8 Destinations to Include in Your Morocco Trip Itinerary

1. Tangier

Located just a skip and a hop away from Spain, Tangier is a Morocco tourist attraction popular with European visitors. Tangier’s compact medina makes it a perfect place to ease yourself into the hustle and bustle of Morocco. 

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Somewhat rough around the edges, Tangier has historically attracted numerous artists, musicians, and writers. Today the city offers a handful of attractions, including the beachfront promenade, the Kasbah, the souks, and a few noteworthy eating/drinking establishments, like Cafe El-Hafa that offer great views of the seafront. 

If you are short on time be sure to hop on a highlights tour of the city or even a day trip to morocco from spain.

Cafe Tanger, Tangier, Morocco
Cafe Tanger, Tangier, Morocco
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Stay for: 1-2 days

Don’t miss: Cafe Tanger, order a mint tea and watch day to day life of Tangier’s locals unfold right in front of your eyes.

2. Chefchaouen

If there is one city you can’t skip in Morocco, it’s Chefchaouen. Famous for its vibrant blue coloured buildings, Chefchaouen often graces the pages of travel magazines flaunting the title of Morocco’s “best kept secret”.

 The small town is certainly earned its reputation as one of the best places to visit in Morocco with its winding streets and intoxicatingly charm. The medina is full of cats, shops, cute restaurants, boutique hotels, and open air terraces offering panoramic views of the town. 

If you prefer to hop on a tour, then check out this full day Chefchaouen experience.

Stay for: 3-4 days

Don’t miss: a chance to explore the town in the early morning before this Morocco tourist attraction gets overcrowded, filling the narrow alleyways of the medina.

3. Fes

At first, Fes, the former capital of Morocco and one of the oldest medieval cities in the world, may feel like an assault on the senses. Fes is much bigger than Tangier and Chefchaouen, it’s dirtier, and the touts here are much more aggressive. Despite all that, it’s still one of the best places to visit in Morocco, and one you can experience easily on a Fes medina tour.

Once you get your bearings inside the labyrinthine medina, you are sure to come across some great cafes, unique shops, fascinating individuals, and adorable felines.

Stay for: 2-3 days

Don’t miss: a visit to the tanneries, colourful leather-dying pits that still utilise leather-making techniques unchanged since the Middle Ages.

4. Merzouga

Merzouga is a jumping off point for Morocco tours into the Sahara Desert. In our opinion, a visit to Morocco is not complete without a night under the stars in the desert. Morocco desert tours range from 1-4 nights in length and include all meals and overnight accommodation in desert camps or in nomad families’ homes. Morocco desert tours can be booked at a number of hotels in town as well as online.

Stay for: 2-3 days

Don’t miss: a chance to spend some time at the real life oasis in the Sahara desert. Some Morocco desert tours stop at the oasis, but others don’t so do your research before you go.

5. Ouarzazate

In the past, the small town of Ouarzazate acted as a crossroad for African traders seeking to reach northern cities in Morocco and Europe, but today it offers very little to the average visitor. It’s small and it’s rather uneventful, but what you want to see here is not actually in town but around it. 

The most impressive sight outside of Ouarzazate is kasbah Aït-Benhaddou, a picturesque UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for serving as a backdrop to famous movies like the Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, and most recently Game of Thrones. If you don’t have your own car there are many Marrakech tours that visit the area

Morocco Ouarzazate-1370

Stay for: < 1 day

Don’t miss: the view of Aït Benhaddou from afar by climbing to the top of the hill outside the city

6. Essaouira

This medieval town located on the Atlantic coast is, in our opinion, by far one of the best places to visit in Morocco. A popular beach town for locals and visitors alike, Essaouira has gained even more interest from visitors after being used as one of the locations for the Game of Thrones Episodes back in Season 3. 

Essaouira is a place where you can linger for a bit longer, spending days on the best beaches in Morocco, roaming around the medina, or just enjoying the history and medieval feel of the town.

 If you are into music then be sure to check out the sacred and traditional Gnawa experience. If you are short on time, then a visit to Essaouira can be done on one of the Marrakech tours. You can do an Essaouira day trip which will show you the best bits of the city, including watching the Berber women producing argan oil. 

Stay for: 3-4 days

Don’t miss: early mornings along the fortified walls. Get there before the crowds and enjoy the sounds of the waves crashing against the fortress and the lonely cries of seagulls permeating through the air. 

7. Imlil

Imlil is a village located in the heart of Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains. The village of Imlil doesn’t have a medina, and it isn’t buzzing with action, but hiking lovers looking for things to do in Morocco will definitely want to add this place to your Morocco itinerary. 

Imlil is an excellent jumping off point for treks into the High Atlas Mountains and for climbing Mt. Toubkal the highest mountain in North Africa. The treks range from a day trip to a few days, offering you an opportunity to explore the untouched nature of the High Atlas region and visit some of the tiny villages dotted along the mountain range. Book your treks online or at the Imlil Bureau des Guides in the centre of the village

Morocco Imlil Atlas Mountains-1684

Stay for: 1-2 days

Don’t miss: a chance to try Imlil’s apples. The locals say they are the best in all of Morocco.

8. Marrakech

The smells and sounds of Marrakech are unlike any other city in Morocco. Its medina is unforgiving, it’s souks seem never-ending, and its narrow passageways seem to be a magnet for disoriented tourists. For this reason, we often recommend that people take an organized tour of Marrakech with a local guide

You can dedicate an entire day to shopping in the souks, another to admiring the historical and architectural sites outside the medina, and another 2-3 days to relax in one of Marrakech’s beautiful riads (traditional Moroccan house), learn how to cook a Moroccan Tagine with a local, and get pampered in private (or public) hammams

If you missed out on the Sahara desert in Merzouga, then you can still experience a Morocco desert tour here. The location of the city means that there are a number of Marrakech desert tours that can be booked in the city ranging from 2 hour tours to 2-3 days. For example, this Marrakech desert tour is a 2-Day tour of the Zagora Sahara, explores the Atlas Mountains, Ait Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate.  

Stay for: 2-4 days (if you can handle it)

Don’t miss: the shops in the medina selling loose leaf Berber Whiskey (aka Moroccan tea) by the pound.

Have you visited Morocco? Share with us your ideas about the best places to visit in Morocco!

2 thoughts on “8 Destinations to Include in Your Morocco Trip Itinerary”

  1. Gail Provizer

    Hi
    Lovely Pictures Enjoyed Glad u are doing this young We are healthy Seniors and have been almost Everywhere But Morocco
    So planning to go, How did u travel on your Itinerary in Morocco? Thought we would Start in Tangiers, CheFchaouen , Then?
    Thks for any thoughts
    Gail

  2. This is a great list. Chefchaouen, Merzouga, Fez and Essaouira are all essential. I enjoy Fez just a tad bit more than Marrakech though. I’d personally add Moulay Idriss into the list too. Such an underrated place!

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