Day by day itinerary
1. Marrakech - Tizi n'Tichka (2,260m) - Aït Ben Haddou - Rose Valley - Dades Valley (High Atlas crossing to the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs, approx. 6 hours drive)
The car leaves your Marrakech hotel at about 08:00 and heads for the High Atlas Mountains, crossing at the Tizi n'Tichka pass, 2,260 m up, with pauses at traditional Berber villages along the way. Midday belongs to Aït Ben Haddou. The earthen towers of this UNESCO World Heritage Site have appeared in Gladiator, Game of Thrones and Lawrence of Arabia, and there is time to lose yourself in the maze of streets and climb to the top for the view. Lunch, not included, is taken at a local restaurant looking across at the ksar. The road then carries on via Ouarzazate to El Kelaa M'Gouna in the Valley of the Roses, where in spring, through April and May, you can stop at an artisanal rose water distillation factory. The day finishes in the Dades Valley, which people call the "Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs". Dinner and the night are at a hotel there, half board. An upgraded Dades Valley hotel is available for a 40 EUR per person supplement.
2. Dades Valley - Tinghir Oasis - Todra Gorge - Erfoud - Rissani - Merzouga (Gorges, desert markets and the sunset ride into the Sahara, approx. 4 hours drive)
Breakfast, then the road out of the Dades Valley to Tinghir. A local guide walks the oasis with you, along the irrigation channels and under the palms, telling the story of the town and of its Jewish heritage at the old Tinghir Kasbah. Todra Gorge is next, where the cliffs stand 300 metres over a flat riverbed you can walk, with time to follow the canyon and see the Todra River. The afternoon runs southeast through Erfoud, a town known for its fossils and its date market, and Rissani, where Morocco's Alaouite dynasty began. The Erg Chebbi dunes appear by mid-afternoon. Camels take you into them at sunset, and the ride ends at a luxury desert camp where the Sahara begins. Your tent is private and ensuite, with real beds, quality linens, electricity and a hot shower. Dinner is Moroccan and eaten under the stars, drumming follows around the campfire, and sandboarding is included. The night is spent at the camp, half board.
3. Merzouga - Ziz Valley - Midelt - Azrou (cedar forest and Barbary apes) - Ifrane - Fes (Sahara sunrise, the Ziz Valley, cedar forests and arrival in Fes, approx. 8 hours drive)
An early start puts you on the dunes for sunrise over the Sahara. Breakfast at camp, then the car points northeast toward Fes on a road you have not driven. The Ziz Valley comes first, a green corridor of date palm groves running below high cliffs, with photo stops as you go. Midelt, set between the Middle and the High Atlas, is the lunch halt, at a local restaurant. The afternoon crosses the Middle Atlas to Azrou, a Berber village known for the cedar forest around it, and you stop there to watch the Barbary macaques. Ifrane follows, the town they call the "Switzerland of Morocco" for its alpine-style buildings and green parks, with time for a coffee. Fes is reached at around 17:00, with the drop-off made at your accommodation.