4-Day Fes to Marrakech Desert Tour

This private four-day tour takes the southern road from Fes to Marrakech and gives the Sahara the time it deserves. Instead of arriving at the dunes after a long drive and leaving at dawn, you spend two nights around Erg Chebbi: the first in a riad at the foot of the sand, the second at our luxury camp in the dunes, with a full day of exploring in between. After the desert, the route continues through the Todra and Dades gorges and along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs to Ait Ben Haddou, where a local guide walks you through the ksar.

The order of the desert nights is deliberate. After the drive from Fes, you arrive at a comfortable riad with time to settle in and watch the sunset from the edge of the dunes. The next day, rested, you explore the desert by 4x4, then ride a camel out to camp for the evening. It makes for a gentler rhythm than going straight onto a camel at the end of day one.

The route at a glance

• Day 1: Fes → Ifrane → Azrou cedar forest → Midelt → Ziz Valley → Merzouga (about 470 km)
• Day 2: A full day around Erg Chebbi: nomads, Mfis, Khamlia, Dayet Srij in season, then by camel to camp (about 60 km by 4x4)
• Day 3: Erg Chebbi → Rissani → Tinghir → Todra Gorge → Dades Valley (about 310 km)
• Day 4: Dades Valley → Valley of Roses → Skoura → Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou → Tizi n’Tichka → Marrakech (about 350 km)

Day 1: to the edge of the Sahara

Your driver meets you at your riad in the morning, or at the medina gate nearest to it. The first coffee stop is in Ifrane, the mountain resort with red roofs and flower-filled parks that looks as if it has been lifted out of the Alps. Past Azrou, the road winds through tall cedars, where Barbary macaques gather along the verges.

From Midelt, where you stop for lunch, the route drops through the Ziz Gorges into the long palm valley of the Ziz, the green heart of the Tafilalet region. By late afternoon you’re in Merzouga. Check in to your riad, which sits right where the town ends and the dunes begin, and walk out onto the sand to watch the sunset turn Erg Chebbi red. Dinner is at the riad.

Day 2: a full day in Erg Chebbi

After breakfast, you set off by 4x4 on a loop around the dune sea. Your driver knows the desert tracks, and the day is built around the people and places that most visitors drive straight past.

• A nomad family. Several Amazigh families still live semi-nomadic lives around Erg Chebbi. You’re welcomed into their tent for mint tea and a glimpse of a life organised around water, grazing and the seasons.
• Mfis. On the edge of the desert near the Algerian border lie the ruins of a lead-mining settlement, abandoned when the mines closed. The empty shafts, rusting machinery and crumbling houses make an eerie contrast with the dunes.
• Khamlia. In this village, the descendants of West Africans who came north with the trans-Saharan caravans keep Gnawa music alive. Listen to the drums and iron castanets over a glass of tea.
• Dayet Srij. From February to April, when there has been rain, a seasonal lake forms north-west of the dunes and attracts flamingos and other water birds. It’s dry in other months, so this stop depends on the season.

In the late afternoon, the camels are waiting at the edge of the erg. Ride deep into the dunes for the sunset and arrive at camp as the first stars appear. Dinner is followed by drumming around the fire.

Day 3: Rissani and the gorges

Climb a dune for the sunrise, then ride back for breakfast. The road west passes through Rissani, the ancestral home of the Alaouite kings, whose market is busiest on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Beyond Rissani the landscape becomes a wide, stony plain until Tinghir appears, with its palm groves stretching along the river. In the Todra Gorge the canyon narrows dramatically, and you walk along the stream between walls around 300 metres high. In the afternoon you continue to the Dades Valley and drive up into the gorge itself, past the famous switchback road and the “monkey fingers” rock formations, before dinner and the night at a kasbah hotel.

Day 4: kasbahs, a guided ksar and the High Atlas

The last day follows the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs. You pass the rose fields of Kelaat M’Gouna and the Skoura palm grove, where family kasbahs rise among the trees, then Ouarzazate. At Ait Ben Haddou, a local guide takes you up through the ksar, explaining how its families lived, farmed and defended themselves in these tall earthen houses, and why the village has attracted so many film crews.

After lunch you cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass, at 2,260 metres, and descend through Amazigh villages to Marrakech. You arrive at your riad in the early evening.

Where you’ll sleep

• Merzouga riad (1 night): a traditional riad at the foot of Erg Chebbi, with a private room and bathroom, dinner and breakfast.
• Erg Chebbi camp (1 night): our luxury desert camp, with a private tent for your booking, en-suite hot shower and flushing toilet, comfortable beds and electricity for charging. Heavy blankets are provided in winter, and family tents are available on request.
• Dades Valley (1 night): a kasbah hotel with a private room and bathroom, dinner and breakfast.

Prefer to sleep in the dunes both nights? We can book both Merzouga nights at the camp instead.

Best time to go

March to May and September to November bring the most comfortable temperatures, and spring is also the season for the Dayet Srij lake and the roses. Winter days are bright and clear, with cold nights and occasional snow on the mountain passes. In summer, the desert day starts early, and the hottest hours are spent resting at the riad.

Who this tour is for

Travellers heading from Fes to Marrakech who want real time in the Sahara (a full day and two nights) and a proper stop at the gorges and kasbahs, all in four days. It works especially well for couples and families who find a single desert night too rushed.

Good to know

• Market day: the Rissani souk runs on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Start on a Saturday, Monday or Wednesday to catch it on day 3.
• Tips for musicians and nomad families are optional and not included. A small amount in dirhams is appreciated.
• Arriving in Marrakech: most riads are inside the car-free medina, so your driver will walk you from the nearest drop-off point.
• Prefer shorter days? The 5-day Fes to Marrakech tour adds a night in Ouarzazate and a visit to Telouet.