Morocco Fabulous travel · Fes
Ten travellers at most ride with one English-speaking driver-guide from Fes over the Middle Atlas to the Erg Chebbi dunes, through the Todra and Dades gorges and across the High Atlas to Marrakech. Pick it for the camp: every booking gets a private tent with its own bathroom, which several cheaper tours charge extra for or don't list.
Morocco Fabulous travel runs this as a one-way trip: you start in Fes and finish in Marrakech, so you don't backtrack and you don't need a train afterwards. You meet the guide and the vehicle at the independence monument on Rue de la Poste, and the operator sends a photo of the vehicle two days before you leave. On the last evening you're dropped at the nearest point a car can reach to your Marrakech hotel or riad.
The camp is the reason to pay more. Night one is at Africa Luxury Camp or similar in the Erg Chebbi dunes, in a private tent with an en-suite bathroom, reached by camel. The listing promises the dunes at sunset and at sunrise, and sandboarding. Night two is a private air-conditioned room at Hotel Babylon Dades or similar in the Dades Gorges. Two breakfasts and two dinners are included, and so is the entry to the Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage ksar you walk with your guide for about an hour and a half.
Be clear about what this is: about 1,000 km in three days. Day one alone runs from Fes to Merzouga, 7 to 9 hours in the vehicle with short stops in Ifrane, the Azrou cedar forest and Aoufous. Guests rate it 5.0 from 597 reviews and still write that it's "a lot of driving". Lunches and gratuities are extra, and the listing rules it out for travellers with back problems, heart conditions or a pregnancy.
Meet at the monument on Rue de la Poste, pass the Fes medina, then 15-minute stops in Ifrane and the Azrou cedar forest.
A stop at Aoufous in the Ziz Valley, then Merzouga. You ride a camel to the camp for sunset, dinner and your en-suite tent.
Sunrise on the dunes, breakfast, then 40 minutes in the Rissani souks, a stop at the Todra Gorge and the drive to the Dades Gorges for dinner and the hotel.
A short stop in Ouarzazate, then about 1 hour 30 minutes at the Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou with your guide, entry included.
A 15-minute stop in the High Atlas, then Marrakech and drop-off near your hotel or riad.
★★★★★Was a great road trip, well organised from start to finish, our guide/driver Mostefa was very friendly, knowledgeable and a good guy. [...] Yes it was a lot of driving with 2 teenagers, but we had a very comfortable vehicle, lots of stops, and walk arounds. The desert camp was well set up, hotel in Dades was charming. All food on the trip was great, as vegetarians we were well catered for.
★★★★★This was a very fun and memorable tour. Our guide Mustapha got us everywhere we needed to go safely and on time, answered all of our questions, and guided us around some markets and other historical sights. [...] The desert accomodation and camel riding was also very nice.
★★★★★This was a fantastic experience. Great way to see a good part of the countryside. The camel ride was fun and sunset and sunrise at the desert was just wow!
★★★★★I loved this tour! The desert was such a beautiful experience. The places they picked to stay were perfect. [...] He taught us a lot about Morocco, high advised!
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Ten travellers at most, per the listing. You share one vehicle and one English-speaking driver-guide with the rest of the group.
Yes. The listing includes a private tent with an en-suite bathroom at a luxury camp in the Erg Chebbi dunes, Africa Luxury Camp or similar. Our camp guide explains why that matters.
At the independence monument, 14 Rue de la Poste, in Fes. The operator sends a photo of the vehicle two days before departure, and the tour ends at the nearest car-accessible point to your hotel or riad in Marrakech.
No. Two breakfasts and two dinners are included; lunches and gratuities are not.
Ready to book
Groups of up to 10, an en-suite desert tent, the Dades hotel and Ait Ben Haddou, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Marrakech to Fes 3-Day Desert TourStart at Jemaa el-Fna, Dades hotel on night one, a private en-suite tent in Erg Chebbi on night two, end in Fes. 10 at most.★ 5.0 · 3 days · from $382
Private Fes to Marrakech 3-Day Desert TourOnly your group in the vehicle: hotel pickup at 8 AM, one camel each to the camp, a Dades hotel night and drop near your riad.★ 5.0 · 3 days · from $572
Fez to Marrakech 3-Day Shared Desert TourThe most-reviewed tour here: pickup at your Fez riad, a camel trek to a nomad tent in Erg Chebbi, groups of up to 30, from $217.★ 4.8 · 3 days · from $217