Morocco Tour Package4 Day Desert Tour Marrakech to Fes
This 4 day desert tour marrakech to fes runs one way through the High Atlas, the gorges and Erg Chebbi, so you finish in Fes instead of backtracking to Marrakech. Desert Life Tours sells it on GetYourGuide for $341 per person in groups of up to 17 with a local guide in English or French. You get a guided visit to the Ait Benhaddou kasbah, a walk in Todra Gorges, a sunset camel ride and one night in a desert camp, plus hotel nights in Dades and Merzouga. Breakfast and dinner are covered for all three nights and lunches are not. It carries a 4.7 rating from 25 verified bookings. If you want to compare it against other Morocco tour packages, the full table sits on the Morocco tours.
About This Tour
Desert Life Tours runs this small-group trip for up to 17 people across 4 days and 3 nights, from Marrakech to Fes via Ait Benhaddou, Ouarzazate, the Dades Gorge, Todra Gorges, Merzouga, the Ziz Valley and Ifrane. The route crosses the Tizi n'Tichka pass, which a GPS measurement put at 2,205 m while the sign at the top still shows 2,260 m, and climbs through the High Atlas before the road flattens out toward the Sahara. A local guide travels with the group in English or French.
The accommodation is a hotel in the Dades area, a hotel in Merzouga and one desert camp night on the Erg Chebbi dunes, whose sand hills rise about 150 m above the plain. The camp tent is standard or luxury depending on the option you pick at booking, and the nomad 4x4 tour around Merzouga comes only with the luxury option. Free cancellation applies until 24 hours before departure and reserve now pay later is offered.
$341 per person. The listing does not say which tent option the from-price belongs to and it is likely the standard tent.
4 days and 3 nights, one way from Marrakech to Fes.
Hotel pickup and drop-off included. The pickup time is shown when you check availability.
Up to 17 travellers with a local guide in English or French. Not a private tour.
A hotel in Dades, a hotel in Merzouga and one night in a desert camp. The tent is standard or luxury depending on the option.
3 breakfasts and 3 dinners included. Lunches, drinks, gratuities and personal expenses are extra.
A sunset camel ride over the Erg Chebbi dunes to camp.
Lunches, tips, personal expenses and optional quad biking on day 3.
Free cancellation until 24 hours before departure for a full refund.
Your hotel or riad in Fes on the afternoon of day 4.
Check Dates and Availability
Starting times and pickup windows are not fixed in the listing, so check your date to see the exact times before you book. Reserve now pay later is available.
Quick answer Price, route and tent options at a glance
This 4 day desert tour marrakech to fes costs $341 per person for 4 days and 3 nights, in groups of up to 17 with a local guide, ending at your Fes hotel.
Key takeaways
- The from-price is likely the standard tent even though the title says luxury, so choose the tent option deliberately. See what the price covers.
- Lunches, tips and the day 3 quad bike are extra. The day by day route shows where you spend.
- Want a return to Marrakech instead? The 3-day Merzouga Sahara desert tour loops back from $129.
- Prefer cities to dunes after Fes? Look at the 4-day imperial cities and Chefchaouen tour.
What the Price Actually Covers
The $341 from-price buys transport, two hotel nights, a camp night, most meals and the camel ride. Here is the line by line split, with the extras you may pay on the road.
Included and Paid Extra
The listing includes hotel pickup and drop-off, the camel ride at sunset, the desert camp night in a standard or luxury tent depending on the option, the hotel stays in Dades and Merzouga, 3 breakfasts and 3 dinners, a local guide, and the nomad 4x4 tour if you select the luxury camp option. Not included: lunches, gratuities and personal expenses. Entrance fees are not itemised, though the Ait Benhaddou kasbah visit is guided. Optional quad biking on day 3 costs extra at an amount the listing does not state. Tips for the driver and guide are worth budgeting for, since a full-day guide is commonly tipped 100 to 150 MAD and drivers 100 to 200 dh per day.
One honest note on the title: the from-price is the lowest option and the listing does not say which tent it buys, so it is likely the standard tent. If you want the luxury tent and the 4x4 nomad tour, pick that option at booking rather than assuming the headline price covers it.
Against the field, $341 sits between the 3-day Merzouga Sahara desert tour from $129 and the 4-day luxury Sahara tour from Marrakech from $182. The 3-day tour loops back to Marrakech, while the one-way finish in Fes saves the long road back.
| Line | In the price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel pickup and drop-off | Yes | Marrakech start, Fes finish |
| Hotel nights in Dades and Merzouga | Yes | 2 nights |
| Desert camp night | Yes | Standard or luxury tent by option |
| Camel ride at sunset | Yes | Over the Erg Chebbi dunes |
| Nomad 4x4 tour | Luxury option only | Not in the standard option |
| 3 breakfasts and 3 dinners | Yes | Lunches are not included |
| Lunches | No | Buy on the road |
| Gratuities and personal expenses | No | Budget tips separately |
| Quad biking on day 3 | No | Optional add-on, amount not stated |
| Flights | No | Not included |
Sources: Wikipedia: Morocco, Wikivoyage: Morocco
Red rock walls of the Todra Gorge in morning light. Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What the Day Is Really Like
The listing gives the stops but no clock times, so the phases below follow its own itinerary order. Expect long drives.
Day 1: Marrakech to the Dades Area
Pickup is at your Marrakech hotel at a time shown at booking. The vehicle crosses the Tizi n'Tichka pass, the highest major mountain pass in North Africa. The road from Marrakech toward Ouarzazate covers about 198 km and around 3 h 24 min of pure driving.
The guided visit to the ksar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and a set for Gladiator and Game of Thrones, is the main stop. You overnight in a hotel in the Dades area with dinner and breakfast included.
| Leg | Distance | Drive time |
|---|---|---|
| Marrakech to Ouarzazate road | 198 km | About 3 h 24 min |
| Marrakech to Ait Benhaddou | 171 km | About 2 h 58 min |
Day 2: Todra Gorges and the Camel Ride to Camp
Day 2 drives from the Dades area, whose gorge walls reach 200 to 500 m, toward Tinghir and Todra Gorges. The gorge runs about 24 km long and its narrowest 600 m squeeze to 10 m wide with faces up to 160 m. The itinerary walks the gorge and the Tinghir palm grove, an oasis about 30 km long.
Then the long push to Merzouga, roughly 191 km and about 3 h of driving from Tinghir, before the sunset camel ride over the Erg Chebbi dunes to camp. The ride to a Merzouga camp typically takes about an hour and leaves one to two hours before sunset. Dinner and breakfast at camp are included.
Day 3: A Day Around Merzouga
Day 3 stays around Merzouga, on the edge of an erg that runs about 28 km north to south. In the luxury camp option the nomad tour by 4x4 is included. Quad biking is optional and paid separately.
You sleep in a Merzouga hotel, with dinner and breakfast covered.
Day 4: Ziz Valley and Ifrane to Fes
The last day turns north through the Ziz Valley and over the Middle Atlas, with a stop at Ifrane, a hill station founded in 1929 that sits at 1,665 m and holds the African record low of -23.9 C. The road then drops to Fes, a city of about 1.26 million people founded in 789 CE. The tour ends with drop-off at your hotel or riad in Fes in the afternoon. Times are not stated.
3 Day Desert Tour from Fes to Marrakesh
The same desert road in reverse, with Merzouga and the gorges on the way. Third-party video by Travel With Mansoureh. This site did not shoot it and has no relationship with the creator.
Who This Tour Rules Out
The shared group format and the one-way route suit some travellers and exclude others. Check the list before you commit.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
The group runs up to 17 people, so if you want a private vehicle and a flexible pace this is not it. Consider the 10-day luxury private Morocco tour, a private trip at $3,994 that includes meals throughout. If a return to Marrakech matters, the 3-day Merzouga Sahara desert tour loops back instead. If you would rather spend 4 days on Fes, Chefchaouen and Rabat with no desert night, the 4-day imperial cities and Chefchaouen tour covers that at $641.
Fitness and access limits are not stated in the listing: minimum age, wheelchair access and difficulty are all listed as none stated, so ask the operator directly. The camel ride to camp takes about an hour, which rules out travellers who cannot ride. The route means long drive days, and the desert night is cold in winter, when Merzouga nights drop below freezing. Bring layers rather than trusting the word luxury in the title.
Sunset over the Erg Chebbi dunes near Merzouga. Photo: Jorge Franganillo, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Getting There and What to Add
You start in Marrakech and finish in Fes, so plan your flights around both cities and leave room for what the route skips.
Reaching Marrakech
Most international flights land at Marrakech Menara airport, and the tour picks you up at your hotel, so arrive the day before departure. Fes-Saiss Airport, roughly 15 km south of the old city, is the sensible exit point, or continue by rail. The Marrakech to Fes train takes about 6.5 to 7 hours, with fare figures that conflict between sources, so ride it only if you have the time.
Marrakech averages 12.5 C in January and 29 C in July and August, with summer highs near 38 C, so spring and autumn are kinder for the drive days.
What the Route Skips
The tour passes Marrakech and Fes without city touring, so add days on either end for the Jemaa el-Fnaa square and the medinas. Essaouira on the coast is about 176 km and 2 h 24 min from Marrakech by road and makes an easy pre-tour add-on. Read the Merzouga guide for what to expect at the dunes, and the page on the best time to visit Morocco before fixing your dates.
For a longer frame around this trip, the Morocco itinerary lays out the options.
Day by Day Itinerary
The listing states stops and overnights but no clock times, so phases follow the published order.
-
Start
Hotel pickup in Marrakech
Pickup at your hotel at a time shown at booking, then across the Tizi n'Tichka pass through the High Atlas.
-
Midday
Guided visit to Ait Benhaddou
A local guide walks you through the kasbah village, a UNESCO site since 1987 and a film set for Gladiator and Game of Thrones.
-
Evening
Night in the Dades area
Drive on toward the Dades Gorge, whose walls reach 200 to 500 m, and check into the hotel for dinner and breakfast.
-
Morning, day 2
Todra Gorges and Tinghir palm grove
Walk the gorge, about 24 km long with walls up to 400 m in places by one source, and the palm grove of the Tinghir oasis.
-
Late afternoon
Sunset camel ride to the desert camp
Ride about an hour over the Erg Chebbi dunes, which rise to 150 m, to a camp in a standard or luxury tent. Dinner at camp.
-
Day 3
A day around Merzouga
Explore the Merzouga area, with the nomad 4x4 tour included in the luxury option and quad biking available at extra cost. Night in the Merzouga hotel.
-
Day 4
Ziz Valley and Ifrane to Fes
Drive north through the Ziz Valley, stop in Ifrane at 1,665 m, and finish with drop-off at your Fes hotel or riad in the afternoon.
Pros and Cons
An honest read of what this listing does well and where it falls short.
What we genuinely like
- One-way routing to Fes saves the long drive back to Marrakech, with drop-off at your Fes hotel in the afternoon of day 4.
- $341 per person for 3 nights with all dinners and breakfasts is a fair rate for a small group of up to 17.
- Free cancellation until 24 hours before departure and reserve now pay later lower the booking risk.
- A 4.7 rating from 25 GetYourGuide verified bookings, and a guided Ait Benhaddou visit is included.
- The sunset camel ride and a full day around Merzouga give more dune time than the 3-day return trips.
The honest downsides
- The title says luxury but the from-price is likely the standard tent, so the luxury tent and 4x4 nomad tour cost more than the headline figure.
- Lunches, tips and the quad bike come out of your own pocket.
- Groups of up to 17 mean a shared vehicle and fixed stops, and the listing states no minimum age, wheelchair access or difficulty level.
- The route is long, with Marrakech to Merzouga given as 534 km or 560 km and Merzouga to Fes as 457 to 463 km, depending on the source.
- Desert nights are cold in winter, when Merzouga temperatures drop below freezing.
Who it's NOT for: Travellers who want a private tour, a Marrakech return, city guiding in Marrakech and Fes, or guaranteed luxury accommodation should book a different package.
Questions About This Tour
How much does this 4-day desert tour from Marrakech to Fes cost?
It is listed at $341 per person, with lunches, tips and the quad bike extra. Compare it with the 4-day luxury Sahara tour from Marrakech from $182.
Does the price include a luxury tent?
Not necessarily. The camp tent is standard or luxury depending on the option, and the from-price is likely the standard option despite the title. The page on a luxury desert camp in Merzouga explains the difference.
Is the camel ride included?
Yes, a sunset camel ride over the Erg Chebbi dunes to camp is in the price. Read more in the Merzouga guide.
Where does the tour end?
At your hotel or riad in Fes in the afternoon of day 4, which is the main advantage over return trips. See how it fits a wider Morocco itinerary.
What meals are included?
3 breakfasts and 3 dinners are included and lunches are not, so budget for your own lunches on the road. The Marrakech desert tour guide covers what packages typically include.
Can I cancel after booking?
Yes, free cancellation applies until 24 hours before departure for a full refund, and reserve now pay later is offered. The booking terms of Morocco tour packages compared on this site are summarised in the comparison table.
Is this tour private?
No, it is a shared small-group trip of up to 17 with a local guide in English or French. For a private alternative see the 8-day private Morocco tour from Casablanca.
What Travelers Said
We had an amazing experience camping in the Sahara! The desert was absolutely beautiful, especially at sunset, and spending the night under the stars was unforgettable. The camp was comfortable, the staff were friendly and welcoming, and everything was well organized. Definitely one of the highlights of our trip and an experience we would recommend!
Mohammed was an excellent driver and guide. He brought us to many beautiful and interesting places and provided a delicious berber lunch at a friend’s house. He was fun and very attentive. Thank you.
The desert trip was amazing. The guide, Mohamed was great and very helpful. Our accommodation provided amazing views of the desert dunes.
Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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