A convenient three-day journey that links Fes and Marrakech through the desert, so you see the Sahara without doubling back.
Tour highlights
- Middle Atlas cedar forests
- Merzouga and Erg Chebbi dunes
- Overnight desert camp
- Todra Gorge
- Ait Ben Haddou
Itinerary
Day 1 — Fes to Merzouga (about 460 km)
We start early, after breakfast, and cross the wooded Middle Atlas through Azrou, then Midelt and the Ziz Valley, with its fortified villages and long lines of palms. We reach Merzouga in time for dinner, then ride by camel into the Erg Chebbi dunes for a night in a desert camp.
Day 2 — Merzouga to Ouarzazate (about 365 km)
We wake for sunrise over the dunes and take a short camel trek back before breakfast. The day's drive follows the Todra Gorge and the Dades Valley to Ouarzazate, with lunch at the Yasmina restaurant in the Todra. There is time in the afternoon for the film studios — Lawrence of Arabia and many others were shot here — and the Tifoultout and Taourirt kasbahs, before dinner and the night in town.
Day 3 — Ouarzazate to Marrakech (about 200 km)
After breakfast we visit Ait Ben Haddou, the earthen city on the old caravan road, and have lunch there. We then climb the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m) across the High Atlas and come down through the foothills to Marrakech.
What's included
- Private, air-conditioned transport for the whole route, with a professional driver
- Licensed local guides for the city visits
- Accommodation in riads, hotels or a desert camp, as described in the itinerary
- Daily breakfast
- The camel trek in the Sahara
- Airport transfers
What's not included
- International flights
- Travel insurance
- Most lunches and dinners
- Entrance fees to monuments and sites
- Tips for your driver and guides
