Self-Launched: Morocco in Depth — Casablanca to Marrakech

Land at Mohammed V and take the train into the city (ONCF train to Casa Voyageurs or Casa Port, ~£3, 35 mins) instead of a private transfer. Check into a guesthouse near the old medina or Gauthier district. Wander the art-deco centre-ville in the evening and eat grilled sardines or a tagine for around £6-8.

🚌ONCF airport train ~£3

🛏Budget guesthouse / hostel in central Casablanca (~£22)

• →Self-guided walk of Casablanca centre-ville and Corniche

Take an early CTM or Supratours coach from Casablanca to Meknès (~£8, 4 hrs). Leave your bag at the station or a café, then take a grand taxi to Volubilis (~£6 return split between two) and pay the ~£6 entry — a printed guidebook or the on-site panels cover what the tour guide would tell you; certified guides wait at the gate from ~£15 if you want one. On the way back stop at Meknès' Bab Mansour and Bab El Khemis gates (free). For the community lunch equivalent, book a table at a women's-cooperative café in Meknès (e.g. a Planeterra-linked co-op) or eat at the medina's Café Clock (~£7). Late afternoon coach or train on to Fez (~£4, 1 hr).

🚌CTM coach Casablanca–Meknès ~£8, grand taxi ~£6, train Meknès–Fez ~£4

🛏Riad or guesthouse in Fez medina (~£22)

• →Volubilis Roman ruins (entry ~£6)
• →Meknès imperial gates
• →Cooperative lunch

Hire a certified medina guide through your riad or the official guide office at Bab Boujloud (~£20-25 for a half day, split between two travellers) to walk the 9,000-street medina: Bou Inania and Al-Attarine madrasas (~£2 each), the tanneries viewed from a leather-shop terrace (free, tip ~£2), and the Al-Karaouine mosque exterior. In the afternoon book a calligraphy workshop direct — Café Clock Fez and several medina craft studios run 1-2 hr Arabic calligraphy sessions for ~£18-25.

🚌Walking; petit taxi ~£1-2

🛏Riad or guesthouse in Fez medina (~£22)

• →Guided Fez medina walk (~£12 pp shared)
• →Madrasa entries ~£4
• →Calligraphy workshop ~£20

The long transfer day. Take the ONCF train Fez–Marrakech (~£18-22, 7 hrs, book online in advance for a window seat) rather than a minivan. Arrive late afternoon, check into a medina hostel or riad, then head to Djemaa el-Fna at dusk for storytellers, musicians and food stalls — dinner of harira, tangia or brochettes for ~£6.

🚌ONCF train Fez–Marrakech ~£20

🛏Hostel or budget riad in Marrakech medina (~£20)

• →Djemaa el-Fna night walk
• →Street food dinner

Book a half-day Moroccan cooking class via GetYourGuide or direct with a riad — market visit plus tagine and salad preparation, ~£30-40 including lunch. In the afternoon take a self-guided or certified-guide walk (a local guide is ~£25 for 3 hrs, split two ways) covering Koutoubia, Bahia Palace (~£7), Ben Youssef Madrasa (~£5) and the souks; pick up spices at a spice shop.

🚌Walking

🛏Hostel or budget riad in Marrakech medina (~£20)

• →Moroccan cooking class ~£35
• →Bahia Palace ~£7
• →Ben Youssef Madrasa ~£5
• →Medina guide ~£12 pp

See Jardin Majorelle (~£14 entry) in the morning. Then take a shared grand taxi or CTM coach to Ouarzazate and on to Aït Ben Haddou (~£10 total, 4 hrs) — the CTM Marrakech–Ouarzazate service is the cheapest option. Stay in a family-run guesthouse in the old village and walk up into the ksar at sunset (free; local guide ~£8 for the film-location stories of Gladiator, Babel and Game of Thrones).

🚌Coach/grand taxi Marrakech–Ouarzazate–Aït Ben Haddou ~£10

🛏Family guesthouse at Aït Ben Haddou (~£20)

• →Jardin Majorelle ~£14
• →Aït Ben Haddou kasbah walk

Travel through the Draa Valley by coach to Zagora or M'Hamid (~£8), then join a shared 4x4 transfer to Erg Chigaga — agencies in M'Hamid and Zagora sell seats for ~£60-75 pp including the bedouin-style camp, dinner and breakfast, which is the self-launch equivalent of the tour's desert camp night. Climb the dunes for sunset, eat a traditional dinner and sit round the fire for music.

🚌Coach to M'Hamid ~£8, shared 4x4 ~£65 pp incl. camp & meals

🛏Desert camp at Erg Chigaga (~£30 within the 4x4 package)

• →Sahara 4x4 excursion
• →Sunset dune walk
• →Berber music around the fire

Return by 4x4, stopping at Tamegroute to see the zaouia's library of ancient Islamic texts (~£2). Arrive in Zagora, check into a riad with a pool, visit the twice-weekly regional market if your timing aligns, and spend the afternoon resting. Ask your riad host for an informal talk on the Draa River and the valley's history — often free over tea.

🚌4x4 return + local taxi ~£8

🛏Budget riad in Zagora (~£22)

• →Tamegroute library
• →Zagora market
• →Draa Valley talk

The Anti-Atlas leg is the hardest to do without a vehicle. Best value is a shared grand taxi or a seat in a local souk-bound minibus from Zagora toward Taroudant via Taliouine (~£12-15, 5-6 hrs) — ask at the bus station the evening before. Stop at Taliouine for a saffron cooperative visit (~£2). Arrive in Taroudant and check into a riad inside the red walls.

🚌Shared taxi/minibus ~£14

🛏Riad in Taroudant (~£22)

• →Taliouine saffron cooperative

'Little Marrakech' day. Wander the ramparts and the souks at your own pace, browse the jewellery and leather workshops, and spend the afternoon by your riad's pool. Budget ~£8 for lunch in the square.

🚌Walking

🛏Riad in Taroudant (~£22)

• →Taroudant ramparts and souk walk

Take a shared taxi to Tafraoute (~£10) and arrange a local driver for the Aït Mansour Gorge detour and the walk to Le Chapeau de Napoléon (~£25-30 for the half day, split two ways). Lunch at a family home in the palm groves can be arranged through your guesthouse for ~£6-8. Sleep in Tafraoute, surrounded by the pink granite boulders.

🚌Shared taxi ~£10 + local driver ~£14 pp

🛏Guesthouse in Tafraoute (~£20)

• →Aït Mansour Gorge walk
• →Napoleon's Hat hike
• →Family lunch

Long travel day west: shared taxi or coach Tafraoute–Agadir (~£7) then CTM/Supratours coach Agadir–Essaouira (~£9, 4 hrs). Arrive in the late afternoon, walk the windy beach, watch the fishing boats unload at the port, and eat grilled fish straight off the stalls for ~£8. Essaouira's live music bars (e.g. Taros, or gnawa nights in the medina) are the evening plan.

🚌Shared taxi ~£7 + coach ~£9

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Essaouira medina (~£22)

• →Essaouira beach and port walk
• →Live music

Book a traditional hammam direct (the tour's optional extra) — local neighbourhood hammams cost ~£5-8, tourist hammams with scrub and massage ~£20-30. Afternoon exploring the Skala de la Ville ramparts, the woodwork workshops and the medina's galleries. Windsurfing or a beach horse ride can be booked on the sand for ~£25 if you want it.

🚌Walking

🛏Hostel or guesthouse in Essaouira medina (~£22)

• →Traditional hammam ~£15
• →Skala ramparts
• →Medina browsing

Coach back to Marrakech with CTM or Supratours (~£8, 3 hrs). Check into your medina accommodation, do last-minute shopping in the souks (avoid the morning hard-sell by going late afternoon), and book a rooftop dinner. Optional: the Yves Saint Laurent Museum (~£12) or Le Jardin Secret (~£7).

🚌Coach Essaouira–Marrakech ~£8

🛏Hostel or budget riad in Marrakech (~£20)

• →Souks shopping
• →Rooftop dinner

Airport bus (line 19, ~£3) or petit taxi (~£8) to Menara Airport. If you have a late flight, leave your bag at the riad and have a final morning coffee on a medina rooftop.

🚌Airport bus ~£3

🛏—

• →Free morning in the medina