Morocco holidaysfrom Nairobi

Morocco is a driving holiday with famous cities at either end of it. You land in Casablanca or Marrakech, and the trip is the road in between: up over the Atlas, south towards the dunes, back through towns that get smaller and older as you go.

Marrakech and Fes carry most of the reputation and earn it differently. Marrakech is the one people picture: the Jemaa el-Fna filling up at dusk, the souks behind it, a riad with a courtyard that goes quiet the moment the door shuts. Fes is older and harder to read, with a medina you should not attempt without a guide who lives in it.

Where you’ll go

The imperial cities. Marrakech, Fes, Meknes and Rabat, usually two of the four rather than all of them. Each is a day or two of walking and a night somewhere with a roof terrace.

Over the Atlas. The Tizi n’Tichka road climbs out of Marrakech towards Ouarzazate, with Aït Benhaddou, the mud-brick ksar every film crew borrows, on the way through.

The dunes. Erg Chebbi at Merzouga, or Erg Chigaga out west beyond M’Hamid. Camels for the last stretch, a camp in the sand, and a sky that settles the argument about whether the drive was worth it.

The coast. Essaouira for wind, ramparts and grilled fish. Chefchaouen in the north for the blue streets, if the route has room for it.

What kind of trip it is

Ours are almost all private: a car, a driver who knows the passes, and guides picked city by city. Coach touring exists in Morocco and we can book it, but the country rewards being able to stop.

It is also more walking than people expect. Medinas are cobbled, stepped and closed to vehicles, and riads are built around staircases rather than lifts. Tell us honestly what the least mobile person in your party can manage and we will change the hotels rather than the route.

Morocco has been on our books every year since 2022, which is long enough to have learnt which riads answer the phone. It goes as a first trip to North Africa, or as a second one after Egypt.

Practical notes

Draft: awaiting owner verification. Indicative only; confirmed in writing with your quote.

• Riads sit inside the medina, so the car stops at the edge and a porter walks your bags in. It is part of the charm and worth knowing before you pack.
• Desert camps run from basic to genuinely comfortable and the gap is wide. We describe the actual camp rather than the category.
• Ramadan changes opening hours, restaurant service and the mood of the cities. We will tell you if your dates fall inside it.
• Morocco moves to permanent GMT on 20 Sep 2026, which shifts the time difference from Nairobi. Anything quoted across that date is checked against it.