Destinations · 42 curated guides
The best places to visit in Morocco.
Our destination guides cover what travellers come to Morocco for — from Marrakech to the Sahara dunes, Fes to Chefchaouen and the Atlantic coast. Each guide gives you a sensible number of days, the right time to visit, and a quote on request.
42 destinations
Marrakech
The red city at the far end of the line — where a northern Morocco journey reaches its warm, ochre conclusion.
Fes
Morocco's spiritual capital and the natural next stop south of the strait — the world's largest car-free medieval city.
Chefchaouen
Our own backyard mountain town — the cobalt-washed Rif medina just two hours up the road from Tangier.
Sahara & Merzouga
The deep south the northern coast only dreams of — 150m dunes, camel caravans and luxury camps under a sky thick with stars.
Essaouira
The Atlantic's other fortified port — a windswept, blue-and-white answer to Tangier, three hours west of Marrakech.
Atlas Mountains
North Africa's highest summit and the Berber high country — mountains of an altogether grander order than our green Rif, an hour from Marrakech.
Tangier
Our home city, where Africa meets Europe — the kasbah, the ferry port and the international Tangier of Bowles and Matisse.
Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou
The Hollywood of Africa — kasbahs, film studios and the southern gateway to the dunes, far over the mountains from the strait.
Casablanca
Morocco's restless economic capital — art deco, the Hassan II Mosque on the Atlantic, and the rail hub that links the north to everywhere else.
Rabat
The calm green capital on the Al Boraq line — Almohad ramparts, royal monuments and an easy Atlantic medina between Tangier and the south.
Meknes
The underrated imperial city of Moulay Ismail — monumental gates, vast granaries and Roman Volubilis a half-hour away.
Agadir
The sun-soaked south coast — a long golden bay, modern resorts and the gateway to Taghazout and Paradise Valley.
Dadès & Todra Gorges
Towering red canyons, palm oases and the famous switchback road — the dramatic spine of the deep-south desert route.
Ouzoud Falls
The Middle Atlas cascades — 110 metres of waterfall, afternoon rainbows and wild macaques, the green south's answer to the Rif's Akchour.
Agafay Desert
A lunar landscape of rolling hills 40 minutes from Marrakech — luxury camps, camel rides and Atlas sunsets without the long haul south.
Ourika Valley
Berber villages, river-bank lunches and seven waterfalls — the greenest, easiest High Atlas escape from Marrakech.
Asilah
Our nearest coastal escape — a whitewashed Atlantic art town of Portuguese ramparts and painted murals, 40 minutes down from Tangier.
Zagora
Gateway to Erg Chigaga — a palm-lined oasis town at the threshold of the deep Sahara, about as far from the strait as you can drive.
Imlil
The High Atlas trekking village that puts North Africa's highest summit within two days' walk — alpine country far beyond the northern Rif.
Taroudant
The walled Saadian city of the Souss — a quieter 'little Marrakech' of ochre ramparts and souks, deep in the south below the High Atlas.
Taghazout
Far down the Atlantic from Tangier: the bohemian surf village north of Agadir, a fly-down add-on rather than a northern excursion.
Ifrane
The Middle Atlas 'Little Switzerland' — a cedar-forest detour deep south of Tangier, paired with Fes rather than reached from the north.
Dakhla
Morocco's far-southern kitesurf lagoon — about as far from Tangier as the country goes, a dedicated fly-in, never a northern trip.
Skoura
A palm-oasis kasbah cluster east of Ouarzazate — a southern-circuit stop far below Tangier, reached on a Marrakech-side desert run.
Tinghir
Gateway to the Todra Gorge in the deep south — a desert-circuit overnight, well beyond the reach of a northern day trip from Tangier.
Oualidia
Morocco's oyster lagoon on the central Atlantic — a Casablanca-side coastal stop, too far south for a Tangier day trip.
Volubilis & Moulay Idriss
Roman mosaics beneath a hilltop holy town near Meknes — a great cultural day reached on a Fes leg, a long haul south from Tangier.
Midelt
The apple-country crossroads between the two Atlas ranges — the overnight that breaks the long Fes-to-Sahara drive, far south of Tangier.
Sidi Ifni
An Art Deco former Spanish enclave on the far-southern Atlantic — a fellow Spanish-era town, but a long southern leg from Tangier, not a coast hop.
El Jadida
A UNESCO Portuguese fortress on the central Atlantic — the same seafaring heritage as our northern ports, crowned by a Gothic cistern, 90 minutes south of Casablanca.
Azrou
Cedar-forest macaque country in the Middle Atlas — a wildlife stop on a Fes leg, deep inland from the northern coast.
Moulay Bousselham
Our coast's great birdwatching lagoon — the Merja Zerga wetland, where tens of thousands of wintering waterbirds gather at a sleepy fishing village south of Tangier.
Tétouan
Tangier's nearest great excursion — the UNESCO Andalusian city an hour down the motorway, an easy half-day or overnight from the north.
Tafraout
Pink-granite village of the Anti-Atlas — a deep-southern oasis reached on an Agadir-side trip, far from the Mediterranean north.
Mirleft
Undeveloped cliff-and-cove surf village on the far-southern Atlantic — an Agadir-side discovery, a long southern leg from Tangier.
Larache
An easy Atlantic day south of Tangier — a quiet Spanish-era port and the Phoenician-Roman ruins of Lixus, paired naturally with Asilah.
Béni Mellal
Central-Atlas base for the Bin el-Ouidane gorges and Ouzoud Falls — a hub on the Marrakech–Fes route, far inland from Tangier.
Rissani
Historic Tafilalt gateway to Merzouga — a deep desert town on a Sahara loop, about as far from Tangier as Morocco runs.
M'Hamid el Ghizlane
Where the road ends before Erg Chigaga — Morocco's deepest desert, a multi-day expedition and the furthest point from the Tangier north.
Aït Bougmez Valley
The High Atlas 'Happy Valley' and M'Goun trailhead — a remote central-mountain sanctuary, a world away from the Tangier coast.
Akchour
The Rif's finest day hike — emerald waterfalls and the God's Bridge arch, reached through Chefchaouen on a northern mountain excursion.
Saïdia
Morocco's Blue Flag Mediterranean beach — Tangier's own sea, but at the far north-eastern end, an Oujda-side trip rather than a coast hop.
Frequently asked
Frequently asked questions about Morocco destinations.
Which Morocco destinations are most worth visiting?
The places most travellers come for are the imperial cities of Marrakech and Fes, the Sahara dunes, the Atlas Mountains, the Atlantic coast at Essaouira, the blue town of Chefchaouen in the Rif, and the northern gateway of Tangier on the Strait of Gibraltar. Aït Ben Haddou, a fortified earthen ksar and UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a common stop on the way south.
What is the north of Morocco known for?
Northern Morocco centres on Tangier, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean at the Strait of Gibraltar. Within reach are Chefchaouen, the blue-washed Rif mountain town; Tetouan, an Andalusian medina and UNESCO World Heritage Site; and Asilah, a whitewashed Atlantic town with Portuguese ramparts and painted murals. The Roman ruins of Lixus near Larache are also in the region.
How many days do I need to see Morocco?
It depends on how far you travel. A few days suits a single base such as Marrakech, Fes or the north around Tangier and Chefchaouen. To combine an imperial city with the Sahara you generally want a week or more, because the desert lies a long drive south over the Atlas. Each destination guide suggests a sensible number of days.
When is the best time to visit Morocco?
Spring and autumn are generally the most comfortable across the country, with mild temperatures for walking the medinas and the coast. Summer is hot inland in cities like Marrakech and Fes and in the desert, while winter is cooler and can bring rain to the north and snow to the High Atlas.
Can I combine several destinations in one trip?
Yes. Many itineraries link destinations by road — for example the north (Tangier, Chefchaouen, Tetouan, Asilah), or a route from Marrakech or Fes south to the Sahara passing Aït Ben Haddou and the Atlas valleys. Distances in Morocco can be long, so it helps to group destinations that sit near one another.