The High Atlas Crossing
3-Day Marrakech to Fes Desert Tour via Merzouga
Marrakech to Fes in three days, no doubling back
- 3 days · 2 nights
- Marrakech → Fes
- About 20 hours over 3 days. driving
Most people book the round trip because it appears first in the search results, then spend day three driving back past everything from day one. Going south to north solves it: the final leg runs up the Ziz gorges through Midelt and the cedar forest to Fes, so every kilometre is new. Ask your airline about an open-jaw ticket before you book anything, because it usually costs nothing extra and changes the whole shape of your trip.
Why I run it this wayThe same three days, except the last one takes you somewhere new instead of retracing 500km of road you saw on the first.
The things worth stopping for
- Every kilometre new ground, no backtracking
- The Ounila valley and Telouet's Glaoui palace on the way over the Atlas
- Ait Ben Haddou, then the Dades and Todra gorges
- Erg Chebbi by camel with a night at camp
- The Ziz gorge, lined with hundreds of thousands of date palms
- Azrou's cedar forest and its Barbary macaques
- Arrive in Fes ready for the medina rather than wrecked
Where this trip takes you
Straight lines between stops, not the exact roads — the driving is the winding version of this.
How the trip goes
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Day 1: Marrakech to Dades via Ounila
Driving: About 7 hoursTizi n'Tichka, then the turn into the Ounila valley for Telouet. Ait Ben Haddou on foot, Skoura's palms, up into the Dades for sunset.
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Day 2: Dades to Merzouga
Driving: About 5 hoursTodra gorge between its limestone walls, east through the oases of Touroug and Erfoud. 4x4 at the dunes, camel at sunset, night at camp.
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Day 3: Merzouga to Fes
Driving: About 8 hoursSunrise, then north through the Ziz gorges, lunch among the apple orchards at Midelt, over the Middle Atlas passes and through the Azrou cedars. Fes by evening.
I'll email you this itinerary — every day, what's included, what it costs — so you can think it over and share it.
One email with the itinerary. No account, and I don't pass your address to anyone — see the privacy policy.
What's included
Included
- Private van with me driving
- 4x4 into the dunes with a local desert driver
- 2 nights: gorge guesthouse and desert camp
- Half board at camp
- Camel ride
- Marrakech pickup, Fes riad drop-off
Not included
- Lunches
- Entry fees
- Tips
Read more about where you'll be
A closer look
Questions about this route
How much driving is the Marrakech to Fes desert trip?
About 20 hours over three days: around 7 to Dades, 5 to Merzouga, and 8 from the dunes to Fes.
How much does the 3-day Marrakech to Fes tour cost?
$420–$580 per person. The lower figure assumes four sharing, the upper assumes two.
Other routes worth a look
2 Days · 1 Nights2-Day Zagora Desert Tour from Marrakech
Two Days to Zagora$230–$310 per person · accommodation included
3 Days · 2 Nights3-Day Merzouga Desert Tour from Marrakech
Three Days to the Dunes$390–$530 per person · accommodation included
4 Days · 3 Nights4-Day Fes to Marrakech Desert Tour via Merzouga
Fes to Marrakech, Four Days$540–$730 per person · accommodation includedTell me when you're coming
Every route bends: more time somewhere, a different start, a night added. Send your dates and I'll plan it around you.