4 day Fes desert tour: Merzouga without the rush, back to Fes via Midelt

Overview

This 4 day Fes desert tour is for travellers who want the Sahara without spending the whole trip in the car. Merzouga lies about 470 km from Fes, over the Middle Atlas and down the Ziz valley. Most short tours do that road twice in three days. We add a full day at the dunes and break the way home with a night in Midelt, so no single day is longer than about 8 hours on the road.

You sleep in a hotel at the edge of Erg Chebbi on the first night, so the second day starts in the desert, not on the motorway. You spend that day around Merzouga, ride out to camp by camel in the late afternoon and sleep among the dunes. On the way back you stop at a fossil workshop in Erfoud, follow the Ziz gorges north and spend a quiet evening in Midelt, under the Ayachi mountains. You are back at your riad in Fes by the afternoon of day four.

Short on time? The 2-day Fes desert tour covers the essentials in one night. To read up on the dunes, villages and seasons first, see our Merzouga desert guide.

Highlights

• Drive through the cedar forest of Azrou, home to Barbary macaques
• A whole day in Merzouga instead of a quick overnight
• Gnawa music in Khamlia and a visit to the old trading town of Rissani
• Camel ride into Erg Chebbi, where dunes rise to about 150 m
• Polished fossils in an Erfoud workshop and the palm-filled Ziz gorges
• A night in Midelt and the ruins of Mibladen, an old mining village

Itinerary, day by day

1. 1

   Fes → Ifrane → Azrou → Midelt → Ziz valley → Merzouga

   Pickup around 8:00 at your riad or hotel in Fes. The road climbs into the Middle Atlas: a short stop in Ifrane, a tidy mountain town with sloping roofs, then the cedar forest near Azrou, where macaques often wait by the road. After lunch in Midelt you cross the Tizi n'Talghemt pass and drop into the Ziz valley, a long ribbon of palms between bare cliffs. Past Errachidia and Erfoud the first dunes appear. You reach Merzouga in the early evening for dinner and the night.

   About 470 km, around 8 hours including stops · Overnight: a hotel or guesthouse at the edge of the dunes in Merzouga

2. 2

   A day in Merzouga → camel ride to the desert camp

   No long drive today. After breakfast you visit Khamlia, a village of Gnawa families whose drums and iron castanets tell the story of their ancestors. Then on to Rissani, the old caravan town, to walk its souk and see where the dates and spices are sold. Back at the hotel, there is time to rest through the heat of the day or try sandboarding on the nearest slope. In the late afternoon you meet the camels and ride into Erg Chebbi as the sand turns copper. Dinner at camp, drums by the fire, then the stars.

   Short drives only · Camel ride about 1 hour · Overnight: standard desert camp in Erg Chebbi (luxury upgrade available)

3. 3

   Sunrise in the dunes → Erfoud fossils → Ziz gorges → Midelt

   Climb a dune for sunrise, then ride back to Merzouga for breakfast and a shower. In Erfoud you stop at a workshop where the black fossil-rich stone of the region is cut and polished into tables and basins. The road then follows the Ziz north, with viewpoints over the palm groves and the gorges north of Errachidia. In the afternoon, if there is time, a detour to the ruins of Mibladen, an abandoned mining village just outside Midelt. Dinner and the night in Midelt.

   About 5 to 6 hours including stops · Overnight: a hotel in Midelt

4. 4

   Midelt → Azrou → Ifrane → Fes

   An easy morning across the high plateau, with apple orchards around Midelt and the snow-capped Ayachi behind you in winter. Coffee in Azrou, a last walk among the cedars, and a photo with the stone lion of Ifrane. You are back at your accommodation in Fes by the afternoon, with time to rest or see the medina before dinner.

   About 4 hours including stops · Drop-off at your riad or hotel in Fes

Hotels and desert camps on this tour

Standard accommodation is included in the price. You can upgrade to superior hotels and camp for €35 per person per night; choose it in the booking panel.

Good to know before you go

Route map

Fes → Ifrane → Azrou → Midelt → Ziz valley → Erfoud → Merzouga → Khamlia → Rissani → Erfoud → Midelt → Ifrane → Fes

Questions about the 4 day Fes desert tour

What travellers say about our tours

Rated 4.9/5 by 64 travellers on Tripadvisor, across all the tours we run.