How Many Days Do You Need in Morocco?

Why the distances decide it

Morocco's cities look close on a map, but the High Atlas separates the imperial cities from the Sahara, and the desert road has to climb over the range. Two things follow. First, a desert trip is never a day trip from the imperial cities. Second, every extra city you add usually costs a full travel day. The table gives the road distances and non-stop driving times between the places most first-time visitors combine; real days are longer because you will stop for the views, the kasbahs and lunch.

Distances and times are averages from two independent routing services and are given as ranges; mountain sections, roadworks and city traffic add to them. The Marrakech to Merzouga leg is the one that shapes most plans, and it has its own guide: the road from Marrakech to Merzouga, leg by leg.

Two or three days: one desert circuit

With a long weekend you can see the Sahara, but only the Sahara. From Marrakech the sand dunes need a minimum of two nights: one on the way (usually in the Dades Gorges) and one in the desert. From Fes, the road to Merzouga is shorter, so an overnight in the dunes and a return the next day is possible. Whichever city you start from, expect long hours in the car and accept that the cities themselves will wait for another trip.

Which desert to aim for matters as much as the number of days. Zagora is closer to Marrakech and fits two days; Merzouga has the tall Erg Chebbi dunes and needs three. We compare them in Merzouga or Zagora: choosing your desert trip from Marrakech.

Our three-day Marrakech to Merzouga loop is the shortest version of this trip: a night in the Dades Gorges, a night in the dunes and a long drive back. The same circuit exists from Fes, and it can end in Fes instead of returning to Marrakech.

Four or five days: a city, the desert and a second city

Four or five days is the shortest trip that feels like a tour of Morocco rather than a single excursion. The pattern that works is to travel one way: start in one gateway city, cross to the desert, and finish in another city so you never retrace the long road. Marrakech to Fes (or the reverse) via the Sahara is the classic version; it passes Ait Benhaddou, the Dades and Todgha gorges, a night at Erg Chebbi, then the Ziz valley, the cedar forest and Ifrane on the way north.

The same idea works from Casablanca, if that is where you land: a four- or five-day route can go through Fes, the desert and the gorges to Marrakech. Tangier and Agadir also work as starting points if that is where you arrive, although both add a day of driving before the desert. Our five-day desert tour from Marrakech to Fes is the clearest example of the one-way pattern; the reverse direction and the Casablanca and Tangier starts are built the same way.

One week: the first trip most people should take

A week is the first length that lets you see two very different Moroccos without rushing: an imperial city with a guided day, the mountains and gorges at a reasonable pace, a night in the desert, and a second city at the end. It also leaves room for one slow day, which matters more than another sight.

How you spend the seven days depends on where you land:

• Casablanca: a loop that goes Casablanca – Marrakech – Dades – Merzouga – Fes – Casablanca, so you see both big cities and the desert and end where you started. See the one-week itinerary from Casablanca.
• Marrakech: a day in the city, then east through the gorges and dunes, ending in Fes with a day to explore it.
• Tangier: south through Chefchaouen and Fes to the desert, then across the Atlas to Marrakech and out via Casablanca.
• Agadir: the desert is a long way from the coast, so a week is what it takes to reach Merzouga and come back with time in Marrakech.

Eight to ten days: two imperial cities without long days

With eight to ten days you stop compromising. You can give Fes and Marrakech a full day each, spend a second night near the gorges or in the desert, and add a place that a week cannot fit: Chefchaouen in the north, the Ouzoud waterfalls or the coast at Essaouira in the south. Ten days from Casablanca covers the whole classic circuit, Fes, the desert, the gorges and Marrakech with day trips to Essaouira and the Ouzoud waterfalls, and it is the sweet spot between seeing a lot and enjoying it.

Our ten-day itinerary from Casablanca is the fullest example of this length; the eight- and nine-day versions drop one of the extras rather than shortening the desert.

Two weeks: north, desert and coast

Two weeks lets you start in the north (Tangier, Chefchaouen, Meknes), cross the country through Fes and the desert, and still have the Atlantic coast at the end. It is the only length that covers Morocco's three faces, Mediterranean north, Saharan south and Atlantic west, with fewer long driving days. If you have twelve days rather than fourteen, drop the coast rather than the north. Our two-week itinerary from Casablanca follows that shape, north to south, finishing with the coast.

Choosing your start city

Land where your flight is cheapest and let the route follow. Casablanca, where many international flights arrive, is under three hours by train from Marrakech and under four from Fes. Marrakech is the natural base for the southern desert road, and the departures from Marrakech are the ones most often booked. Fes is closest to Merzouga and to the cedar forests, with its own set of departures from Fes. Tangier suits travellers arriving from Spain and makes Chefchaouen an easy first stop. Agadir is a beach-resort airport, and the desert from there is a real expedition.

One more variable is the season: the desert is at its best between October and April, while the coast is the place to be in high summer. Our guide to the best time to visit Morocco covers each region, and our month-by-month weather guide has the figures.

Frequently asked questions

Is one week enough for Morocco?

Yes, for a first trip that combines one or two cities with a night in the Sahara. It is not enough to add the north and the coast as well; that needs ten days to two weeks.

Is five days enough to see Morocco?

Five days covers one route well, for example Marrakech to Fes through the desert, or Casablanca to Marrakech via Fes and the dunes. Choose one route and do it properly rather than sampling three cities.

Can you do Morocco in three days?

You can do the desert in three days from Marrakech or Fes, and that is a worthwhile trip in itself. You will not also see the cities in any depth.

How many days do you need for the Sahara?

From Marrakech, three days for Merzouga's dunes or two for the smaller dunes near Zagora. From Fes, two days is enough for a night at Erg Chebbi.