Imperial Cities & Sahara Discovery — Self-Launched from Marrakech

Fly into Marrakesh Menara (RAK). Skip the private transfer and take the local bus (line 19, about 30 MAD / £2.40) or a haggled petit taxi (60–100 MAD / £5–8) into the medina. Check into a budget riad or hostel dorm near Jemaa el-Fnaa, then ease in with a wander through the souks and mint tea on a rooftop at sunset. Grab a cheap dinner from the food stalls or a local tagine spot — don't overpay for the first-row tourist stalls.

🚌Bus line 19 or petit taxi from RAK airport to medina, ~£2–8

🛏Budget riad or hostel dorm in the Marrakech medina (£10–16/night)

• →Self-guided sunset walk around Jemaa el-Fnaa and the souks
• →Rooftop mint tea

Take an early CTM or ONCF train from Marrakech to Casablanca (trains run roughly hourly, ~2h45m, 90–120 MAD / £7–10). Drop your bag at a budget hotel near the old medina, then self-tour the Hassan II Mosque (guided entry slots ~140 MAD / £11; book online or turn up early), the Habous Quarter, United Nations Square and the Central Market. Walk Mohammed V Avenue in the evening for a cheap street-food dinner.

🚌ONCF train Marrakech–Casablanca ~£7–10

🛏Budget hotel or guesthouse near Casa old medina (£15–22/night)

• →Hassan II Mosque guided entry (~£11)
• →Habous Quarter and Central Market walk
• →Mohammed V Avenue evening stroll

This is a big travel day. Take the morning train Casablanca–Rabat (~1h, 35 MAD / £3), store bags at Rabat Ville, and walk the Hassan Tower, Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Oudayas. Mid-afternoon, continue by train to Meknes (~2h, 90 MAD / £7.50), then a grand taxi or local bus to Volubilis (Roman ruins, entry ~70 MAD / £5.50) before heading on to Fez in the evening. Alternatively, do the whole leg by CTM coach if you'd rather keep it simple and skip Volubilis. Sleep in a budget riad inside the Fez medina.

🚌Trains Casa–Rabat–Meknes + grand taxi to Volubilis and on to Fez, ~£17 total

🛏Budget riad in the Fez medina (£12–18/night)

• →Hassan Tower and Mausoleum of Mohammed V (free)
• →Roman ruins of Volubilis (~£5.50)
• →Oudayas kasbah walk in Rabat

Spend the day lost in Fes el-Bali, the world's biggest car-free urban area. Hire a licensed local guide for 3–4 hours through the medina (400–600 MAD / £32–48, or split it with other hostel travellers via a walking-tour platform) so you actually find the Bou Inania Madrasa, the tanneries and the craft workshops — otherwise you'll walk circles. Visit the Bou Inania Madrasa (70 MAD / £5.50) and the Dar Batha Museum, and see the Royal Palace gates from outside. Watch for the souvenir-shop hard sell the big tours get criticised for — agree with a guide upfront that you don't want shop stops.

🚌On foot; a few petit taxi hops under £5

🛏Budget riad in the Fez medina (£12–18/night)

• →Half-day licensed medina guide (~£12–16 share of cost)
• →Bou Inania Madrasa (~£5.50)
• →Dar Batha Museum

Take the early CTM coach from Fez to Merzouga or Rissani (~8h, 180–220 MAD / £15–18), crossing the Middle Atlas and following the Ziz Valley oasis — sit on the right for the best views and bring water and snacks, since stops are limited. From Rissani take a shared grand taxi to Merzouga village. Once there, your desert camp operator (booked ahead via a GetYourGuide desert-camp package or direct with a small Merzouga camp for ~£35–50 including camel trek, dinner and breakfast) will pick you up. Ride a camel into the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset and eat a Berber dinner under the stars.

🚌CTM coach Fez–Rissani/Merzouga ~£15–18 + shared grand taxi ~£3

🛏Standard desert camp tent in Erg Chebbi (£35–50 including camel ride, dinner and breakfast)

• →Ziz Valley viewpoint stop
• →Camel trek into the Erg Chebbi dunes
• →Berber dinner and stargazing at the camp

Wake for sunrise over the dunes (free, and worth the alarm), then head out of the desert. The public-coach option is Merzouga/Rissani back to Errachidia or Tinghir, then a shared grand taxi or local bus through the Todra Gorges and on towards Boumalne Dades and Ouarzazate — a long, slow day (~9–10h) costing roughly £12–15 but requiring an early start. A more comfortable choice, and what most independent travellers do, is to join a shared 2-day desert return transfer/minibus from Merzouga to Ouarzazate (~£25–35) that includes the Todra Gorges and Dades Valley stops. Either way, spend the evening in Ouarzazate and overnight in a budget guesthouse or kasbah-style hostel.

🚌Shared minibus Merzouga–Todra–Dades–Ouarzazate ~£25–35 (or public coaches ~£12–15)

• →Sunrise over Erg Chebbi
• →Todra Gorges walk
• →Dades Valley viewpoints

Start with the Atlas Film Studios in Ouarzazate (entry ~80 MAD / £6.30) and Kasbah Taourirt (20 MAD / £1.60) — the operator's tour bundles these, but they're easy to visit independently. Then take a shared grand taxi or local bus to Ait Benhaddou (~45 min, 30–50 MAD / £2.50–4) and explore the UNESCO ksar on foot (free to enter the village; a local guide is ~150 MAD / £12 if you want the history). Continue by shared grand taxi or CTM coach over the Tizi n'Tichka pass to Marrakech (~4h, 80–120 MAD / £6.50–10). Check back into your Marrakech riad and eat in the medina.

🚌Shared grand taxi to Ait Benhaddou ~£3 + coach/shared taxi over the High Atlas to Marrakech ~£8

🛏Budget riad or hostel dorm in the Marrakech medina (£10–16/night)

• →Atlas Film Studios (~£6.30)
• →Kasbah Taourirt (~£1.60)
• →Ait Benhaddou ksar self-exploration

A full day for the city's headline sights, all walkable from the medina: Koutoubia Mosque (exterior), the Saadian Tombs (70 MAD / £5.50), Bahia Palace (70 MAD / £5.50), Le Jardin Secret (80 MAD / £6.30) and the Menara Gardens (free-ish, 30 MAD / £2.40). Pre-book a small-group or free-walking-tour guide through GetYourGuide or Freetour if you want context — budget £10–15. Finish with a hammam (budget local hammam 50–100 MAD / £4–8, or a tourist spa £20+) and dinner at a cheap grill house off the main square.

🚌On foot; occasional petit taxi ~£2

🛏Budget riad or hostel dorm in the Marrakech medina (£10–16/night)

• →Saadian Tombs, Bahia Palace, Jardin Secret (~£17 total entries)
• →Optional small-group walking tour (~£10–15)
• →Local hammam (~£5)

If your flight is late, add an easy independent day trip: a shared bus or grand taxi to the Ourika Valley or Ouzoud Falls (~£8–12 return) or a half-day Agafay Desert quad-and-camel package booked on Klook or GetYourGuide (~£30–40). Otherwise, use the morning for last souk shopping — haggle to roughly half the opening price — and take the local bus or a petit taxi back to Marrakesh Menara for your flight home.

🚌Petit taxi or bus line 19 to RAK airport ~£2–8

🛏—

• →Optional Ourika Valley / Ouzoud Falls day trip
• →Optional Agafay Desert half-day package
• →Souk shopping