3-Day Merzouga Desert Tour from Fes to Marrakech
A one-way crossing rather than a round trip. Out of Fes through Ifrane and Midelt, ten hours at the Erg Chebbi dunes with a night in the camp, then back west through Todra, the Valley of the Roses and Ait Ben Haddou to finish in Marrakech. Your luggage travels with you.
Your crossing from Fes to Marrakech
You end up somewhere else
Fes at the start, Marrakech at the end. Three days of driving become a country crossing rather than a there-and-back.
Eight pickup points across Fes
Bab Boujloud, Hotel Batha, Bab Ziat, the Rcif cafe and four more, so the collection is usually a short walk from wherever you are staying.
Ten hours at the dunes
The itinerary gives Erg Chebbi ten hours including the camp night, which is more than most three-day trips on this road.
Step-free transport
Wheelchair-accessible transport and surfaces, which almost nothing else on this route offers.
A camel each, not a shared string
One camel per person for the trek, out at dusk and back at dawn.
The northern road, and why it is different
Nothing on this route touches Tizi n’Tichka. The N13 goes up out of Fes to Ifrane, an alpine-looking town the French laid out in the 1930s, and on through the Azrou cedar forest where Barbary macaques live wild by the roadside. Then Midelt, then the Ziz Valley with its long gorge of palms.
It is about ninety kilometres shorter than the Marrakech road and it feels it. Day one runs to the edge of the erg with the camels in the late afternoon, which on the southern route takes until day two.
Coming back a different way
The return is the argument for this trip. Day two goes west through Todra Gorge and Boumalne Dades to a second night in the Valley of the Roses. Day three runs Ouarzazate, then two hours at Ait Ben Haddou, then over Tizi n’Tichka into Marrakech.
So you get both corridors in one trip: the cedar forest and the Ziz on the way down, the gorges and the ksar on the way back. A round trip from either city gives you one of them twice.
The crossing from Fes to Marrakech, step by step
- Half an hour picking up in Fes
- Ifrane, then Midelt
- Ten hours at the Erg Chebbi dunes
- Night in the Merzouga desert camp
- Todra Gorge, then Boumalne Dades
- Night in the Valley of the Roses
- Ouarzazate and Ait Ben Haddou
- Tizi n'Tichka down into Marrakech
Who this suits, and who should book something else
This one is for you if: Anyone already planning to move between Fes and Marrakech, which is most people on a two-city Morocco trip. Instead of a train or a flight you get three days of country in between and a night in the Sahara. It also suits travellers who need step-free transport, which is rare on this road.
Book something else if: Anyone flying home out of Fes, because this trip does not go back. Anyone who wants the Ait Ben Haddou corridor at the start of their trip rather than the end should look at the Marrakech round trip instead. And if you are already in the south, there is no reason to buy the driving at all — the Merzouga overnight is a third of the price for the same night in the sand.
What’s included
In the fare
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Camel Trekking (Camel per person)
- Breakfast (2)
- Dinner (2)
Not in the fare
- Drinks
- Lunches
- Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah guide 2€ per person
Where you are collected
Fez. Merzouga desert tour from Marrakech lists every departure with its own meeting point, and the map page explains how to read a listing that names Hassilabied or Khamlia rather than Merzouga itself.
Know before you go
- Confirm which of the eight pickups is yours. This operator collects from eight separate points across Fes. The confirmation names one; check it against where you are staying the night before.
- The Ait Ben Haddou guide costs two euros. It is excluded from the fare, at two euros a head. Cash, at the ksar.
- Lunches and drinks are not in the fare. Three days of roadside stops, all paid for by you. Around 110–130 dirhams for a set lunch.
- Ask what step-free means at the camp. The transport and the surfaces are accessible. The camp itself sits inside the dunes and is reached by camel or 4x4, so confirm the last kilometre with the operator before you book.
- Pay the step up to a deluxe tent. The single most common piece of advice from travellers on this trip: a private bathroom at the end of a ten-hour driving day is worth more than it costs.
- Day one is nine hours or so. Fes to the camels is a long day even on the shorter road, and arrival at the erg is around sunset. Take what you need for the night in a small bag before you leave the van.
Photographs from the crossing
What travellers said about the Fes crossing
Maidi was a wonderful guide, fluent in English and genuinely knowledgeable about the Merzouga Sahara and the Atlas. He accommodated everything we asked for. The warmth and the professionalism together made the trip.
Nishita S. · November 2025
There is a great deal of driving. The first day from Fes to the camel ride was nine and a half hours and we arrived at sunset into a busy scene. It was not clear which bag to take out to the camp, so ask before you leave the van.
Louis D. · October 2025
The highlight of our whole holiday. Fez to the desert, through the Atlas and on to Marrakech. Truthfully it is more driving than I expected, and it is also the only way to see that much of the country in three days.
Jenna S. · May 2025
Frequently asked questions
Does this trip go back to Fes?
How long is the drive on the first day?
Is it really wheelchair accessible?
What is the group size?
Which tent tier should we book?
Do we see Ait Ben Haddou on this trip?
The other departures worth comparing
- 3 Days Desert Tour From Marrakech To Merzouga Dunes & Camel Trek
- Camel Trekking & 1 Night in Merzouga Desert Camp
Merzouga Desert Tours has all of them in one grid, with prices and group caps.