Marrakech in 1 week
Seven days to bring town, mountain, sea and desert together: the medina, Ourika, two days at Essaouira, the lake and Agafay, nearly without leaving your riad.
Seven days is the week that brings it all: town, mountain, desert and sea. Two days for the medina, the palaces and the gardens. One for the green Atlas of Ourika. Two for Essaouira and the Atlantic. One for the lake and Agafay. A last one to breathe. You stay based in Marrakech, with a single night out, on the coast.
It is a star-pattern week rather than a road marathon: you come back nearly every evening to the same riad. For those dreaming of the real dunes, a variant leads to Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi, three days further. It sits at the foot of the page. Every outing books the evening before. Best followed March to May or September to October.
The medina's heart
5 kmA week starts with the town, no rush: the medina takes the first day, from north of the souks to south of the square.
Jemaa el-Fna square
The square before it fills up: first stalls, carts, the morning's quiet. A coffee, then the souks.
Souks and Ben Youssef Medersa
Up through the souks, from dyers to metalworkers, to the medersa: marble courtyard, basin, stucco and cedar, reopened after restoration in 2022. Entry around 50 dirhams (£4).
Lunch at Mouassine
A table off the flow, tagine or seasonal salad, the time to let the heat pass.
The Koutoubia, from outside
The Almohad minaret closes the medina to the west. Kept for worship, you skirt its gardens when the light drops.
Rooftop at sundown
You close on a rooftop, facing the square lighting up and the grill smoke.
Palaces, tombs and gardens
4 kmSecond day, the monuments: south of the medina in the morning, gardens in the afternoon, a hammam to close before hitting the road on the following days.
Palais de la Bahia
From opening, before the crowd. Grand courtyard, harem apartments, painted cedar: keep the strong spaces, the rest is patchier. Entry around 70 dirhams (£6).
Saadian Tombs and El Badi Palace
In the kasbah, side by side: the tombs long walled up and the El Badi ruins where storks nest. Around 100 dirhams (£8) per site.
Lunch in the kasbah
South of the medina, away from the souks bustle, for a quiet break.
Jardin Majorelle and YSL museum
Around fifteen minutes by taxi from the kasbah. The Majorelle blue, the bamboo, the basin. The Yves Saint Laurent museum next door (separate entry). Ticket booked online, per slot. Garden around 170 dirhams (£14).
Hammam
A hammam with gommage: you set off with light legs before the road days.
The Ourika valley
full dayFirst outing to the Atlas: the Ourika valley, an hour and a half south. The road follows the wadi, the slopes green up, the air cools. Full day, at best in spring. Packed at weekends.
Departure to Ourika
Riad pick-up, booked the evening before. The plain fades, the first pisé roofs show on the slopes.
Stop in the valley
A stop by the wadi: argan pressed on site, a hot tea before the walk.
Setti-Fatma and its waterfalls
At the valley's end, the climb to the Setti-Fatma waterfalls: rocky path, fords, cold water at the top. Closed shoes essential.
Waterside lunch
A table set on the wadi, tagine and mint tea, the current under the planks.
Back to Marrakech
Return late afternoon, shower and rest before the coast.
Cape to Essaouira
full dayWest-bound: three hours of road to Essaouira, set on the Atlantic. Ramparts battered by the ocean, fishing port, white-and-blue medina, cooler and quieter than inland. You sleep there.
Road to Essaouira
Departure from Marrakech, the plain then the argan groves, sometimes goats perched in the branches (often there for the photo). Arrival early afternoon.
The medina and the port
Grilled-fish lunch at the port, the blue boats, the seagulls. Then the listed medina, its straight alleys, its thuya-wood cabinetmaker workshops.
The ramparts at sundown
The town's Skala, its cannons facing the ocean, the wind that never quite drops. The sun goes down straight into the Atlantic.
Evening in Essaouira
A dinner in the medina, sometimes a gnaoua evening. Night on site.
Essaouira, seaside
half dayFree morning by the water: the beach, the wind, a last coffee, then back to Marrakech in the afternoon.
The beach and the trade winds
The great wind-swept beach, favoured by kitesurfers. A walk towards Sidi Kaouki, or a coffee facing the waves.
Lunch and shopping
A last fish, argan oil from a cooperative, thuya wood. Then you load up.
Back to Marrakech
Three hours of road, arrival late afternoon. The ochre earth after the coastal blue.
The lake and Agafay at sundown
full daySecond-to-last day, due south-west: Lalla Takerkoust lake for the water's cool, then Agafay for the sundown and dinner. A day of air, no long road.
Lalla Takerkoust lake
A turquoise water body at the foot of the Atlas, forty-five minutes south-west. Pedalo, kayak or simply lunch on a waterside terrace, the summits in the background.
Cape to Agafay, camel at sundown
Forty minutes of piste to Agafay, right next door: the lake's green gives way to mineral. Camel or quad on the plateau, the Atlas on the horizon, the light dropping. No dunes, no Sahara, but silence and space.
Dinner under the stars
Dinner at the camp, clear sky, back to Marrakech around 10pm.
Downtime and departure
2 kmLast day at slow pace: the town one last time, at your rhythm, before the plane. Nothing imposed, everything you had kept for the end.
Free morning
A hammam, the shops spotted in the week, a missed museum, or simply the riad pool. You recover from the road days.
Lunch and wandering
A last rooftop, a tea on a terrace, time to close the bags.
To the airport
Transfer twenty minutes from town. Plan margin for the traffic.
Worth knowing
- Essaouira is windy year-round: a windbreaker even in summer.
- Closed shoes for the climb to the Setti-Fatma waterfalls.
- Outings and transfers to book the evening before.
- Jardin Majorelle ticket to book online, per slot.
- The riad generally keeps luggage on the last day, after room check-out.
- Prices indicative (2026), to confirm on site or online.
Before you go
Preparing the trip
What to plan for the budget, and how to bend the itinerary to your format.
Budget, per person per day
Per person per day, excluding accommodation, flight, Essaouira night and outings (Ourika, lake, Agafay: £13-£51 each).
| Item | Budget | Mid | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meals (×3) | £10-£15 | £19-£27 | £32-£51 |
| Transport, taxis & road | £4-£8 | £10-£17 | £21-£34 |
| Visits & entries | £7-£12 | £12-£19 | £19-£32 |
| Tea, breaks, extras | £4 | £7 | £13 |
| Total / day | ~£26-£40 | ~£48-£70 | ~£83-£130 |
How to adapt it
For the real Sahara dunes, swap Essaouira and the lake-Agafay day (days 4 to 6) for the great Merzouga loop: Tichka pass, UNESCO-listed Aït Ben Haddou, Draa valley, Dadès gorges (night), Todra gorges, then the Erg Chebbi and its dunes (night at camp), sunrise and return. Three days and a lot of road, but the Sahara at the end. The Tichka pass can shut in snow in winter.
Swap Ourika for Imlil: higher, at the foot of Toubkal, for a mountain walk and a home lunch. Summits stay snow-capped a good part of the year.
Stay two nights at Essaouira: a day more for the beach, kitesurf or the coast road to Sidi Kaouki, at the price of the lake-Agafay day.
The Essaouira coast stays cool when Marrakech burns: keep it for midweek. In town, monuments in the morning, desert at sundown.
Frequently asked questions
Everything we get asked before locking the dates.
A week in Marrakech, what does it add?
Is Essaouira worth the overnight?
Star outings or the great Merzouga loop?
When to follow this itinerary?
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