Totally Morocco: Marrakech, the Rif, the Sahara & the Atlas — Self-Launched

Fly into Menara Airport (RAK) and take bus 19 or a petit taxi (around 50–70 MAD / £4–6) into the medina. Check into a riad or guesthouse in the Mellah or Mouassine area — the tour uses the Dellarosa Boutique Hotel, but a well-reviewed riad dorm or private twin is a third of the price. Spend the afternoon getting oriented: Jemaa el-Fnaa at dusk, a rooftop mint tea, and a cheap tagine dinner in a local square away from the main drag. Buy a Moroccan SIM (Orange or Inwi, ~£8 for 10GB) — you'll want data for train and bus bookings. Note: the group tour's price includes airport transfers; here it's £4–6 on your own.

🚌Bus 19 or petit taxi from RAK airport to medina, ~£5

🛏Riad or guesthouse in the medina (dorm £10–14 / private twin £22–30 pp)

• →Jemaa el-Fnaa at sunset
• →Medina orientation walk
• →Buy Moroccan SIM card

Take an early ONCF train from Marrakech to Casablanca Voyageurs (~2h40, 2nd class ~£9–11; book on the ONCF app or at the station). Drop bags at a budget hotel near the old medina or Gauthier. In the afternoon, visit the Hassan II Mosque — the only way inside is a guided tour (roughly 140 MAD / £11; check times, usually 9am, 10am, 11am and 2pm). Then walk the Habous Quarter, United Nations Square, the Central Market and Mohammed V Avenue on your own — it's a compact, flat circuit. The group tour pays for a private city guide; a self-guided walk plus the mosque tour covers the same ground.

🚌ONCF train Marrakech–Casa, 2nd class ~£10

🛏Budget hotel or hostel near the medina (dorm £9–14 / twin £20–28 pp)

• →Hassan II Mosque guided interior tour
• →Habous Quarter
• →Central Market
• →United Nations Square & Mohammed V Avenue

Long train day: the ONCF Al Boraq high-speed line runs Casa Voyageurs to Tangier Ville in about 2h10 (2nd class ~£16–20). Arrive early afternoon and walk the kasbah and the Petit Socco — Tangier's old town is small and easy on foot. Take a grand taxi or local bus out to Cap Spartel and the Caves of Hercules (~£8–12 round trip in a shared taxi; the caves carry a small entry fee of ~£1). Grand Socco is right at the medina edge. The tour's Tangier guide and driver are the weakest-reviewed part of the original itinerary, so DIY actually avoids the risk — but if you want a guide, a licensed medina guide runs ~£25 for a half-day and can be booked via GetYourGuide.

🚌ONCF Al Boraq Casablanca–Tangier ~£18; shared grand taxi to Cap Spartel ~£10

🛏Guesthouse in the medina or near the port (dorm £10–15 / twin £22–30 pp)

• →Kasbah of Tangier
• →Cap Spartel viewpoint
• →Caves of Hercules
• →Grand Socco & Petit Socco

Catch a CTM or Supratours coach from Tangier to Chefchaouen (~2h45, ~£6–8); buses leave through the morning, check ctm.ma or supratours.ma the day before. Spend the middle of the day in the blue city: climb to the Spanish Mosque for the Rif panorama, wander the medina's blue lanes, visit the Kasbah and Great Mosque from outside, and browse the souks. Wandering Chefchaouen needs no guide — the tour's guided walk here is one of the more criticised elements in reviews. In the late afternoon take a CTM coach Chefchaouen → Rabat (~4h, ~£10–13), arriving in the evening.

🚌CTM coach Tangier–Chefchaouen ~£7; CTM chefchaouen–Rabat ~£12

🛏Budget hotel or riad near the medina/Agdal (dorm £10–14 / twin £20–28 pp)

• →Spanish Mosque viewpoint
• →Chefchaouen medina & Kasbah
• →Local souks and craft shops

Do Rabat's key sights on foot and by tram: Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V (free), the Oudayas kasbah and view over the Bou Regreg, then the Royal Palace gates (exterior only). Mid-morning, take a train Rabat → Meknès (~2h, ~£8) and a shared grand taxi or local bus from Meknès to Volubilis (~30 min, ~£3–4 each way). Volubilis entry is ~70 MAD (~£6); a licensed site guide at the gate costs ~£10–15 and is genuinely worth it for the mosaics and Capitoline Temple. Continue by grand taxi to Meknès and a train on to Fez (~45 min, ~£3), arriving in the evening.

🚌Train Rabat–Meknès ~£8; grand taxis Meknès–Volubilis return ~£7; train Meknès–Fez ~£3

🛏Riad or guesthouse in Fez medina (dorm £10–15 / twin £22–30 pp)

• →Hassan Tower & Mausoleum of Mohammed V
• →Oudayas Kasbah, Rabat
• →Volubilis Roman ruins with local site guide

Fez is the one place where a guide genuinely earns their fee: the medina is 9,000 lanes and unguided wandering can eat a whole day. Book a half-day licensed medina guide through GetYourGuide or your riad (~£30–40 for a small group, so ~£15–20 pp if shared). Cover the Bou Inania Madrasa, the tanneries from a terrace, the Bou Jeloud gardens, the Nejjarine fountain and the medina's souks. The Royal Palace is exterior-only. Spend the afternoon independently: Dar Batha Museum (small entry fee) or a pottery workshop. Eat a pastilla, not another tagine.

🚌All on foot; occasional petit taxi ~£1–2

🛏Riad or guesthouse in Fez medina (dorm £10–15 / twin £22–30 pp)

• →Guided Fez medina walk (GetYourGuide/local licensed guide)
• →Bou Inania Madrasa
• →Tanneries terrace
• →Dar Batha Museum
• →Bou Jeloud Gardens

This is the long transit day the tour reviews complain about — but done independently you can break it better. Take the CTM coach Fez → Rissani/Merzouga (roughly 7–8h, ~£15–18), or a Supratours service to Erfoud then a shared taxi onward. The route crosses the Middle Atlas, the Ziz Valley's palm oases and the Tafilalt — the views are the day's entertainment. Book a standard 1-night Merzouga desert camp package direct or via GetYourGuide (~£40–55 pp including 4x4 transfer, camel ride in, Berber dinner with music, and breakfast). Choose a camp with real reviews and confirm AC/private bathroom if that matters — the original tour's own guests complained about tents and cold tea. Watch sunset from the dunes, and set an alarm for sunrise.

🚌CTM coach Fez–Merzouga ~£16; 4x4/camel transfer included in camp package

🛏Desert camp tent in Erg Chebbi (included in camp package)

• →Camel ride into Erg Chebbi dunes
• →Sunset and sunrise over the dunes
• →Berber dinner with live music

Morning in the dunes, then the long drive west. The practical DIY version: shared grand taxi or CTM from Merzouga/Rissani toward Tinejdad and Tinghir (~£8–12), then a grand taxi up to the Todra Gorges for the 300m canyon walls and a short riverside walk (~£6 return shared). Continue to Boumalne Dades or Kalaat M'Gouna and on to Ouarzazate by shared taxi/coach (~£10–14). Alternatively, many travellers hire a private driver for this whole leg for ~£50–70 per car shared between 3–4 people — worth considering if you want to hit both Todra and Dades in one day. In Ouarzazate, see Kasbah Taourirt (small entry fee) and, if you like film sets, Atlas Film Studios (~£6).

🚌Shared grand taxis / CTM Merzouga–Tinghir–Ouarzazate ~£25–30 total

🛏Guesthouse or kasbah-style budget hotel in Ouarzazate (twin £20–28 pp)

• →Todra Gorges canyon walk
• →Dades Valley viewpoints
• →Kasbah Taourirt
• →Atlas Film Studios (optional)

Grand taxi or local bus to Ait Benhaddou (~30 min, ~£3–4), the UNESCO ksar used in Gladiator and Game of Thrones. Entry to the ksar is a small fee; a local guide from the village will walk you up through the earthen lanes for ~£10–15 (genuinely useful, and it's how families there earn). Then the spectacular crossing of the High Atlas via the Tizi n'Tichka pass — a CTM/Supratours coach or shared minivan Ouarzazate → Marrakech takes ~4h and costs ~£10–13. Arrive Marrakech in the evening, back to your riad or a hostel in Gueliz.

🚌Grand taxi/bus to Ait Benhaddou ~£4; coach Ouarzazate–Marrakech ~£12

🛏Riad or hostel in Marrakech medina/Gueliz (dorm £10–15 / twin £22–30 pp)

• →Ait Benhaddou ksar with local village guide
• →Tizi n'Tichka pass views
• →Evening in Jemaa el-Fnaa

A full self-guided day. Koutoubia Mosque from the outside at opening, then Bahia Palace (~70 MAD / £6), the Saadian Tombs, Le Jardin Secret (~£8) and the Menara Gardens (cheap, mostly locals, great for a slow afternoon). Hone your bargaining in the souks — set your own prices rather than following a rushed guide. The original tour's Marrakech guide is heavily criticised in reviews, so consider a small-group walking tour on GetYourGuide (~£18–25) only if you want structure. Finish with a hammam (~£15–20 at a mid-range spa) and a rooftop dinner.

🚌On foot and petit taxis ~£3–5 for the day

🛏Riad or hostel in Marrakech medina/Gueliz (dorm £10–15 / twin £22–30 pp)

• →Bahia Palace
• →Koutoubia Mosque
• →Le Jardin Secret
• →Menara Gardens
• →Souk browsing
• →Hammam (optional)

If your flight is late, the Agafay rocky desert is an easy half-day: quad bike, camel ride and sunset dinner packages run ~£35–50 booked via GetYourGuide, with hotel pickup. Otherwise do a last souk run for argan oil and spices and take bus 19 or a taxi to Menara Airport (~£5). The group tour includes a Marrakech airport transfer; on your own it's a few pounds. If you have more time, an Essaouira or Ouzoud Falls day trip by Supratours bus is ~£12 return plus a small guide fee.

🚌Bus 19 or petit taxi to RAK airport ~£5

🛏None (departure day)

• →Agafay desert quad, camel & dinner (optional)
• →Essaouira or Ouzoud day trip (optional)
• →Last souk shopping