3-Day Shared Desert Tour from Fes to Marrakech

This is the small-group version of our Fes to Marrakech desert crossing. You travel with other guests in an air-conditioned minibus, with a maximum of 12 people, and follow a fixed three-day route through the Sahara: over the Middle Atlas to the dunes of Erg Chebbi, then west through the Todra Gorge and the Dades Valley, and over the High Atlas to Marrakech.

Sharing the transport keeps the cost down, but you don’t have to share your space. Every booking, including solo travellers, has its own tent at the desert camp and its own room at the kasbah hotel, with no single supplement.

How the shared tour works

• Group size: from 4 to 12 guests. We confirm the departure when you book. If the minimum isn’t reached, we offer you another date or an upgrade to the private tour.
• Departure: around 8:00 am from your riad in Fes or the closest meeting point. We confirm the exact time two days before.
• Schedule: the route and stops are fixed, so the group moves together. Your driver builds in time for photos, lunch and short walks.
• Local guides: at Ait Ben Haddou and the Todra Gorge, you can hire a local guide on the spot if you’d like a deeper visit. It’s optional and paid directly.

The route at a glance

• Day 1: Fes → Ifrane → Azrou cedar forest → Midelt → Ziz Valley → Merzouga, then by camel to camp (about 470 km)
• Day 2: Erg Chebbi → Rissani → Tinghir → Todra Gorge → Dades Valley (about 310 km)
• Day 3: Dades Valley → Valley of Roses → Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou → Tizi n’Tichka → Marrakech (about 350 km)

Day 1: the long road to the dunes

The group sets off from Fes and climbs into the Middle Atlas. The first stop is Ifrane, the alpine-style town where the royal family keeps a summer palace and where the air is noticeably cooler than in the city. The minibus then continues through the cedar forest near Azrou, where Barbary macaques often wait by the road.

You cross the high plateau to Midelt for lunch and continue south over the mountains. The Ziz river leads you down through its gorge and into the palm-filled Ziz Valley, where villages of earth and straw line the edge of the oasis.

In Merzouga the camels are ready. The ride into Erg Chebbi takes about an hour and a half, long enough to feel the silence of the desert settle in. You’ll stop on the dunes for the sunset before reaching camp, where your main luggage is already waiting, having travelled by 4x4. The evening ends with dinner, a campfire and Berber drums. Shared tours often make for lively evenings, with travellers from all over the world trading stories around the fire.

Day 2: through the gorges

The camp wakes up for sunrise over the dunes, followed by breakfast. The group then drives through Rissani, the old caravan town where the ruling Alaouite dynasty began; if you travel on a Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday, the souk is in full swing.

West of Rissani, the route crosses the pre-Saharan plateau to Tinghir and turns into the Todra Gorge. The walk along the river between its sheer walls, which rise about 300 metres, is one of the highlights of the tour. In the afternoon you continue to the Dades Valley, with its famous switchback road and the eroded “monkey fingers” rocks, and check in to a kasbah hotel for dinner and the night.

Day 3: kasbahs and the High Atlas

The last day follows the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the Valley of Roses, where rose bushes line the fields and the roses bloom in late April and May. The group then passes through Ouarzazate, the desert gateway and home of Morocco’s film industry, and reaches Ait Ben Haddou. You have time to explore this UNESCO-listed earthen ksar and climb to the top for the view.

The final climb takes you over the Tizi n’Tichka pass, at 2,260 metres, the highest main road pass in Morocco, before the descent through Amazigh villages to Marrakech. You’re dropped at your accommodation, or at the nearest point cars can reach, in the early evening.

Travelling solo on a shared tour

Many of our shared guests travel alone, and the tour is designed with them in mind. You never have to share a tent or a room with a stranger, and there’s no single supplement. During the day you’re part of a small group, which makes the long drives more sociable, and at camp you’ll find it easy to join in around the fire or take yourself off to a quiet dune to watch the stars.

A few practical tips help. Keep your passport, money and phone in a small bag that stays with you, and pack only what you need for the night at camp; your main luggage stays safe in the 4x4. Carry some cash in dirhams for lunches, drinks and tips, as card payment is rare outside the cities. Your driver speaks English and is there to help with anything from ordering lunch to finding a pharmacy. If you have dietary needs, tell us when you book so the camp and the kasbah hotel can prepare for you.

Where you’ll sleep

• Erg Chebbi (1 night): a desert camp with a private tent for your booking, en-suite hot shower and flushing toilet, and electricity for charging. Heavy blankets are provided in winter.
• Dades Valley (1 night): a kasbah hotel with a private room and bathroom.

Breakfast and dinner are included each day. Lunches are at roadside restaurants chosen by your driver and paid on the spot.

Best time to go

Shared departures run all year. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons. In winter the nights at camp are cold, and snow can slow the crossing of the Middle Atlas or the High Atlas. In summer the desert is hot in the middle of the day, but the sunset ride and the early morning are pleasant.

Who this tour is for

Solo travellers, couples and friends on a budget who are heading from Fes to Marrakech and want company on the road with privacy at night.

Good to know

• Fixed schedule: departure is around 8:00 am, and we confirm the exact time two days before. For your own pace, choose the private 3-day tour.
• Minimum group size: tours run with at least 4 guests. We confirm the departure when you book.
• Pack a small overnight bag for the camp. Your main luggage travels by 4x4.
• Prefer not to ride? You can reach camp by 4x4 instead of by camel, at no extra cost.
• Want a slower pace? The 4-day shared tour adds a second night in the desert.