Day by day itinerary
1. Marrakech - Tizi n'Tichka - Aït Ben Haddou - Skoura - Todra Gorge - Dades (7h30 pickup, 6h drive)
Your driver collects you from your Marrakech hotel or riad at 07:30. The morning belongs to the High Atlas, with the road winding up to the Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 m before dropping towards Aït Ben Haddou, where a local guide walks you across the river and through the Berber architecture of the UNESCO-listed village. The afternoon carries you past the oasis at Skoura, on to Tinghir and into the Todra Gorge, whose limestone walls rise 300 metres above the road, and lunch is taken there. As the light softens, the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs takes you into the Dades Valley. Dinner and the night are at a hotel in the Dades Valley with ensuite rooms and air conditioning, on a half-board basis.
2. Dades - Rissani - Erfoud - Merzouga - sunset camel trek - luxury camp (5h drive)
Breakfast first, then east. Rissani comes early, the town where Morocco's Alaouite dynasty began, followed by Erfoud and its fossil trade, and then Merzouga. Late in the afternoon you swap the vehicle for a camel and ride into the Erg Chebbi dunes as the sun drops, reaching a luxury ensuite camp where the tents are private and come with real beds, quality linens and a hot shower. Dinner is Moroccan and served under the stars, with Berber drumming afterwards.
3. Merzouga - Ziz Valley - Midelt (5h drive)
You are up before first light to ride a camel over the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunrise, with breakfast waiting back at camp. The route then turns north and leaves the sand behind, following the Ziz Valley past date palms, fortified kasbahs and tall cliffs. Midelt closes the day, a farming town set where the Sahara gives way to the Middle Atlas. Check in there for dinner and the night at a hotel with ensuite rooms and air conditioning, half-board.
4. Midelt - Azrou (cedar forests and Barbary apes) - Ifrane - Casablanca (6h drive)
After breakfast the drive continues north into the Middle Atlas and the cedar forests around Azrou, where the trees are ancient, Barbary macaques come close and there is time to stop for photographs. Ifrane follows, known for its alpine-style architecture and cooler air, and lunch is taken there. The last stretch runs northwest to Casablanca, with drop-off either at Mohamed V Airport or at a Casablanca hotel.