SudEst Nomad Travel logo: a map of Morocco filled with a desert, medina and coast illustration
SudEst Nomad Travel
Destinations & Experiences

Private Morocco Excursions:
The Places That Shape the Journey

From sensory medinas to the profound silence of the Sahara. These are the canvases we use to build your custom itinerary.

Sunlit riad courtyard in Marrakech with carved cedar columns, a chequered marble floor and orange trees
Riad courtyard in Marrakech
Covered souk alley in Marrakech hung with leather bags, slippers and painted crafts
Marrakech souk
Koutoubia Mosque minaret in Marrakech framed by palm trees at dusk
Koutoubia minaret, Marrakech
3 viewsMarrakech in detail

Marrakech

The city that started it all for most travelers, and for good reason. Marrakech is sensory in a way that's hard to prepare for — the copper-and-spice smell of the souks, the call to prayer echoing off centuries-old walls, the hush of a riad courtyard just steps from the chaos of Jemaa el-Fnaa. We'll get you past the tourist surface — private guides through the medina's back alleys, reservations at the rooftop tables locals actually go to, and a riad that feels like a secret rather than a hotel. How many days do you need in Marrakech? We recommend 4.

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Coloured light from a stained-glass window falling across zellige tiles and carved plaster inside a Fez riad
Stained glass in a Fez riad
Round stone dye vats of the Chouara tannery in Fez with workers treading the hides
Chouara tannery, Fez
Man in a green djellaba at a zellige-tiled public fountain in the Fez medina
Tiled fountain in Fez
3 viewsOne ancient city

Fez

If Marrakech is Morocco's heartbeat, Fez is its memory. Home to the world's oldest continuously operating university and a medina so vast and unmapped that locals still use donkeys to move goods through it, Fez is where the country's traditions of tanning, weaving, and metalwork are still practiced exactly as they have been for centuries. It's less polished than Marrakech, and that's the point — this is Morocco without the gloss. We'll pair you with guides who can actually navigate the medina's 9,000-plus alleyways and get you into workshops and riads that most travelers never find. How many days do you need in Fez? We recommend 2 days.

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Tangier waterfront with the port mosque, palm-lined boulevard and the bay stretching to the headland
Tangier port and bay
Blue fishing boats and piles of nets in Tangier's old port, with the white medina rising behind
Tangier fishing port
Dense white and pastel rooftops of the Tangier medina sloping down toward the sea
Tangier medina rooftops
3 viewsBetween two continents

Tangier

Tangier sits where two continents nearly touch, and it has always carried that in-between energy — a port city that seduced writers, painters, and spies for most of the 20th century. Today it's having a genuine renaissance: a refreshed waterfront, a growing food and design scene, and a medina with sweeping views across the Strait of Gibraltar toward Spain. How many days in Tangier? 1–2 days.

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Tall palm tree in a narrow whitewashed street of the Rabat medina, with craft stalls along the wall
Rabat medina street
Whitewashed walls and a lighthouse on Rabat's Atlantic shoreline in warm evening light
Rabat Atlantic coast
Bouregreg river in Rabat with the bridge, marina and modern buildings on the far bank
Bouregreg riverfront, Rabat
3 viewsCapital by the sea

Rabat

Morocco's capital doesn't try nearly as hard as Marrakech or Fez, and that restraint is exactly its appeal. Rabat is orderly, palm-lined, and coastal, with a walkable medina, the elegant Hassan Tower and Mausoleum of Mohammed V, and a genuine sense of everyday Moroccan life rather than a city performing for visitors. It's an excellent stop for travelers who want history and architecture without crowds — and a good reminder that Morocco isn't only souks and spectacle. How many days in Rabat? 1 day.

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Hassan II Mosque and its tall minaret standing over the Atlantic surf in Casablanca
Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca

Casablanca

Morocco's economic engine and largest city, Casablanca is modern, cosmopolitan, and unapologetically business-forward — closer in spirit to a global metropolis than to the country's ancient imperial cities. The Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest in the world, sits dramatically on the Atlantic, and the city's Art Deco architecture and buzzing café culture give it real character beyond its reputation as a stopover. For travelers who want a taste of contemporary Morocco alongside the historic, Casablanca earns a day or two. How many days for Casablanca? 1–2 days.

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Wide sandy beach and calm Atlantic bay at Agadir, seen from the hillside with the city behind
Agadir beach and bay
Surfer carrying a board across the rocks toward breaking Atlantic waves at Taghazout
Surfing at Taghazout
Silhouette of a person walking out of a sea cave onto the beach near Taghazout
Sea cave near Taghazout
Turquoise-painted beach house with a wooden deck and yellow door in Taghazout
Painted beach house in Taghazout
Four viewsCoast, color & surf

Agadir / Taghazout

Morocco's answer to the beach resort — wide Atlantic beaches, a mild year-round climate, and a laid-back energy that's a deliberate contrast to the intensity of the medina cities. Rebuilt after a 1960s earthquake, Agadir is modern, orderly, and built for relaxation: surf, sun, seafood, and easy access to the Souss Valley's argan groves. It's the palate-cleanser destination — ideal for the back half of a trip, when a slower pace starts to sound appealing. How many days in Agadir? 2–3 days.

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Red Berber carpet laid across the sand leading to a desert camp at Merzouga, with lanterns on tall posts
Carpeted path into a Merzouga camp
Lantern-lit desert camp tents at night under a starry sky in the Merzouga dunes
Desert camp at night, Merzouga
White canvas tents of a private camp at the foot of a tall sand dune near Merzouga
Private tents at Merzouga
Camel caravan carrying travellers over the orange dunes of Erg Chebbi near Merzouga
Camel trek at Merzouga
Four viewsDays of gold, nights of stars

Desert Camping (Merzouga)

There's a version of quiet you only find in the Sahara, and it's worth the drive. We arrange private camps in the dunes — proper beds, real dinners, and a sky at night that puts most people's sense of scale in check. Whether it's Merzouga's towering Erg Chebbi dunes or a quieter Zagora route, the desert leg is where Morocco's pace finally slows all the way down: camel treks at sunset, music around the fire, and a stillness that's hard to describe to people who haven't experienced it. How many days for the desert? 3 days.

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Blue-washed alley in Chefchaouen with painted steps, potted plants and colourful rugs hung outside a shop
Blue alley in Chefchaouen
Blue staircase in Chefchaouen lined with shops, flower pots and a wrought-iron street lamp
Blue steps of Chefchaouen
Handicrafts, baskets and woven goods displayed on a blue wall in the Chefchaouen medina
Chefchaouen craft market
3 viewsThe blue medina

Chefchaouen (The Blue City)

Tucked into the Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen is the Morocco you've seen in every photograph and still isn't ready for in person — every wall, staircase, and doorway washed in shades of blue, set against a backdrop of green mountains and cool mountain air. It's smaller and slower than Morocco's major cities, with a medina built for wandering rather than navigating. Best explored on foot, with time built in to simply sit somewhere and look at the color for a while. How many days do you recommend in Chefchaouen? 1–2 days.

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Green river valley in the Atlas Mountains with a village and terraced fields on the slopes
Atlas river valley
Earthen kasbah towers of Aït Benhaddou stacked up the hillside under a blue sky with clouds
Aït Benhaddou ksar
Waterfall pouring over red cliffs in the Middle Atlas, with olive trees in the foreground at golden hour
Atlas waterfalls
Forested valley in the High Atlas with snow-capped peaks rising in the distance
Snow-capped High Atlas
Pink and ochre village houses set into a dry Atlas mountainside above green terraced gardens
Atlas mountain village
Sheer red rock walls of a narrow gorge in the Atlas Mountains with a shallow river on the canyon floor
Atlas Mountains gorge
Six viewsValleys, villages & peaks

Atlas Mountains

Rising beyond the cities, the Atlas Mountains reveal a quieter Morocco of winding trails, ancient villages, terraced valleys, and warm mountain hospitality. Spend the day walking, sharing a meal with a local family, or simply watching the mountains change with the light. How many days for the Atlas Mountains? It depends on your itinerary.Come for the landscape. Stay for the people.

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Wooden boat on the water below the stone ramparts of the Essaouira sqala at sunset
Essaouira ramparts at sunset
Sunny square in the Essaouira medina with a blue-and-white gateway and a stall of leather slippers
Essaouira medina square
Fishing boats moored side by side in Essaouira harbour with seagulls overhead
Essaouira fishing harbour
3 viewsAtlantic light & color

Essaouira

A windswept Atlantic port city with a distinctly different feel from Morocco's interior — all whitewashed walls, blue shutters, and the constant call of seagulls over a working fishing harbor. Essaouira's medina is a UNESCO World Heritage site, its ramparts are made for slow sunset walks, and its food scene runs on whatever came off the boats that morning. It's long drawn artists, musicians, and surfers, and it remains one of Morocco's most relaxed, atmospheric stops — a coastal counterpoint to the intensity of Marrakech, just a few hours away. How many days in Essaouira? 1–2 days.

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Planning your time

How many days do you need in Morocco?

Ten days is the number we tell people. Less than seven and you're choosing between the desert and the coast, which is really choosing between two different countries.

Morocco isn't a long weekend kind of place. Distances that look short on a map take four hours because the roads climb through mountains. A trip that breathes needs Marrakech, a night or two in the desert, and either Fes or the coast, which is why we land on ten to fourteen days.

A week still works, just tighter: Marrakech and the desert, or Marrakech and Fes. What matters more than the day count is not overpacking it. The best days here are the ones with nothing scheduled after 4pm.

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Written by the SudEst Nomad Travel team, who plan and operate these trips. .