Private Sahara Discovery Tour from Marrakech to Fez: Explore Southern Morocco Desert in 4WD
5.0
33 Ratings
مراكش

Travel south of Morocco on a 4WD to explore the Sahara desert and get to meet with the local Nomads in their homes.

Duration: 4 days
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights

Marrakech to Dades Valley via the High Atlas mountain and Ouarzazate

Ait Ben Haddou - Drive through the High Atlas Mountains, crossing Tizi n’ Tichka mountain pass and the local villages to Ouarzazate. In the afternoon you will reach and visit the exotic Kasbah of Aït Benhaddou.

Taourirt Kasbah - Your journey take you to Ouarzazate center, where you can see the Atlas Studios, the largest movie studio in Africa. After lunch at the Kasbah of Tourirt, the residence of the Glaoui Dynasty.

Kasbah Amridil - You will Continue to Rose Valley and through Skoura Oasis and the Kasbah Amerhidil , located in Skoura River.

Dades Valley to Erg Chebbi desert via Todra Gorges and Erfoud

Gargantas del Todra - After having breakfast, you will continue to Dadès Gorges for a spectacular views and a walk.., You will drive back through Dades Valley to Todra Gorges via Boulman Dadès,on the way you will stop for photos and get to admire the Tinghir Palm trees grove valley before you reach Todra Gorges where you will have your free time to walk on your own along the todra river …

Erg Chebbi - After a mint tea , you will drive to Merzouga via the Anti Atlas and Tafilalet Oasis to reach Erg Chebbi sand dunes for a camel trek and overnight in the middle of the dunes,Enjoy sunset in the top of the dunes and a local dinner and a drum party in a luxury Bivouac Camp.

Sightseeing around Erg Chebbi and Merzouga

Merzouga Desert - Early morning walk up for a beautiful Sunrise in the highest sand dunes and a local breakfast with a mint tea before you take your camel trek back to the hotel in the village for a fresh shower and rest…,then will drive to Rissani for visiting the weekly local Market where Nomads and local people sell their animals and local stuff .After lunch you will drive with the 4WD around the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi off-roading and get to explore the panoramic view of the black volcanic rock on the plains, with the blue sky, mirages of water, and golden shifting dunes.Stop at Khamlia village for a cup of tea with the local people and get to enjoy a spiritual Gnawa music. Overnight in the Sahara desert at the Kasbah Hotel.

Erg Chebbi to Fez via the Middle Atlas and Ceder Forest

Fes - After breakfast in the hotel departure north of Morocco to Fes. Your long journey will take you through Ziz Valley oasis and Gorge to Midelt for lunch.Then to azrou with a stop at the Cedar forests where Barbary apes live in their natural environments

What's Included
  • Private transportation
  • Dinner
  • Breakfast
What's Not Included
  • Lunch and beverages
  • Gratuities
Additional Information
  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
  • Small bag/back-pack with belongings for bivouac overnight suggested as will be carried on the camel. All luggage can travel with you on tour, and bulk of luggage will be stored and secured at hotel bordering desert.
Location
Hôtel Restaurant Café de France
Rue des Banques
customers can provide their pick up location
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(33 Ratings)
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1 star
Veronica_b
Apr 7, 2023
Definitely recommended!! - Mohammed and Mohammed (our driver and our guide) were simply fantastic. They come from the villages in the desert so really made us discover and appreciate local places, food and things we would have never found in normal tours. We learnt some Berber words and made lots of laughs together, while passing through different and marvellous landscapes. The night in the desert was amazing, as well as taking dromedaries to reach the camp and watch the sunrise on the dunes. We do recommend this experience to enjoy true Morocco with them, we definitely feel richer thanks to them. Tenmert, shukran, thank you, grazie! Veronica & Lorenzo from Milan :)
Review provided by Viator
Catherine
Jan 30, 2023
You haven't lived until you explore Morocco in a 4WD - My husband and I went to Morocco for our honeymoon several years ago. We rented a car and got lost in the Atlas mountains. This was a thousand times better. It wasn't a fluffy tour but was led by locals from the area so it was very personal, exciting, and engaging. Highlights were Marrakech, our camel trek in the desert and the Atlas Mountains (so much more enjoyable when you aren't behind the wheel.) If you're looking for a local experience exploring a wonderful country, I highly recommend Camel Safaris.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Teo
Jan 6, 2023
Thank you for the memories - Our guide Ali was great, taking care of us during our 4D/3N tour from Marrakech to Fes. He provided useful info while at the same time giving us space and time to wander around when we are not on the road. Time spent at the desert was unbelievably memorable, together with the night stay at the camp and desert-side riad. Overall, would recommend this!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Horst321
Nov 23, 2022
Fantastic trip from Marrakech - We took a 6 day trip from Marrakech to Fez and back to Marrakech. Ali did a great job organising the trip, great 4 WD car, very good hotels, knowledgeable local tour guys at the individual destinations. Everything worked out perfectly. Always on time, great accommodations and tours. And of course our driver Khalid. He couldn't be better. Always friendly and helpful. Very knowledgeable and a very brilliant safe driver. You could not be in better hands. Thank you both, Ali and Khalid. we had a fantastic trip. It could not be done better.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nycphotolove
Oct 13, 2022
Incredible, Incredible, Incredible!! - I did the 4-day Sahara tour from Marrakesh to Fes in September. It was absolutely incredible and very well planned. Four days were jam-packed with plenty of beautiful sights and interesting activities, so I would recommend doing at least 4 days for this trip, or ideally arranging for a 5-day tour. There is no way that 3 days is sufficient with the non-stop beauty along the way though if it’s all you have time and money for, it’s still worth doing. Describing this as a Sahara tour doesn’t do it justice with all that’s included. The driver/guide, Zahid maneuvered tricky roads (by US standards) while providing insight and coordination, including for some special requests. It’s absolutely ideal to go with a driver who knows the roads and the best stops along the way. It was also a stress-free experience where I was treated from start to finish incredibly well. The music selection was also great. Please note that the places I stayed in/exact stops might change from tour to tour. Once we left Marrakesh, there was beautiful scenery of mountains, with valleys filled with trees and other plant life, and interesting architecture with viewpoints of the blue mountains, farms, and winding roads along the way. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant that was decorated with murals with a view of the peak in Aït Benhaddou. They arranged for a local guide to hike with me to the peak of Aït Benhaddou, a UNESCO world heritage site. It was one of the most incredible hikes I’ve ever been on and the guide was quite kind, helpful, and knowledgeable. It is the location where dozens of notable films and TV shows have been filmed and I could see why. It was a combination of magnificent 360-degree varied landscapes, beautiful buildings made of clay, stones, and hay, and some other interesting sites. Then we went to the largest film studio in the world, Atlas Studios which has some impressive sets, especially the Egyptian ones. The next stop was at a multi-story traditional building (similar to the ones in AB) that I could walk inside and climb to the top of for more beautiful views. We stopped in the Dades Valley for the night at a beautiful Riad that had the most incredible Beber hospitality. There was tea, snacks, and a multicourse dinner with local farm products on the roof with a beautiful view of a lit pool. The staff was quite friendly and they offered me seconds of everything. The room was large and included a large bar of good quality argon oil soap that I took with me. It had a balcony where I could see some stars at night and a cool view in the morning. I went back to the roof for breakfast and kept taking photos and videos because it was so beautiful – the scenery of mountains, traditional homes, trees, and the decor of the rooftop area. In this setting, they served a generous variety of local farm products. We continued on our journey where the first stop was a viewpoint of a pretty cool winding road we had just gone up. There were more stunning valleys filled with trees in a scene that seemed as though it could not sustain life, so it was quite a contrast. The scenery started to look like the American Southwest. We passed some really fascinating buildings and stopped at a viewpoint with a lush foreground and dry mountains with traditional buildings in between. There was a stop to walk at the Dadès Gorges where I was surrounded by big natural structures with a stream. We reached the Sahara which surprisingly had a city and a lot of farms. I was curious about how water works in the Sahara and the Zahid stopped at a place where they’re the traditional wells that each family or traveler had. We drove up to the sand dunes and I was amazed, they did not look real. It looked like a painting with waves of orange. Then the camel trek began. I had read that camel rides are really uncomfortable, but luckily I didn’t find it to be uncomfortable, and actually much more comfortable than riding a horse. The camel trek guide explained that this particular camel didn’t have a big hump and the saddle makes a difference as well. The trek was absolutely stunning, the landscape, colors, and light kept changing. The guide found a perfect spot for the sunset and I was able to spend a decent amount of time there. We then went to the “camp” which was really impressive. The “tent” was basically a large full-blown hotel room with electricity, a toilet, sink, heat, and shower that was nicely decorated as was the “restaurant.” The people were so kind. There were performances and I got a bit of a drum lesson. I was more interested in the stars which were marvelous including the milky way streak. The camel guide showed me a good area to see the stars and had the lights turned off at the other camp so that I could fully see them. In the morning I walked around the dunes and saw the sunset, which I might’ve loved even more than the sunset. I had another camel ride which I enjoyed even more than the first one (which was incredible). That evening I got to experience another sunset and I saw another sunrise the next morning. Being able to see 2 sunsets and 2 sunrises in the dunes alone makes the longer tour very much worth it. They are so dynamic and peaceful. The next hotel was right at the dunes and absolutely stunning during the day and at night. It had a multitude of beautifully designed and decorated spaces. The staff had wonderful personalities and they went out of their way to be helpful. The rest of the day was spent in the Sahara. We saw how the nomads still live and visited a women’s tent home. Then we visited a viewpoint of the dunes. We visited a Gnawa music center with Moroccan people of West African ethnicity who have developed their own unique style of music. They performed and the center itself is colorful and interesting visually. We then visited a massive farm that was right in front of the dunes. I found the contrast of the greenery and the sand amusing, but it was also marvelous to experience. For lunch I had the option of a regular restaurant or having a Berber cooking lesson. I opted for the lesson which was taught by a collective of women at a nomad culture museum. The museum depicted various aspects of Berber culture and featured various artifacts. I got taught how to make a “Berber pizza” which is basically a stuffed flatbread. We ate under a marriage tent that’s part of the museum. They also have a shop with various textiles. After a wonderful buffet breakfast at the hotel, we went to a local market where all sorts of deals, especially ones for dates were being made. It actually reminded me of how the fish market in Japan used to be before the recent updates. The drive to Fes continued to be fascinating with incredible architecture and beautiful landscapes. We stopped and saw monkeys in the woods in the Irfran area then stopped in the town that reminded me of parts of New England. I honestly don’t think the photos they use as of writing this review do the tour justice. I included just some of the phone photos (with the limitations of this platform) of the many thousands I took on the tour. While it can ruin the surprise, there was so much to see and it’s even better in person. I highly recommend that you book this tour to have an incredible experience.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Silviacl9638sc
Sep 25, 2022
Great Experience - My friend and I had a great experience touring from Marrakech via Atlas Mountains via Merzouga to Fez! Besides the unique landscapes, tasty local food, cozy & stylish accommodations, Mohamed & Omar contributed positively to our overall experience: lots of useful information, unplanned stops when we liked what we saw, and not lastly, a pleasent cheerful vibe.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Juliarodman
Aug 16, 2022
Family road trip - A 4 day road trip with the 2 teens in the Moroccan summer, could always be a challenge, but we struck gold with lovely Khalid at the wheel and super Ali behind the scenes organising. From my first communication with Ali I knew I was in good hands. His addressed all my questions punctually and we discussed various trip options to suit my family. One of the most important elements of a road trip is the trust you have towards your driver, they literally have your family lives in their hands! Khalid could not have been a more considerate driver, I never once felt anxious, even going through some of the twisty turny road of the Atlas Mountains. In addition to his brilliant driving, we could not have asked for a nicer person. Thank you Khalid, you were wonderful. The accommodation that Ali had arranged for us was fabulous, I won't go into the details too much here as I believe each trip can be tailored. I also don't want to spoil all the wonderful experiences you will have with too much detail and photos! Thank you both, we had the most memorable trip exploring Morocco.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Andyfab
Jul 28, 2022
Once in a lifetime experience, absolutely worth it when visiting Morroco. - 1. Our guide Ali made our trip unforgettable (very knowledgeable, kind, friendly and discreet, attentive to details, excellent driver, felt safe at all times). We definitely recommend him. 2. The trip: Fabulous sceneries, a glimpse of every typical geographical aspect of real Morroco. 3. The highlight was the camel ride and desert camp (very funny and sincerely friendly camel guide, friendly young camp staff, great food and drum play and songs in the evening) 4. All accommodations where exceptional incl. desert camp (all with pools except camp - Dar Blues and Riad Madu). Fancy 5 course dinner in Dar Blues at the pool incl. availability of wine and beer. 5. Despite our concerns regarding high temperatures in July and long time spent in the car, the programme was very well planed with wright stops and timing of activities (camel ride at sunset etc.)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
B3156vxfrankv
Jul 23, 2022
Great times with great people - My wife and I did a 4 days to the Desert with Camel Safaries.Well organised and our guide was very knowledgeable and helpful.The highlight of the trip was the desert! That was an amazing experience, the guy that owned the camp in the desert was a great host, The food was delicious and we even sat around the fire and listened to some music that they played for us! I We laughed and danced and even played the drums with them. Great times with great people!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Allisonfv8285ne
Jul 5, 2022
Lovely experience with Mohamed - So glad I booked this experience for my husband and I, easy to book, good correspondence throughout. Mohamed was our guide and he was wonderful! So full of knowledge and very pleasant. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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