From Marrakech To Fes: 3-Days Desert Tour, with Luxury Camp,
Recommended by 96% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
Marrakech, Morocco
- 3 days (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Embark on a 3-day journey from Marrakech to Fez, exploring Morocco’s stunning landscapes and cultural treasures. Visit the UNESCO-listed Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, marvel at the Todra Gorges, and enjoy a camel ride and sandboarding in the Erg Chebbi dunes before an overnight stay in a desert camp. With meals, accommodations, and expert guidance included, this tour offers an unforgettable adventure through the Sahara and beyond.
- Accommodation in Berber guest houses and camp is taken care of
- Pickup in Marrakech and drop off in Fez provided
- Several meals are included for ease
- Ride camels and do some sandboarding, too
What's Included
- Professional driver guide
- Camel ride / Camel trek in the desert
- Sandboarding
- First night hotel stay private room, Second night stay desert camp private tent
- Breakfast (2)Breakfast
- Dinner (2)Dinner
- Lunch on the way
Meeting and Pickup
You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup
Itinerary
Day 1
Marrakech > High Atlas Mountains > Ait Ben Haddou > Ouarzazate > Tinghir
6 Stops
1
Marrakech
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Tizi n Tichka
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Ksar Of Ait-Ben-Haddou
1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
4
Ouarzazate
20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Vallee Des Roses
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
6
Tinghir
9 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Accommodation: Comfortable Tinghir hotel
Meals: Dinner
Day 2
Tinghir > Todra gorges > Erfoud/Rissani > Merzouga Erg Chebbi
4 Stops
1
Tinghir
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Tinghir
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
3
Todra Gorge
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
4
Merzouga Desert
10 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Accommodation: Overnight in a desert camp You can upgrade to a VIP camp: Orient luxury camp / Sahara Sky or similar.
Meals: Dinner, Breakfast
Day 3
Merzouga > Ziz Valley > Zaida > Midelt > Azrou cedar forest > Fes
2 Stops
1
Merzouga Desert
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included
2
Fez
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Accommodation: Not included
Meals: Breakfast
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 200 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.8
based on 115 reviews
Emily_H, Feb 2026
We had a good time and thought the tour was worth doing! However, some things could definitely be improved, especially involving communication of the logistics.
Here is some information on additional costs not included in the booking:
- Lunch 3 days: 110-150 MAD each meal, depending on option selected
- Cheche (headscarf for the desert): 120 MAD for the basic one; more expensive fancy ones also available (we were told this was “required” and everyone in our group bought one. It really wasn’t necessary as we had lovely weather, but I can see how it would be useful at other times of year.)
- ATV riding (optional): 400 MAD for a single ATV, 500 MAD for a double
- Ait Benhaddou tour: 20 MAD (a little annoying that they told us afterward we had to pay since it says this is included, but I guess you can think of it as a tip)
- Todra Gorge / Tinghir Kasbah tour: no specific price, but we had a local guide who asked for tips at the end
- Water was not provided on the bus, so we bought some: ~10 MAD per one liter bottle
- Some restrooms cost 5 MAD
And then whatever extra you want to budget for a tip for your primary driver plus additional drinks and/or souvenirs of course. There were a LOT of stops geared towards trying to get us to buy things. It was a little much, but most of them included some kind of talk or display that was interesting at least, and it was generally nice to have opportunities to stretch legs and use the restroom since we did a lot of driving.
Additional details on the activities / itinerary:
Day 1:
- Quick stops at scenic viewpoints while driving through the Atlas Mountains
- First part of the drive is windy! Bring supplies if you get motion sick.
- Ait Benhaddou - lunch, then ~1 hour guided tour, including a demo of drawings with ink that appears when exposed to flame, followed by a demo of how to put on a headscarf properly and being told we all need to buy one for the desert.
- Saw Ourzazate studio from the car; quick stop for photos of the set in the distance.
- Valley of roses - this was just a stop for the restroom and to try and sell us rose things from a roadside shop. We were out of season for the roses to be in bloom; unclear if the stop would have included seeing actual roses at the right time of year.
- The hotel in Tinghir was ok; had this air of a place that was luxurious 30 years ago but our room seemed out-dated. Dinner here was the blandest meal of the tour.
Day 2:
- Visit to Todra Gorge. I was expecting/hoping for more walking; it was just a short stroll. But the gorge is very impressive! And we had an entertaining local guide.
- Tinghir Kasbah “tour”. Quick stroll outside, some information about the Amazigh people, their language, and their way of life. Had a short demonstration about rug-making in this neat space full of beautiful weaves with bright colors and patterns, which I really enjoyed, but then afterwards we sat around waiting for a long time while they tried hard to push everyone to buy rugs.
- Nice buffet lunch.
- We reached the edge of the sand dunes and were told to put any luggage we needed at the camp in a particular pile for porting over and only bring our water and phones for the camel ride. At this point we had to pay if we wanted to opt in to ATVing. I asked several times whether we would have access to our bags between camel riding and sandboarding/ATVing/sunset, and got about three different versions of the itinerary, none of which turned out to be correct; it was actually as follows. (Possibly this changes tour-to-tour depending on timing, not sure)
- Camel ride from one side of the dunes to the other where the camp is (~1.5 mi). This was fun! Lived up to my expectations. It was in the high 70s F with a light breeze and not a cloud in the sky; absolutely perfect weather.
- From the camels those of us who opted in to ATVs went straight to the ATVs (no opportunity to access our other bags). We didn’t care much about doing the ATVs initially and mainly opted in because we were told it would take us to the “highest point for the sunset where the camels don’t go”. There were a bunch of groups with camels where we ended up for sunset and it definitely wasn’t the highest point, but I would still 100% recommend the ATVing! Before arriving at the sunset spot we drove deeper into the desert and we got to see a lot more of the dunes than we otherwise would have. It was a chill pace; the group just drove in a line following our guide.
- Sandboarding was a big disappointment for me. I’m a snowboarder and have wanted to try it for a while. I envisioned each of us (or maybe in pairs) getting our own board with 30-60 min to use it. Instead, our guide showed up with a single old snowboard with no bindings and we each got one chance to ride it sitting down like a sled. Some of the other tour groups nearby had boards with bindings and one of them let me try a run with their board, but I couldn’t get any speed - I know that’s somewhat to be expected, but I don’t think that board is ever waxed and I would’ve needed a steeper dune. At least the sunset was very nice.
- We had chosen the middle option for the camp (“deluxe”, I think? It sounds like “luxury” and “deluxe” are the same camps, not sure what the differences are; the one person in our tour group who selected the basic option was sent to a different camp for the night than the rest of us). Tent was cute, not super fancy but did have a hot water shower and a heater. I don’t think the camp looked as nice or luxurious as in the photos online, and it’s not out surrounded by dunes like I was envisioning; it’s right on the edge of the dunes and accessible by road. But it was still an enjoyable experience; loved sitting around the fire with live music after dinner, and the stargazing was phenomenal.
Day 3:
- Started our camel ride back across the desert in the early morning, with a pause midway through to watch the sunrise. What a lovely start to the morning! The camels seemed eager to get back and eat their breakfasts :)
- Stop at a place that sells furniture and knick-knacks made with fossils. I’m not sure how authentic all the fossils are, but it was interesting to browse never-the-less.
- Had a coffee and restroom stop around 11:30, and then drove for a long time and didn’t stop for lunch until almost 2:30. This was a really uncomfortable part of the drive - the van was too hot, and most of us were starving by the time we stopped because this was much later than usual! It would have been fine if our driver had just communicated the timing better so we knew what to expect and packed more snacks accessible from our seats.
- After lunch we made a stop to see monkeys (Barbary macaques). This was really depressing to me; the monkeys are cute but clearly baby monkeys playing with garbage is not environmentally responsible tourism. Please don’t touch the monkeys or buy food from the vendors to feed them! You can enjoy watching wildlife without contributing to these practices.
- ~20 min stop at Ifrane, a ski resort town. Not a ton to see, but completely different vibe from anywhere else we witnessed in Morocco which was kind of interesting.
- Got to Fes later than the tour description stated (around 7:30 pm)
Our biggest logistical complaint is the pick-up. When we first booked we entered our Riad address for pick-up, but upon arrival realized the Riad wasn’t directly accessible by car. We sent a message (through Viator) the morning before asking where we should go for pick-up but didn’t hear back. The morning of the tour, we tried calling the number listed on Viator but it was out of service (the Viator customer service was also unhelpful). We had to dig around for the provider’s main website and contacted about five different phone numbers before getting an answer for where to go. Others on the tour who booked directly on the provider’s website said they were contacted late the night before with pick-up instructions.
Overall, a good way to see a lot in a short span of time. We saw beautiful and interesting sites. Also convenient for our itinerary that the trip started in Marrakech and ended in Fes. The van was mostly comfortable and even had WiFi (not great service, but more than I was expecting), but was sometimes too hot. Food was a mix of a la carte and buffet style, always with decent vegetarian options.
My impression is that this tour experience is pretty equivalent to those with other providers in terms of itinerary, activities, lodging, food, and sales pitches. It did not live up to the quality of tours I’ve been on in other countries, but it still seems like a tour was the best option for the things we wanted to see.
Yana_S, Dec 2025
I enjoyed this excursion. I thought it was set up really nicely, with all the stops pre-planed, and each stop having some sort of significance to the people who lived there. Omar Faiz was our driver, he was nice and polite, and safely transported us from Marrakesh to Fes, through the dessert and back. This was a nice alternative in lieu of renting your own car, making it across Morocco.
Carolyn_T, Jun 2025
This was such an incredible tour. Truly a once in a lifetime experience. Our tour guides were so kind, knowledgeable and helpful. The van was new and clean and we made plenty of stops which was great for an anxious traveler. I felt comfortable and safe! Highly recommend!
Evelyn_S, Jan 2025
Douzi was great: good driver, very nice, calm, and always got us to the destinations ahead of the other groups. He also gave us all the information needed during the tour and made sure we were treated well.
The landscapes during the tour were magnificient and made the long drives enjoyable.
The only downside was the food which was a bit repetitive, pricey and lacked of flavor.
If you plan to do this trip in December/January, make sure to pack very warm clothes as some of the accomodations are not heated.
Overall the tour is worth it and allows you to discover great places in Morocco for a good price.
Response from Host, May 2025
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience on the 3-Day Sahara Desert Tour from Marrakech to Fes via Merzouga.
We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the journey and that Douzi made a positive impact on your trip. His dedication to providing a smooth, informative, and enjoyable experience for our guests is something we’re very proud of.
We’re also glad that the stunning landscapes made the long drives worthwhile—it’s one of the highlights we’re always excited for our travelers to witness.
We sincerely appreciate your honest feedback regarding the food and accommodations. We're continuously working with our local partners to improve meal variety and comfort, especially during the colder months. Your input helps us do better.
We're delighted that you found the tour worthwhile and we hope to welcome you back to Morocco for another unforgettable adventure.
Joshua_F, Oct 2024
An amazing experience which everyone should do. The places you visit are beautiful and breathtaking, and they will stay with you for the rest of your life
Hakin was an outstanding tour guide who looked after the whole group with his knowledge of the areas we visited along with his charming sense of humor.
Casey_A, Sep 2024
Awesome three days, my guide Husham was really nice! The camel trek and night at the desert was a highlight of Morroco
Elise_P, Sep 2024
We didnt really know what expect with the tour but we were amazed at the care we received from Hesham, our guide was so knowledgeable about any area we pasted and talked with passion about his country. The tour felt safe throughout, comfortable journeys with WiFi, charging pod & stops for refreshments. I would definitely recommend this tour and Hesham as our experience in Morocco would have been so different without his friendly presence and kindness. Thanks for a lifetime of wonderful memories
Tazmyn_F, Sep 2024
hesham was an incredible tour guide! super knowledgeable and accommodating. the tour was great, comfy bus, lots of stops. the camping was so cool and camel ride and sand boarding was a highlight. worth the money!
Emily_L, Sep 2024
If you’re searching through reviews, trying to decide which company to go with for a 3 day desert tour, you should stop and go with Marrakech City Life. Abdul, our guide, is an absolute gem of a human being and completely made the experience for us. We spent some time with several other guides at camp, and they were just as lively and generous as Abdul, so I don’t think you can go wrong.
In fact, I was very ill the second day of our trip and Abdul found me a pharmacy, allowed me to stay in the van and with him at a cafe while the others were site seeing, asked if I’d like for him to get me a hotel room for a couple hours on our lunch break, and checked in on my wellbeing frequently. He even offered to arrange for someone to get me in the middle of the desert if I couldn’t finish the camel ride and ensured our tent was located closest to the bathroom (IYKYK).
Basic information. The van was modern with great ac. The stops the first day are frequent and interesting. If you’re as fortunate as our group, you’ll get to visit Abdul’s family home and share tea with his grandmother. Maybe even see the goat that his mother keeps upstairs in a house! The hotel the first night was modern, clean, had ac, adult beverages (!) and a large pool. We had amazing guides at Ait Ben Haddou and Todra Gorge. The provided meals are basic Morroccan staples. I don’t know if it was because all 3 of the groups in our van were adventurous eaters, but I think Abdul made a change of plans on the third day and we stopped at a much more authentic Moroccan grill for an amazing lunch. The desert camp is rustic and HOT in August. Saw pictures of the luxury camps- if you’re on the fence, spend the money and upgrade. Everything except the desert sleeping arrangements are the same, but didn’t get much sleep in the heat.
I expected to have an amazing experience on the desert tour, but I didn’t expect the level of friendship and connection that formed between 2 Americans, 2 Germans, a Mexican, a Ukrainian, and one Moroccan over 3 days in a van across Morocco!
Manasse_B, Aug 2024
Yousef was a great driver. He communicated well, was funny, personable and drove safely. We enjoyed the different experiences with some different tour guides throughout the journey, having the opportunity to learn more about Moroccan culture. All spoke very good English.
We did find that the meals provided were lacking love and more of a quickly eat and go kind of meal. Also if you don't like hot, I don't recommend going in August.
The camp part was interesting. Our camel guides seemed to be teenagers and the camps run by them. They did a great job, it just felt a little disorganized at time and their ages surprised us. In the end if you want more comfort, you need to book the more expensive place...
Overall a once in a life time experience. Would recommend, but again maybe choose a cooler month if you can.
Rolly_C, Mar 2024
This trip was a blast! Our driver Khalid was a great driver, very friendly and great with our kids! The host of our trip, Iddir, was very helpful and kept us informed of plans and timelines. I would highly recommend this trip, as it’s a great way to see a large portion of Morocco and this trip was definitely a highlight. At the Bedouin camp there was good food and hot water. The beds were soft and clean.
Annette_G, Feb 2024
We were picked up at the prearranged location on time. There were 18 people in our group who were wonderful to travel with. Our tour guide, Iddar, took very good care of us and was very polite and patient to answering all our questions. The stops along the way were timely and mostly informative. There were accompanying guides at 2 of the stops and they were very good. The desert camel ride was about 45 minutes to our campsite. The next morning we saw the sunrise and headed back by camel where we met our guide. The desert tour seemed very rushed, but was a lot of fun. This tour was a great way to see and learn so much about the Berber people.
Rachel_T, May 2023
We had an incredible time with Omar on this tour. He was on time picking us up by our riad. He was super welcoming and provided amazing hospitality. He bought us dates when we went through one of the cities! He’s super nice and funny, and even welcomed us in his own home for tea and snacks. He always made sure we were having a good time. The overall tour was great - we had guides for specific parts of the tour which were honestly super informative and interesting, although they require a tip / forced fee. So keep change on your. The tour went through beautiful view points and villages so you’re sure to not miss any good spots! And the camel ride into the desert was a huge highlight of this trip. We did the luxury desert camp - recommended as it’s not much more $ and you get your own bathroom. I definitely also recommend the sunrise-ish camel ride as it’s really lovely walking through the desert with the sun creating shadows over the sand. Our trip got some rain and wind so it was a lot colder than expected. Overall, amazing time and a huge highlight of our Morocco trip :)
Marites_M, May 2023
Our first driver from Marrakech to Merzouga, Mohammad, is very nice, the van had tire and later engine issue! He delivered us safely to the next van and driver Anir. This would have been 5 star review if not for that, also we lost some time because of that. Our second driver Anir is amazingly nice and he made sure that are taken care of. He made up for the mishaps. I feel like our guide at Ait Benhaddou was rushing us maybe because we’re late. I wish they took us for lunch at a non touristy place. Our hotel accommodation in Tinghir was a nice place but there is this sewer-y smell in the bathroom. Our Berber community experience was great, we had a cool guide. The desert experience was awesome, from camel ride to the luxury camp. I recommend paying extra for luxury package, you get a tent with your own bathroom and shower, you needed it after a full day out and desert camel ride. Dinner was good and drum entertainment was fun. Sunset and sunrise desert experience was amazing. There was confusion with Merzouga to Fez route, we ended up in a grand taxi instead of a van. Rasheed our driver is very funny, we had communication issue but he made us laugh the entire drive and most importantly we got to Fez safely. If not for the van fail, the whole tour was an incredible experience, but hey, we had a great time!
Denis_O, Apr 2023
Time in the desert the best,camp great, incredible 5 course dinner with entertainment. great shower,lots of sightseeing. surprised when we haf to pay extra to guide at ait ben haddou. Stay in hotel Bougafer in Tinghir disappointing, staff not responsive, run down and not clean
Ankit_R, Mar 2023
I would highly recommend this tour, shows a totally different side of Morroco, compared to usual touristic cities. Yes, there are overpriced restaurants, rug store, argan oil, scarves store visits, but the tour is worth it despite that. Be prepared for long, a bit chaotic days, but very rewarding in the end.
Francesca_B, Nov 2022
This desert tour has been amazing. Starting from the pickup until the drop off, this was well organized and punctual. Our guide Hussain was friendly and helped us learn more about Morocco, the driver Zakaria was professional and fun. The driving was quite long but a fun group made it enjoyable. We stopped in several beautiful locations and the best part of this experience was the visit to a Berber community where we learned about traditional Carpet making technique and of course the Camel riding in the Merzouga desert (at sunset and sunrise) and the night at the Bedouin camp. An amazing experience overall and I recommend everyone to try.
Shervin_L, Aug 2022
This was such a great tour. The driver was very fun and easygoing. The highlight of the trip is the part in Merwouga desert. I will remember this trip all my life !
Patricia_L, Nov 2025
Experience 5 stars! Our guide, Hakim, was present throughout the trip and always showed himself very attentive and well disposed.
It was a different and unique way to know a little more of Morocco and, without a doubt, unforgettable!
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Sylvain_B, Sep 2025
Scam , no one came to pick us up at the café of Paris on the place Jamaa El fna. Nobody's answering my e-mails, the phone number's out of Service. Fleeing ..... Viator is investigating at the moment, I hope of course to be fully refunded. Fortunately we are experienced travellers and we were able to reorganise in a few hours. But our tour of the desert of course fell through ((with everything else that was planned in this tour)
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Ilaria_D, May 2023
Il tour è stato bellissimo, ci è piaciuto molto Ait ben Haddou ma la cosa fantastica è stata la cammellata nel deserto e la notte al campo tendato, indimenticabile. Peccato che non ci fosse nessuna guida che parlasse italiano anche se lo avevo richiesto
THAIS_F, Mar 2023
Excursao maravilhosa! Se você estava em dúvida como eu estava antes de reservar, não tenha. O passeio é sensacional, as paradas no caminho são maravilhosas, Mohammed nosso motorista muito atencioso. Os guias das atrações também muito simpáticos. A Van é confortável ,com wifi, éramos um grupo de 14 pessoas. Não tenha expectativas em relação à comida, a comida local não agradou ninguém do grupo, mas a experiência compensa tudo. Ficamos no luxury camp: quartos com banheiro privativo e água quente.
O único pequeno problema foi o ponto de encontro em marraqueche, muito cedo, escuro e tivemos que ir carregando as malas na rua até o local.
Ida_L, Mar 2023
Det var en virkelig god tur. Og vi var i en gruppe med mennesker på vores egen alder, hvilket var rigtig sjovt. Guiden var virkelig sød, selvom han ikke var så god til engelsk. Den første dag var der mange stop og maden på hotellet var ikke så godt. Men dagen efter var helt perfekt. Drengene der passer kamelerne var ikke så søde ved kamelerne, desværre. Husk varmt tøj til turen, det var virkelig koldt den første dag i bjergene og ude i ørkenen. Vi fandt dog ud af, at vi havde betalt en del mere end de andre fra gruppen. Selvom vi ikke havde luksus Camp. Men standard camp er super fin, og vi havde det virkelig hyggeligt.
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