Tentative itinerary for Morocco - first time
 

Hello,

We are working on our first trip to Morocco this summer. Any thoughts on our tentative itinerary below? I'm trying to decide if we should add a night to Fes and take one away from Marrakech.

1. Arrive Casa. Continue on to Fes via train. (is the train the best way to transfer to Fes?)
2. Fes. Day trip to Volubilis
3. Car and driver to Merzouga. Night in the dunes?
4. Continue on to Marrakech. Evening arrival
5. Marrakech
6. Marrakech
7. Depart on early flight to US via Casa

Are we "missing out" by not hitting Rabat and seeing the Royal Palace?

Thank you :)

That itinerary is a bit ambitious.

Arriving in the morning in Casa, you'd arrive in Fse mid-afternoon (probablya bit tired). At most, you'd have a couple hours in the medina before nightfall. Then you'd spend the entire next day at Volibils, leaving early the following morning for Merzouga. In all, you'd have only a few hours to explore Fes.

The drive to Merzouga takes 8-9 horus, so to get there in time to go out into the dunes, you must leave Fes by 8-9am.

The driver from Merzouga to Marrakech is LONG. Most people break it up into two days. Allow 11-13 hours depending on if you stop/ traffic on the mountain pass (this can bring things to a crawl).

In all, I count 6 nights. I did something similar to your itinerary (with a rented car) several years ago in 10 days - and we were rushed. You cant really go into the Royal Palace in Rabat (or Fes or Marrakech - or any of the numerous royal residences), so no, you're not missing anything.

It might be better to think about concentrating on Marrakech (going to the desert at Zagora) or Fes (going to Merzouga) OR going to Fes and Marrakech only. Doing all three with 6 nights sounds really hectic.

geez, sorry about all the typos - hope it makes sense anyway

I liked visiting the old town of Rabat, but if your main interest is the palace, Jenmaroc is right, you're not missing anything if you don't go.

Thank you for your input! I will mull over our itinerary a bit - perhaps we can add another day and cut Volubilis.