This Marrakech to Fes desert tour crosses Morocco in three days the way it was meant to be crossed: over the High Atlas, down the valley of a thousand kasbahs, into the Sahara for a night in the dunes, and up through the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas to Fes (Fez). You never drive the same road twice. The desert leg runs through our home ground: we are an Amazigh family company from Rissani, about 35 km from the Erg Chebbi dunes, and we drive this route in our own 4x4s.
It’s a private trip: your own vehicle and driver, your group only, leaving any day you choose. We pick you up at your riad in Marrakech and drop you at your riad in Fes. Arriving in Fes and flying home from Marrakech? We run the same trip in reverse.
Three days, about 1,100 km, two nights. The Marrakech to Fes 3 day tour at a glance:
| Day | Highlights | Overnight |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tizi n’Tichka pass, Ait Benhaddou kasbah, Ouarzazate, Road of a Thousand Kasbahs | Dades Valley |
| Day 2 | Todra Gorge, khettara oasis channels, Rissani, sunset camel trek into Erg Chebbi | Sahara desert camp |
| Day 3 | Dune sunrise, Ziz Valley and gorges, Midelt, cedar forest, Ifrane | Fes (drop-off) |
We leave Marrakech around 8 am and climb the Tizi n’Tichka pass (2,260 m), the road the caravans once walked between the Sahara and the imperial city. We stop where the views are widest and the mint tea is hot. By late morning we’re at Ait Benhaddou, the UNESCO kasbah you’ve seen in Gladiator and Game of Thrones. Walk up through the old lanes to the granary at the top for the view over the Ounila river.
After lunch in Ouarzazate we follow the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs east, past the palm groves of Skoura and the rose fields of Kelaat M’Gouna, into the Dades Valley. Dinner and the night in a 4-star hotel in the valley.
About 330 km; 7 to 8 hours with stops. Dinner and breakfast included.
Morning walk in Todra Gorge, where the river runs between rock walls up to 300 m high and the canyon floor narrows to a few metres. Then east across the stony desert. Watch for the lines of round mounds beside the road near Tinejdad and Erfoud: they are khettaras, hand-dug underground channels that still carry water to the oases.
We pass through Rissani, our home town and the site of the old caravan city of Sijilmassa, and reach Merzouga in the late afternoon. Here you swap the car for a camel. The ride into the Erg Chebbi dunes takes about an hour to an hour and a half, timed so you reach the crest as the sand turns orange. Dinner around the fire, drums if you want them, and a night in a luxury camp with a private en-suite tent.
About 300 km; 5 to 6 hours of driving with stops. Dinner and breakfast included.
Up before dawn to watch the sun come over the dunes. It’s the quietest hour of the trip. Breakfast at camp, then we drive north along the Ziz Valley, a ribbon of date palms in the desert, and through the Ziz Gorges. Lunch in Midelt, the apple town between the High and Middle Atlas.
The afternoon climbs over the Zad pass into the cedar forest near Azrou, where Barbary macaques live wild in the trees, then through Ifrane, a mountain town that looks more Alpine than Moroccan. We reach Fes by early evening and drop you at your riad.
This is the longest day of the trip. We break it with real stops, not just fuel. If you’d rather not do it in one go, see the 4-day version below.
About 470 km; 8 to 9 hours with stops. Breakfast included.
Landing in Fes and flying home from Marrakech? We run the Fes to Marrakech desert tour over the same 3 days in reverse:
Same vehicle, same camp, same price.
Three days is enough for one night in the dunes. It’s not enough to sit still. If you want a full day in the desert, take the 4-day version: the same route with a second night at Erg Chebbi, so you have time for the Rissani souk, a visit to a nomad family, and the Gnawa musicians of Khamlia. Ask us when you write. For a desert round trip that starts and ends in Marrakech, see our 3-day Marrakech to Merzouga desert tour instead.
Want a simpler or a grander hotel in Dades? Tell us and we’ll quote it. More on choosing a camp in our guide to visiting the Sahara.
Every Marrakech to Fes desert tour we run is private: your own vehicle and driver, never a shared van. That’s why the price depends on how many of you travel. The car costs the same whether it carries two people or six.
Example: two travellers with a 4-star hotel in the Dades Valley and the luxury desert camp pay 865 € per person, 1,730 € in total.
Tell us your dates and group size and we’ll reply within hours with the day-by-day plan and an exact price.
Everything below is part of the price.
Not part of the price:
The route: over the High Atlas to Ait Benhaddou and the Dades Valley, through Todra Gorge to Merzouga, then north through the Ziz Valley, Midelt and Ifrane to Fes.
About 1,100 km over three days. Day 1 is about 330 km, day 2 about 300 km, and the last day, Merzouga to Fes, about 470 km and 8 to 9 hours with stops. That’s the long one, and we plan the stops around it.
Yes. The same three days run in reverse, starting at your riad in Fes and ending in Marrakech, for the same price. In that direction the desert night comes first.
It’s enough for one night in the dunes and every main sight on the way. If you want a full day in the desert with no driving, take 4 days. The extra night goes at Erg Chebbi.
Private. Your own vehicle and driver, your group only, and it leaves on any day you choose. We don’t mix strangers into a shared van.
It depends on how many of you travel, because the vehicle is private. As an example, two travellers with a 4-star hotel in the Dades Valley and the luxury desert camp pay 865 € per person, 1,730 € in total. Groups of three or more pay less per person. Write to us for your exact price.
No. If you’d rather not, we drive you to the camp by 4×4 at no extra cost. The ride itself takes about an hour to an hour and a half and needs no experience, because the camel man leads the animal the whole way.
A luxury camp in the Erg Chebbi dunes with private tents, real beds and an en-suite bathroom with a hot shower and flush toilet. Dinner and breakfast are included. The camp crews around Merzouga are people we’ve known all our lives.
Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November). In summer Merzouga passes 45°C, so we ride camels only at dawn and dusk. Winter days are bright, but desert nights drop near freezing. See our month-by-month guide.
Not in three days. From Fes, Chefchaouen is about four hours each way. Our 5-day tour from Marrakech adds Fes and the blue city properly.
When you write to us, tell us your dates, how many of you there are and where you’re staying in Marrakech. We’ll come back within hours with the day-by-day plan and an exact price. When you reach the dunes, the tea will already be on.
