3 Days Desert Tour from Fes to Merzouga and Back
A full day around the Erg Chebbi dunes and a night at a desert camp, starting and ending in Fes
Tour Overview
This 3 days desert tour from Fes to Merzouga is a private round trip of about 920 km. You cross the Middle Atlas to the Erg Chebbi dunes, spend a full day around Merzouga by 4x4 and on a camel, sleep one night at a desert camp, and return to Fes on day 3.
Compared with the 2 Days Desert Tour from Fes to Merzouga, the middle day is spent in the desert rather than on the road. If you are travelling on to Marrakech, the 3 Days Desert Tour from Fes to Marrakech ends there instead.
The tour comes in two accommodation tiers on the same route. Luxury uses boutique riads and a private-bathroom desert camp. Standard uses a comfortable hotel and a desert camp with private tents. Everything else, the driver, the vehicle and the visits, is identical.
- Route: Fes → Ifrane → Midelt → Ziz Valley → Merzouga → Erg Chebbi → Fes
- Length: 3 days, 2 nights
- Start and end: pickup and drop-off in Fes, at the airport or your hotel
- Group: private, 1 to 6 travellers in one vehicle
- Price: from $370 per person in the Standard tier, based on two travellers sharing. Prices are indicative: the final price is set once the itinerary is personalised. The Luxury tier is quoted on request.
- Best months: March to May and September to November. Summer days in the desert pass 40°C and winter nights at the camp drop close to freezing, but the tour runs all year.
- Customisable: add nights, swap a stop or change the pace. The route is a starting point, not a fixed package.
Highlights
Ifrane and the Azrou cedar forest: Look for Barbary macaques in the Middle Atlas.
Ziz Valley: Follow a ribbon of palm groves through the gorges south of Errachidia.
A full day around Erg Chebbi: Visit Khamlia for Gnawa music, meet a nomad family and try sandboarding.
Camel ride at sunset: Ride into dunes up to 150 meters high to your desert camp.
A night at a desert camp: Dinner under the stars and sunrise over the Sahara.
Why Choose a Private Tour?
Detailed Itinerary
The Journey
"Your driver collects you in Fes in the morning. You stop in Ifrane, then in the Azrou cedar forest to look for Barbary macaques, cross the Middle Atlas and have lunch in Midelt. In the afternoon the road follows the palm groves of the Ziz Valley south through Errachidia and Erfoud to Merzouga. You arrive in the late afternoon and check in to a hotel at the edge of the dunes, with time to watch the sunset over Erg Chebbi."
The Journey
"A full day around Erg Chebbi with your driver: the Gnawa village of Khamlia, a nomad family, the black stone desert and sandboarding on the dunes. In the late afternoon you ride a camel for 1 hour or 90 minutes, as you prefer, to your desert camp for sunset and dinner under the stars."
The Journey
"Wake early to watch the sunrise from the dunes, then ride back to Merzouga for breakfast. The road north follows the Ziz Valley, climbs the Middle Atlas past Midelt and passes through the cedar forest near Azrou and the alpine town of Ifrane. You arrive in Fes in the early evening, where your driver drops you at your riad or at Fes-Saïss Airport (FEZ)."
Trip Logistics & Comfort: What to Expect
VIP Airport Welcome
Your private driver meets you in Fes with a sign bearing your name, at the airport, the train station or your hotel.
Your Private Vehicle
Your Driver & Guide
"Your driver is more than a chauffeur; he is your local host."
Transparent Pricing & Inclusions
The price covers your private vehicle, fuel, driver-guide, 2 nights of accommodation in the tier you choose, the camel ride and the visits listed below. You pay separately for lunches, drinks, entrance fees and tips.
What is Included
- Private TransportationToyota Land Cruiser Prado with A/C, fuel and highway tolls included.
- Driver-GuideEnglish-speaking driver-guide dedicated to your group for all 3 days.
- Door-to-Door ServicePickup and drop-off at Fes-Saïss Airport (FEZ) or your hotel in Fes.
- Accommodation (2 nights)Luxury tier properties are listed below. Standard tier uses a comfortable hotel and desert camp in the same places. Similar properties are booked if one is full.
- • Night 1 (Merzouga, by the dunes): Riad Serai Merzouga or Dar Morocco Boutique Riad.
- • Night 2 (Erg Chebbi, desert camp): Sahara Magic Luxury Camp or Golden Sand Oasis Camp.
- Meals
- • Breakfast every day.
- • Dinner at Merzouga (Night 1) and at the desert camp (Night 2).
- Experiences
- • Camel ride into Erg Chebbi at sunset (1 hour or 90 minutes, as you prefer) and back at sunrise.
- • A full day around Erg Chebbi by 4x4, including Khamlia and a nomad family.
What is Not Included
- LunchesAllow approximately €10–€12 (100–120 MAD) per person, per meal. (We stop at clean, local restaurants).
- DrinksWater, soda, and alcohol at hotels and camps.
- Entrance FeesAny optional visits along the way.
- TipsDiscretionary tips for your driver, camel guides and camp staff.
- Flights & InsuranceInternational or domestic flights and travel insurance.
Booking, Payment and Cancellation
- Price basis
- Prices are per person, based on two travellers sharing. Larger groups pay less per person; a solo traveller pays more. The final price is confirmed in your written quote.
- Currency
- Tour prices are in US dollars. Meals, entrance fees and tips during the trip are paid in Moroccan dirhams (MAD).
- Deposit and balance
- A 15% deposit confirms the booking (PayPal, bank transfer or credit card). The balance is paid on arrival in Morocco.
- Cancellation
- Tell us in writing. Your deposit is fully refundable.
- Travel insurance
- Required, covering medical expenses, emergency repatriation and personal liability.
Full details: booking terms and how tour prices work.
Questions About This Tour
The middle day. On the 2 Days Desert Tour from Fes to Merzouga you drive down, sleep at the camp and drive back. On this tour you spend the first night at a hotel by the dunes, a full day around Erg Chebbi by 4x4 (Khamlia, a nomad family, the black stone desert, sandboarding) and the second night at the camp.
Because it returns to Fes. A one-way route such as the 3 Days Desert Tour from Fes to Marrakech (from $430 per person) covers more distance and the vehicle has to be repositioned afterwards.
$370 is per person in the Standard tier, based on two travellers sharing. It includes the private 4x4 with fuel and tolls, your driver-guide for 3 days, a night at a hotel by the dunes and a night at a desert camp, breakfast every day and dinner both nights, the camel ride and the full day around Erg Chebbi. Lunches, drinks, entrance fees and tips are extra.
About 459 km (7.5 hours) on day 1 and the same on day 3. Day 2 is spent around Merzouga with only short drives.
March to May and September to November. Summer days in the desert pass 40°C and winter nights at the camp drop close to freezing, but the tour runs all year.
Tour Details
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Open it in our trip planner: add nights, swap places or change the pace, and see the new plan and price straight away.
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