6-Day Tangier to Marrakech Tour: Chefchaouen, Fes & the Sahara

This private six-day tour crosses Morocco from the Strait of Gibraltar to Marrakech, with time to enjoy the north before heading into the desert. You start at the tip of Africa, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean at Cap Spartel, and spend your first night in the blue town of Chefchaouen. Then you visit the Roman city of Volubilis and the imperial city of Meknes on the way to Fes, where you spend two nights and a full day with a licensed guide. The second half of the trip takes you over the Middle Atlas to the dunes of Erg Chebbi for a night at our luxury camp, and west through the gorges and kasbahs of the south to Marrakech.

Compared with our 5-day tour, the extra day gives you Cap Spartel, Volubilis, Meknes and a full day in Fes instead of an afternoon.

The route at a glance

• Day 1: Tangier → Cap Spartel → Caves of Hercules → Rif Mountains → Chefchaouen (about 150 km)
• Day 2: Chefchaouen → Volubilis → Meknes → Fes (about 260 km)
• Day 3: Full day in Fes with a licensed guide
• Day 4: Fes → Ifrane → Middle Atlas → Ziz Valley → Merzouga, then by camel to camp (about 470 km)
• Day 5: Erg Chebbi → Rissani → Todra Gorge → Dades Valley (about 310 km)
• Day 6: Dades Valley → Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou → Tizi n’Tichka → Marrakech (about 350 km)

Day 1: where two seas meet

Your driver meets you at Tangier Ibn Battouta Airport, at one of the ferry ports (Tanger Ville or Tanger Med) or at your hotel. The first stop is Cap Spartel, a headland west of the city with a lighthouse, where you can look out over the point where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean meet. On a clear day, you can see the coast of Spain across the strait.

A few kilometres south are the Caves of Hercules. According to legend, the hero rested here after one of his labours. The cave’s sea-facing opening, shaped like a map of Africa, frames the Atlantic waves. Then you head inland into the Rif Mountains and arrive in Chefchaouen in the late afternoon, in time to explore its blue lanes and watch the evening light on the mountainside.

Day 2: Romans and sultans

After breakfast, you drive south to Volubilis, once a flourishing Roman city on the edge of the empire. Its ruins spread across a ridge above olive groves, and many of its houses still have their mosaic floors, showing scenes from mythology. Walk along the main avenue, the Decumanus Maximus, to the triumphal arch and the basilica. A guide at Volubilis is available as an optional extra.

A short drive away is Meknes, one of Morocco’s four imperial cities. In the late 17th century, Sultan Moulay Ismail made it his capital and built walls, palaces and granaries on a gigantic scale. You see Bab Mansour, the ornate gate that leads into the old imperial city, and his mausoleum, which non-Muslims may visit. In the late afternoon you reach Fes and settle into your riad in the medina.

Day 3: a full day in Fes

A licensed local guide takes you through Fes el-Bali for the whole day. You start at the golden gates of the Royal Palace and walk through the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, before entering the medina proper. Inside, you visit the Al-Attarine and Bou Inania madrasas, masterpieces of 14th-century Marinid architecture, the Nejjarine fountain, the Chouara tanneries and the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque and university, founded in 859. At the end of the day, you drive up to the Merenid Tombs to watch the sunset over the medina, with the calls to prayer rising from hundreds of mosques.

Day 4: across the Atlas to the dunes

The longest drive of the tour, about seven and a half hours, takes you from the imperial cities to the Sahara. You climb through Ifrane and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, where Barbary macaques roam, stop for lunch in Midelt and descend the Ziz Valley, where palm groves line the river. At Merzouga, camels carry you into the dunes of Erg Chebbi for the sunset, and you spend the night at our luxury camp.

Day 5: the gorges

After sunrise over the dunes and breakfast, you pass through Rissani, where the souk is busiest on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and drive west to Tinghir and the Todra Gorge. Walk along the river between its sheer walls, then continue to the Dades Valley for the night.

Day 6: Ait Ben Haddou and Marrakech

The final day follows the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the Valley of Roses and Ouarzazate to Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified earthen village and UNESCO World Heritage Site. After exploring it, you cross the High Atlas via the Tizi n’Tichka pass and arrive in Marrakech in the late afternoon.

Arriving by ferry

If you’re crossing from Spain, the timing of your ferry shapes day one. Fast ferries from Tarifa arrive at Tanger Ville, in the city centre, after about an hour. Ferries from Algeciras usually arrive at Tanger Med, about 45 kilometres east. We’ll plan the Cap Spartel and Caves of Hercules visits around your arrival. If your ferry is late in the day, we may skip them to reach Chefchaouen before dark. If you’re driving your own car across, we can help you find secure parking in Tangier while you’re on tour.

Where you’ll sleep

• Chefchaouen (1 night): a riad in the medina, with breakfast.
• Fes (2 nights): a riad in the medina, with breakfast.
• Erg Chebbi (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. Dinner and breakfast are included.
• Dades Valley (1 night): a kasbah hotel with dinner and breakfast.

Best time to go

The best seasons are spring and autumn, when the north is green and the south is warm but not hot. In winter, the Rif and Fes can be rainy, and the desert nights are cold. In summer, ferries across the strait are busy, and Fes and the desert are hot, so sightseeing is planned for mornings and evenings.

Who this tour is for

Travellers arriving in the north who want to explore Tangier’s coast, Chefchaouen and Fes properly before heading into the Sahara. It suits anyone who enjoys history as much as landscapes.

Good to know

• Check your ferry port: Tanger Ville (from Tarifa) is in the city centre, while Tanger Med (from Algeciras) is about 45 km east. We’ll plan day one around it.
• Modest dress is appreciated in Meknes and Fes: shoulders and knees covered.
• Entrance fees at the Caves of Hercules, Volubilis, the madrasas and other monuments are paid on the spot.
• Want Marrakech too? Our 7-day tour adds a riad night and a guided day in Marrakech.