Fez to Marrakech: 2-Day Sahara & Merzouga Camel Trek

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/11

Duration2d

GroupUp to 14

PickupAt your hotel

Two Days Crossing the Sahara: From Fez's Medina to Desert Stars

You travel from Fez through the Middle Atlas to Merzouga's Erg Chebbi dunes, spend a night in a Berber camp with dinner and starlight, ride camels at sunrise and sunset, and wake to breakfast before driving on to Marrakech. Transport, meals, and accommodation are all arranged, so you only show up ready to go.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Travel to Merzouga via Atlas Mountains

Pick up from riad at 7:30 am
Drive through Middle Atlas Mountains
Visit Ifrane and see lion statue
Stop at Midelt town
Explore Ziz valley
Arrive Merzouga and camel ride
Enjoy Berber camp dinner and drumming

Day 2 — Sunrise and drive to Marrakech

Wake up early for Sahara sunrise
Camel ride back to hotel
Have breakfast at hotel
Drive to Marrakech

The Experience

You're standing in your Fez riad the night before, and something shifts. Tomorrow you leave the narrow streets and tile-work behind for seven hours of driving south through the Middle Atlas, and by evening you'll be on a camel watching the light drain from the Sahara. The pickup happens at 7:30 am—early enough that the city is still waking up—and your driver collects you with an air-conditioned van, speaking French or English depending on the group. The route takes you through Ifrane, known for its alpine chalets and pine forests (it's called the Switzerland of Morocco, and you'll see why), then down through Midelt, a market town sitting between two mountain ranges where the landscape starts to open up and flatten.

By afternoon you're in the Ziz valley, and the Sahara is no longer something you're driving toward—it's what you're driving through. The dunes appear first as a line on the horizon, then they're everywhere, and the van pulls into Merzouga where the camels are actually waiting. The camel trek lasts about 45 minutes, and it's slower and more rhythmic than you'd expect, the animal's pace forcing you to look around instead of checking your phone. You reach the Berber camp as the light goes gold, and dinner happens under canvas with the smell of tagine and woodsmoke. At night the sky fills with stars in a way that feels almost aggressive—so many that you stop trying to find constellations and just stare.

The second morning starts before sunrise. You ride the camel back to camp for breakfast while the dunes are still gray, then watch the sun actually arrive, turning everything amber and pink. After that, the drive to Marrakech is long—around six hours—but you're heading west now, back toward the cities, carrying the desert with you in a way that doesn't quite fade.

What’s included

Your two days include hotel or riad pickup at 7:30 am on day one, air-conditioned transport with a professional driver throughout, passage through Ifrane and the Ziz valley, a 45-minute camel trek in Merzouga, one night in a standard Berber desert camp, dinner and breakfast, and drop-off in Marrakech on day two. The sunrise camel ride on the second morning is part of the experience.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Group Morocco Travel

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see the Sahara and sleep under stars without arranging transport, camp bookings, or camel logistics yourself—the fixed itinerary and included meals mean you arrive in Fez and leave from Marrakech with nothing else to organize.