Fes to Marrakech Desert Crossing: 4-Day Private Tour
Fes to Marrakech with the desert taken slowly. An unhurried afternoon on the Erg Chebbi, Gnaoua drums in Khamlia, and camels into the dunes as the light turns orange.
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About this tour
Fes to Marrakech with the desert taken slowly. An unhurried afternoon on the Erg Chebbi, Gnaoua drums in Khamlia, and camels into the dunes as the light turns orange.
Tour highlights
- An unhurried afternoon in the desert: dune walking, fossil hunting, sandboarding, quad biking if you want it
- Khamlia village and a live Gnaoua performance
- Riding into the Erg Chebbi dunes by camel at sunset
- Sunrise over Erg Chebbi, followed by a camel ride back
- A luxury ensuite desert camp with a private tent, real beds, a hot shower, electricity and Berber drumming
- A Merzouga lodge with air conditioning in the rooms, a restaurant and a swimming pool
- Wild Barbary macaques at Azrou
- Ifrane, and the Middle Atlas cedar forests
- Midelt, then the long descent of the Ziz Valley past date palms, kasbahs and cliffs
- A guided walk through the Tinghir palm oasis
- Todra Gorge, with limestone cliffs 300m high
- Rissani, where the Alaouite dynasty began, and its dates market
- The Road of a Thousand Kasbahs into the Dades Valley
- Aït Ben Haddou, UNESCO-listed, and a set for Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and Game of Thrones
- The Skoura oasis and Kasbah Amridil
- An artisanal rosewater cooperative in the Valley of the Roses
- The Tizi n'Tichka Pass at 2,260m over the High Atlas
- Air-conditioned 4x4 or van for your group alone, a dedicated driver-guide, one way Fes to Marrakech
About this tour
A whole day at Merzouga sits in the middle of this private four-day route, which runs one way from Fes down to Marrakech. Day 1 runs out over the Saiss plains to Ifrane, into the Middle Atlas cedar forests at Azrou, then down by Midelt and the Ziz Valley to a lodge at Merzouga with a pool.
Day 2 never leaves the desert: Khamlia village and Gnaoua music before lunch, dunes and fossils and sandboards after it, then a camel out to a luxury ensuite camp at sunset. The last two days work through Rissani, Tinghir, Todra Gorge and a night in the Dades Valley, followed by the rose fields, Skoura with Kasbah Amridil, and Aït Ben Haddou before the Tizi n’Tichka pass drops you into Marrakech. Included are an air-conditioned 4×4 or van kept for your group alone, a dedicated driver-guide, collection in Fes, three nights on half-board and delivery to the door in Marrakech.
Day by day itinerary
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Day 01
Day 1 of 4
Fes - Ifrane - Azrou (cedars and apes) - Midelt - Ziz Valley - Merzouga lodge
Cedars, macaques and the long descent to the dunes
Collection is from your Fes hotel or riad. The road runs out across the Saiss plains to Ifrane, a town with an alpine look to it, and then up into the Middle Atlas cedar forests, where a stop at Azrou is usually rewarded with wild Barbary macaques. Midelt is the lunch halt. From there the land falls away into the Ziz Valley: thousands of date palms, kasbahs scattered along the riverbed, cliffs above. Erfoud comes and goes, and Merzouga follows. Your lodge sits at the edge of Erg Chebbi, with air conditioning in the rooms, a restaurant and a swimming pool. Dinner there, and the night, half-board.
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Day 02
Day 2 of 4
Merzouga - Khamlia village - Gnaoua music - desert exploration - sunset camel trek - luxury camp
Music in the morning, dunes all afternoon, camp by nightfall
You have the whole day here. It opens at Khamlia, where the Berber nomad families who settled the village are known across Morocco for Gnaoua: African rhythms braided with Berber tradition and Sufi devotion, carried on castanets and drums. Tea is poured, then the musicians play for a small audience. The afternoon is unstructured desert time, and you can spend it hunting fossils, walking the dunes, sandboarding, or sand-bashing on a quad bike. Come evening a camel carries you into the Erg Chebbi dunes as the light goes, ending at the luxury camp: your own ensuite tent, real beds, quality linens, a hot shower, electricity. Dinner is Moroccan and served under the stars, with drumming round the fire afterwards. The night is spent at the Merzouga luxury camp, half-board.
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Day 03
Day 3 of 4
Merzouga - Rissani - Tinghir oasis - Todra Gorge - Dades Valley
Back from the dunes through Rissani and the Todra narrows
You are up before first light for sunrise on the Erg Chebbi dunes, then back onto the camel for the ride to the main town, where your driver waits. First stop is Rissani, birthplace of the ruling Alaouite dynasty, and its dates market. At Tinghir a local guide walks you through the palm-lined oasis, pointing out the Berber villages, the goat herders and the traces of the town's Jewish heritage. Todra Gorge is next, its limestone walls standing 300 metres over the riverbed, and lunch is taken at the gorge. The afternoon follows the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs into the Dades Valley. Dinner and overnight at a Dades Valley hotel, private ensuite room with air conditioning, half-board. A different Dades Valley hotel can be substituted for a supplement of 40 EUR per person, dinner and breakfast included.
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Day 04
Day 4 of 4
Dades - Rose Valley - Skoura and Kasbah Amridil - Aït Ben Haddou - Tizi n'Tichka - Marrakech
Rose fields, a kasbah museum, a UNESCO ksar and the pass
After breakfast the route enters the Valley of the Roses. Come April and May the Damascus rose fields are in flower and an artisanal cooperative distilling rosewater is on the itinerary. The Skoura oasis follows, one of the largest palm groves in the country, where Kasbah Amridil is now a restored private museum of Berber building and irrigation. Then Ouarzazate, and after it Aït Ben Haddou, which sits on the UNESCO World Heritage list and has stood in for other worlds in Gladiator, Game of Thrones and Lawrence of Arabia. A guide takes you over the river and into the village, and lunch is at a local cafe with the ksar in view. The afternoon takes the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka Pass at 2,260m, past Berber villages built from stone and earth, and Marrakech comes up late in the day, where you are set down at your hotel or riad.
What's included
Included
- Air-conditioned private 4x4 or van and a driver-guide dedicated to you, 4 full days, Fes through to Marrakech
- Pickup from your hotel or riad in Fes
- Night 1: a Merzouga lodge, air-conditioned room, swimming pool, half-board
- Night 2: a luxury ensuite desert camp at Erg Chebbi, private tent, hot shower, half-board
- Night 3: a Dades Valley hotel, private ensuite room with air conditioning, half-board
- Camel trek at sunset on Day 2, camel ride at sunrise on Day 3
- Delivery to your Marrakech hotel or riad at the end
Not included
- Lunches and drinks
- Entry charges and local guides, settled directly
- Optional add-ons: quad biking and the 4x4 dune circuit
- Gratuities, entirely as you see fit
- Travel insurance, which we recommend
What to bring
- Glasses / lenses
- Sunscreen
- Hat
- Sunglasses
Good to know
Accommodation supplement: swapping Night 3 to a different Dades Valley hotel costs 40 EUR per person.
The luxury ensuite camp at Erg Chebbi is part of the standard package, not a paid upgrade.
Spring and summer schedule flip: between March and September the camp moves to Night 1 and the lodge to Night 2, which suits hot weather better, since the air-conditioned room and the pool then come after the night in the desert.
Vehicle: either a van or a Toyota Land Cruiser, used by your group alone across all 4 days.
We adapt for vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diets and for allergies, provided you tell us at the time of booking.
Group rates
| Group size | Price per person |
|---|---|
| 1 person | €1,135 per person |
| 2 people | €635 per person |
| 3 people | €545 per person |
| 4 people | €495 per person |
| 5 people | €465 per person |
| 6 people | €415 per person |
| 7-9 people | €395 per person |
| 10-13 people | €345 per person |
| 14-17 people | €315 per person |
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