Top-Rated On Tripadvisor
Trips for All Budgets
Experience the real Morocco with expert guides
Morocco desert tour from Fes to Marrakech 5 days – overview:
This exciting and revealing desert tour starts from Fes to the Middle Atlas, an area with Barbary apes in the cedar forests, apple orchards and mining towns.
Beyond the mountains and the dates of the Ziz Valley, the desert waits with a leisurely camel ride, an evening of Berber and nomad music around a camp-fire, and your own private tent in a luxury camp. All this is in the calm and silence of the dunes under a star-lit sky.
The fossils of Erfoud, and the geological formations of the Toudgha Gorges and the Dades Valley indicate the vast geological history of the region. The Rose Valley is full of sweet-scented Damascene roses, while the Skoura oasis offers a visit to the Kasbah Amredhil museum. This insight into Berber rural life is increased through visits to the most famous Kasbahs in Morocco, Aït ben Haddou and Telouet.
Book the trip of a lifetime and discover the true beauty and authenticity of authentic Moroccan culture.
Desert tour from Fes to Marrakech – highlights:
- Driving across the Middle Atlas Mountains with its Barbary apes in the cedar forests
- Enjoying a sunset camel ride in the red dunes of Erg Chebbi
- Sharing an evening of Berber music and drumming around a fire camp
- Spending a magical night in a spacious luxury tent in the desert camp
- Walking in the Toudgha Gorges and Dades Valley along the river
- Going off-road and visiting nomads before visiting Kasbah Amredhil in Skoura
- Exploring the most famous Kasbahs in Morocco, Aït ben Haddou and Telouet
What is included in the Fes to Marrakech desert tour:
- Transport in a private air-conditioned vehicle; 4×4 Toyota Prado TX or deluxe van and fuel
- Experienced local English/French/Spanish/Italian-speaking Berber and nomad driver/guide
- Accommodation in air-conditioned rooms/suites with private bathroom
- The night in a luxury camp in Erg Chebbi with private toilet and shower
- All meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner – with vegetarian and vegan options available
- A camel ride with a guide. And if you wish to do some sandboarding, just speak to the camp staff!
- Option to go to and return from the camp by 4×4
- Luggage service to the camp and all accommodation
- Free time to explore the sites such as Aït ben Haddou, Ounila Valley, Kasbah Amredhil in Skoura, for walks, photos, and tea/coffee breaks
- The opportunity to ask the driver to stop when and where you wish
- Entrance fees and local guide
- Tea, coffee and mineral water in the desert
What is not included:
- Drinks
- Tips
- Extras
Good to know about this Fes desert tour:
- This Fes desert trip can be customised to be more personal and special
- Activities such as day trips, cooking classes or sightseeing tours in Fes or Marrakech, a full day’s trekking, or an extra day in the Erg Chebbi dunes can be added
- You can choose to go to the camp either on camelback or by 4×4 (then you go for a camel ride from the camp)
- It is possible to do this tour the other way around, on this 5-day Marrakech to Fes desert trip
- You can always consult your driver about skipping some places or spending more time elsewhere
- Here is a downloadable packing list to help plan for your Moroccan desert tour
- We require a 30% deposit of the total price to book the car, while the balance is payable to us in the office in Ouarzazate
- We accept payment through PayPal, bank transfers in Europe, by credit card, or cash (USD, Euro, GBP or MAD)
- We offer a 25% discount for children under 12, and one child under 3 per family travels free of charge
- These prices are liable to fluctuation according to the current exchange rate
- Our prices can be subject to an increase over the busy season, and, in particular, the Christmas and New Year’s Eve period
Prices per person
| No Days | Meals |
|---|---|
| All-inclusive | |
| Total price | |
| 2 Persons |
|---|
| 645 € * |
| 1290 € * |
| 3 Persons |
|---|
| 615 € * |
| 1845 € * |
| 4 Persons |
|---|
| 585 € * |
| 2340 € * |
| 5 Persons |
|---|
| 545 € * |
| 2725 € * |
| 6 Persons |
|---|
| 545 € * |
| 3270 € * |
Fes to Marrakech luxury desert tour – itinerary:
1st day: Fes – Midelt
Departure from Fes at 8 o’clock, travelling past Ifrane, where the houses have sloping roofs, remarkable and unusual in Morocco. This is to cope with the yearly snowfall. Near Azrou, 1250 metres, with the geomorphologic Berber name which means “stone” or “rock”, you can see Barbary apes in the oak and cedar forests of the Middle Atlas. It is possible to stop here for a walk, if you wish.
From here we drive along the N13 south over the Middle Atlas, passing through Timahdite (once again a Berber name, and as the word begins and ends with the letter “t”, it signifies it is feminine.) We reach Midelt, 1508M, which is called “the apple capital” of Morocco and lies at the foot of the Ayachi Mountain.
The town serves as the commercial agricultural centre for the surrounding area and is also one of Morocco’s principle cities for the mining of several minerals, such as fluorite, vanadinite, quartz, and cerussite. The night is spent in a guest house.
2nd day: Midelt – Merzouga
After breakfast, we continue south travelling over the Tizi-n-Talghemt pass, known as “the she-camel” pass. We descend through the Ziz Valley, which is particularly well-known for its palm trees and the length of the oasis. All along the road, there are innumerable “ksars”, small villages of individual houses.
From here, we reach the mining town of Er Rachidia (e.g copper and malachite) and then Erfoud, famous for its date festival and fossils. It is fascinating to see how these millions of fossils have been worked into artifacts and so the shops are worth a visit. There is no obligation to buy anything!
You continue to Rissani and finally the famous red Erg Chebbi dunes in Merzouga. You take a camel ride of either setting out from the camp or to it. There is also the possibility to take the 4×4 to the camp.
You spend the night in a luxury camp with private bathroom, king-sized beds, beautiful Moroccan furnishings and lamps tastefully arranged to enhance your enjoyment of the silence and beauty of the dunes.
3rd day: Merzouga – Dades Gorges
If you wake up early enough, you can watch the spectacle of the sunrise, when the colour of the dunes and the play of shadows are an awesome sight. After breakfast at the camp, we leave for Tinghir and the Toudgha gorges.
On the way, you pass the water channels – “khettarat” – which you can descend into to appreciate the architecture and genius behind this form of irrigation which prevents evaporation in the summer heat. The channels start at a higher gradient at one end until they finally emerge at the surface of the soil where they are fed into the fields.
You can find out more about these channels by reading Andrew Wilson’s work. In the gorge and the valley, there are opportunities to walk beyond the gorge itself or by the village gardens and fields before you reach it.
Later the itinerary continues to the Dades Valley. The area, which now forms the Dades Gorges, lay at the bottom of the sea millions of years ago. Great quantities of sediment were deposited around giant coral reefs, and over time this material became compacted into a variety of sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone. Eventually, the movement of the earth’s crust caused the region to rise above the sea, forming the Atlas Mountains and surrounding landscape. The night is spent in a hotel or kasbah.
4th day: Dades Gorges – Ouarzazate
After breakfast, a visit to the Dades gorges and a short walk there is scheduled. Back at the car, the trip to Ouarzazate continues, going off-road along the Boutaghar piste to visit Berber nomads in their caves and partake of a glass of tea with them. This visit makes it clear to the visitor just how hard the existence is for these nomads in this very dry landscape, trying to feed their goats and bring up their children.
From here we continue through the Valley of the Roses, famous for its Rose Festival in May. Cosmetics and toiletry items are produced and valued throughout the country.
In Skoura and the oasis there, Kasbah Amredhil waits for a very worth-while visit. The kasbah has been beautifully restored and gives a clear idea of life within such housing. It is made entirely of adobe, an excellent building material; warm in winter and cool in summer, due to the thickness of the walls. 45 minutes later you reach Ouarzazate, where you spend the night in a guest house.
5th day: Ouarzazate – Marrakech
After breakfast, the route goes on to Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, one of Morocco’s seven World Heritage sites, and the backdrop for many Hollywood blockbusters. It is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and some of the buildings date back to the 17th century.
From here you drive along the beautiful and awe-inspiring Ounila Valley, full of bends in the roads and surprises at the hues of the rock and soil, Berber villages and gardens, as well as smaller Kasbahs.
We continue to Telouet set right in the midst of the mountains and once the seat of the last Pasha of Marrakech, El Glaoui, from where the highest pass in Africa, Tizi-n-Tichka was controlled. Each addition to the building now stands in ruins exposed to the wind and the rain, having been abandoned and plundered after the last Pasha’s property was confiscated for his having plotted the King’s exile
Unfortunately, the whole Kasbah is now closed due to the damage caused by the earthquake that struck Morocco in September 2023. Nevertheless, it is still worth visiting the exterior with a local guide to discover its rich history.
Wait to be pleasantly surprised by the traditional interior decoration as you reach the farthest end of the Kasbah. At the end of the afternoon, having crossed the Tizi-n-Tichka pass, we arrive in Marrakech. Your Morocco desert tour from Fes to Marrakech 5 days comes to an end around 18:00.
