Magic Morocco has it all

Casablanca is the gateway between Morocco and the rest of the world. The sprawling city is an eclectic combination of new and old, high-rise buildings bordering the old medina with its bustling laneways, fresh food and spices.

I arrive in Casablanca on my own on a Friday evening and, despite being warned against walking through Morocco alone as a female, I do just that, exploring the busy streets and coastline before stopping at one of the many restaurants for my first Moroccan meal - chicken tagine, a delicious slow-cooked spiced stew of vegetables and chicken.

You can quite easily eat anywhere in Morocco for as little as 55 dirhams ($7.40) for a three-course meal, up to more than 300 dirhams for a main meal. The price of the meal doesn't determine its taste. Look for places where lots of locals are eating.

On day two of my trip, I meet some fellow travellers on my G Adventures Highlights of Morocco small-group tour.

We decide to use our day to visit the majestic Hassan II Mosque, one of the world's biggest mosques, completed in 1993 and which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.

The minaret rises 210m high, and the mosque is so big it can hold 25,000 people inside and another 80,000 outside within its grounds.

A one-hour guided tour of the mosque costs 120 dirhams and takes you inside the mosque's main area, into its hammam, or bathhouse, and ablutions area, showing off the marble mosaics and retractable roof.

After a day in Casablanca, we drive north to Tangier, between Africa and Europe.

We stop for lunch by the beach, overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The coast of Spain, just 13km away, is visible from our beachside tables.

Tangier is split into the new, modern city, which looks almost European, and the old city, which houses its medina.

We go on a guided tour through the old medina, one of the prettiest in Morocco with its beautiful doorways. The artisans in their workshops and mishmash of ethnicities, religions and architecture are indicative of the huge foreign influence in the city.

After our short visit, we make our way along the winding roads through the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen, in the country's northwest.

Chefchaouen was built as a small fortress and was later part of Spanish Morocco between 1920 and 1956. With its cobblestone laneways and beautiful blue-washed buildings, which come from the Jewish refugees who settled here, Chefchaouen is easily my favourite Moroccan city.

Its name is derived from Berber words meaning "goat horns", for the two mountain peaks behind the city, sticking out above the blue buildings below. An easy 30-minute trek up the side of one of these mountains will reward you with a spectacular view of the city and surrounding valleys.

It is in Chefchaouen that we experience a traditional Moroccan hammam, which is an important part of local life and culture, and where you pay someone to scrub and clean you until your skin glows.

Moroccans visit their public hammam at least once a week. Men and women attend separate hammams, and while everyone is modest in the street, they are far from shy about bathing in front of each other.

From Chefchaouen, we make our way further south to the ruins at Volubilis, a well-preserved relic of the Roman Empire spread over about 42ha.

On approach, we are rendered speechless as we see the ruins towering over the surrounding farmlands.

We visit the remains of homes, bathhouses, an olive-oil press and even a brothel, with mosaics about 2000 years old still intact.

Volubilis was built on fertile lands where they produced olive oil and grain for export back to Rome. Roman rule collapsed towards the end of the third century, but Volubilis remained inhabited until about the 11th century.

We then venture east to the imperial city of Fez.

Fez houses one of the country's biggest and oldest medinas, with streets sometimes so narrow you can only pass through them on foot, in single file, with shoulders grazing the walls on both sides.

If there's one thing you shouldn't do in Fez, it's try to explore the old medina yourself.

There are more than 9000 narrow lanes, and without a guide, it would take just minutes to get lost.

Our guide explains that within the medina are lots of communities, each with schools, mosques, public baths and restaurant. Fez medina even houses the world's oldest university, Al-Karaouine, founded in 859.

But the main business here is retail, with thousands of merchants and craftsmen selling their products.

On one corner a vendor sells piles of almonds, dates, figs and dried pineapple, while his neighbour is surrounded by baskets of fresh fruit and vegetables

Around another, fresh meat hangs from hooks, and further down a laneway, hundreds of snails writhe in a basket, ready to be sold and cooked.

Then, there are the artisans, each sitting in their stall, handcrafting their wares for sale. Watching them at work is like taking a step back in time.

Weavers pedal old looms to make brilliant coloured silks for clothing and homewares, wood carvers create ornaments and doorframes, potters spin their wheels and fire up kilns, creating everything from tagine vessels to mosaic tables.

As we approach the Chouara Tannery, the air turns sour with the smell of dyes and excrement used in the leather-tanning process.

But it's worth braving the stench to climb the stairs to a balcony overlooking the tannery's honeycomb of stone vessels.

Men stand in the vessels, first treating the animal hides in acidic pigeon excrement, before transferring them to other vessels where they are dyed. In the surrounding workshops, the leather is made into bags, shoes, belts, wallets and furniture in every colour imaginable.

From Fez, we make our way south towards Merzouga, in the Sahara Desert. The drive takes nearly 11 hours, with plenty of stops along the way to take in the ever-changing landscape.

It is dark as our bus makes its way across the rocky terrain towards our desert hotel, with nothing in sight but the headlights of other tour buses navigating without the help of roads, streetlights or signs.

After settling into our rooms at Hotel Yasmina, we make our way to the outdoor dining area for a meal of kefta (meat) and egg tagine.

Returning to the same dining area for breakfast the next morning feels surreal. The pitch-black backdrop from the night before has been replaced with orange-yellow sand dunes rising high over the landscape and camels returning from their overnight journeys. It is like something out of a painting.

The day is free to walk through the dunes or take a four-wheel-drive excursion, before it's our turn to experience the camel ride and a night of camping in the Sahara.

The camels are waiting at the hotel's doorstep for the one-hour journey over the dunes to our desert camp. The ride is bumpy and a little smelly but worth every second of discomfort. Watching our shadows get longer and the colour of the sand change as the sun slowly sets is spectacular.

Sand dunes rise around our small circle of tents on all sides, their peaks just visible by the moonlight. Most of our group chooses to pull our mattresses outside and camp underneath the stars.

After a night of absolute silence, we rise at 5am to begin our journey back to Hotel Yasmina. The journey home is even more breathtaking. We stop to watch the sun rise over the desert before completing our ride with backsides and legs a little more tender than the day before.

The diversity of Morocco is enticing. Two days after our desert adventure, we are hiking up snow-capped mountains in the High Atlas Mountains before making our way to coastal Essaouira, less than 200km west of Marrakech.

Our tour guide, Mustapha, calls Essaouira the "hippie town". And while it's a busy fishing port, it also thrives on tourism, with vendors in the medina, and musicians and street performers entertaining travellers inside the whitewashed walls of the historic fortress.

A must in the morning is a walk down to the port to watch the blue fishing boats come in with their catches of the day and to take a walk along the Skala, the old sea walls flanked by cannons pointing out to the ocean.

Sampling Essaouira's seafood, fresh from the ocean every morning, is another must, especially if you've had enough of tagines, couscous and brochettes (skewered kebabs).

The old quarter here is very laidback. While negotiating the price with vendors is essential, like everywhere else in Morocco, you won't feel too pressured to buy goods you don't want.

At night, magicians and musicians entertain in the bars and clubs, where alcohol is readily available, although this is a predominantly Muslim country.

Marrakech is the final stop on our 15-day tour. This big city couldn't be any more different to its mellow coastal counterpart.

From the new city, filled with department stores like H+M and Zara, we make our way to the tourist hub of Jemaa el-Fnaa.

The sun is setting over Marrakech's bustling marketplace when a friendly street vendor yells: "G'day mate, where's Hamish and Andy?"

Only the Australians in the area understand the reference.

Jemaa el-Fnaa is one of the biggest tourist attractions in Marrakech and a UNESCO World Heritage site. As we arrive just before 6pm, the area is teeming with tourists and locals alike, and beginning its daily transformation to something else.

During the day, it is filled with orange juice and almond stalls, but as night falls, snake charmers, magicians and acrobats come out, and the stalls are replaced with street food vendors selling everything from fluffy couscous and pastille (meat pie) to sheep's head and snails for the more adventurous.

For the best view of this bustling square, head to one of the many cafes and restaurants that surround it. Most have a terraced alfresco area where you can watch the buzz of activity below.

The marketplace borders Marrakech's famous souks, a seemingly endless maze of streets housing shops and workshops, selling everything from carpets to spices to leather and lamps.

If you cannot find what you want in a Marrakech souk, chances are, you won't be able to find it anywhere in Morocco.

• fact file *

·Australian dollars cannot be exchanged for Moroccan dirhams, so make sure you have US dollars, British pounds or euros on you to change when you get to Morocco.

·Carry small change. If vendors see you have large notes on you, they'll try to increase the price of their goods.

·Always negotiate the price with Petit Taxi drivers before you get in or ask them to use the meter.

·Tipping is a huge part of Moroccan culture. If you forget to tip, person who has sold you their goods or services will often follow you until they get their tip. Again, having small change on you helps.

·Dress conservatively and in layers for both weather and cultural reasons. Shorts, short skirts and dresses, bare shoulders and plunging necklines may attract unwanted attention, especially if you're a woman travelling alone.

·G Adventures' 15-day Highlights of Morocco tour costs from $1499. gadventures.com or 1300 853 325.

Without a guide, it would take just minutes to get lost.