A Taste of Morocco: Fes, Sahara Desert & Marrakesh – 5 Days
- Private vehicle & driver — Pick-up at your riad, pace set by you
- Local licensed guide — Licensed guide nº2898 · since 2011
- Book on WhatsApp — Reply within 1 hour · no payment at this stage
- Joins Fes and Marrakech through the Sahara — no backtracking
- Guided exploration of Fes el-Bali on arrival day
- Camel trek at dusk and an ensuite Erg Chebbi camp night
5 days out of Fes, fully private, from €750 per person — your own vehicle, driver and licensed guide, plus every night’s accommodation. Highlights: Ouarzazate and Aït Ben Haddou.
Fes to Marrakech with the Sahara in between — the classic crossing, done in five tight, well-cut days. You land in the world’s most medieval city, cross the Middle Atlas and sleep in the dunes, then ride the kasbah road into the Red City. No day is wasted and none is padded: this is the shortest itinerary that joins Morocco’s two great medinas through its greatest landscape.
It is built for open-jaw flights (into Fes, out of Marrakech — or reversed) and for travellers who would rather spend an evening in a dune camp than a third night in the same hotel. If you have only five days and want the full arc, this is the one we hand you first.
Fully private: your vehicle and driver-guide door to door, a licensed local guide in the Fes medina, an ensuite camp in the erg.
- Joins Fes and Marrakech through the Sahara — no backtracking
- Guided exploration of Fes el-Bali on arrival day
- Camel trek at dusk and an ensuite Erg Chebbi camp night
- Todra Gorge and the kasbah valley on the westward road
- Aït Ben Haddou and the Tichka pass before the Red City
Photos from the tour
Itinerary
Open a day to see the detail: transport, accommodation, meals and activity time.
Day 1 Fes, straight into the medina
Arrival in Fes and straight into the deep end — with a licensed local guide, because Fes el-Bali without one is a beautiful confusion. The blue gate, the carved cedar of the madrasas, a doorway view of Al-Qarawiyyin, the tanneries from a terrace with mint against the smell: a first pass that turns the maze into a map. The evening is yours on a rooftop as the swallows take the sky.
Day 2 The long road to the dunes
The crossing day, and it earns every kilometre: up into the Middle Atlas cedars (watch the roadside for Barbary macaques near Azrou), across the high plain to Midelt beneath the Ayachi wall, then down the Ziz gorges where a river of palms runs between cliffs. The sand arrives on schedule at Merzouga — camels saddle at golden hour, and your camp in the Erg Chebbi serves dinner under lanterns before the drums start.
Day 3 Desert towns and oases to Ouarzazate
Climb a dune before sunrise; it is the best fifteen minutes of effort in Morocco. After breakfast the route turns west through the desert towns and the fossil country of Erfoud, pausing at the Todra Gorge for the walk between its sheer walls. Kasbah country escorts you the rest of the way to Ouarzazate — 'the door of the desert' — for the night.
Day 4 Aït Ben Haddou and the Tichka to Marrakech
Two celebrities in one day. Aït Ben Haddou opens it: the UNESCO ksar in morning quiet, guided lane by lane up to the granary and its enormous view. The Tizi n'Tichka closes it: 2,260 m of pass, mint tea at the viewpoints, and the long descent into the pink sprawl of Marrakech. The evening belongs to Jemaa el-Fna, ten minutes from your riad.
Day 5 Marrakech and departure
Depending on your flight, a guided morning in the Red City — the Bahia's ceilings, the souks decoded — or a slow courtyard breakfast and one last errand in the lanes. Airport drop-off whenever you must: five days, the whole arc, both medinas and the desert between them.
Built for open-jaw tickets: into Fes, out of Marrakech, or the mirror image. The two long drives are the two most scenic roads in the country. Prime season October–April; in summer we start the desert stage at dawn and rest at midday.
Included in your tour
- Private air-conditioned 4×4 or minivan with English/French-speaking driver-guide — 5 days
- Pickup at Fes airport or your hotel
- Night 1: Fes riad — half-board
- Night 2: luxury ensuite desert camp — half-board
- Night 3: kasbah hotel, Ouarzazate — half-board
- Night 4: Marrakech riad — half-board
- Guided visit of Fes with a licensed local guide (Day 1)
- Guided visit of Marrakech with a licensed local guide (Day 5)
- Guided visit of the Aït Ben Haddou ksar (UNESCO)
- Camel trek in the dunes
- Drop-off at your Marrakech hotel or at the airport
Not included
- International flights
- Lunches and beverages
- Entrance fees to monuments and historical sites (optional — pay directly)
- Tips for guide and driver
- Personal expenses
- Travel insurance (recommended)
Questions travellers ask
What is a desert camp actually like?+
Our standard is the luxury ensuite camp: a proper bed with linen, a private bathroom with hot shower, rugs, lanterns, dinner served at camp and music by the fire. It is under canvas and off-grid — but closer to a small hotel in the dunes than to camping.
How long is the camel ride, and is it hard?+
About an hour into the dunes at sunset, at walking pace with a handler leading — no experience needed, and children love it. If camels are not for you, a 4×4 transfer to the same camp takes minutes; just tell us.
How cold does the desert get at night?+
Colder than anyone expects: near freezing on December–February nights, and a sharp drop after sunset in any season. Camps provide thick blankets; you provide a warm layer and something for your head.
Erg Chebbi or Zagora — which desert should I choose?+
Erg Chebbi (Merzouga) is the great dune sea — 150-metre dunes and the classic Sahara picture — but it is a long drive. Zagora's dunes are smaller and a day closer to Marrakech, ideal for 2-day tasters and young children. Our tour pages say clearly which one each route visits.
More answers in the “The desert experience” chapter of our Travel FAQ →
