8-Day Fes to Marrakech Desert Tour

On arrival at Fes Airport, a driver meets you and transfers you directly to your hotel or riad in the city, with the rest of the day free to rest and settle in ahead of tomorrow's full day of sightseeing.

After breakfast, a local guide leads a full day through Fes el Bali, widely considered Morocco's most historic imperial city and the largest car-free urban area in the world. The tour begins at the Golden Gate of the Royal Palace before continuing through the old Mellah, the city's historic Jewish quarter — one meaningful layer of Fes's multicultural history.

From there, the route winds deeper into the medina's oldest alleyways to the Chouara Tanneries, the largest traditional leather tanneries in Morocco, and on to the exterior of the Al-Qarawiyyin complex — founded over a thousand years ago and recognized as one of the oldest continuously operating universities in the world. Entry to the Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque itself is generally reserved for worshippers.

After lunch, the tour continues to the restored Nejjarine Fountain and its museum of wooden arts and crafts. The late afternoon is left free to explore the souks independently. Overnight stay in a medina hotel.

Leaving Fes after breakfast, the route climbs into the Middle Atlas Mountains toward Ifrane, often nicknamed Morocco's Switzerland for its alpine architecture and cool climate, and on through a large cedar forest, where wild Barbary macaques may be seen close to the road.

Midelt, known locally as the Apple City for its orchards, is the stop for lunch, before the drive continues south along the Ziz Valley, where a long belt of palm oases opens out beneath panoramic viewpoints. The group arrives at the edge of the Merzouga desert around sunset, overnighting in a traditional adobe-style kasbah guesthouse at the foot of the dunes.

After breakfast, the day is spent exploring the dune field surrounding Merzouga, including the dunes of Erg Chebbi — among the tallest in the Moroccan Sahara. A visit is included to a nomadic family in the area, approached as a respectful visit rather than a staged stop.

There's time to walk through a green desert oasis before the group sets out by camel across the dunes toward a Berber camp for the night — a 4x4 transfer can typically be arranged instead if you'd prefer not to ride. The evening is spent around a campfire with traditional drumming, before sleeping beneath a clear desert sky in the middle of the dune field.

An early start before sunrise gives time to watch daybreak from among the dunes, before breakfast and departure toward the Dades Valley.

The route passes through Rissani, a historic trading market for nomads and villages across the surrounding desert region, followed by a stop in Erfoud, known for its fossil trade, with the option to visit a fossilized marble workshop.

The road then reaches the Todra Gorges, where the Todra River has carved a canyon of towering vertical rock walls popular with rock climbers. Lunch is taken on site, with a half-hour walk into the gorge to take in its scale at a relaxed pace. The afternoon continues into the Dades Valley, with dinner and overnight stay among the Dades Gorges — a broader landscape than Todra's narrow canyon, with kasbah-dotted views along the road.

After breakfast, the drive leaves the Dades Valley for the Valley of Roses, following the route of a thousand kasbahs through the palm oasis of Skoura. A stop is made in Ouarzazate, sometimes called the Hollywood of Africa for its film studios, where a visit to a working studio lot is possible.

The route continues to the Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Morocco's most recognizable fortified villages — historically a stop on the caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech, and more recently a filming location for productions including Gladiator. From there, the road climbs over the Tizi n'Tichka pass through the High Atlas, passing a string of Berber villages before descending into Marrakech. Dinner and overnight stay at a hotel.

Called "a striking example of the architecture of southern Morocco" by UNESCO World Heritage

After breakfast, a local guide leads a full day through Marrakech, the Red City. The tour covers the city's best-known landmarks, including the exterior of the Koutoubia Mosque, the Saadian Tombs, the Majorelle Gardens (entrance fee not included), and the ornate Bahia Palace.

Lunch is taken near Jemaa el-Fna square, followed by a stroll through the surrounding souks. The remainder of the afternoon and evening is left free to explore independently, with dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.

A driver collects you from the hotel and transfers you to Marrakech Airport, bringing the 8-day journey from Fes to Marrakech to a close.