Fez to Marrakech via Merzouga: 3-day desert & mountain tour

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/14

Duration3d

GroupUp to 30

LanguagesEN · FR +1

PickupAt your hotel

Cross Morocco's highest passes and deepest gorges in three days, sleeping in the Sahara.

A 3-day tour from Fez to Marrakech through the Atlas Mountains and Sahara desert, with camel trekking at Erg Chebbi, guided stops at Todra Gorge and the UNESCO-listed Kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou, and overnight stays in a desert nomad camp and a valley guesthouse. Hotel pickup is included; your guide speaks English, Spanish or French. Lunches and drinks are not included in the price.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Fes to Merzouga Desert Dunes

Pick up from Fes hotel or meeting point
Drive through Ifrane ski resort
Stop for lunch in Midelt
Pass Azrou cedar forest and Berber villages
Drive through Ziz valley palm oasis
Arrive Merzouga and camel ride to desert camp
Overnight in nomad tent at desert camp

Day 2 — Merzouga to Dades Gorges

Early breakfast and camel ride to camp lodge
Drive from Merzouga to Dades Gorges
Guided visit to Todra Gorges
Photography stop in Boumalne Dades
Visit Dades Roses Valley
Drive along Kasbah road to Dades Valley
Dinner and overnight in Dades Valley or Ouarzazate

Day 3 — Dades Valley to Marrakech via Ait Ben Haddou

Drive along Valley of the Roses to Kalaa Mgouna
Visit rosewater cooperative
Drive past Skoura oasis to Ouarzazate
Lunch and visit Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou
Photography stop at Tizi Ntichka Pass
Pass Berber villages in Atlas Mountains
Arrive in Marrakech and transfer to hotel

The Experience

The tour leaves Fez at 8am and heads south through Ifrane, the French-built ski resort that locals call the Switzerland of Morocco, then climbs into the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas. You'll stop for lunch in Midelt, a town built between two mountain chains and known for its fossils and apple production, before dropping into the Ziz valley—famous for date palms—and arriving at Merzouga by late afternoon. There you'll ride a camel into the Erg Chebbi sand dunes to watch the sunset, then spend the night in a nomadic desert camp.

Day two starts with an early breakfast and another camel ride back to the camp lodge, then a drive to Todra Gorge, where towering canyon walls rise on both sides of the road. You'll have time to walk and photograph the gorge before heading west to Dades Valley, stopping for pictures at Boumalne Dades along the way. Overnight is in a guesthouse in Kelaat Mgouna or Ouarzazate, depending on availability.

The final day takes you through the Valley of the Roses toward Ouarzazate, passing the date-palm oasis of Skoura. At Kasbah Aït Ben Haddou—a UNESCO World Heritage site that has stood in for various Hollywood film sets—you'll have lunch and a guided tour of the adobe fortress before the drive back to Fez begins. The route descends through the Tizi-n'Tichka Pass with a photography stop, passes through Berber villages built of stone and mud, and arrives in Marrakech by late afternoon. Your driver will drop you at your riad or hotel.

What’s included

Hotel pickup in Fez.
air-conditioned vehicle for all three days.
camel trekking at Erg Chebbi dunes.
overnight stays in a nomadic desert camp and a valley guesthouse.
live guide in English, Spanish or French.
visits to Todra Gorge, Dades Valley, and Kasbah Aït Ben Haddou with photography stops at Tizi-n'Tichka Pass and Boumalne Dades.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Marrakech City Life

Is this one for you?Book this if you're traveling between Fes and Marrakech and want one continuous journey through mountains and desert rather than separate day trips, with camel trekking included and private vehicle transport.