Self-Launched Premium Morocco in Depth: Casablanca to Marrakech

Land at Mohammed V Airport and take the ONCF train from the airport station to Casa Voyageurs or Casa Port (~£3, 40 mins). Check into a budget hotel or hostel near the old medina or Gauthier district. In the afternoon, walk the Habous/new medina area and the Corniche, and see the Hassan II Mosque exterior (guided interior tours run at set times, ~£12, book online or at the door). Skip the pricey welcome dinner and eat at a local snack bar near Marché Central — grilled fish or a tagine for ~£5-7.

🚌Airport train ONCF to city centre ~£3

🛏Budget hotel/guesthouse in central Casablanca (double/private room ~£20-28)

• →Hassan II Mosque exterior and optional guided interior tour
• →Habous quarter and Marché Central wander
• →La Corniche sunset walk

Catch a morning ONCF train to Rabat (~£7, 1 hr, trains roughly hourly). Drop bags at a guesthouse in the medina. Walk the Kasbah des Oudaias (free entry to the gardens, ~£2 for the Andalusian garden), stop for mint tea at the Café Maure overlooking the river (~£1.50), then the Hassan Tower and Mausoleum of Mohammed V (free). Wander the Rabat medina and souks in the late afternoon. Rabat is a calm, walkable city — no guide needed if you have an offline map.

🚌ONCF train Casablanca–Rabat ~£7

🛏Medina guesthouse in Rabat (~£22-30)

• →Kasbah des Oudaias and Andalusian garden
• →Hassan Tower and Mausoleum of Mohammed V
• →Rabat medina and souk stroll
• →Mint tea at Café Maure

Take a morning train Rabat–Meknes (~£7, 2 hrs), drop bags at a guesthouse or use left luggage, then walk the Meknes medina to the monumental Bab Mansour gate and the Moulay Ismail shrine area. In the afternoon take a shared grand taxi or local bus to Volubilis (~£4-5, 30 mins) — enter the Roman ruins with the site map (~£6, an on-site guide costs ~£10 if you want one). Grab bread, cheese and olives from a Meknes market for a picnic. Then a grand taxi back to Meknes and a CTM/SUPRATOURS bus onward to Chefchaouen (~£8, 2.5 hrs) — book the last bus in advance via the CTM app or station counter.

🚌Train Rabat–Meknes ~£7; shared taxi to Volubilis return ~£8; CTM bus Meknes–Chefchaouen ~£8

🛏Riad/guesthouse in Chefchaouen medina (~£20-30)

• →Meknes medina and Bab Mansour
• →Volubilis Roman ruins (self-guided with map)
• →Market picnic supplies

Full day in the blue city. Self-explore the medina lanes and the Ras El Maa spring, climb to the Spanish Mosque for sunset views over the Rif (free, 30-min walk), and browse the weavers' shops. A local medina guide can be arranged through your riad for ~£15-20 if you want the stories; otherwise a good offline guide covers it. Taste local goat cheese from a market stall (~£2) and eat dinner at a cheap eatery off Plaza Uta el-Hammam (~£6).

🚌On foot

🛏Riad/guesthouse in Chefchaouen medina (~£20-30)

• →Chefchaouen medina blue lanes
• →Ras El Maa spring
• →Sunset hike to Spanish Mosque
• →Goat cheese and market snacks

Morning CTM/SUPRATOURS bus Chefchaouen to Fes (~£8, 4 hrs). Check into a riad in the Fes el Bali medina. Spend the afternoon acclimatising — Bab Boujloud, the tanneries viewpoint, and a rooftop mint tea. In the evening, book a home-cooking or family-dinner experience via Airbnb Experiences or GetYourGuide (~£15-20) to try pastilla, or simply eat pastilla at a local restaurant (~£5). Optional: a neighbourhood hammam (~£3-5) rather than a spa.

🚌CTM/SUPRATOURS bus ~£8

🛏Riad in Fes medina (~£22-32)

• →Bab Boujloud and medina orientation
• →Pastilla dinner or home-cooking experience
• →Optional local hammam

Morning guided medina walk — hire a licensed local guide through your riad (~£25-35 for a half day, split with other travellers from your hostel) or self-guide with an audio tour app. Must-sees: Al-Attarine Madrasa (~£2), Bou Inania Madrasa (~£2), the Chouara tanneries (view from a terrace, small tip expected), and the Funduq Nejjarine woodwork museum (~£2.50). Stop for mint tea at a family-run café. Afternoon free to browse the souks; keep an eye out for scam 'guide' tactics in the tanneries.

🚌On foot

🛏Riad in Fes medina (~£22-32)

• →Al-Attarine and Bou Inania madrasas
• →Chouara tanneries viewpoint
• →Funduq Nejjarine
• →Souk browsing and mint tea

Long travel day. Book a CTM/SUPRATOURS coach or a shared grand taxi via a local agency from Fes toward Errachidia/Erfoud (~£18-22, 8-9 hrs) — the route crosses the Middle Atlas via Ifrane and Midelt with mountain and cedar-forest views; bring snacks and water. Alternatively split the journey with a night in Midelt. Arrive Erfoud, check in at a guesthouse, and visit a local date farm or the fossil workshops (~£3-5 tip) — dates and fossils are the region's trade. Dinner at a local grill (~£6).

🚌CTM/SUPRATOURS coach or shared taxi ~£20

🛏Guesthouse in Erfoud (~£18-25)

• →Middle Atlas scenic drive via Ifrane and Midelt
• →Date farm or fossil workshop visit

Shared taxi Erfoud to Merzouga (~£5, 1 hr). Book a desert camp package in advance via GetYourGuide or direct with a camp (~£40-60) — usually includes camel ride in at sunset, dinner, Amazigh drumming/Gnaoua music around a fire, and breakfast. Daytime: Khemliya village or the M'Fis dunes, and try medfouna (stuffed bread) at a local café (~£4). Camel ride out at sunset into Erg Chebbi and sleep in a Berber tent with bedding provided — bring warm layers in winter.

🚌Shared taxi ~£5

🛏Desert camp tent in Erg Chebbi, bedding included (part of camp package ~£40-60)

• →Camel trek into Erg Chebbi dunes
• →Amazigh dinner with live Gnaoua music
• →Khemliya village or M'Fis dunes
• →Medfouna lunch

Camel out after sunrise, breakfast, then a shared taxi or local bus to Tinerhir/Todra (~£8-10, 3 hrs). Hike the Todra Gorge on foot (free) — the canyon path is obvious from the road. Continue by shared taxi or grand taxi to Boumalne Dades (~£5, 1.5 hrs) and on to a guesthouse in the Dades Valley. Alternative: hire a driver for the day (~£40-50 shared between 2-4 travellers) if you want to stop at viewpoints and the monkey-fingers rock formation.

🚌Shared taxi Merzouga–Tinerhir ~£9; shared taxi Tinerhir–Boumalne Dades ~£5

🛏Valley guesthouse in Dades (~£18-26)

• →Todra Gorge walk
• →Dades Valley viewpoint and monkey-fingers rocks

Full day in the valley. Self-hike the Dades circuit (marked trails from the villages; a local guide from your guesthouse costs ~£15-20 if you want company and translation). In the afternoon, arrange a tea-making visit with an Amazigh family through your guesthouse (~£5-10 incl. tea and bread) — this is the kind of experience tour groups pay a premium for and it's easy to arrange directly. Dinner at the guesthouse (~£6).

🚌On foot / local taxi ~£4

🛏Valley guesthouse in Dades (~£18-26)

• →Dades Valley hiking circuit
• →Amazigh family tea-making visit
• →Village wander

Shared taxi/grand taxi to Kelaat M'Gouna and on to Skoura (~£8-10, 2.5 hrs). Visit Kasbah Ameridhl in Skoura (~£2) and a local teahouse lunch (Tawesna-style, ~£5). Continue to Ait Benhaddou by shared taxi or local bus (~£5, 1 hr). Late afternoon walk up into the ksar (free; ~£2 to cross the river on footbridges/guides) and take in the sunset from the hilltop agadir. Stay in a village guesthouse.

🚌Shared taxis ~£13 total for the day

🛏Guesthouse near Ait Benhaddou (~£18-25)

• →Skoura Oasis and Kasbah Ameridhl
• →Ait Benhaddou ksar sunset walk
• →Local teahouse lunch

Shared taxi or local bus over the Tizi n'Tichka pass to Marrakech is the main route; ask for a Marrakech-bound shared taxi and get dropped at the Asni/Ouirgane junction, then a local taxi up to Ouirgane (~£12-15 total, 3.5-4 hrs). Ouirgane is a quiet High Atlas village with walnut groves below Mount Toubkal. Afternoon walk the valley paths on your own or hire a village guide for ~£15. Stay in a small guesthouse by the river.

🚌Shared taxi/bus over Tizi n'Tichka plus local taxi ~£14

🛏Riverside guesthouse in Ouirgane (~£20-30)

• →Tizi n'Tichka pass drive
• →Ouirgane valley walk below Mount Toubkal

Local taxi down to Tahanaout (~£5), where several small operators and guesthouses run half-day Moroccan cooking classes (~£25-35 including market shopping and the meal you cook) — book via GetYourGuide or direct. Eat your tagines and salads for lunch. Continue to Marrakech by local bus or shared taxi (~£3-4, 45 mins). Check into a hostel or budget riad in the medina. Evening: Djemaa el-Fna food stalls and a rooftop tea (~£3-5).

🚌Local taxi ~£5; bus/shared taxi to Marrakech ~£4

🛏Budget riad/hostel in Marrakech medina (~£20-30)

• →Moroccan cooking class in Tahanaout
• →Djemaa el-Fna evening
• →Rooftop mint tea

Morning medina walk: Bahia Palace (~£6), the Koutoubia Mosque exterior and gardens, and a fresh orange juice at a stall (~60p). Add Le Jardin Secret (~£8) and the souks of the Mouassine area. Self-guide with an audio app or join a small-group free-walking-tour-style paid medina tour (~£15) bookable on GetYourGuide. Evening: a storytelling or live-music dinner at a riad is easy to find (~£15-20), or a cheap grill in the medina (~£6).

🚌On foot

🛏Budget riad/hostel in Marrakech medina (~£20-30)

• →Bahia Palace
• →Koutoubia Mosque and gardens
• →Le Jardin Secret
• →Souk shopping and orange juice
• →Optional storytelling dinner

Breakfast at the riad, then transfer to Marrakech Menara Airport by local bus (line 19, ~£3) or grand taxi (~£7-8). If your flight is later, use the morning for the Majorelle Garden (~£12, book a timed slot online) or a final medina wander. Note: many travellers extend in Marrakech or Essaouira — a shared taxi/bus to Essaouira is ~£6 and worth 2-3 extra days.

🚌Local bus or taxi to airport ~£3-8

🛏None (or extend at ~£20-30/night)

• →Optional Majorelle Garden
• →Optional extension to Essaouira