Marrakech To Fes Desert Tour
From 155 /per person- 3 Days
- Superb1187 Reviews4.9
Marrakech, the Sahara desert, Fes, and the Blue City of Chefchaouen are on everyone’s bucket list when they travel to Morocco. Our 6-day Marrakech to Chefchaouen desert tour is bursting with beauty and adventure, making the possibilities of cultural discoveries almost endless. So admire the best Morocco has to offer: explore the legendary imperial cities of Marrakech and Fes, spend a night at your Merzouga luxury Sahara desert camp, and admire the fantastic blue town of Chefchaouen.
Expect your driver/guide at 7h30 am at the doors of your hotel or Riad, and your first destination will be Kasbah Ait Ben Hadou. We will pass through Tizi Ntichka pass and the high Atlas Mountains to get there. The view from your window will remind you of a painting you once admired about nature. No worries! We will be making several stops for you to contemplate the beauty of what you see, take pictures, or stretch your legs.
We will visit the UNESCO world heritage Kasbah Ait Ben Hadou, the filming set for several world-known Hollywood movies.
We carry on our way to Ouarzazate and pay a visit to the Atlas film Studios before having lunch.
In the afternoon, drive to the oasis of Skoura, where you will have the opportunity to visit one of the most preserved Kasbahs in Morocco: Kasbah Amridil, where you will learn a lot about the local architecture, unique irrigation systems, customs, and much more.
You continue to Boumalne Dades via the Valley of the Roses. Upon our arrival, we get ready to get settled for dinner and overnight in our lodge, which is located next to Dades Canyons.
After breakfast, begin your day with a drive to Tinghir through the road of 1001 Kasbahs. Once in Tinghir, which was a French military station during the times of the French colonization, you will take a detour and make a stop at another oasis. When you are there, please allow nature’s aesthetic voices to freshen your souls while you take a walk alongside the stream. At the end of your walk, another natural treasure is waiting for you: Todgha Gorges.
After lunch at one of the local cafes, proceed to Rissani and feel the spirituality of the town, as it is considered one of the holiest places in Morocco. Rissani is the home origin of the ruling family in Morocco, and the dynasty founder is buried there. Rissani is also famous for being the departure site for ancient caravan roads, which usually head to the Sahara desert and Tombouctou.
After a history lesson in Rissani, we will reach Merzouga after driving across some rocky terrain. Once there, you will meet your camel caravan for an exciting camel ride over Erg Chebbi dunes and watch the sky taking on shades of orange until it’s time to set. After the ride, you reach your Sahara desert camp nestled in the middle of nowhere.
Once you are settled, feel free to walk up to one of the dunes to admire the views. Enjoy dinner in the open air while entertained by our local nomads’ music.
After an early breakfast at your desert camp, get ready for a long drive to Fes, passing by the Ziz Valley through Errachidia.
Continue to Midelt, where you will be having lunch before you resume driving across the Middle Atlas Mountains known for its cedar forests, Barbary monkeys, and Berber towns of Ifran and Imouzzar, famous as ski resorts for locals in the winter.
You arrive in Fez late in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight at your Fes Medina Riad.
Visit the spiritual capital of Morocco and one of the oldest cities in the Kingdom, Fes. The city is considered to be the “Athens of Africa” thanks to its rich cultural, religious heritage, and educational institutions.
You will take a guided tour of the ancient imperial city and start by visiting the broad esplanade of the Royal Palace, with its luxurious architecture. From then, you will continue to the 16th century Borj Sud and enjoy a dazzling view of the walled city. From there, you will delve deep Into the UNESCO world heritage Medina.
Walk through narrow streets, charming bazaars, ancient madrassas ( Koranic schools ), and hillside shrines. Visit the bustling Nejjarine square, and discover Moroccan art in the Dar Batha Museum. Fes will not fail to capture you with its abundant places to see.
After finishing your tour of the city, drive back to your hotel or riad and enjoy the rest of the evening.
After breakfast in your Riad, you will drive across the Saiss Plain to the archaeological site of Volubilis, one of the richest and most important world heritage sites in Morocco. This site covers an area of 42 hectares, and it showcases urban development at the frontiers of the Roman Empire. It has produced many art materials such as mosaics, marble, and bronze sculpture. This site is also considered important to various civilizations like the Libyco-Berber, Mauritanian, Roman, Christian, and Arabo-Islamic. It is a testimony to their history, beliefs, and artistic works.
From here, we will drive across the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen. Enjoy the breathtaking views around every corner that the varied scenery of the mountains together with the open countryside fields has to offer.
When you arrive at Chefchaouen, the beauty of this gorgeous town will strike you. Dinner and overnight in your Riad.
After breakfast in your Riad, get ready to enjoy the charming narrow streets of Chefchaouen with houses and artisans' shops painted in different shades of blue and white colors, creating a marvelous picture. A photo in front of one of its blue doors or walls makes a perfect Instagram picture.
Apart from being the most photogenic destination in Morocco, Chefchaouen is also a calm, chilling, and laid-back town. Walk up and down the tangled streets of the Medina. The latter's architecture showcases an Andalusian influence. Enjoy a walk through its narrow blue streets, which also serve as a street market, displaying some of Morocco's finest handicraft and leather products, for which the town is best known.
Because of the relaxed ambiance of Chefchaouen, which is hardly found in bigger cities, you will enjoy strolling at leisure in the maze-like streets until you reach the busy Plaza Uta El Hammam, where the Kasbah is located. you will then take a lunch break at one of the lovely cafes in one blue alleyway.
Although Chefchaouen is a small city, its chilling vibes, great sense of local community, and a traditional lifestyle stuck between the past and the present captivate your soul in a way that the town will always be engraved in your heart.
We will drive to Casablanca or Marrakech
in the afternoon, where your tour will end.
PS: This tour can also end in Marrakech with no extra charge.
Number of Participants: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7-9 | 10-13 | 14-17 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Price per person: | 1800€ | 985€ | 780€ | 680€ | 620€ | 575€ | 550€ | 505€ | 465€ |
Number of Participants: | Price per person: |
---|---|
1 | 1800€ |
2 | 985€ |
3 | 780€ |
4 | 680€ |
5 | 620€ |
6 | 575€ |
7-9 | 550€ |
10-13 | 505€ |
14-17 | 465€ |
The distance between Marrakech and Chefchaouen is 576 Km (358 Miles) Via A3 and N13.
The distance between Marrakech and Chefchaouen is 576 Km, which means at least 9 hours. Therefore, a day trip from Marrakech to Chefchaouen is not possible. Chefchaouen day trip is possible from Fes and Tangier, but NOT from Marrakech.
Chefchaouen also called the Blue City or the Blue Pearl, is a small cozy town. After a day in Chefchaouen, you will feel you’ve seen it all.
There is an overwhelming choice of riads in the Medinas of Fez and Chefchaouen. Should you prefer a different one, just let us know whether you like to book it directly or you want us to do it for you.
Unfortunately, it is not. Our private tours are solely reserved for the party who had booked the tour. The tour price per person depends on how many are at your party. Feel free to join our shared tours if you are on a budget.
The distance from Fes to the Sahara desert (Merzouga dunes) is 463 Km (287 miles). However, the journey is full of amazing sceneries and various stops.
The distance between Marrakech and Fes is 520 Km via the motorway through Casablanca and Rabat. If you choose to drive via the Middle Atlas Mountains and Beni Mellal, the distance is 570 Km. The drive through the Middle Atlas Mountains is more scenic, but you need to spare a whole day to enjoy the itinerary. There is an even longer and more popular way to get to Fes from Marrakech: Through Merzouga and the Moroccan Sahara desert. It is 1030 Km, and it requires a minimum of 3 days.
Yes, you can. There are plenty of ATV rental companies in Merzouga that supply good quality quad bikes and dunes buggies in Erg Chebbi dunes. Your guide will assist you with that, and you will directly pay the supplier in Merzouga. They cost 50 Euros per quad per hour.
Yes, you can. A separate 4×4 can take you to the desert camp if you choose to skip the camel ride ( An extra fee of 30 Euros/return transfer will apply ). If you decide to upgrade to the luxury desert camp, no additional fees apply to a 4×4 return transfer.
There will be electrical outlets in your Merzouga Sahara desert camp public areas, restaurants, and camp courtyard. However, the electric generators are turned off around midnight.
Our driver Mohamed made this 6 days tour from Marrakech to Chefchaouen via the Sahara Desert and Fez a highly intensive, on-the-go trip even more delightful. He had a wealth of insider information and was quite accommodating to our tourist requirements (waiting patiently for us to take photos). A delightful and unexpected bonus to our trip! Morocco's countryside is breath-taking, and the people are friendly and lovely.
The tour from Marrakech to the blue city of Chefchaouen was extremely amazing, with opportunity to see all of Morocco's diverse landscapes, and the desert experience in particular was outstanding! Thank you so much to our wonderful guide Ibrahim; the trip would not have been the same without him!
We went on a 6-day journey from Marrakech through the Sahara desert, Fes, Chefchaouen, and finally Casablanca. Mohamed served as our driver and guide. He took us to a number of hotspots along the route. He was fantastic, really knowledgeable, helpful, and had such a pleasant character, which I appreciated. Each location was unlike anything we'd ever seen before. Our Medina tour in Fez was made even more memorable by our local guide ( Forgot her name ). Thank you, Marrakech Desert Trips, for providing such an unforgettable experience.