Itinerary ideas

....... you don't have to visit both Fez and Marrakech, unless you arrive at one and depart the other. Both are imperial walled cities with gates and places etc., a lot in common, the difference between them are Fez has an Arab heritage and Marrakech a Berber influence. Marrakech is probably the most visited city on the Continent, so you'll be upto your oxters in tourists, however, it's a fun city to visit and with so many tourists, prices to match.

I recommend you borrow or buy and browse a good guide book, something like the LP or Cadogan guide to find out what might interest you, Morocco is complex and varied.

..... and meeting the locals. .... be careful what you wish for, lots of locals will want to be your new best friend, it might not be what you have in mind.! Generally Moroccans are hospitable and generous with their time, however, you should take the same cautions you do at home.

I don't know how limited your Budget is, but if you are not that interested in the cities (which I would not recommend that much, either), I recommend an overland tour from Fez to Marrakech (or the other way around is possible), which passes through the High and Middle Atlas, and do by no means miss out on the Sahara Dessert! We did the trip through a local tour operator that was reasonably priced; if your budget is very limited it may be possible to do the tour by bus, but you will likely end up spending most of your time on a bus and not really see the highlights. Our tour company was run by a Berber familiy and we also got to meet many locals through them, e.g. having tea and goat milk with the nomands in their tents and our driver also invited us to his familiy home one night. (Do not let paranoia get the better of you: The people we met were incredibly friendly and hospitable, and I would describe the encounters we had as one of the highlights of the trip! You may be expected to leave a small tip or to buy a small item here and there as in pretty much any other country where people depend very much on tourists for their incomes, but if you do not wish to do so a friendly, but determined "no, thank you" also works.). You can get to Fez from Casa by train which is cheap and comfortable and again take the train from Marrakech back to Casa.

For the Atlas mountains and villages, i recommend the Ait Bouguemez valley. There are good 'gites' where to stay. There is public transport from Azilal.

Thanks all for your help!

I've cobbled something together in hopes that you will help me refine my ideas!

Day 1: Arrive CMN at 0710, get train to Casa Voyagers then on to Fes.
Day 2: Fes
Day 3: Train to Oujda
Day 4: Bus to Bouarfa - hopefully make it all the way to Figuig
Day 5: Figuig
Day 6: Travel to Errachidia
Day 7: Travel to Ouarzazarte
Day 8: Travel to Marrakesh
Day 9, 10: Marrakesh
Day 11-15 desert tour overland to Fes
Day 16 Fes to Casa

Too much desert time with the trip to Figuig?

Am I going to run into weather issues late October - November? Should I consider focusing further south?

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