Morocco itinerary, 14 days

Fourteen days lets you combine everything that a 7- or 10-day trip forces you to choose between. You can begin in Fes — three full days in the great medina and the imperial-city loop — trace north to Chefchaouen, cross the Middle Atlas, descend through the kasbah road to the Sahara, and return across the High Atlas to Marrakech — a full circle, with two or three days in each highlight rather than a rushed night.

The driving distances in Morocco are real, and the routes between the north and south are genuinely beautiful — the cedar forests around Ifrane and Azrou, the gorges of the Dadès and the Todra, the palm-filled Drâa Valley — so the transfers are part of the experience rather than a tax on it. With a private driver-guide, each stretch is a narrated journey rather than dead time.

This outline assumes arrival at Fès–Saïss (FEZ) and departure from Marrakech (RAK), a classic open-jaw routing that removes all backtracking. Days can be adjusted for flights, pace and personal interests.

• Days 1–3: Fes — the Chouara tanneries, the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine medersas, the Kairaouine, the Nejjarine and the artisan souks with a local guide.
• Day 4: Meknes (Bab Mansour, the royal granaries) and Roman Volubilis at golden hour, plus the shrine town of Moulay Idriss.
• Days 5–6: Chefchaouen — the blue medina and Rif mountain hikes; two slow nights via the scenic road north.
• Day 7: Back south through Ifrane and the Azrou cedar forest to the Middle Atlas plateau and Midelt.
• Day 8: Down the Ziz Valley and gorge country — the Dadès Gorge and Boumalne; overnight in the valley.
• Day 9: Todra Gorge at dawn, then east to Merzouga.
• Day 10: Erg Chebbi dunes — afternoon camel trek to a luxury camp; dinner under the stars.
• Day 11: Sunrise on the dunes, then the long, rewarding drive west through the Drâa Valley.
• Day 12: Ouarzazate ('the door of the desert') and Aït Ben Haddou kasbah.
• Day 13: Tizi n'Tichka pass over the High Atlas; afternoon in Marrakech.
• Day 14: Marrakech — medina, Jardin Majorelle, a hammam; evening departure.

The circuit covers roughly 2,500–3,000 km in total, spread across 11 or 12 driving days — typically 2–5 hours of moving per day. Days 7 and 11 involve the longest transfers (6–7 hours each); these are the days where an early start and a knowledgeable driver who stops at the right viewpoints make the most difference. The route is almost entirely paved, though some desert pistes near Merzouga benefit from a high-clearance vehicle.

If Essaouira calls, swap the final Marrakech day for two nights on the Atlantic coast (3 hours west) — the seafood, the ramparts and the wind are a superb decompression before a long-haul flight. If you want a longer Atlas experience, replace the Midelt overnight with two nights in Imlil and a guided day on the Toubkal foothills. Families and honeymooners can add a second Sahara night at Erg Chigaga, the wilder and more remote alternative to Erg Chebbi.