kasbah, royal monuments and an unhurried medina.
Meknes
The quiet imperial city of Moulay Ismail — monumental gates, vast granaries and Roman Volubilis next door.
Agadir
Morocco's sunshine beach capital — a long golden bay, modern resorts and the gateway to Paradise Valley and Taghazout.
Dadès & Todra Gorges
Towering red canyons, palm oases and the famous switchback road — the dramatic heart of the desert route.
Ouzoud Falls
Morocco's highest waterfalls — 110 metres of cascades, rainbows and wild Barbary macaques.
Agafay Desert
A lunar landscape of rolling hills 40 minutes from Marrakech — luxury camps, camel rides and Atlas sunsets without the long drive.
Ourika Valley
Berber villages, river-bank lunches and seven waterfalls — the greenest, easiest Atlas escape from Marrakech.
Asilah
A whitewashed Atlantic art town — Portuguese ramparts, painted murals and a calm, walkable medina near Tangier.
Zagora
Gateway to Erg Chigaga — a palm-lined oasis town at the threshold of the deep Sahara.
Imlil
Imlil is the High Atlas trekking village that puts North Africa's highest summit within two days' walk.
Taroudant
Taroudant is the 'little Marrakech' of the south — a walled Saadian city of ochre ramparts and souks in the Souss plain.
Taghazout
Taghazout is Morocco's bohemian surf village — a crescent bay of point breaks, argan oil and Atlantic sunsets just north of Agadir.
Ifrane
Ifrane is Morocco's 'Little Switzerland' — a cedar-forested Middle Atlas town of alpine chalets, snow and wild Barbary macaques.
Dakhla
Dakhla is Africa's kitesurf capital — a turquoise lagoon at the edge of the Sahara, where the Atlantic wind blows 300 days a year.
Skoura
Skoura is a palm-oasis town east of Ouarzazate, famous for its earthen kasbahs and the beautifully restored Amerdil kasbah.
Tinghir
Tinghir is the Todra valley gateway — a lush oasis town set against the southern Atlas, the base for one of Morocco's most dramatic canyon hikes.
Oualidia
Oualidia is Morocco's oyster lagoon — a sheltered Atlantic bay of tidal flats, fresh shellfish and flamingos between Casablanca and Essaouira.
Volubilis & Moulay Idriss
Volubilis and Moulay Idriss together form the most historically layered day in Morocco — Roman mosaics beneath a hilltop holy town near Meknes.
Midelt
Midelt is the apple capital of Morocco — a crossroads town between the Middle and High Atlas, gateway to the Cirque Jaffar and the Moulouya gorges.
Sidi Ifni
Sidi Ifni is Morocco's Art Deco Atlantic gem — a former Spanish enclave of crumbling colonial architecture and surf beaches near the legendary Legzira sea arches.
El Jadida
El Jadida is Morocco's UNESCO Portuguese city — a 16th-century Atlantic fortress with a miraculous cistern, 90 minutes from Casablanca.
Azrou
Azrou is the cedar forest village of the Middle Atlas — the best place in Morocco to see wild Barbary macaques and walk beneath ancient Cedrus atlantica trees.
Moulay Bousselham
Moulay Bousselham is Morocco's premier birdwatching lagoon — the Merja Zerga wetland draws tens of thousands of wintering waterbirds to a sleepy fishing village between Rabat and Tangier.
Tétouan
Tétouan is Morocco's Andalusian city — a UNESCO medina of whitewashed lanes, Moorish stucco and the living heritage of Muslim and Jewish Iberia.
Tafraout
Tafraout is Morocco's pink-granite village — a palm oasis ringed by painted boulders, almond blossom and the dramatic peaks of the Ameln valley.
Mirleft
Mirleft is Morocco's finest undeveloped surf and cliff village — a string of wild Atlantic coves between Agadir and Sidi Ifni.
Larache
Larache is Morocco's quiet Atlantic port town — a Spanish colonial medina above a river estuary, close to the Phoenician and Roman ruins of Lixus.
Béni Mellal
Béni Mellal is the gateway to the Ain Asserdoun springs, the Bin el-Ouidane reservoir and the cedar highlands of the central Middle Atlas.
Rissani
Rissani is the historic gateway to Merzouga — the ancient Tafilalt capital, cradle of the Alaouite dynasty and Morocco's most atmospheric Thursday market.
M'Hamid el Ghizlane
M'Hamid el Ghizlane is the road's end — the last town before Erg Chigaga and the deepest, wildest desert in Morocco.
Aït Bougmez Valley
Aït Bougmez is Morocco's 'Happy Valley' — a remote High Atlas sanctuary of terraced Berber villages, wildflower meadows and the trailhead for the M'Goun massif.
Akchour
Akchour is the Rif's finest day hike — emerald waterfalls, a natural rock arch called God's Bridge, and a forested gorge 30 km from Chefchaouen.
Saïdia
Saïdia is Morocco's Mediterranean blue-flag beach resort — 14 km of golden sand on the Algerian border, the finest sea swimming in the country.
Frequently asked
Frequently asked questions about Morocco destinations.
Which places in Morocco are most worth visiting?
Most first-time itineraries are built around Marrakech and Fes for their medieval medinas, the Sahara dunes near Merzouga or Zagora for the desert experience, Chefchaouen for the blue-washed Rif old town, and Essaouira on the Atlantic coast for its relaxed walled port. The High Atlas mountains and the kasbahs of the Aït Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate area round out a classic loop. Together these cover most of what travellers come to Morocco for.
How do you travel between Moroccan cities?
Morocco has three main options. Trains (ONCF) link Tangier, Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Fes and Meknes, with the Al Boraq high-speed line between Tangier and Casablanca. Long-distance buses run by CTM and Supratours reach towns the train does not, including the desert and the coast. For the most flexibility — especially to reach the Sahara, the Atlas passes or smaller villages — a private driver lets you stop where you like and avoid changing vehicles.
How long should I spend in each destination?
As a rough guide, allow two to three days each for Marrakech and Fes to see the medinas without rushing, one to two days for Chefchaouen or Essaouira, and at least three days for a Sahara trip from Marrakech because of the long drive each way. The country is large and overland distances are real, so it is usually better to choose two or three regions and explore them properly than to try to see everything in one short visit.
Is the Sahara worth the long journey?
For most travellers, yes. Reaching the big dunes at Erg Chebbi (Merzouga) or Erg Chigaga (M'Hamid) takes a long drive from Marrakech or Fes, but the route passes the Atlas mountains, the Dades and Todra gorges and palm-lined valleys, and a night at a desert camp under the stars is a highlight of many trips. If your time is very limited, the scenic road and the kasbahs can be rewarding even without going all the way to the largest dunes.
Which region suits which season?
Spring (March–May) and autumn (September–November) are comfortable almost everywhere. In summer the interior cities and the desert get very hot, so the Atlantic coast — Essaouira, Oualidia, Tangier — and the cooler High Atlas are more pleasant. Winter is mild and pleasant for Marrakech and the imperial cities, though desert nights are cold and high mountain passes can see snow. Match the region to the season and you can travel comfortably most of the year.