Grand Morocco: of Dusk and Dune

Meet at 22:00 at Suvarnabhumi Airport, 4th floor, Emirates counters (Row T near Gate 9). Flight EK 385 departs at 01:05 for Dubai (about 6 hours 55 minutes).

Arrive in Dubai at 05:00 and connect on EK 751 departing 07:25 to Casablanca, arriving 13:10 (Morocco is six hours behind Thailand). Meet the local guide and drive 240 km (about 3 hours, motorway A7) to Marrakech.

Explore Marrakech, the Pink City and a former capital under the Almoravids; its medina is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Visit Jardin Majorelle (the Yves Saint Laurent gardens), Bahia Palace (built in the late 19th century, with stucco, mosaics and a riad garden), the Koutoubia Mosque with its 70 m minaret (built 1184 – 1199) and the lively Djemaa El Fna Square.

Drive about 4 hours through the Atlas Mountains to Ouarzazate, with photo stops and an optional visit to a Berber women's argan oil cooperative on the outskirts of Marrakech. Visit Ait Ben Haddou, a fortress-like ancient village on a hillside listed by UNESCO in 1987, and Atlas Studio, where films such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, Gladiator and Game of Thrones were shot. Pack a small bag for the desert tent night; the large suitcase stays on the coach.

Drive 163 km (about 3 hours) to Tineghir in the Djebel Sarhro region and see Todra Gorge, carved by wind and rain over thousands of years, with an oasis of palms, dates and almonds, and the Dades Gorge with cliffs up to 300 m. Continue 145 km to Erfoud (about 2.5 hours), then take a 4x4 for 55 km (about 1 hour) to Merzouga in the Sahara. Overnight at a desert camp under the stars; if temperatures drop below freezing you may be moved to a hotel because the tents have no heating.

Wake at 04:00 for a caravan-style camel ride to watch the sun rise over the Sahara, then return to camp for breakfast and check out. A 4x4 takes you back to Erfoud to rejoin the coach for the drive via Midelt (265 km, about 4 hours). Stop at Ifrane, a mountain resort town built by the French during the 1912 – 1956 protectorate, with Mediterranean-style houses that earned it the nickname Switzerland of North Africa. Overnight in Meknes.

In Meknes, photograph Bab Mansour, the Gate of Victory built in 1731 by Sultan Moulay Ismail (UNESCO World Heritage), with about an hour to browse the market square. Continue to Fez, a capital from the 8th century. Enter the medina through Bab Bou Jeloud; it has about 9,400 alleys organised in zones by trade and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Visit the Mausoleum of Moulay Idriss II, the Kairaouine Mosque (an early madrasa and university and one of the oldest mosques in the world) and the Chouara Tannery with its traditional leather-dyeing pits.

Drive about 2 hours 50 minutes to Chefchaouen, the Blue City, founded in 1471 and under Spanish rule until 1956, so Spanish is still widely spoken. Its houses are painted blue and white. Walk the medina, photograph the alleys and shop for clothing, scarves, knitted hats and fabric bags.

Drive about 3 hours 30 minutes to Rabat, today's capital and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Visit the Kasbah of the Udayas at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river, with an old mosque dating from the 10th century and blue-and-white houses inside the walls. Continue 1 hour 15 minutes to Casablanca, the country's main port and economic centre, made famous by the Hollywood film of the same name.

Visit the King Hassan II Mosque, the largest mosque in Africa and the third largest in the world, with a 210 m minaret and room for 25,000 worshippers inside and 80,000 outside. Then transfer to Casablanca airport for flight EK 752 at 15:05 (about 7 hours 25 minutes). Lunch is served on the flight.

Arrive in Dubai at 01:30 and connect on EK 384 departing 03:05, arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 12:05.