This private 10-day Morocco tour Desert from Fes is the grand tour — the country’s four imperial cities, its Roman past, its Atlantic coast and the heart of the Sahara Desert, all in one seamless journey. You’ll trade the bustle of the cities for the fertile Ziz Oasis, the Todra and Dades gorges and the great Erg Chebbi dunes, where a camel trek leads to a night under the stars.
Along the way you’ll explore Fes, Meknes, Rabat and Marrakech, the Roman ruins of Volubilis and Casablanca’s Hassan II Mosque, and the UNESCO-listed kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou before crossing the Tizi n’Tichka pass into Marrakech. Fully private, expertly guided and paced entirely around you.
At your scheduled arrival time, your driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your accommodation in Fes. Dinner and an overnight stay in a hotel or traditional riad, ready for the journey ahead.
After breakfast at your riad you’ll explore Fes with a local guide, starting in the modern quarter near the Royal Palace and the historic Mellah (Jewish quarter), then a viewpoint over the entire medina.
On foot you’ll wander the UNESCO-listed medina — the world’s largest car-free urban area — where guilds of potters, dyers and tanners still work as they have for centuries. It feels like stepping back in time. Dinner and overnight in your riad.
Today you’ll visit Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman ruins in North Africa and a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for its intricate mosaics, then the sacred hilltop town of Moulay Idriss.
Next is Meknes, the imperial “city of Moulay Ismail,” with its monumental Bab Mansour gate and grand walls. In the afternoon you’ll continue to Rabat, Morocco’s capital, to see the Hassan Tower, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Kasbah of the Oudayas. Overnight in Rabat.
This morning you’ll visit the magnificent Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca — the largest in Morocco and one of the largest in the world, a showcase of Islamic architecture and Moroccan craftsmanship.
In the early afternoon you’ll continue to Marrakech. On arrival you’ll head straight into the energy of Jemaa el-Fna, the famous square at the heart of the medina, alive with storytellers, musicians and food stalls. Overnight in Marrakech.
A licensed local guide will lead a tailored tour of Marrakech’s highlights: the landmark Koutoubia Mosque, the medieval medina and its lively souks, the Saadian Tombs, the Bahia Palace, the Majorelle Garden and the Ben Youssef Madrasa.
In the evening you’ll return to your riad in the historic medina to dine and rest.
Leaving Marrakech, you’ll cross the High Atlas at 2,260 m via the Tizi n’Tichka pass, with an optional detour to the hidden Kasbah of Telouet — a former palace of the Glaoui pashas with beautifully detailed cedar, plaster and tilework.
You’ll then reach the fortified ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and famous filming location. After lunch you’ll continue past Ouarzazate to the Skoura palm grove and the Valley of Roses, ending the day in the Dades Valley for dinner and the night.
You’ll drive through the Dades Valley to admire its incredible rock formations, then follow the old mud-brick Berber villages and palm groves toward Tinghir and the Todra Gorge, where red cliffs rise 300 metres above a cool river.
Continuing via Erfoud and Rissani — the historic Sijilmassa — you’ll reach Merzouga, welcomed with a cup of tea before an overnight in a hotel or riad at the foot of the dunes.
Today you’ll explore the Merzouga region: the seasonal Lake Sirji, the village of Khamlia with its sub-Saharan Gnawa music and culture, and the Meffis mines, before crossing behind the dunes to share tea with Berber Bedouins in their tents.
Your local guides will teach you how to ride and saddle a camel, then you’ll set out to explore the enigmatic Erg Chebbi sand sea (1–1.5 hours). Tonight you sleep like a Berber, in a tent in the heart of the Sahara.
After a shower and a camel ride back from the dunes, you’ll travel to Rissani, then through the fossil town of Erfoud and the sweeping Ziz Valley, with its palm groves and canyons, over the Tizi n’Talghemt pass to Midelt for lunch.
On the road you’ll stop at the Azrou cedar forest to see monkeys living in the wild, then pass through Ifrane, the “Moroccan Switzerland,” before reaching Fes, the cultural capital. Overnight in a traditional riad in Fes.
Depending on your flight time, we’ll transfer you to the airport — the end of your 10-day Morocco desert tour from Fes through the imperial cities and the Merzouga Sahara. Thank you for travelling with us.
