The 5 Days Morocco Desert Tour from Tangier crosses the entire country in one line, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Sahara and out to Marrakech, without driving the same road twice.
It starts in the Rif with a night in Chefchaouen, drops through Volubilis and Meknes to Fes, then takes the long southern road through the Middle Atlas cedar forest and the Ziz palm groves to Merzouga, where camels carry you into the dunes for a night in a Berber camp.
The last two days head west through Todra Gorge, the Dades Valley and Ait Ben Haddou before crossing the High Atlas into Marrakech. Five days is quick for this distance, so the driving is real, but nothing on the route is filler.
Pickup at Tangier airport, at the ferry port or at your hotel. If time allows there is a stop at Cape Spartel, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, before leaving the city.
East along the coast to Tetouan, whose UNESCO-listed medina was built by Andalusian refugees and still feels closer to Granada than to Fes. Lunch here.
The afternoon climbs into the Rif to Chefchaouen. Arrive in time to walk up to the Spanish mosque above the town for the view over the blue medina at sunset.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Chefchaouen
A morning in the blue town before leaving. The medina is small enough to walk end to end, and the Ras el Maa spring at the top is a short climb.
The road drops out of the Rif to Volubilis, the Roman provincial capital, where mosaic floors, the basilica and the triumphal arch stand in farmland below Moulay Idriss.
A stop in Meknes for the Bab Mansour gate and the royal granaries, then the short drive to Fes. Evening free in the medina.
Accommodation: Riad or hotel in Fes
The long southern stage, and the most varied. You climb into the Middle Atlas through Ifrane, a 1930s hill town with steep roofs, then the cedar forest near 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, a green corridor of date palms squeezed between bare cliffs, with a viewpoint above the gorge.
Arrival at Merzouga in the late afternoon. Leave the heavy bags, take an overnight bag, and ride into Erg Chebbi by camel to reach camp at sunset. Dinner under the tent, drums around the fire, and a night on the sand.
Accommodation: Berber desert camp, Erg Chebbi
Sunrise from the top of a dune, then the camels take you back for breakfast and a shower in Merzouga.
West with stops at Rissani, whose covered souk is the busiest in the Tafilalet, and Erfoud, where fossils are cut and polished from rock that was seabed 400 million years ago.
The afternoon reaches Todra Gorge, where limestone walls of about 300 metres close to a few paces above the streambed. A walk on the valley floor, then a short drive to the Dades Valley for the night.
Accommodation: Hotel or guesthouse in the Dades Valley
The kasbah road west through El Kelaa des Mgouna, where most of the Moroccan rose crop is distilled, and the Skoura palm oasis with Kasbah Amerhidil among the trees.
Ouarzazate for lunch, with time for the Taourirt Kasbah, then Ait Ben Haddou, where you cross the riverbed and climb through the earthen ksar to the granary at the top.
The final stage crosses the High Atlas by the Tizi n Tichka pass, with viewpoints on the descent. Arrival in Marrakech in the evening.
Yes, but two of the days are long: about eight hours from Fes to Merzouga and seven on the last stage to Marrakech. The six and seven day versions spread the same route more comfortably.
An evening only on this itinerary. If you want a full day in the medina, take the 6 or 7 day version, which adds it.
Yes, with drop-off at your riad or the airport. A return transfer or flight to Tangier can be added if you need to go back north.
Yes. Pickup at Tanger Med or the city port is standard. Tell us your sailing time and we will meet the boat.
Private tents with real beds and blankets, a dining tent and shared washing facilities. Luxury camps with private bathrooms are available for a supplement.
Yes, a 4×4 can take you to the camp instead. Let us know in advance.
Arriving at Tangier usually means a long repositioning day before a Morocco trip starts. This route removes it: the first day is already Tetouan and Chefchaouen, and by the third night you are asleep on a dune.
It is also a straight line rather than a loop, so nothing is driven twice and you finish in Marrakech with your luggage.
