6-Day Morocco Desert Tours from Chefchaouen to Marrakech

6-Day Morocco Desert Tour from Chefchaouen to Marrakech

English / French / Spanish Meet with guide 6 days / 5 nights

Chefchaouen, Morocco (20 Reviews)

6-day desert tour from Chefchaouen to Marrakech via Merzouga

Overview

This private 6-day route is one of our flagship Morocco desert tours linking the Rif and the Sahara. We leave the Chefchaouen blue city for Fes, the Middle Atlas, the Erg Chebbi Sahara dunes of Merzouga and the Dades Valley, before crossing the High Atlas to Marrakech and the heart of our wider Marrakech desert tours. To upgrade to a luxury Sahara desert tour from Marrakech camp or extend the route, request a tailor-made quote.

Highlights

Chefchaouen Fes via Ouazane Excursion in Fes medina Fes Ifrane Midelt Merzouga Des Merzouga Desert and Camel Trek Private driver-guide

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1

Chefchaouen Fes via Ouazane

Your private Morocco tour from Chefchaouen begins with a drive south via Ouazane to Volubilis, where a local guide walks you through the Roman ruins. We then continue to Meknes to see the medieval ramparts, Bab El Mansour and Moulay Ismail's mausoleum, before reaching Fes in the late afternoon for an overnight stay in a traditional riad.

Day 2

Excursion in Fes medina

Today we explore the Fes medina with a local guide, including the Royal Palace gate, Al Qaraouine University, the tanneries and the Attarine Museum. Overnight stay in a traditional riad in the medina.

Day 3

Fes Ifrane Midelt Merzouga Desert

Today we leave Fes for Ifrane and the best of the Middle Atlas Mountains, passing small Berber villages, the town of Azrou and the famous cedar forest. After lunch in Midelt we continue through Aoufous and Erfoud to reach the Merzouga desert, where we stay in a small kasbah or guesthouse with dinner included.

Day 4

Merzouga Desert and Camel Trek

After breakfast we visit the Gnaoua village of Khamlia to listen to traditional music with the local musicians. In the afternoon we ride camels into the Erg Chebbi dunes and explore the wonders of the Sahara. After watching the sunset over the Merzouga dunes, we enjoy dinner and spend the night in a well-equipped Berber camp — a true highlight of this 6-day private tour from Chefchaouen.

Day 5

Merzouga Desert - Todra Gorges - Dades Valley

We rise early to watch the stunning sunrise over the Merzouga dunes, then ride the camels back to our desert guesthouse for breakfast. We then drive to Tinghir to explore the Todra Gorges, one of Morocco's deepest and narrowest canyons, before continuing to the Dades Valley, where you spend the night in a local hotel or kasbah.

Day 6

Dades Gorges Skoura Marrakech

After breakfast we continue our journey, following the Route of the 1000 Kasbahs through Kelaat M'Gouna and Skoura on the way to Ouarzazate. We then visit Aït Benhaddou and its UNESCO-listed kasbah, before crossing the High Atlas Mountains over the Tizi n'Tichka pass to Marrakech, where the tour ends. Local Morocco Tours will be delighted to craft the ideal private Morocco tour from Chefchaouen for your friends, family or group.

What's included

All hotel pick up transfers with experienced drivers
Comfortable and private travel from Chefchaouen in A/C vehicle
Merzouga camel trek desert
A night in riads/hotels and comfortable desert camp
Dinners and breakfasts

Not included

Lunches , soft drinks
Entrance fees ,Tips

Guide languages

English, Spanish , French. Other language on a request.

Departure

We can leave whenever you choose, although we normally leave at 9 a.m.

Departing from Chefchaouen, ending in Marrakech

Six days from Chefchaouen to Marrakech via the Sahara is Morocco’s great diagonal journey: from the blue-painted Rif Mountain village in the north to the ochre-walled imperial city in the south, via Fes, the Middle Atlas, the Sahara dunes at Merzouga, and the High Atlas. The route is entirely one-way — no backtracking — making it ideal for travellers with a Chefchaouen-to-Marrakech or Tangier-to-Marrakech flight combination.

Departing from Chefchaouen, Day 1 and 2 cover Fes — the cultural capital of Morocco’s north — with its 9th-century medina, tanneries, and ancient medersa architecture. Day 3 crosses the Middle Atlas south via the Ziz Valley to Merzouga. Day 4 is the Sahara: a sunset camel trek, overnight in a private desert camp, and a dawn walk in the dunes of Erg Chebbi. Day 5 and 6 return via Ouarzazate, Ait Benhaddou, and the Tizi n’Tichka pass to Marrakech.

The Chefchaouen start gives this itinerary an opening chapter that Marrakech-based tours never have: the mountain-cool blue medina, the Rif landscape, and a descent from 600m altitude into Morocco’s cultural heartland. All accommodation, camel trek, breakfasts, dinners, and private vehicle are included. Request a quote.

Frequently asked questions

How many days for a Morocco desert tour from Chefchaouen to Marrakech?

Six days, five nights is the comfortable benchmark — Chefchaouen to Fes, then Merzouga (with one night in the Sahara camp), the Todra and Dades gorges, Aït Benhaddou and Marrakech. Seven days adds an extra Atlas or desert night.

Do we sleep in a Sahara camp on this 6-day tour?

Yes — one full night is in a Berber-style camp on the Erg Chebbi dunes after a sunset camel ride. Tents have real beds, en-suite bathrooms, dinner under the stars and breakfast at sunrise.

What's included in this 6-day Morocco desert tour from Chefchaouen?

Hotel pick-up in Chefchaouen, a private air-conditioned vehicle, an English-speaking driver, fuel, five nights of accommodation including a Sahara camp, dinners and breakfasts at the camp and kasbah, plus the Merzouga camel trek.

Is the tour drop-off in Marrakech or back in Chefchaouen?

Drop-off is in Marrakech, which is convenient for travellers flying out from Marrakech Menara. Round-trip versions back to Chefchaouen are available on request and add roughly two days to the route.

Mohamed Chajia

✓ Licensed guide · MA76175

Hi, I’m a legally certified tour guide in Morocco. I organise all kinds of holidays across the country — High Atlas trekking, desert and coastal treks, cycling tours, imperial-city tours, plus hand-picked hotels, camps and guest houses. I’ll build this trip around your pace and the things you actually care about.

Private guide in MarrakechAlso guides Fez, Merzouga, Ouarzazate, Chefchaouen, Agadir, Essaouira, Casablanca, Rabat, AtlasLanguages: Arabic · English · French · Spanish