9-Day Sahara Desert Tour: Tangier to Marrakech
Tangier → Chefchaouen → Fez → Sahara Desert → Marrakech
The full north-to-south crossing: Tangier is the furthest of our departure cities from the Sahara, so this route takes longer than the others, with real stops rather than a rushed dash south.
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Highlights
- Chefchaouen's blue medina on the way south
- Two full days in Fez before heading into the desert
- Two nights camped in the dunes at Erg Chebbi
- The Dades and Todra gorges, then over the High Atlas into Marrakech
Day by day
A working draft: the order and pace are ours to adjust once we know what matters most to you.
Tangier to Chefchaouen
South via Tetouan: a UNESCO-listed medina rebuilt from 1492 by Andalusian refugees fleeing Granada, and into the Rif toward Chefchaouen, founded in 1471, with the afternoon free to walk the blue lanes.
About 2 hours on the road, roughly 115 km
Guesthouse, Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen to Fez
A relaxed drive south across the Sais plain, arriving in Fez by early evening.
About 3.5 hours on the road, roughly 200 km
Riad, Fez
Fez medina
A full day with a local guide through Fez el-Bali: the Chouara tanneries' 11th-century dye pits, the carved cedar of the Bou Inania madrasa, and the ninth-century Al-Qarawiyyin mosque and university, before the working souks.
No driving today
Riad, Fez
Fez to Merzouga
South through the Middle Atlas cedar forests around Ifrane: watch for Barbary macaques at the roadside, and the Ziz Valley's palm oases to the dunes at Erg Chebbi.
About 7-8 hours on the road, roughly 460 km
Desert camp, Erg Chebbi
In the dunes
A full day with no driving. Sandboarding, a visit to a local Gnawa family, or simply time to sit still, then a shared tagine dinner and drumming around the fire after dark.
No driving today
Desert camp, Erg Chebbi
Merzouga to Dades Valley
West across the flat hamada and into the Todra Gorge, its limestone walls up to 160 metres high in places just 10 metres apart, then the Dades Gorge's switchbacks.
About 3.5 hours on the road, roughly 180 km
Guesthouse in the gorge
Dades Valley to Marrakech
A stop at Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage ksar since 1987, before crossing the High Atlas on the Tizi n'Tichka into Marrakech.
About 6 hours on the road, roughly 340 km
Riad, Marrakech
Marrakech
A full day with a local guide through the medina and the Bahia Palace: raised in 1866–67 for Grand Vizier Si Moussa, then enlarged by his son Ba Ahmed between 1894 and 1900 into the carved-cedar complex standing today, before the souks.
No driving today
Riad, Marrakech
Departure
A final walk through the Jemaa el-Fna before the transfer to Marrakech airport for your flight home.
Just the transfer to the airport today
Included
- ✓Private car and driver for the full route
- ✓8 nights' accommodation, breakfast included
- ✓1 camel trek and 1 desert camp dinner
- ✓Local guides in Fez and Marrakech
Not included
- —International flights
- —Most lunches and dinners outside the desert camp
- —Entry fees to monuments and museums
- —Tips for driver and guides
Questions about this route
Ask about this route
Send us your rough dates and what you'd want to change, and we'll come back with a real draft, not a form letter.
Tour at a glance
- Duration
- 9 days · 8 nights
- Transport
- Private car/4x4
- Languages
- English, French
- Availability
- Year-round
From the blog
Private or group: what actually changes on the road
The difference isn't comfort so much as control over the day.
By Omar Hafidi
Read article
A first-timer's route through the Marrakech medina
Where to start when every street looks the same as the last.
By Anouar
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How many days do you actually need in Marrakech?
Enough to slow down, not so many that you run out of medina.
By Anouar
Read articleOther routes
4-Day Chefchaouen and Akchour Tour from Tangier
Tangier is the closest departure point to the Rif, which makes this the most efficient way to see the blue town and its waterfall valley without a long drive on either end.
6-Day Middle Atlas Tour from Tangier
A cooler, slower route for travellers who'd rather trade a second desert crossing for cedar forests and mountain air: Ifrane is a realistic add-on from Tangier by way of Fez.
6-Day Family Morocco Tour from Tangier
A shorter, easier-paced northern loop for families: no desert crossing, fewer long driving days, and stops kids tend to actually enjoy, like the Akchour walk and Rabat's tram-friendly old town.