2-Day Fes to Marrakech Express Desert Tour

Most travellers cross from Fes to Marrakech by train, in about seven hours of farmland and suburbs. This private tour covers the same distance the long way round, through the south, and turns the transfer into a trip to the Sahara. On day one you drive over the Middle Atlas to Merzouga and ride camels into Erg Chebbi for the sunset. On day two you cross the pre-Saharan south, from the fossil country around Alnif to the Draa Valley and Ouarzazate, and climb over the High Atlas into Marrakech.

It’s the fastest way to fit a night in the desert between the two cities. The days are long, but you won’t need to backtrack, and you’ll see more of Morocco’s landscapes in 48 hours than most visitors see in a week.

The route at a glance

• Day 1: Fes → Ifrane → Azrou cedar forest → Midelt → Ziz Valley → Merzouga, then by camel to camp (about 470 km)
• Day 2: Erg Chebbi → Merzouga → Alnif → Tazzarine → Draa Valley → Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou viewpoint → Tizi n’Tichka → Marrakech (about 560 km)

Day 1: over the Middle Atlas to Erg Chebbi

Your driver collects you early from your riad, or from the medina gate closest to it. Leaving Fes behind, you climb into the Middle Atlas, where the first stop is Ifrane. Built as a hill station in the 1930s, with sloping roofs and wide lawns, it looks more like the Alps than North Africa.

Beyond Azrou, the road passes through ancient cedar forest, the home of the Barbary macaque. Troops of these monkeys often sit by the roadside, and your driver will stop so you can see them. Then the trees thin out and the land becomes a high, windswept plateau, with shepherds’ tents and flocks of sheep. You break for lunch in Midelt, the apple-growing town at the foot of the Jbel Ayachi massif.

The afternoon is a long descent into the south. Through the Ziz Gorges the river has cut a deep channel in the rock, and below it the valley fills with date palms and mud-brick villages. The stop at the Ziz Valley viewpoint gives you the first real sense of the desert: a green ribbon of palms, and bare stone on either side.

By late afternoon, the dunes of Erg Chebbi rise above the flat hamada. In Merzouga you swap the vehicle for a camel and ride out into the sand for the sunset, while your luggage follows by 4x4. At camp, dinner is served, the drums come out, and the sky fills with stars.

Day 2: across the south to Marrakech

Wake before dawn and climb the dune behind camp to watch the sunrise. After the ride back to Merzouga and breakfast, you head west on the quieter southern road that runs along the edge of the Jbel Saghro mountains.

The first town is Alnif, one of the richest fossil areas in Morocco, known especially for its trilobites. Further on, Tazzarine is a small oasis town among volcanic hills and acacia trees, where nomadic families still graze their animals. Then you reach the Draa, the longest river in Morocco. Its valley is lined with palm groves, kasbahs and fortified villages, and for centuries it was one of the main caravan routes between the Sahara and Marrakech.

At Ouarzazate, “the door of the desert”, you turn north. A short detour takes you to a viewpoint over the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, the earthen village on the hillside that UNESCO lists as a World Heritage Site, and that you may recognise from films like Gladiator. If you’d like to walk through the ksar itself, we can replace the viewpoint stop with a guided visit.

The last stretch is the most spectacular. The road climbs through the High Atlas to the Tizi n’Tichka pass, at 2,260 metres, then twists down through Amazigh villages and walnut groves towards Marrakech. You arrive in the evening, and your driver drops you at your accommodation, or at the nearest point cars can reach in the medina.

Planning the long second day

Day two is the one to prepare for. It covers about 560 kilometres, and with stops it takes around nine hours, so we leave Merzouga soon after breakfast. Your driver sets the rhythm: a short break every hour and a half or so, a coffee stop in the Draa Valley, and lunch at a local restaurant around Agdz or Ouarzazate, where tagines and grilled brochettes are the usual choice. Lunch isn’t included, so you order and pay on the spot.

Keep a small daypack in the car with water, sunscreen, sunglasses and a warm layer. It can be hot in the Draa Valley in the early afternoon and surprisingly cold at the top of the Tizi n’Tichka a few hours later. If you get carsick, sit in the front and mention it to your driver; the mountain road down to Marrakech has plenty of bends, and he can slow down or stop whenever you need.

The long day is also the most varied. You’ll see the black volcanic hills of the Jbel Saghro, the fossil towns, the greenest stretch of the Draa, the film sets of Ouarzazate and the forests of the High Atlas, all before dinner in Marrakech.

Where you’ll sleep

One night at our luxury desert camp in Erg Chebbi, in a private tent with an en-suite hot shower and flushing toilet. Tents have comfortable beds and electricity for charging, heavy blankets are provided in winter, and family tents with extra beds are available on request. Dinner and breakfast are included.

Best time to go

The route is at its best from March to May and from September to November. Winter brings clear skies and cold nights, and snow can occasionally close the Tizi n’Tichka pass for a few hours; your driver keeps an eye on conditions and adjusts the timing. Summer is hot in the desert and the Draa Valley, so the long second day starts early and includes plenty of stops in the shade.

Who this tour is for

Travellers moving from Fes to Marrakech with only two days to spare, who’d rather spend them in the Sahara than on a train. It’s best for people who enjoy road trips and don’t mind long days in exchange for a lot of scenery.

Good to know

• Day two is long (about 9 hours with stops) and arrives in Marrakech in the evening, so don’t plan dinner reservations too early.
• Travel light for the camp: pack a small overnight bag. Your suitcase travels by 4x4 and stays secure until the morning.
• Prefer not to ride? The 4x4 can take you to camp instead of a camel, at no extra cost.
• Want to see more on the way? The 3-day Fes to Marrakech tour adds a night in the Dades Valley and time at Ait Ben Haddou.