Marrakech to Fes Through the Desert: 4 Days, Two Dune Sunsets

About the Marrakech to Fes desert tour

This private Marrakech to Fes desert tour connects Morocco’s two most famous cities through its most dramatic landscapes. Over four days you cross the High Atlas by the old caravan road of Telouet, follow the Dades and Todra gorges, spend two nights at the foot of the Erg Chebbi dunes and finish over the cedar-covered Middle Atlas in Fes.

Unlike rushed three-day versions, this itinerary gives you a full afternoon in the desert and two sunsets on the dunes, with one night in a camp and one in a guesthouse with a pool. It is the route we recommend to first-time visitors who arrive in Marrakech and fly home from Fes.

Your driver-guide stays with you the whole way, sorts out the camel trek and the hotels, and knows the best tea stops and roadside viewpoints.

Highlights

• The old Telouet caravan road and Glaoui kasbah
• Aït Benhaddou and the Ounila Valley
• Two sunsets in the Erg Chebbi dunes
• Fossil workshops in Erfoud
• Ziz Valley and Middle Atlas cedar forests
• Drop-off at your riad in Fes

Route map of the Marrakech to Fes desert tour

The golden dunes of Erg Chebbi: camel treks at sunset, nights under the stars and Berber music by the fire. All tours in Merzouga

Day-by-day itinerary: 4 days

1. Day 1 Marrakech – Telouet – Ounila Valley – Aït Benhaddou – Dades

   ≈ 350 km · 8 h with stops Hotel in the Dades Valley

   After the Tizi n’Tichka pass we leave the main road for Telouet, home of the Glaoui pashas, whose kasbah still has beautifully painted rooms. A quiet road follows the Ounila Valley down to Aït Benhaddou for a walk through the ksar. Continue past Ouarzazate and Skoura to the Dades Valley for dinner.

2. Day 2 Dades Gorge – Todra Gorge – Merzouga

   ≈ 260 km · 6 h with stops Desert camp in Erg Chebbi

   Morning in the upper Dades Gorge, then Tinghir and an easy walk through the Todra Gorge. Afternoon drive to Merzouga and a camel trek into the dunes for sunset. Dinner, Berber drums and a night at camp.

3. Day 3 Desert day around Merzouga

   Short 4x4 drives Guesthouse with pool in Merzouga

   Sunrise and breakfast in the dunes, then a 4x4 tour: nomad families, the Gnawa village of Khamlia and the old Mfis mines. Lunch in Merzouga and a free afternoon by the pool, or sandboarding and a quad ride if you want adventure. Second sunset on the dunes.

4. Day 4 Merzouga – Erfoud – Ziz Valley – Midelt – Ifrane – Fes

   ≈ 470 km · 8 h with stops End of the tour

   Fossil workshop in Erfoud, then the palm-filled Ziz gorges and lunch in Midelt. Cross the Middle Atlas through the cedar forest of Azrou, home of the Barbary macaques, and Ifrane, before arriving in Fes in the evening.

Times and driving durations are approximate and can be adapted. It is a private tour, so you can change stops with your driver-guide.

Prices for the Marrakech to Fes desert tour

Your private tour, with prices per group size. All prices are in euros and include everything listed under “What’s included”.

The more you are, the less you pay per person. Children count as travellers when they need a bed.

Where you sleep

• Night 1Hotel in the Dades Valley
• Night 2Desert camp in Erg Chebbi
• Night 3Guesthouse with pool in Merzouga

What's included