2 Days
From Fez
2-Day Fez Desert Escape to Merzouga
A fast, scenic overnight in the Erg Chebbi dunes from Fez.
from€159 /person
View tour
The quickest Sahara overnight from Marrakech, through Aït Ben Haddou.
The quickest Sahara overnight from Marrakech, through Aït Ben Haddou. This 2-day private journey begins in Marrakech and is designed to give you the best of the route without the rush — with hand-picked accommodation, an English-speaking driver-guide and plenty of freedom to stop wherever catches your eye.
Highlights include tizi n'tichka pass, aït ben haddou, zagora dunes camp. Like every Edita itinerary it is fully flexible: we can lengthen or shorten it, upgrade your riads and desert camp, or change the start and finish cities to fit your flights.
Keep exploring: Morocco Tours from Marrakech · all 39 Morocco tours · Marrakech to Merzouga: The Complete Route
Our route to the desert climbs first over the High Atlas by the dramatic Tizi n'Tichka pass, with its hairpins and mountain panoramas, before dropping to the famous UNESCO ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, where we stop to explore the earthen towers and lanes seen in so many films. Passing through Ouarzazate we turn south and cross the Anti-Atlas at the Tizi n'Tinififft, then descend into the magnificent Draa Valley — Morocco's longest river, lined by a near-continuous ribbon of date palms and old kasbahs stretching for a hundred kilometres. We reach Zagora, famous for its weathered sign reading 'Timbuktu, 52 days' by camel. As the sun sets, camels carry you into the nearby Tinfou dunes for a night at a desert camp, with dinner and music beneath the stars.
This morning we begin the return north, following the Draa Valley back up its ribbon of palm groves and kasbahs toward the mountains. We retrace the route through Agdz, beneath the crumbling Kasbah of Tamnougalt, and on to Ouarzazate, with a chance to stop again at Ait Ben Haddou if you wish to see the great ksar in different light. From here the road climbs into the High Atlas for the crossing of the Tizi n'Tichka, the highest major pass in the country, twisting up past Berber villages, market towns and viewpoints that open onto range after range of bare mountains. We pause for lunch and photographs along the way. Descending the northern side to the Haouz plain, we arrive back in Marrakech in the afternoon, with the evening free to relax.
“Impeccably organised and completely private. We changed the plan twice and Edita made it effortless. The Sahara sunrise was unforgettable.”
“From Fez to Marrakech we saw a side of Morocco most tourists miss. Comfortable 4x4, wonderful riads and a driver who knew every hidden spot.”
2 Days
A fast, scenic overnight in the Erg Chebbi dunes from Fez.
3 Days
The classic short Sahara trip: gorges, kasbahs and the great dunes.
3 Days
A one-way desert crossing linking Morocco's two great cities.