Marrakech, Morocco 6 Day Itinerary

Most six-day Marrakech itineraries send you to Ourika Valley because it’s the closest thing out of town. I’m sending you to Ouzoud instead, Morocco’s biggest waterfalls, three hours out but genuinely more dramatic than the closer option, and worth the extra driving if you’ve got a full week to spread the fatigue across.

Day 1: land and let the square teach you the city

Ease in with Jemaa el-Fnaa, the square that basically functions as the city’s living room, day and night. Try harira soup and a few skewers from the stalls rather than a sit-down restaurant nearby, it’s cheaper and better. Wander the souks in the afternoon; opening prices run 3-5x real value, counter around a third, and be genuinely willing to walk away, since that’s the one move that consistently works.

Day 2: palace, tombs, and the school people mix up with a mosque

Bahia Palace in the morning, roughly 70-100 MAD, for the Andalusian and Moorish architecture. In the afternoon, Saadian Tombs (about 100 MAD, arrive early since it’s a small site) and Ben Youssef Madrasa, about 50 MAD, an old Koranic school, not a mosque despite what some guides call it. Non-Muslims can’t enter working mosques anywhere in Morocco, including Koutoubia, so don’t spend time hunting for an entrance there. End the day at Le Jardin Secret for a quiet drink, a good decompression spot after a full afternoon of walking.

Day 3: Majorelle, booked properly

This is the one day where planning ahead actually matters. Majorelle Garden requires a timed ticket booked on the official site before you land, not a walk-up purchase. Garden alone runs 26-31 USD, combined with the YSL Museum it’s 44-57 USD, and the first slot of the morning is genuinely the only version worth having, since the paths get crowded fast once tour buses start arriving. Spend the rest of the day easy, Gueliz has good contemporary Moroccan food if you want a break from tagine.

Day 4: Ouzoud Falls, the real day-trip highlight

Budget the whole day for this one, about 2.5-3 hours each way. It’s Morocco’s largest waterfall system, and the boat ride out to see the falls from the water is worth the extra fee. Bring a picnic or eat at one of the small restaurants near the falls rather than rushing back to Marrakech for lunch. This is a long day, longer than Ourika or Agafay, but the payoff is bigger too. For dinner back in the city, order tanjia if you haven’t yet, it’s the actual Marrakchi specialty, slow-cooked in a sealed urn in a hammam furnace’s embers, not the same thing as tagine.

Day 5: hammam, then whatever’s left on your list

Book a real hammam, not the spa-lite hotel version, it’s a rougher and more thorough scrub and worth the difference. Use the afternoon for anything you skipped, a spice market stop for argan oil, a return trip to a souk stall you liked. Spend your last evening back at Jemaa el-Fnaa, it’s a good bookend to have started and ended the trip in the same square.

Day 6: departure, budgeted honestly

Leave the morning loose. For the airport taxi, agree the fare before you get in, since the meter is routinely “broken” for tourists and 150 MAD is a reasonable ceiling, not the inflated opening number you’ll likely hear. Keep small MAD notes on hand, breaking a large bill at the gate stalls more departures than it should.