The short answer
Seven to fourteen days suits most trips. Five days is a tight but workable minimum for Marrakech plus the desert or the coast. A week covers either the south (Marrakech, the Atlas and the Sahara) or the north (Fes, Meknes and Chefchaouen). Ten days lets you join the two without feeling chased by the clock.
In more detail
Distances decide this more than anything. Marrakech to Merzouga, the classic Sahara dunes, is about 8h30 of driving without stops, so the desert alone takes three days for a return trip. Marrakech to Fes is about 6h30 on the motorway. Morocco looks compact on a map, but its best places sit at opposite ends of the country.
That is why a week works best when you choose one half. Go south for the Sahara, the kasbah road and the High Atlas, or go north for the imperial cities and the blue town of Chefchaouen. Trying to fit both into seven days means too much time in the car.
At ten days you can loop from Marrakech over the Atlas to the desert, then north to Fes and its neighbours. At fourteen you can add Chefchaouen, the Middle Atlas and a slower finish in Marrakech, with two or three nights in each highlight rather than one. Beyond that, Morocco keeps paying back every extra day: Essaouira, the Atlas valleys and the southern coast all reward a longer stay.
Good to know
- Four nights and five days is the practical floor for a trip worth the flight.
- Fly into one city and out of another to save a day of backtracking.
- Break the Marrakech to Sahara drive with a night on the way.