The 5 Days Morocco Desert Tour from Fes is the version that stops rushing. It covers the same crossing as the three and four day tours but gives the kasbah country its own day, so Skoura, the Valley of Roses and Ouarzazate become visits rather than photo stops from the car window.
The Sahara still gets two nights and a full free day for nomad camps, the black desert and the Gnaoua musicians of Khamlia, and the gorge country gets a proper morning at Todra.
The result is five days with no stage longer than about six hours after the first, and a finish in Marrakech rather than a return north.
Early pickup in Fes and into the Middle Atlas past Ifrane, with its steep roofs and gardens, then the cedar forest at Azrou where Barbary macaques come down to the roadside.
Lunch at Midelt on the plateau, then the descent through the Tizi n Talghomt into the Ziz Valley and its long belt of date palms, with a viewpoint above the gorge.
Arrival at Merzouga in the late afternoon, then the camel ride into Erg Chebbi, reaching camp at sunset for dinner and drumming under the tent.
Accommodation: Berber desert camp, Erg Chebbi
Sunrise from a dune crest, camel ride back, breakfast and a shower at your hotel.
A 4×4 circuit fills the day: tea with a nomad family on the hamada, the seasonal lake at Dayet Srji, the black volcanic desert and the abandoned kohl mines at Mfis.
Late afternoon at Khamlia for a Gnaoua session, then a second sunset at the edge of the erg.
Accommodation: Hotel or kasbah in Merzouga
West after breakfast, with stops at Rissani and its covered souk and at Erfoud, where fossils are cut and polished from ancient seabed.
The morning reaches Todra Gorge, where limestone walls of about 300 metres close to a few paces above the streambed. A walk on the valley floor is the best part of the day.
A short drive on brings you to the Dades Valley, with time in the afternoon to take the winding gorge road above your hotel for the view over the switchbacks and the eroded rock towers.
Accommodation: Hotel or guesthouse in the Dades Valley
A short day with plenty of stops. First El Kelaa des Mgouna, where most of the Moroccan damask rose crop is distilled into water and oil; if you come in early May the valley is in flower and the rose festival is on.
Then the Skoura oasis, a thick palm grove holding several old kasbahs, including Amerhidil, which is open to visitors and one of the largest in the south.
Arrival in Ouarzazate in the afternoon, with time for the Taourirt Kasbah in the old quarter and the Atlas film studios on the edge of town.
Accommodation: Hotel in Ouarzazate
A short drive brings you to Ait Ben Haddou, the earthen ksar above the Ounila river that has served as a backdrop for dozens of films. You cross the riverbed and climb through the alleys to the granary at the top, where the view runs across the whole valley.
Lunch in the village, then the climb over the High Atlas by the Tizi n Tichka pass at just over 2260 metres, with stops at the viewpoints and the mineral stalls on the switchbacks.
Arrival in Marrakech in the afternoon or early evening, with drop-off at your riad or hotel.
A whole day for the kasbah country between the Dades and Ouarzazate, and a short final morning at Ait Ben Haddou instead of a long push to Marrakech.
Yes, in either direction at the same price.
Late April to mid-May, when El Kelaa des Mgouna holds its festival. Rose water and oil are sold there all year.
Day one is about eight hours. After that nothing exceeds five or six, and day two has almost no transfer at all.
One night at the camp and one at a hotel in Merzouga by default. Two camp nights can be arranged instead.
Yes. We can book a riad and arrange airport transfers, or add a guided day in the medina.
Five days is where the Fes to Marrakech crossing stops being a transfer with stops. The desert gets a free day, the gorges get a morning, and the kasbah valleys get an afternoon of their own.
Private vehicle and driver throughout, and you finish in Marrakech with your luggage rather than doubling back north.
