3-Day Shared Desert Tour from Marrakech to Fes

If you’re travelling around Morocco on a budget, this is the most rewarding way to get from Marrakech to Fes. Instead of spending a day on the train, you spend three days crossing the country through the High Atlas, the kasbah valleys of the south, the Sahara and the Middle Atlas. You travel in a small group of no more than 12, and you arrive in Fes with a night in the desert behind you.

Like all our shared tours, it keeps one promise that most budget group tours don’t: every booking has a private room at the hotel and a private tent with its own bathroom at camp, including solo travellers, with no single supplement.

The route at a glance

• Day 1: Marrakech → Tizi n’Tichka → Ait Ben Haddou → Ouarzazate → Valley of Roses → Dades Valley (about 350 km)
• Day 2: Dades Valley → Todra Gorge → Tinghir → Erfoud → Merzouga, then by camel into Erg Chebbi (about 290 km)
• Day 3: Erg Chebbi → Ziz Valley → Errachidia → Midelt → Azrou cedar forest → Ifrane → Fes (about 470 km)

A day-by-day rhythm

Times are approximate and depend on the season, the group and the roads, but this is how the three days usually unfold.

Day 1

• Around 7:30am: pickup from your riad or a nearby meeting point in Marrakech.
• Morning: the climb over the High Atlas, with photo stops on the Tizi n’Tichka pass.
• Late morning: Ait Ben Haddou. Time to walk up through the ksar to the granary at the top.
• Afternoon: lunch, then east past Ouarzazate, Skoura and Kelaat M’Gouna.
• Late afternoon: arrival at your kasbah hotel in the Dades Valley, with dinner together in the evening.

Day 2

• Morning: a short drive to the Todra Gorge, and a walk between its towering rock walls.
• Midday: lunch around Tinghir, then across the desert plateau via Erfoud.
• Late afternoon: arrival in Merzouga. Pack a small bag for the night; your main luggage goes to camp by 4x4.
• Sunset: the camel ride into Erg Chebbi, about an hour and a half, stopping on a ridge to watch the sun go down.
• Evening: dinner, drums and a campfire at camp.

Day 3

• Sunrise: climb a dune near camp, then ride back for breakfast.
• Morning: north through the palm groves and canyon of the Ziz Valley.
• Midday: lunch in Midelt, between the Middle and High Atlas.
• Afternoon: the cedar forest near Azrou, where Barbary macaques often come close to the road, then a coffee stop in Ifrane.
• Late afternoon: arrival in Fes and drop-off at your accommodation or the nearest car-accessible gate.

Highlights along the way

• Ait Ben Haddou: a UNESCO-listed village of earthen towers and houses, once a caravan stop between the Sahara and Marrakech.
• The Todra Gorge: a limestone canyon about 300 metres deep, narrowing to a few metres at its tightest point.
• Erg Chebbi: Morocco’s largest field of sand dunes, with crests up to around 150 metres high.
• The Ziz Valley: a deep, green river canyon full of date palms, one of the most photogenic views in the south.
• The Middle Atlas: cedar forests, highland pastures and the tidy mountain town of Ifrane.

Planning your budget

Shared tours keep costs down, and it’s easy to plan for the extras. Included are transport, fuel and tolls, two nights’ accommodation, two breakfasts and two dinners, the camel ride, sandboarding and the 4x4 luggage transfer to camp. You’ll need cash for:

• Lunches on all three days, at simple roadside restaurants. You choose what to eat.
• Drinks, including bottled water and anything extra at dinner.
• Entrance fees, for example to Ait Ben Haddou.
• Optional local guides at Ait Ben Haddou or the Todra Gorge, paid on the spot if you’d like one.
• Tips for your driver and camel handler, if you’re happy with their service.

There are ATMs in Ouarzazate, Tinghir, Erfoud and Midelt, but none in the dunes, so withdraw what you need on the way.

Packing for three climates

In three days this route passes through high mountains, the Sahara and the cool Middle Atlas, so pack in layers rather than bulk.

• For the desert: a scarf or cheche against sun and sand, sunglasses, high-factor sunscreen and comfortable trousers for the camel ride.
• For the night at camp: a warm fleece or down jacket (the desert gets cold after dark, even in spring), a torch or headlamp and a power bank.
• For the mountains: a windproof layer for the passes, which are often 10–15°C cooler than Marrakech.
• For Fes: comfortable walking shoes for the cobbled lanes of the medina, and a small bag for the camel so the rest can travel by 4x4.

Where you’ll sleep

• Dades Valley: a kasbah-style hotel, with a private room and bathroom for each booking.
• Erg Chebbi: our desert camp, with a private tent for each booking, an en-suite bathroom with hot shower and flushing toilet, and electricity for charging. In winter we add heavy blankets to every bed.

Your first evening in Fes

You arrive in Fes in the late afternoon, ready for a shower and a good dinner. Most riads are inside the car-free medina of Fes el-Bali, so your driver will take you to the nearest gate, where a porter can wheel your bags through the lanes. The medina is easy to get lost in, especially after dark, so ask your riad to guide you to dinner on the first night or eat in.

The next morning is the perfect time to explore. We can arrange a licensed guide for a half-day medina tour, to the Chouara tanneries, the Al-Attarine Madrasa and the Al-Qarawiyyin mosque and university, so you see the highlights without getting lost.

Shared or private?

On the private 3-day Marrakech to Fes tour you have your own vehicle, choose your departure time and stop wherever you like, and local guides are included. The shared tour follows a fixed plan, but costs considerably less and comes with ready-made travel companions. If you’re comparing shared options, the 3-day shared tour from Marrakech takes the same route but returns to Marrakech instead of continuing to Fes.

Who this tour is for

Budget-minded travellers heading north from Marrakech to Fes who’d like company on the road and a private space to sleep. It suits solo travellers especially well, and anyone travelling around Morocco by train and bus who wants the desert as part of the journey rather than a separate detour.

Good to know

• Fixed schedule: departure is around 7:30am and stops follow the group plan. For your own pace and vehicle, choose the private 3-day Marrakech to Fes tour.
• Day 3 is the long one: about 7.5 hours with stops, arriving in Fes in the late afternoon.
• Minimum group size: tours run with at least 4 guests. We confirm the departure when you book.
• Winter travel: snow can fall on the Middle Atlas and the Tizi n’Tichka between December and February. Pack warm clothes, and your driver will adjust stops if the roads require it.
• Tell us about dietary needs when you book, so the hotel and camp can plan meals for you.