Tangier to Marrakech 5-Day Tour: Desert, Cities & Culture

Tangier to Marrakech across five days: medinas, gorges and desert camps

This 5-day tour departs Tangier and travels south through Morocco's most visited landmarks: the blue-washed medina of Chefchaouen, the walled city of Fez, the Merzouga Desert with overnight in a Berber camp, the Todgha Gorges, and the kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou before ending in Marrakech. A guide leads you through the narrow streets and markets of Fez and Chefchaouen, while the route includes free time to explore on your own and stops at villages in the Atlas Mountains.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1: Tangier to Chefchaouen and Fez

• Travel from Tangier to Chefchaouen
• Free time to tour Chefchaouen medina
• Visit Uta el-Hammam square
• See Great Mosque and Kasbah
• Overnight stay in Fez riad
• Dinner in Fez

Day 2: Full day discovering Fez

• Breakfast at accommodation
• Guided tour of Fez medina
• Visit Royal Palace, potters, and tanners
• See oldest university
• Lunch in medina restaurant
• Dinner in Fez
• Overnight stay in Fez riad

Day 3: Fez to Merzouga Desert

• Breakfast at accommodation
• Travel via Ifrane ("Little Switzerland")
• Continue to Merzouga Desert
• Overnight in luxury Berber camp
• Dinner in camp

Day 4: Merzouga to Boumalne Dades

• Breakfast at camp
• Visit Todgha Gorge
• Travel to Boumalne Dades
• Dinner and overnight in riad or lodge

Day 5: Boumalne Dades to Marrakech

• Breakfast at accommodation
• Walk in Atlas hill villages
• Visit Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah
• Travel to Marrakech

The experience

Chefchaouen arrives on day one, where you get five hours to wander the medina at your own pace. The Uta el-Hammam square sits at the heart of the city (the place to eat and watch the light change on the painted buildings), and the Great Mosque with its octagonal tower and the Kasbah with its museum and gallery are the landmarks most visitors find. You overnight in a riad in Fez.

Day two is a full guided tour of Fez's medina, one of the largest walled cities in the world and a medieval maze that has stood since 790 AD. The narrow streets are packed with stalls selling fresh fruit, spices, Berber carpets and Moroccan crafts. The guide takes you to the Royal Palace, the potters' quarter, the tanners, and then to the oldest university in the world (older than Oxford or the Sorbonne) before lunch at a typical restaurant inside the medina. Another night in a Fez riad.

The route then climbs toward the desert. Day three passes through Ifrane, called the Little Switzerland of Morocco for its European architecture, and Midelt before reaching Merzouga, where you stay overnight in a luxury Berber camp. Day four takes you to the Todgha Gorges, where the canyon narrows to just 10 metres wide with rock walls 160 metres high on either side. The last 600 metres are the most dramatic. You overnight in a riad or lodge in Boumalne Dades. On the final day, you walk through villages in the Atlas foothills and stop at Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage kasbah, before the drive into Marrakech.

Private transportation runs throughout, with an air-conditioned vehicle, WiFi on board, and a live guide who speaks English, Spanish or French. Pickup is included from your Tangier accommodation.

What’s included

• Private transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle.
• WiFi on board.
• sterilized car, hand sanitizer and face mask.
• live guide in your choice of English, Spanish or French.
• pickup from your Tangier accommodation.
• four nights' accommodation in riads and a Berber camp.

Before you book

Lasts 5d, runs every day, 4 start times, from US$ 1,013.52 per person, with a live guide in English, Spanish and French, as a private tour and with free cancellation up to 24 h before.

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 08:00, 09:00, 10:00 and 11:00

Book up to2d before

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish, Spanish and French

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effortInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Intensely Morocco

Is this one for you?The tour moves every day or two, so you pack and unpack four times across five days. If you prefer to settle in one place, a longer stay in any single city would suit you better. If you want to see the range of Morocco in one trip (from the painted medinas to the desert to the Atlas villages), this pace delivers it.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish and French.

What is there to do during the five hours of free time in Chefchaouen?

Chefchaouen's medina is built for wandering. The Uta el-Hammam square is the center, surrounded by cafés and restaurants where you can sit and watch the city. The Great Mosque stands nearby with its distinctive octagonal tower, and the Kasbah contains a garden, a museum and an art gallery: all reachable on foot through the painted streets.

What happens on the full day in Fez?

A guide leads you through Fez's medina, the largest walled city of its kind in the world. You walk past the Royal Palace, visit the potters' and tanners' quarters, and see the oldest university in the world: founded before Oxford or the Sorbonne. Lunch is at a typical restaurant inside the medina, so you eat where locals do.

What are the Todgha Gorges like?

The Todgha Gorges narrow dramatically in the last 600 metres to a flat stony track just 10 metres wide, with sheer rock walls rising 160 metres on both sides. This section is the most spectacular part of the canyon and is where the tour stops.

Where do you sleep during the tour?

You stay in riads in Fez for two nights, a luxury Berber camp in Merzouga for one night, and a riad or lodge in Boumalne Dades for one night. Riads are traditional Moroccan houses built around a central courtyard.