There is travel, and there is vacation. I remain convinced that these are very different trips. When I travel, I want to see and experience as much as I can. I am excited to be in a new place and want to soak it all in. When I vacation, I want to unwind, slow down, and just be. For our 8-day itinerary in Morocco, we tried to blend a little of both things.
This was my first time on the African continent, and Morocco had long been a dream destination. Plus, we were taking our teenage boys. I wanted them to take in a lot, a way of life so different than what we know.
On the flip side of my enthusiasm, I also knew we were all tired after 2025, winter, and school/work/sports combos. (Junior year of high school is intense.) We wanted to spend our time in Morocco doing things that refilled us as well.
I tried to balance sightseeing with rest this particular trip. Here’s what we did…
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Things to know -
There is going to be a lot of driving in Morocco if you want to see it “all.”
We had considered a couple of guided tours to take the work out of planning and looked carefully at the available itineraries. But each one of those itineraries had six to eight hours a day of road travel. We were willing to log some hours, but we didn’t want to spend our entire trip in a car or bus.
We decided to tighten the geographic area we would cover, do everything ourselves, and spend less time in transit if possible. That meant no Casablanca, no Fes, no Tangiers, no Chefchaouen. But we are less worried about checks in boxes and more interested in experiencing Moroccan culture; it was a tradeoff we were willing to make.
That being said, this itinerary still has a lot of driving! To learn more about driving in Morocco, check out this post.
Make reservations, especially for dining in Marrakech, in advance. Get your timed entry tickets for Jardins Majorelle in advance (and don’t miss your window). Marrakech is a popular place for tourists, particularly from Europe, so places book up.
The tail of this itinerary was booked with the explicit purpose of getting to the Sahara Desert. There are some desert experiences tourists can do from Marrakech, complete with desert glamping. But that desert is not THE Sahara Desert. After a lot of Internet research, our family wanted to get out to an Erg that is part of the Sahara Desert. An Erg, according to Google, is a sand sea or dune sea, a vast, flat area of desert covered with wind-swept sand and minimal vegetation.
An 8-Day "slow" Itinerary Around Morocco
Day 1
- Arrive Marrakech
- Private driver to riad (arranged by our riad)
- Les Jardins Secret
- Dinner at Le Jardins
Where we stayed: Riad Mur Akush
Day 2
- Walking tour of Marrakech: we did this guided tour that included the Bahia Palace and the Saadian Tombs, among other things
- Light lunch and rest
- Madrasa Ben Youssef visit
- Dinner at Nomad
- Drinks at El Fenn
Day 3
- Tour of Jardin Majorelle
- Drive to Ait Ben Haddou
- Lunch stop at Cafe Restaurant Tafraout Toufliht
- Stroll around Ait Ben Haddou
- Dinner at Da Carmine la Terazza
Where we stayed: Riad Paradise of Silence
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Day 4
- Visit Ait Ben Haddou – walk to the top
- Lunch in Ourzazate at a small local cafe (like Cafe Bilboa)
- Drive to Todra Gorge
- Dinner at Auberge
Where we stayed: Auberge Le Festival
Day 5
- Guided hike of Todra Gorge (arranged by our Auberge)
- Lunch in Toudgha El Ouila
- Relax at Auberge
- Dinner at Auberge
Day 6
- Drive to Zagora
- Lunch at Paradis Touareg
- Driving tour through the desert to desert camp
- Sunset camel ride through the desert
- Sandboarding/Walking the dunes
- Dinner at the desert camp
- Berber music around the fire
- Stargazing
Where we stayed: Caravane du Grand Erg camp in Erg Chigaga
Day 7
- Guided driving tour back to Zagora
- Lunch at the riad
- Lounge/relax at the riad
- Dinner at the riad
Where we stayed: Paradis Touareg
Day 8
- Drive back to the Marrakech outskirts
- Lunch in Ourzazate at The Full Sun
- Dinner at villa
Where we stayed: Villa Serena Marrakech
What We'd Change
Todra Gorge was beautiful – but it was quite a haul to get to and a challenging hike. (We had zero information about the hike beforehand, so our expectations were nonexistent.) Todra Gorge is definitely for outdoor enthusiasts, as well. We would probably have done the Via Ferrata (much tamer looking than those in Switzerland).Â
Mr. Family Trip said he could see skipping Todra Gorge altogether. After all, we’ve seen some epic landscapes in places like Zion and Canyonlands.
What I appreciated about Todra Gorge was seeing a completely different side of Morocco. Not just the Atlas Mountain part of it all, but the nomads and Berber families living as they have for centuries.
One other thing we’d change is the decision to drive to Zagora in the morning to meet our desert tour and immediately head out to the desert camp. We were told that the drive through the desert would be about two hours, which already made for a long day after three hours driving to Zagora. But it ended up being four hours! It was a long day.
Once we got to camp, we all wanted one more day in the desert. Even though there isn’t much to do, it was utter peace. Being in the Sahara Desert was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had to date.
Our trip to Morocco was exquisite. As I mentioned, I had severe pre-trip anxiety for a while before the trip, but it was unfounded. Everything we did on this itinerary went incredibly smoothly for us, including flights, drives, rental car pickups, check-ins to riads… it all was wonderful.
While, of course, I am sad I didn’t get to see other cities that make Morocco famous, I am excited about the possibility of returning someday. Another day, another trip.
Want more Itineraries? Check these out:
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Costa Rica - how to plan the perfect itinerary
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A 9-Day Family Itinerary Around Ireland
Driving California's Route 1: Our Family Travel itinerary
From Yellowstone to Grand Canyon: Our Family Travel Itinerary
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