Us kissing on an orange Sahara dune in Berber headscarves under a clear blue sky at Merzouga

Morocco

Morocco

Marrakesh · Sahara · Tangier · Chefchaouen · Nador

The trip

One country, a dozen different worlds.

Morocco floored us. Across our visits we went from the souks of Marrakesh to the dunes of the Sahara, up to the blue lanes of Chefchaouen, and out to Tangier and Nador on the coast — and every stop felt like a different country. We're building this guide city by city, starting where we did: Marrakesh.

The red city

Marrakesh

The first place we visited in Morocco (May 2024, and the weather was great). Marrakesh is intense in the best way — a whirl of colour, pattern and noise — and for all that intensity we actually felt really safe the whole time. Ochre ramparts, palm groves, hidden palaces and one very blue garden.

Us in front of the cobalt-blue wall and lush greenery of the Majorelle Garden
Marrakesh · The icon01

Majorelle Garden

📍 Jardin Majorelle · Gueliz

The dreamiest spot in the city — a lush botanical garden of bamboo, cacti and towering palms threaded with walls and fountains in that unmistakable electric cobalt, "Majorelle Blue." Created by the painter Jacques Majorelle and later saved and restored by Yves Saint Laurent, it's small but ravishing, and the on-site Berber Museum is worth it too. Book a timed entry ahead — the queue gets long — and go early to beat the crowds.

Go earlyMajorelle Blue
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Marrakech: Majorelle Garden, Yves Saint Laurent & Berber Museum Entry

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Us framed by a carved cedar door and intricate zellij tilework in a Marrakesh palace Melody by an ornate yellow wrought-iron palace window above bands of zellij tile
Marrakesh · Most beautiful02

Palaces & the art of zellij

📍 Bahia Palace, Ben Youssef Madrasa & the medina

Behind the medina's plain walls hide astonishing courtyards — the Bahia Palace and the Ben Youssef Madrasa are wrapped floor to ceiling in carved cedar, sculpted plaster and zellij, the geometric mosaic tilework Morocco is famous for. Every doorway is a photo. Go slowly, look up at the painted ceilings, and let the patterns do their thing.

Carved cedar & plasterEvery doorway's a photo
Andrew in a blue Berber robe and turban beside camels in the Marrakesh palm groves Melody in a blue Berber robe beside a resting camel in the Palmeraie
Marrakesh · Most fun03

Camel ride through the Palmeraie

📍 The Palmeraie · Marrakesh's palm groves

Just outside the city, the Palmeraie is a huge oasis of date palms — and the classic thing to do is ride a camel through it. They dress you up in a blue Berber robe and turban (as much fun as it sounds), then you amble out among the palms. Corny? A little. Did we love it? Completely. It's an easy, gentle intro to camels before the big Sahara trek.

Berber robes onEasy & gentle
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Marrakech: Agafay Desert Quad & Camel Rides with Dinner Show

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Us on blue quad bikes among the palm trees of the Palmeraie Helmet selfie on the quad bikes on a dusty desert track, Melody flashing a peace sign
Marrakesh · Best adrenaline04

Quad biking the palm groves

📍 The Palmeraie & the desert edge

For a jolt of adrenaline, hop on a quad bike and tear along the dusty tracks through the palm groves and out to the rocky desert edge. It's dusty, bumpy and a total blast — buggies are an option too if you'd rather be strapped in. Wear clothes you don't mind getting filthy and bring a scarf for the dust.

Dusty & a blastBring a scarf
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Marrakech: Buggy, Palmeraie & Desert

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Melody by the scalloped brick arches and ochre walls near the Koutoubia Mosque Us standing beneath tall date palms in the Marrakesh palm groves
Marrakesh · Wander05

The medina, Koutoubia & the palm groves

📍 Koutoubia Mosque, the medina walls & the Palmeraie

Give yourself time to just wander — the Koutoubia, the city's great 12th-century minaret, is the landmark you'll orient by, and the ochre ramparts and scalloped Almohad arches around the old medina are endlessly photogenic. Then escape the heat under the date palms of the Palmeraie. Between the two you get both sides of Marrakesh: dense, historic city and calm green oasis.

Landmark minaretCity & oasis

The desert

Merzouga & the Sahara

We did this as one big 3-day tour, driving from Marrakesh over the High Atlas, out to the great dunes of Erg Chebbi at Merzouga, and on toward Fes. Hands down the best 3-day tour we've ever taken — an incredible guide, and an experience we'll never forget: the desert itself, riding camels over the dunes, and a sky absolutely drowning in stars.

Us by the river below the mud-brick ksar of Aït Ben Haddou Us at a snow-dusted High Atlas mountain pass viewpoint
The desert · The drive out01

Over the Atlas to Aït Ben Haddou

📍 High Atlas passes & the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou

Day one is a spectacular drive: up and over the snow-dusted Tizi n'Tichka pass in the High Atlas, then down into the red pre-Sahara. The showpiece stop is Aït Ben Haddou, a honey-coloured fortified village of stacked earthen towers you'll recognise from about a hundred films. Wander up through its lanes to the top for the view back over the palm-lined river — it's magic, and a perfect first taste of the south.

Film-set famousSnowy mountain passes
Us in the narrow towering walls of the Todra Gorge A red rug with a tea set laid out on the rocks beside the river in the Todra Gorge
The desert · Best canyon02

Todra Gorge & the Tinghir oasis

📍 Todra Gorge · Tinghir

The tour threads through the Todra Gorge, where sheer canyon walls rise hundreds of metres straight up on either side of a little river — you feel tiny walking through it. We stopped for mint tea on a rug right by the water, then wandered up to the huge green palm oasis of Tinghir spilling along the valley beneath bare mountains. The contrast of lush palms against red rock is unreal.

Towering canyon wallsMint tea by the river
Us laughing together in a green field with a kasbah and mountains behind Andrew standing among palms and greenery with the desert mountains behind
The desert · Prettiest stops03

Oasis valleys & kasbah views

📍 The Dades & Ounila valleys, en route

The road south is one long string of postcards — earthen kasbahs perched above rivers, ribbons of green oasis, and the snow-topped Atlas hanging in the distance. The tour stops at the best of the viewpoints, and honestly some of our favourite photos came from these unplanned pull-overs. Keep your camera close; you'll want it the whole drive.

Endless viewpointsGreen against red
Handwoven Berber rugs and kilims spread out across the floor of a carpet cooperative Brightly painted canvases of camels and kasbahs on a red mud wall at a roadside art stall
The desert · Craft stops04

Berber carpets & desert art

📍 Roadside cooperatives & artisan stalls

The drive builds in a few brilliant craft stops — a Berber carpet cooperative where they roll out rug after handwoven rug in a riot of colour and pattern, and little roadside art stalls with vivid paintings of camels, kasbahs and the blue-and-gold desert. No pressure to buy, mint tea usually included, and a lovely window into local craft. If a rug does catch your eye, haggle warmly.

Handwoven rugsHaggle warmly
A lantern-lit kasbah hotel courtyard with a glowing blue pool at night Us sitting on a Berber banquette outside a carved wooden riad door
The desert · Where we stayed05

Kasbah nights on the way

📍 Dades Valley & the desert-edge kasbahs

The overnight stops are part of the joy — traditional kasbah-style guesthouses with tiled courtyards, carved doors, patterned rugs and a lantern-lit pool to cool off in after a long day on the road. Dinner is usually a big shared tagine with the group, and it's where a lot of the trip's best conversations happened. Simple, warm and full of character.

Traditional kasbahsGroup tagine dinners
Andrew in a headscarf beside kneeling camels on the orange dunes at Merzouga Us riding camels across the Sahara dunes, both in Berber headscarves
The desert · The highlight06

Camel trek into Erg Chebbi

📍 Merzouga · the dunes of Erg Chebbi

This is the moment the whole tour builds to. At Merzouga you climb aboard a camel and trek in a caravan up into Erg Chebbi — the towering, wind-sculpted orange dunes of the real Sahara — as the light turns gold. It's every desert daydream at once, and it delivered completely. This is the exact tour we did, and we can't recommend it enough.

Wrap a headscarfThe real Sahara
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Marrakech to Fes: 3-Day Sahara Adventure with Camel Trek

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Us sitting together on a dune at sunset, Melody laughing in a red headscarf Melody in a red headscarf sitting on a dune crest under a pastel dawn sky
The desert · Golden hour07

Sunset & sunrise on the dunes

📍 The high dunes above the desert camp

Once you're out in the dunes, climb a high ridge for sunset and again for sunrise — the sand shifts through pink, amber and deep orange as the sun moves, and the silence is total. These were some of the most peaceful, awe-struck moments of our whole trip. Barefoot, up the nearest dune, and just sit with it.

Climb for sunriseTotal silence
A sky full of stars over the Sahara desert at night
The desert · After dark08

Sleeping under the stars

📍 The desert camp at Erg Chebbi

With no city lights for miles, the Sahara night sky is staggering — thousands of stars and the faint band of the Milky Way arcing overhead. We stayed in a desert camp among the dunes, sat out with mint tea and drums, and just watched the sky. If you do one overnight in Morocco, make it this one.

Milky Way overheadDesert camp

The coast

Tangier

Our base on the northern coast (September 2024, and the weather was lovely). Tangier is where Morocco meets the Mediterranean — a whitewashed medina tumbling down to the sea, leafy gardens, and long Atlantic beaches. We used it as our launch pad for the day trip up to Chefchaouen, which isn't far at all.

Melody under a scalloped stone kasbah gateway with a hanging lantern in Tangier A cascade of colourful café chairs on a Tangier medina terrace above the white city and bay
Tangier · The old town01

The medina & the kasbah

📍 The Kasbah & medina of Tangier

Tangier's old town spills down the hillside to the sea in a maze of white-and-blue lanes, scalloped stone gateways and little terraced cafés with rainbow chairs and a view over the bay. Just wander — up to the Kasbah for the panorama, then down through the medina and out to the port. Grab a mint tea somewhere with a view and watch the city go by.

Wander freelyCafé with a view
Us in a green garden of parasol pines and clipped boxwood topiary in Tangier Us on a stone bench beside a potted orange tree with red geraniums in the old town
Tangier · Green corners02

Gardens & leafy squares

📍 The Mendoubia Gardens & the medina squares

For a breather from the busy lanes, Tangier has some lovely green pockets — shady gardens of parasol pines and clipped topiary, little cobbled squares with orange trees and geraniums, and quiet benches to sit a while. It's a softer, calmer side of the city, and a nice contrast to the medina bustle.

Shady & calmOrange trees
Us riding two camels along the Tangier beach with the waves behind Melody on a camel by the shoreline, one arm raised, laughing
Tangier · Most fun03

Camel ride & sunset on the beach

📍 Tangier's Atlantic beach & the Caves of Hercules

One of our favourite Tangier afternoons: a camel ride right along the beach with the waves rolling in, then out to the legendary Caves of Hercules — a sea cave whose opening, they say, is shaped like the map of Africa — finishing with mint tea, sweets and a golden sunset over the Atlantic. Easy, scenic and a lot of fun; the sunset light on the sand is unreal.

Camels on the sandSunset + mint tea
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Tangier: Sunset, Tea, Sweets, Camel Ride & Hercules Caves

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The blue city

Chefchaouen

Magically blue — genuinely one of the coolest places we've ever seen. Every wall, step and doorway of Chefchaouen's old town is washed in a hundred shades of blue, tucked up in the Rif mountains. We visited as an easy day trip from Tangier (it's not far), and just walked everywhere with our jaws on the floor.

A narrow blue-washed alley of steps leading to a small blue door in Chefchaouen Blue-painted steps and walls with wrought-iron windows in the Chefchaouen medina
Chefchaouen · The highlight01

The blue medina

📍 The old medina of Chefchaouen

This is the reason you come. The whole old town is painted blue — cobalt, powder, turquoise, indigo — the walls, the steps, even the ground, so wandering it feels like walking through a dream. Get lost on purpose, go early for empty lanes and soft light, and just follow whichever blue alley pulls you in. We came up from Tangier on an easy round-trip transfer, which made the day trip effortless.

Go earlyGet lost on purpose
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Tangier: Round-Trip Transfer to Chefchaouen

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Us sitting together on blue steps lined with colourful potted plants Us on blue steps with a minaret and the Rif mountains behind
Chefchaouen · Prettiest corners02

Blue steps & hidden corners

📍 The stepped lanes & the Rif backdrop

The magic is in the details — plant pots in every colour against the blue, worn stone steps climbing between the houses, and sudden gaps where the green Rif mountains rise behind the rooftops. Every few metres is a new little scene. Take your time, look up as much as down, and don't rush the climb.

Colour on blueMountain backdrop
Handwoven rugs and woven discs displayed on blue steps in Chefchaouen Melody on blue steps hung with pom-pom baskets and painted door plaques
Chefchaouen · Best for shopping03

Rugs, baskets & blue shopfronts

📍 The artisan lanes of the medina

The shopping here is a feast for the eyes — handwoven Berber rugs, pom-pom baskets, painted ceramics and wool blankets, all popping against the blue backdrop. Even if you're not buying, the displays are half the photos. Prices are gentler than Marrakesh and the vibe is calmer, so browsing is a pleasure (haggling still expected, and warmly).

Calmer than MarrakeshHaggle warmly
Melody by an ornate blue-tiled fountain and keyhole doorway in Chefchaouen Andrew under a bougainvillea tree against a bright blue wall hung with souvenirs
Chefchaouen · Photo heaven04

Chase the perfect photo

📍 The tiled fountains, doorways & flower corners

Chefchaouen is possibly the most photogenic place we've been — tiled fountains, flower-framed doorways and that endless blue mean you genuinely can't take a bad photo. It's so photo-friendly that hiring a local photographer for an hour is a fun splurge: they know all the best corners and the light, and you come away with the whole magical town beautifully shot.

Can't-miss shotsEndless blue
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Chefchaouen: Photography Tour with a Professional Photographer

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The coast, off the map

Nador

We'll be honest: Nador (June 2025) is a small, workaday city on the Mediterranean, not really a tourist town — we wouldn't put it on a first-timer's Morocco list. But it hides one absolute gem: an obscure, little-known beach entirely carpeted in seashells. If you're ever in the area, that beach alone is worth the detour.

Us sitting on a beach made entirely of seashells, tossing handfuls into the air A close-up carpet of thousands of pink and cream seashells
Nador · The gem01

The seashell beach

📍 An off-the-map shell beach near Nador

This was the highlight of the whole stop — a wild, empty stretch of coast where the "sand" is actually millions upon millions of tiny seashells, piled deep in every shade of pink, cream and amber. It crunches underfoot, it's endlessly photogenic, and we pretty much had it to ourselves. One of those unexpected, only-because-we-happened-to-be-here finds that end up being unforgettable.

Millions of shellsBarely a soul
Us on the rocky breakwater beside the calm blue Mar Chica lagoon at Nador Andrew standing in the turquoise Mediterranean shallows off a Nador beach
Nador · The rest of it02

The lagoon & the quiet coast

📍 Mar Chica lagoon & the Mediterranean shore

Beyond the shell beach, Nador sits on the big Mar Chica lagoon, with calm blue water, breakwaters to stroll and quiet Mediterranean beaches where the sea turns a lovely turquoise. It's low-key and local rather than a sightseeing destination — a nice, real slice of everyday Moroccan coast if you find yourself passing through, but not somewhere we'd travel far out of the way for.

Low-key & localTurquoise shallows

Save these

The most Instagram-worthy shots

If you only chase a handful of frames in Morocco, chase these. Tap through to see them on our feed.

A blue-washed alley in Chefchaouen Camel caravan crossing the dunes Sunset over the Tangier beach Andrew lying spread out on the Nador seashell beach Couple on a Sahara dune Us back to back on the Nador seashell beach

The full roll

More from Morocco

Us sitting on the Nador seashell beach under a moody sky Andrew sitting on the shells at the water's edge in Nador Two small boats moored on the calm Mar Chica lagoon at Nador Melody among hanging Berber rugs in a blue Chefchaouen lane Andrew riding a camel in a blue Berber robe through the Marrakesh palm groves Andrew crouching to meet a camel on the Tangier beach Camel caravan shadows across the Sahara dunes Andrew against a blue Chefchaouen wall hung with painted plates Andrew below the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou Melody on a dune at sunset in a red headscarf A vintage blue car parked by the Todra cliffs and hanging kaftans A lone figure walking the dunes at dusk Andrew walking with camels at sunset Andrew with a Berber village and the snow-capped High Atlas behind Andrew sitting on a dune ridge at dusk Us at a viewpoint over the Tinghir palm oasis Walking a viewpoint over a green valley and village Us at a viewpoint over a green valley and the Atlas Andrew perched on the deep bed of seashells at Nador A donkey in the dry scrubland above Nador with the sea in the distance Dry red-earth countryside and hills around Nador A hand-painted canvas of the Aït Ben Haddou kasbah at a roadside art stall