Red City, Golden Dunes

Your Moroccan adventure begins the moment you step off the plane. Your private driver will be waiting at arrivals with a sign just for you, ready to whisk you through the bustling streets to your beautifully appointed riad in the heart of the medina.

The rest of the day is yours, wander the alleyways as the evening call to prayer echoes through the ancient city, sip mint tea on your rooftop terrace, and let the magic of Marrakech slowly wash over you.

Marvel at the ornate tilework of the 19th-century Bahia Palace, built for the Grand Vizier of Sultan Moulay al Hassan a labyrinth of carved cedar, hand-painted plaster and serene mosaic courtyards. Step into the fragrant chaos of the spice market, where heaps of saffron, cumin and rose petals perfume the air.

Then the iconic Jemaa El Fna square opens up before you, storytellers, snake charmers, acrobats and the irresistible scent of fresh-grilled kefta. Your guide knows every hidden corner, every best photo spot, and exactly when to let you get deliciously lost.

Rise a little earlier for one of the most rewarding day trips in all of Morocco. The drive itself is half the fun keep your eyes peeled for the surreal sight of goats perched high in the branches of argan trees, an image you won't believe until you see it. Essaouira arrives like a breath of sea air: a port town of blue-shuttered whitewashed walls, windswept ramparts and artists' galleries tucked into every corner.

Visit the women's cooperative where pure, hand-pressed argan oil is made the traditional way. Stroll the beach, browse the craftspeople's stalls, and sit down to a seafood lunch so fresh it was swimming this morning. Back in Marrakech by early evening, full of salt air and stories.

A day designed to be entirely yours. For the early risers, an optional sunrise hot air balloon flight lifts you silently above the Jubilet Mountains as the Atlas peaks glow gold in the morning light, continental breakfast on the ground, Berber breakfast in a tent after landing, and a flight certificate to take home.

Late morning, optional cooking classes begin at 10:30am in a garden kitchen: harvest seasonal vegetables from the organic plot, learn the layered spice secrets of Moroccan cuisine, cook over traditional charcoal, and share a convivial lunch around the table. A henna artist joins you after the perfect finishing touch to a deeply Moroccan afternoon.

Today belongs to the desert. Your driver picks you up for the hour-long journey to the otherworldly Agafay, a vast rocky plateau that stretches to the horizon like a moonscape, with the snow-capped Atlas as your dramatic backdrop. Swing up onto your camel for an hour-long ride across the dunes, feeling the gentle sway and the silence.

Then trade the slow for the fast with an adrenaline-pumping ATV ride across the terrain. Lunch awaits at a luxury desert camp, where long tables, local flavours and plenty of soft drinks refresh you after your adventures. There's even time for a photoshoot with flowing desert dresses if the mood takes you because the light out here is extraordinary.

You're back in Marrakech by late afternoon.

All great adventures must end, but the memories of Morocco stay with you forever. After a leisurely final breakfast at the riad, your driver arrives to transfer you to Marrakech Menara Airport. You'll leave with a bag full of argan oil, a head full of colour and spice, and a heart that's already plotting the return trip.