The 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech is a private one-way crossing of Morocco that starts in one imperial city, drops through the Middle Atlas to the Sahara at Merzouga, and then climbs the High Atlas to finish in the other. Meanwhile you travel in your own air-conditioned vehicle with a driver, ride camels into the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset and sleep one night in the desert. Because it runs one way, you never repeat a road, and your onward flight can leave from Marrakech instead of Fes.
Two things make this particular route worth doing rather than any other three-day desert trip. Firstly, it links Fes and Marrakech, two of Morocco’s four imperial cities and both UNESCO World Heritage medinas. Secondly, it crosses both mountain ranges: the Middle Atlas on day one and the High Atlas on day three, over the highest major mountain pass in North Africa. Moreover, our drivers work weekly with travellers from Spain and Latin America, so a Spanish-speaking driver costs nothing extra on most dates.
Key facts
| Duration | 3 days / 2 nights, one way |
| Start and finish | Fes to Marrakech |
| Total driving | About 1,060 km over three days |
| Longest day | Day 1, Fes to Merzouga, 472 km / 7 h 45 |
| Shortest day | Day 2, Merzouga to Dades, 253 km / 3 h 55 |
| Highest point | Tizi n’Tichka, the highest major pass in North Africa |
| Group type | Private only; nobody else joins your vehicle |
| Price | On request; written quote within 24 hours |
Quick answers
Is the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech long enough to do the desert properly?
Yes, although it is the minimum. You drive roughly 1,060 kilometres in total, so two of the three days are long. Still, nothing is skipped: you get a sunset camel trek, a night in the dunes, the Todgha gorge, the Dades valley and Ait Ben Haddou.
How much driving is there each day?
Day one is 472 km and about 7 h 45. The second day is much lighter at 253 km and under four hours. Day three comes to 334 km and about 5 h 45. Consequently the middle day gives you time to walk inside the Todgha gorge without rushing.
Where do you sleep?
Specifically, one night in a desert camp at Erg Chebbi and one night in a hotel or kasbah in the Dades valley. Both are included, and you choose the comfort level of the camp.
Does the tour end at Marrakech airport?
Wherever you need. Ultimately your driver drops you at your riad in the medina, at a hotel, or straight at Menara airport if you fly out the same evening. Therefore you can book an onward flight from Marrakech without a separate transfer.
Can it run the other way, Marrakech to Fes?
Of course. The same road works in reverse, though the long driving day then falls at the end instead of the beginning. Tell us which airport you arrive at and we build it around that.
Why the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech beats a there-and-back desert trip
Obviously a round trip from Fes or from Marrakech makes you drive the same road twice. In contrast, this crossing uses the outbound road once and then continues south and west through country you would otherwise never see. As a result you cover four landscapes in three days instead of two.
Two imperial cities, both World Heritage
Morocco has four imperial cities: Fes, Marrakech, Meknes and Rabat. Even so, this route links the two largest. UNESCO inscribed the medina of Fez in 1981, making it Morocco’s very first World Heritage Site, and added the medina of Marrakesh in 1985. Consequently you begin and end inside a protected medieval city.
Both mountain ranges in one trip
Firstly, day one crosses the Middle Atlas through the cedar forests around Ifrane and Azrou. Day three crosses the High Atlas at Tizi n’Tichka, which is the highest major mountain pass in North Africa. The sign at the summit still reads 2,260 metres, although GPS measurements put the true figure nearer 2,205. Either way, National Route 9 over that pass is one of the great mountain drives in the country.
Two details almost nobody tells you
First, Ifrane holds the record for the lowest temperature ever measured in Africa: −23.9 °C on 11 February 1935. You stop there for coffee about two hours after leaving Fes, and roughly six hours later you are standing on a Sahara dune. Second, when you drive through the Skoura palm grove on day three you pass Kasbah Amridil, the earthen fortress that used to be printed on the Moroccan 50-dirham banknote. Few tours stop; we do if you want the photograph.
Highlights of the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech
Day one, crossing the Middle Atlas
- Ifrane at 1,665 m, where Africa’s record low of −23.9 °C was measured in 1935
- Azrou cedar forest and its Barbary macaques, listed as Endangered by the IUCN
- Midelt, the apple town between the two ranges, where we stop for lunch
- Ziz gorges viewpoint and the long palm ribbon of the Ziz valley
- Erfoud and Rissani, built beside the ruins of medieval Sijilmassa
- Sunset camel trek into the Erg Chebbi dunes, which run 28 km north to south
Day two, the desert and the gorges
- Sunrise over Erg Chebbi, where the highest dunes reach about 150 metres
- Rissani souk, held on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday
- Todgha gorge, where the canyon floor narrows to roughly ten metres
- Limestone walls rising some 160 metres above that narrow point
- Dades valley, known as the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs
- The zigzag road and the rock formations called monkey fingers
Day three, the High Atlas to Marrakech
- Skoura palm grove and Kasbah Amridil, once pictured on the 50-dirham note
- Ouarzazate and its Atlas Studios, the centre of Moroccan cinema
- Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987
- Climb over Tizi n’Tichka, the highest major pass in North Africa
- Berber villages and terraced valleys on the descent
- Arrival in Marrakech, whose medina UNESCO inscribed in 1985
The 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech, day by day
Day 1: Fes – Ifrane – Azrou – Midelt – Ziz valley – Erfoud – Merzouga
The 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech starts early, because day one is the long one, and your driver collects you from your riad in Fes. Soon the road climbs into the Middle Atlas and the first stop appears: Ifrane, all pitched roofs and clean air, where we take coffee. Then comes the cedar forest at Azrou, where Barbary macaques gather near the roadside. After Midelt we break for lunch.
In the afternoon the landscape changes completely as the road drops into the Ziz valley, an unbroken palm grove between red canyon walls. You follow it south through Errachidia and Erfoud until, by late afternoon, the golden wall of Erg Chebbi appears. Finally a camel trek carries you over the crests to camp while the sand turns orange, then pink. Dinner is served under the tent and the drums last as long as you want.
- Driving: 472 km, about 7 h 45
- Overnight: desert camp at Erg Chebbi
- Meals: dinner
Day 2: Merzouga – Rissani – Todgha gorge – Dades valley
Above all, get up for sunrise over the dunes, since the light changes minute by minute and the silence is total. After breakfast you leave the sand and stop at Rissani, the market town that grew beside Sijilmassa, the medieval city founded in 757 AD at the northern end of the trans-Saharan gold route. If it is a Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday, the souk is on.
Then the road runs west to the Todgha gorge. At the narrowest point the canyon floor shrinks to about ten metres while the limestone walls rise some 160 metres on either side, and further along the cliffs reach three to four hundred. Climbers come here from all over the world. Afterwards you continue to the Dades valley, where the zigzag road and the rock formations known as monkey fingers make one of the most photographed landscapes in Morocco. Because today is short, you arrive with the light still good.
- Driving: 253 km, about 3 h 55
- Overnight: hotel or kasbah in the Dades valley
- Meals: breakfast and dinner
Day 3: Dades – Skoura – Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou – Tizi n’Tichka – Marrakech
The last day of the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech starts through the Skoura palm grove, a dense oasis hiding old adobe kasbahs. One of them is Amridil, built in the nineteenth century inside a seventeenth-century ksar, and formerly pictured on the 50-dirham banknote. Next comes Ouarzazate, Morocco’s film capital, where the Atlas Studios sit just outside town.
In the afternoon you reach Ait Ben Haddou, the fortified ksar that UNESCO inscribed in 1987 and that has appeared in dozens of films. You cross the riverbed and climb the lanes to the old granary, and from the top the whole palm grove opens out. Then the road climbs the High Atlas to Tizi n’Tichka, the highest major mountain pass in North Africa. Ultimately you descend into Marrakech in the evening, and your driver drops you at your riad, your hotel or Menara airport.
- Driving: 334 km, about 5 h 45
- Overnight: not included; drop-off in Marrakech
- Meals: breakfast
Route, distances and driving times of the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech
Every figure below for the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech was checked leg by leg against Google Maps rather than copied from a brochure. Distances shift a little with your exact riad and with road works, so treat them as close estimates.
| Leg | Distance | Time |
| Day 1: Fes to Merzouga via Ifrane, Azrou, Midelt and Erfoud | 472 km | 7 h 45 |
| Day 2: Merzouga to the Dades valley via Rissani and Todgha | 253 km | 3 h 55 |
| Day 3: Dades to Marrakech via Ouarzazate and Ait Ben Haddou | 334 km | 5 h 45 |
| Total | about 1,060 km | about 17 h 30 |
Similarly, Google routes the full chain of waypoints at 1,088 km and 17 h 47, which matches those legs closely. Day two is deliberately the light one, so that the gorge and the valley get real time rather than a photo stop.
Photo gallery of the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech
These photographs of the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech follow the order of the itinerary, from the road south out of Fes to the palm gardens of Marrakech. Of course you can click any image to open it at full size.
What is included and what is not included
Included
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced driver, fuel and tolls
- Spanish-speaking, English-speaking or French-speaking driver on request
- Pick-up in Fes and drop-off anywhere in Marrakech
- 2 nights of accommodation: desert camp at Erg Chebbi and hotel in the Dades valley
- Sunset camel trek into the Erg Chebbi dunes
- Dinner on both nights and breakfast on days 2 and 3
- All road transfers listed in the route table above
Not included
- Flights and travel insurance
- Lunches, drinks and personal spending
- Entrance fees to monuments, museums and the Atlas Studios
- Optional activities such as sandboarding, quad bikes or a local guide in Ait Ben Haddou
- Tips for the driver and the camp staff
- Hotels in Fes before the tour or in Marrakech afterwards
Map of the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech
Overall, the line runs south from Fes to the dunes, then west along the edge of the desert, and finally north-west over the High Atlas into Marrakech. All of it is surfaced road in good condition. Since the route never doubles back, every kilometre shows you something new.
Accommodation on the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech
On the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech you sleep once in the Sahara and once in the Dades valley. We do not publish property names here, because availability changes weekly and advertising a camp we cannot confirm would be dishonest. Instead, once you send your dates we reply with the actual places held for you, with photographs.
| Level | Desert camp, night 1 | Dades valley, night 2 |
| Standard | Berber tent, shared bathrooms, solar power | Simple hotel beside the river |
| Comfort | Tent with beds and a private bathroom | Kasbah hotel with a valley view |
| Luxury | Suite tent, real bed, hot shower, usually Wi-Fi | Upper-range kasbah hotel |
Price
The price of the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech depends on three things: firstly how many of you are travelling, then which comfort level you choose, and finally the season. We do not print a number here, since a figure for four people in November would mislead two people at Easter. So tell us your dates, the group size and the level you want, and a written quote comes back within twenty-four hours.
How to book the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech
To begin with, send us your arrival date in Fes and the number of travellers. Then email favoritesmoroccotours@gmail.com, message WhatsApp +212 786 278943, or use our contact page. Nothing is charged until the itinerary and the camp are confirmed in writing.
Three days or four? An honest comparison
| Point of comparison | This 3-day crossing | The 4-day version |
| Nights in the desert | 1 | 1, plus a lighter schedule |
| Longest driving day | 7 h 45 | About 5 h |
| Time at Ait Ben Haddou | About 1 h 30 | Half a day |
| Ouarzazate studios | Photo stop only | Full visit possible |
| Best for | Short holidays and tight flight dates | First visits and families |
In short, three days works if your flights are fixed and you accept one long driving day. Otherwise the 4 days desert tour from Fes to Marrakech splits that first day in two and costs surprisingly little more.
Know before you go on the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech
What to pack
For the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech, bring comfortable shoes, sunglasses, a hat and sun cream. Add a warm jacket for the desert night and the two mountain passes, even in summer, because the temperature drops sharply after dark. A scarf is also useful against blown sand. Sockets are European, two round pins at 220 volts, and a power bank matters because standard camps run on solar panels. Finally, our guide on what to wear in Morocco has a fuller list.
Money, water and luggage
The currency is the dirham, and you change money in Fes before leaving, since there is no bank at the dunes. Cards work in the cities, though cash matters everywhere between Midelt and Ouarzazate. Do not drink tap water; instead, bottled water is included in the vehicle. One large suitcase and one cabin bag per person fit comfortably, and because the tour is one way your luggage travels with you the whole time.
Best time of year
Generally, March to May and September to November give the best weather: mild days and comfortable desert nights. July and August are hot at midday in the south, so we start earlier. Meanwhile, from December to February the Sahara night is cold and snow can slow the Tizi n’Tichka pass for a few hours. There is more in our page on the best time to visit Morocco.
Reviews
Currently Favorites Morocco Tours holds a 5.0 out of 5 rating on TripAdvisor from 14 traveller reviews at the time of writing. Those reviews cover the agency as a whole rather than this particular route, so we do not present them as a score for the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech. Of course you can read all of them, unedited, on our TripAdvisor page. In short, we do not publish invented testimonials on this website.
Frequently asked questions about the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech
Is the first day really seven and a half hours in the car?
Yes, and we do not pretend otherwise. Still, it is broken into short stretches with stops at Ifrane, the cedar forest, Midelt and the Ziz viewpoint. If that worries you, the four-day version adds a night in Midelt and halves it.
Can I fly home from Marrakech the same evening as day three?
You can, though we would book a flight after 20:00 to be safe. Traffic on the Tizi n’Tichka pass is unpredictable, especially in winter. Otherwise the driver takes you straight to Menara airport at whatever time you need.
Do we stop in Ouarzazate at the film studios?
Generally we stop for photographs outside, since a full studio visit takes about ninety minutes and day three is already long. However, if you want to go in, tell us in advance and we shift the morning departure earlier.
What exactly is Sijilmassa?
Sijilmassa was a medieval city founded in 757 AD whose ruins lie about a kilometre north of Rissani. It was the northern end of the western trans-Saharan caravan route, that is, the point where West African gold entered the Mediterranean world and was minted into dinars. Almost no tour names it, which is exactly why we do.
Is Kasbah Amridil really on the banknote?
It used to be. Indeed Amridil, in the Skoura palm grove, was formerly pictured on the Moroccan 50-dirham note. The kasbah itself was built in the nineteenth century inside a ksar that dates from the seventeenth. Because it sits right on the day-three road, stopping costs you almost nothing.
Will I see the Barbary macaques?
Usually, yes. They gather near the roadside in the cedar forest between Ifrane and Azrou, so the driver stops there. Please do not feed them, because the species is listed as Endangered and human food harms them.
How cold does the desert get at night?
Colder than people expect. Especially in December and January the Sahara night can approach freezing, and even in spring it drops sharply after dark. Camps provide heavy blankets, but bring a warm layer of your own.
Which meals are part of the price?
Dinner on both nights and breakfast on days 2 and 3. Lunches are not included, because stopping where you feel like stopping makes a better trip than a fixed restaurant list. Besides, lunch on the road costs very little in Morocco.
Can we start in Marrakech and finish in Fes?
Yes, and the price stays the same regardless. The order simply reverses, so the long driving day falls on day three instead of day one. In any case, tell us your arrival airport and we rebuild the sequence around it.
Is the camel trek compulsory?
No. A 4×4 can take you to the camp instead, at no extra charge. Some travellers ride out at sunset and then come back by car in the morning.
How much luggage fits?
Generally, one large suitcase plus one cabin bag per person. We use minivans or minibuses depending on group size, and for six travellers or more we assign a larger vehicle so luggage never takes a passenger seat.
Do you stop at shops on commission?
No. Instead we stop at the fossil workshops near Erfoud only if you ask, and there is no obligation to buy anything anywhere on the route.
How far in advance should I book?
Two to three weeks is comfortable most of the year, and longer for Easter, August and the Christmas period, when the good camps fill first. Even so, last-minute departures are often still possible.
Who we are
Favorites Morocco Tours is a local agency with drivers from the south of Morocco, several of whom grew up in the villages this road passes. Furthermore, we run the 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech as a private trip only, we do not sell seats in a shared minibus, and we do not build commission stops into the itinerary. Finally, there is more about the team on our about us page.
Other routes that start in Fes
- 3 days tour from Fes to Merzouga and back
- 4 days desert tour from Fes to Marrakech
- 4 days desert tour from Fes back to Fes
- 5 days Fes to Merzouga and Marrakech
- 6 days Fes to Marrakech through mountains and imperial cities
- All tours from Fes
More Morocco routes
- Departures from Marrakech
- 5 days tour from Marrakech to Fes
- 4 days from Marrakech to Fes
- 4 days from Errachidia to Marrakech
- Morocco tours
Book your 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech
Ready to go? Then send your dates, the number of travellers and the comfort level you want, and a complete quote comes back within twenty-four hours. Otherwise, email favoritesmoroccotours@gmail.com, message WhatsApp +212 786 278943, or use the contact page. Of course we will be glad to build this 3 days tour from Fes to Marrakech with you from start to finish.
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