Moroccan Highlights: Fes, the Sahara Desert & Marrakech – 6 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
- A full extra desert day — Rissani's real souk, nomad tea, the Todra Gorge
- Guided day in Fes el-Bali before the crossing
- Ensuite camp at the Erg Chebbi with sunset camels
This private 6-day circuit from Fes costs from €900 per person — your own vehicle, driver and licensed guide, never in a group. The route reaches Todra, Dades and Ouarzazate; hotels are included.
Six days from Fes to Marrakech that give the Sahara what the five-day version cannot: a whole extra day of it. After the guided medina day in Fes, you cross to the Erg Chebbi and stay long enough to live at desert rhythm — the Rissani souk in the morning, tea with nomads, the Todra canyon in the afternoon — before the kasbah road and the rose valley carry you to Aït Ben Haddou and over the Atlas.
The difference a day makes is not subtle. One desert night is a postcard; a desert night plus a desert day is a memory with texture — the sounds, the market, the pace. Every guest who has upgraded from five days to six has named that day the trip’s centre.
Private throughout, with a licensed guide in Fes, an ensuite camp at the erg, and a free final morning in Marrakech.
- A full extra desert day — Rissani's real souk, nomad tea, the Todra Gorge
- Guided day in Fes el-Bali before the crossing
- Ensuite camp at the Erg Chebbi with sunset camels
- The rose valley and Aït Ben Haddou on the kasbah road
- Ends with a free Marrakech morning before departure
Photos from the tour
Itinerary
Open a day to see the detail: transport, accommodation, meals and activity time.
Day 1 Fes, imperial and medieval
Fes first, and properly: a guided day through the imperial city — the royal palace doors, the mellah's balconied lanes, then into Fes el-Bali for the madrasas, the artisan souks and the tannery terraces. By evening you can read a little of the maze yourself, which is exactly the point. Dinner in the medina, rooftop if the night is warm.
Day 2 Over the Middle Atlas to the Sahara
South over the Middle Atlas — cedars, monkeys, the long views from the Midelt plain — then the theatrical descent of the Ziz gorges into date-palm country. Merzouga by late afternoon means one thing: camels at the golden hour, swaying into the Erg Chebbi as the dunes turn copper, and a camp night of lantern-lit dinner, fireside drums and outrageous stars.
Day 3 A desert day: Rissani and Todra
The bonus day, and the trip's heart. Rissani's souk in the morning — donkey park included, tourists a minority — then tea with a nomad family out on the reg, lunch back at Merzouga, and the Todra Gorge in the softer afternoon light for the canyon-floor walk. A second desert night, and this time the silence is familiar.
Day 4 Dades, Ouarzazate and the great ksar
West along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs: the Dadès valley's fortresses, the rose valley at Kalaat M'Gouna (pink and perfumed in season, handsome in any month), and the day's finale at Aït Ben Haddou — the great earthen ksar climbing its hill above the river oasis, best at exactly this hour.
Day 5 The Tichka pass to Marrakech
A guided morning inside Aït Ben Haddou if you want the stories, or straight over the Tizi n'Tichka with its viewpoint mint teas — either way, Marrakech receives you by late afternoon. First souk contact at dusk, when the lamps come on and Jemaa el-Fna starts its nightly theatre.
Day 6 Marrakech, then home
The last morning is deliberately unscheduled: a courtyard breakfast, one decisive purchase in the souk, perhaps the Bahia Palace early — then your transfer to Marrakech airport. Six days, two medinas, and a desert you actually inhabited.
Rissani's souk runs on set days of the week — we order the desert stage around it so you see the region's genuine market. Roses bloom in the Dadès in late April–May. Open-jaw friendly (Fes in, Marrakech out); October to April is the sweet season.
Included in your tour
- Private air-conditioned 4×4 or minivan with English/French-speaking driver-guide — 6 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, Todra Gorges — half-board
- Night 4: kasbah hotel, Ait Ben Haddou — half-board
- Night 5: Marrakech riad — half-board
- Guided visit of Fes with a licensed local guide (Day 1)
- 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 →
