7-Day Sahara Desert Tour from Tangier to Marrakech

Day 1: Tangier, Cape Spartel, the Hercules Caves and Chefchaouen

Your private driver meets you at Tangier airport, the ferry port or your hotel. First, you drive to Cape Spartel, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, and visit the Hercules Caves, whose sea opening is often compared to the shape of Africa. Then, you leave the coast and climb into the Rif Mountains, with viewpoints over green valleys and villages. In the late afternoon, you reach Chefchaouen and check in to your riad in the blue medina. Before dinner, you can take a first walk to Outa el-Hammam square and watch the evening light on the blue walls. About 3 hours of driving.

Day 2: Volubilis, Meknes and Fes

After breakfast, you drive south through olive groves and rolling hills to Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman site in Morocco. You walk past the triumphal arch, the basilica and houses with remarkable floor mosaics. Next, you continue to Meknes, the imperial city of Sultan Moulay Ismail, to see the monumental Bab Mansour gate, the Sahrij Souani water basin and the old royal granaries. After lunch, you drive the short distance east to Fes and check in to your riad in or near the medina, ready for a full guided day tomorrow. About 4 hours of driving.

Day 3: A Guided Day in Fes

Today a licensed local guide shows you Fes, the spiritual and cultural heart of Morocco. In the morning, you stop at the golden gates of the Royal Palace, walk through the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter, and enjoy a panoramic view over the medina from the Borj Sud fortress. Then, you enter Fes el-Bali, the UNESCO-listed medina, a car-free maze of souks and workshops. Highlights include the Al Attarine Madrasa, the Nejjarine fountain, the outside of the Al Quaraouiyine mosque and the Chouara tanneries, seen from a terrace above the dye pits. The evening is free.

Day 4: Ifrane, the Cedar Forest, Midelt and the Merzouga Camp

After breakfast, you leave Fes and cross the Middle Atlas through Ifrane, a town of alpine houses often called the Switzerland of Morocco. Next, you stop in the cedar forest of Azrou, where wild Barbary macaques live; watch them from a distance and do not feed them. After lunch in Midelt, you cross the Tizi n’Talghemt pass and follow the Ziz Valley, a canyon filled with date palms. In the late afternoon, you reach the Erg Chebbi dunes, ride a camel for about an hour and watch the sunset. Dinner and Berber drums at the camp end the day. About 7.5 hours of driving.

Day 5: A Full Desert Day with Nomads and Khamlia

Wake early for sunrise over the dunes, then return by camel or 4×4 for breakfast. Today is dedicated to the desert around Merzouga. A 4×4 takes you across the rocky plains to a former mine in the hills and to a nomad family, who welcome you in their tent for Berber tea and explain their way of life. Next, you visit Khamlia, a village known for Gnaoua music, where musicians play the traditional rhythms. After lunch, you walk in the palm groves and see the seasonal lake, which holds water only after rain. You sleep in a hotel facing the dunes. About 2 to 3 hours of off-road driving.

Day 6: Rissani, Todra Gorge and the Dades Valley

After breakfast, you visit Rissani, an old caravan town whose souk is busiest on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and a fossil workshop in Erfoud, where ancient marine fossils are cut into polished stone. Then, you drive west through the palm groves of Touroug and Tinjdad to Todra Gorge, where limestone cliffs rise about 300 meters above the river. You walk along the narrowest section before lunch. In the afternoon, you continue up the Dades Valley to see the rock formations known as the monkey fingers, and check in to your hotel for dinner. About 4.5 hours of driving.

Day 7: The Rose Valley, Skoura, Ait Ben Haddou and Marrakech

After breakfast, you drive through Kalaat M’Gouna and the Rose Valley, where roses bloom in spring and cooperatives sell rose water all year. Next, you pass the Skoura palm grove and Ouarzazate, then explore the kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified village of red earth used in many films. After lunch, you cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass at 2,260 meters, with photo stops over terraced valleys and Berber villages. You reach your riad in Marrakech in the early evening. About 7 hours of driving.