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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.

Updated each season by our Marrakech teamLocal operatorPrivate trips onlyReal prices

42 destinations

Marrakech, Morocco
3–4 days
Imperial city

Marrakech

The red city: souks, riads, gardens and the gateway to the Atlas.

Best time: March–May and September–NovemberRead guide
Fes, Morocco
2–3 days
Imperial city

Fes

The world's largest car-free medieval city, and Morocco's spiritual capital.

Best time: April–May and September–OctoberRead guide
Chefchaouen, Morocco
1–2 nights
Rif mountains

Chefchaouen

Morocco's blue pearl — a 15th-century mountain medina painted in cobalt and lime.

Best time: April–June and September–October (mild 18–26 °C, low rain)Read guide
Sahara & Merzouga, Morocco
3 days minimum from Marrakech
Erg Chebbi

Sahara & Merzouga

Real Sahara: 150m dunes, camel caravans, and luxury camps under more stars than you've ever seen.

Best time: October–April (avoid July–August)Read guide
Essaouira, Morocco
2 days
Atlantic coast

Essaouira

The windy fortress city: ramparts, fishing boats, argan oil and the best seafood in Morocco.

Best time: Year-roundRead guide
Atlas Mountains, Morocco
1–4 days
High Atlas

Atlas Mountains

Berber villages, walnut groves and North Africa's highest summit — an hour from Marrakech.

Best time: April–June and September–November (winter for snow)Read guide
Tangier, Morocco
2 nights
Strait of Gibraltar

Tangier

Where Africa meets Europe — kasbah, ferry port and the international city of Bowles and Matisse.

Best time: April–June and September–OctoberRead guide
Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou, Morocco
1–2 nights (en route to the Sahara)
Pre-Sahara

Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou

The Hollywood of Africa: kasbahs, film studios and the gateway to the dunes.

Best time: March–May and September–NovemberRead guide
Casablanca, Morocco
Half-day to 1 night
Atlantic coast

Casablanca

Morocco's modern economic capital — art deco, the Hassan II Mosque, and the easiest international gateway.

Best time: Year-roundRead guide
Rabat, Morocco
1 day
Capital

Rabat

Morocco's calm, green capital — kasbah, royal monuments and an unhurried medina.

Best time: April–June and September–OctoberRead guide
Meknes, Morocco
1 day (or a half-day with Volubilis)
Imperial city

Meknes

The quiet imperial city of Moulay Ismail — monumental gates, vast granaries and Roman Volubilis next door.

Best time: April–May and September–OctoberRead guide
Agadir, Morocco
2–4 days
Atlantic coast

Agadir

Morocco's sunshine beach capital — a long golden bay, modern resorts and the gateway to Paradise Valley and Taghazout.

Best time: Year-roundRead guide
Dadès & Todra Gorges, Morocco
1–2 nights en route to the Sahara
Pre-Sahara

Dadès & Todra Gorges

Towering red canyons, palm oases and the famous switchback road — the dramatic heart of the desert route.

Best time: March–May (rose season in May) and September–NovemberRead guide
Ouzoud Falls, Morocco
Day trip from Marrakech
Middle Atlas

Ouzoud Falls

Morocco's highest waterfalls — 110 metres of cascades, rainbows and wild Barbary macaques.

Best time: March–June and September–OctoberRead guide
Agafay Desert, Morocco
Half-day, sunset dinner, or overnight
Near Marrakech

Agafay Desert

A lunar landscape of rolling hills 40 minutes from Marrakech — luxury camps, camel rides and Atlas sunsets without the long drive.

Best time: October–May (summer days are very hot)Read guide
Ourika Valley, Morocco
Day trip from Marrakech
High Atlas

Ourika Valley

Berber villages, river-bank lunches and seven waterfalls — the greenest, easiest Atlas escape from Marrakech.

Best time: March–June and September–November (snow upstream in winter)Read guide
Asilah, Morocco
A half-day or overnight from Tangier
Atlantic coast

Asilah

A whitewashed Atlantic art town — Portuguese ramparts, painted murals and a calm, walkable medina near Tangier.

Best time: May–September for the coastRead guide
Zagora, Morocco
1–2 nights (en route to Erg Chigaga)
Draa Valley

Zagora

Gateway to Erg Chigaga — a palm-lined oasis town at the threshold of the deep Sahara.

Best time: October–March (summer temperatures regularly exceed 42°C)Read guide
Imlil, Morocco
1–4 days
High Atlas

Imlil

Imlil is the High Atlas trekking village that puts North Africa's highest summit within two days' walk.

Best time: April–June and September–November for trekkingRead guide
Taroudant, Morocco
1–2 nights
Souss Valley

Taroudant

Taroudant is the 'little Marrakech' of the south — a walled Saadian city of ochre ramparts and souks in the Souss plain.

Best time: October–April (summer heat is intenseRead guide
Taghazout, Morocco
2–5 days
Atlantic surf coast

Taghazout

Taghazout is Morocco's bohemian surf village — a crescent bay of point breaks, argan oil and Atlantic sunsets just north of Agadir.

Best time: October–April for surf (consistent Atlantic swells)Read guide
Ifrane, Morocco
1–2 nights
Middle Atlas

Ifrane

Ifrane is Morocco's 'Little Switzerland' — a cedar-forested Middle Atlas town of alpine chalets, snow and wild Barbary macaques.

Best time: December–February for snow and skiingRead guide
Dakhla, Morocco
3–5 days
Western Sahara

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.

Best time: November–April for kitesurfing (reliable trade winds)Read guide
Skoura, Morocco
Half-day to 1 night
Pre-Sahara

Skoura

Skoura is a palm-oasis town east of Ouarzazate, famous for its earthen kasbahs and the beautifully restored Amerdil kasbah.

Best time: March–May and September–November (date harvest is October)Read guide
Tinghir, Morocco
1–2 nights
Drâa-Tafilalet

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.

Best time: March–May and September–NovemberRead guide
Oualidia, Morocco
1 night or a long lunch stop
Atlantic coast

Oualidia

Oualidia is Morocco's oyster lagoon — a sheltered Atlantic bay of tidal flats, fresh shellfish and flamingos between Casablanca and Essaouira.

Best time: Year-roundRead guide
Volubilis & Moulay Idriss, Morocco
A private day from Fes or Meknes
Northern Morocco

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.

Best time: March–May and September–November (mosaics are best in morning lightRead guide
Midelt, Morocco
1 night (en route between Fes and the Sahara)
Middle Atlas

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.

Best time: May–October for hiking and the CirqueRead guide
Sidi Ifni, Morocco
1–2 nights
Atlantic coast

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.

Best time: April–October for the coastRead guide
El Jadida, Morocco
Half-day to 1 night
Atlantic coast

El Jadida

El Jadida is Morocco's UNESCO Portuguese city — a 16th-century Atlantic fortress with a miraculous cistern, 90 minutes from Casablanca.

Best time: April–October for the coastRead guide
Azrou, Morocco
Half-day to 1 night
Middle Atlas

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.

Best time: April–June and September–NovemberRead guide
Moulay Bousselham, Morocco
1 night
Atlantic coast

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.

Best time: November–March for peak birdwatchingRead guide
Tétouan, Morocco
1–2 nights
Rif mountains

Tétouan

Tétouan is Morocco's Andalusian city — a UNESCO medina of whitewashed lanes, Moorish stucco and the living heritage of Muslim and Jewish Iberia.

Best time: April–June and September–OctoberRead guide
Tafraout, Morocco
1–2 nights
Anti-Atlas

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.

Best time: January–February for almond blossomRead guide
Mirleft, Morocco
2–3 nights
Atlantic coast

Mirleft

Mirleft is Morocco's finest undeveloped surf and cliff village — a string of wild Atlantic coves between Agadir and Sidi Ifni.

Best time: April–October for swimmingRead guide
Larache, Morocco
1 night
Atlantic coast

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.

Best time: April–OctoberRead guide
Béni Mellal, Morocco
1 night (or en route between Marrakech and Fes)
Middle Atlas foothills

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.

Best time: March–June and September–NovemberRead guide
Rissani, Morocco
1 night (en route to Merzouga)
Tafilalt oasis

Rissani

Rissani is the historic gateway to Merzouga — the ancient Tafilalt capital, cradle of the Alaouite dynasty and Morocco's most atmospheric Thursday market.

Best time: October–April (summer heat regularly exceeds 42°CRead guide
M'Hamid el Ghizlane, Morocco
2 nights minimum (1 night in M'Hamid, 1 at Erg Chigaga camp)
Draa Valley

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.

Best time: October–March (summer temperatures exceed 45°CRead guide
Aït Bougmez Valley, Morocco
2–4 days
High Atlas

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.

Best time: May–October (the valley road from Azilal can be blocked by snow November–AprilRead guide
Akchour, Morocco
Day hike from Chefchaouen
Rif mountains

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.

Best time: April–June and September–October (waterfalls are strongest March–MayRead guide
Saïdia, Morocco
2–4 days
Mediterranean coast

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.

Best time: June–September for beach and swimming (sea temperatures 24–28°C)Read guide