Morocco then Portugal: two worlds, one week, an itinerary nobody runs but everyone should

This one came from a client who had been to the Algarve eight times and Morocco twice, both separately, and asked whether there was any reason they couldn't be combined. There wasn't. The Algarve and Agadir are roughly the same flying distance from London. The Atlantic coast connects them. And the combination of Moroccan light and Portuguese precision makes for one of the most tonally interesting golf journeys I've put together.

**The structure: three and three**

Three nights Agadir (or one night Agadir, two nights Marrakech for the more adventurous configuration), then three nights Algarve. Fly Gatwick to Agadir with easyJet or TUI (two hours forty), play your Morocco rounds, fly Agadir to Faro with Ryanair (two hours, daily), finish in Portugal. Fly home from Faro.

**Morocco: what the golf actually is**

Morocco's golf scene is better than its reputation suggests. The green fees are low (typically €45–€85), the conditions are excellent at the better properties, and the combination of North African landscape with European course design produces something genuinely unlike anywhere else.

In Agadir: Golf du Soleil (the most established, recently renovated, 45 holes — we use the Championship Course, green fee €75), and Dunes Golf Club, an Ocean Course design near Taghazout that plays with the Atlantic as a constant presence. Green fee €85.

Marrakech requires one night minimum to experience the medina properly — the Djemaa el-Fna at dusk, the souks in the morning. Courses within range: Golf Al Maaden (Robert Trent Jones Jr, the best in Morocco, green fee €120), Amelkis Golf Club (three 9-hole courses in good condition, atmospheric backdrop of the High Atlas), and Samanah Golf (Jack Nicklaus design, 7,300 yards, the most challenging in the country).

My honest assessment: the golf in Morocco is very good but not exceptional. The reason to go is the combination — the Djemaa el-Fna plus golf, the Atlas light on an early tee time, the souk negotiation that has nothing to do with handicaps and everything to do with presence. You can't get this in Portugal.

**The transition**

Flying Agadir–Faro takes two hours. We always arrive in the Algarve on an afternoon flight and use the evening for dinner rather than golf — the transition from Morocco to Portugal needs a few hours of decompression, a decent meal, and an early night before the first round.

**The Algarve conclusion**

Three rounds in four days from a Quinta do Lago base: San Lorenzo, Quinta do Lago South, and Monte Rei. These three cover the complete register of Algarve golf — San Lorenzo the intimate classic, Quinta South the championship test, Monte Rei the dramatic finale.

The contrast with Morocco is the point. Morocco is warm, dusty, slightly unpredictable in the best way; the Algarve is precise, manicured, European in every sense. Playing both in sequence makes you appreciate each more clearly than playing either alone.

**The economics**

Six nights (three Morocco, three Algarve), two short-haul flights within the trip, all transfers and green fees: approximately £2,100 to £2,600 per person. Flights from London add roughly £200–350. Total trip under £3,000 — one of the best-value multi-country itineraries we operate.

**October through April**

Both Morocco and the Algarve are best outside the European summer. October through April gives you 20–24°C, off-peak rates, empty courses, and the Algarve without the summer crowd. The combination is at its best in March — the Atlas has snow on the high peaks visible from the Marrakech courses, and Portugal is in its most vivid green.