· 10 min read
20 Days in Morocco: The Slow Trip — Coast, Desert and Mountains
A three-week Morocco itinerary for travellers who want to stop moving: the north, Fes, the Sahara, the Atlas, Marrakech, the surf coast and the deep south.
Twenty days is the first itinerary that lets you stop. Three weeks in Morocco is not three weeks of driving — it is five or six bases, each held for three nights, with the road between them treated as part of the trip rather than an interruption.
The shape
- Days 1–3 — Tangier, Asilah, Cap Spartel
- Days 4–6 — Chefchaouen and the Rif
- Days 7–9 — Fes, Meknes, Volubilis
- Days 10–12 — Midelt, Merzouga, two nights in the dunes
- Day 13 — Todra, Dades, Ouarzazate
- Days 14–16 — Marrakech and the High Atlas
- Days 17–18 — Essaouira or Taghazout
- Days 19–20 — the deep south: Mirleft, Legzira, Sidi Ifni
The north, without hurrying
Tangier earns three days once you add Asilah's whitewashed ramparts and an afternoon at Cap Spartel. From there it is two hours to Chefchaouen, where the third day is for the Akchour waterfalls rather than more blue lanes.
Fes and the Middle Atlas
Three days: two for the medina and the tanneries, one for Volubilis and Meknes. Our Fes guide maps the walks that keep you out of the same three souks.
Two nights in the Sahara
The second night is what separates this trip from the standard loop. One night is a photo stop; two lets you ride out beyond the first ridge, sleep without the generator and watch a sunrise you didn't have to share. The drive is covered in the Sahara guide.
Marrakech and the mountains
Use Marrakech as a base for three nights and take one full day into the High Atlas — Imlil, the Ourika valley, or the Ouirgane lake road. The Atlas day trip guide covers each option; city arrival prices are on the Marrakech transfer page.
The coast, and then the far south
Essaouira or Taghazout for two nights of wind and waves, then keep going south. Past Agadir the coastline empties out: Mirleft, Legzira with its red arch, and the old Spanish town of Sidi Ifni. This stretch is the reason to take 20 days instead of 14.
Longest drives on the route
- Fes → Merzouga — 470 km · ~7 h 30
- Merzouga → Ouarzazate — 360 km · ~5 h
- Marrakech → Agadir — 250 km · ~3 h
- Agadir → Mirleft — 150 km · ~2 h
How to keep it restful
Three nights minimum per base, one long drive every three days, and no day that starts before 08:00 unless the desert demands it. Fixed prices for every transfer between these towns are on the Morocco transfers page.
