Merzouga

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. If you make a booking through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. ✅ Quick Answer For a first trip, 10 days works best: Marrakech (4 nights) in the Medina or Gueliz, then a Sahara desert loop via Merzouga (3-4 nights) over the Atlas Mountains for a camel trek and a night under the stars, or Fes (3 nights) for the country’s deepest old-city atmosphere instead. Seven days? Pick Marrakech plus just one of the two - don’t try both. Fourteen? Do Marrakech, the Sahara loop, and Fes in the same trip. Travel March-May or September-November for the mildest weather in both the city and the desert, and skip the visa paperwork - most Western passports enter Morocco visa-free for around 90 days. Planning a Morocco Itinerary? Marrakech Alone Isn’t the Whole Trip Three days into my first Marrakech trip, I realized I’d barely left the Medina - and I still hadn’t decided whether the rest of the week should go toward the Sahara or toward Fes. That’s the fork every first-time Morocco itinerary hits, and there’s no wrong answer, just a trade-off: the desert gives you camel treks and a night under more stars than you’ve probably ever seen, while Fes gives you the tanneries, the medersas and a medina so old it’s the world’s largest car-free urban zone. The good news is Morocco doesn’t punish you for picking wrong - both routes start from the same Marrakech base, and the transport between them (ONCF trains, CTM buses, or a desert-tour minivan) is straightforward once you know which one to book. Below are three itineraries that hold up at 7, 10 and 14 days, plus exactly where to add or cut. ...