The ramparts and white houses of Asilah beside the Atlantic waves

Private tour · 12 days

12-day desert tour from Tangier to Marrakech via Essaouira

A private 12-day desert tour from Tangier to Marrakech via Essaouira. Along the way: Chefchaouen, the Fes medina, the Erg Chebbi dunes and Ait Ben Haddou, and 2 nights in the desert. A long journey at your own pace, with the Merzouga desert at its heart.

Tour highlights

  • Cape Spartel and the Caves of Hercules
  • Tangier on the strait and the medina of Tetouan
  • A full day in Chefchaouen’s blue medina
  • Rabat, the capital, on the Atlantic
  • The Roman ruins of Volubilis
  • The Fes medina and the Chouara tanneries with a local guide
  • The macaques of the cedar forest and the Ziz canyon
  • A nomad family, the Gnawa music of Khamlia and the Mfis mines
  • The Rissani souk and the Todra Gorge
  • Ait Ben Haddou and the High Atlas to finish
  • Essaouira’s walled medina and its port

Day-by-day itinerary

  1. Day 1 · Arrival in Tangier · Cape Spartel · Asilah

    We pick you up in Tangier, at the port or airport. We drive to Cape Spartel, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, and the Caves of Hercules, then down the coast to Asilah.

    Night: Asilah

  2. Day 2 · Asilah · Tangier · Tetouan · Chefchaouen

    We drive up to Tangier, facing the Strait of Gibraltar, with its medina and kasbah. We continue through Tetouan, whose Andalusian medina is a UNESCO site, and into the Rif to Chefchaouen.

    Night: Chefchaouen

  3. Day 3 · A day in Chefchaouen

    A full day in the blue town of the Rif: wandering its medina, Outa el-Hammam square and the kasbah, and walking up to the Ras el-Ma spring, where women still wash clothes. There is time for a short hike in the surrounding mountains.

    Night: Chefchaouen

  4. Day 4 · Chefchaouen · Rabat

    We come down from the Rif to the Atlantic coast and Rabat, the capital: the Kasbah of the Udayas above the river mouth, the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V.

    Night: Rabat

  5. Day 5 · Rabat · Meknes · Volubilis · Fes

    From the coast to the interior: Meknes and its Bab Mansour gate, the Roman ruins of Volubilis and, in the afternoon, Fes.

    Night: Fes

  6. Day 6 · Guided tour of Fes

    A day with a local guide in Fes el-Bali, the medieval medina and UNESCO site: the Bab Boujloud gate, the Bou Inania madrasa, the façade of Al Qarawiyyin university, founded in 859, and the Chouara tanneries seen from the terraces. In the afternoon, the craft workshops and the view from the Marinid tombs.

    Night: Fes

  7. Day 7 · Fes · Ifrane · cedar forest · Midelt · Ziz Valley · Merzouga

    Around 470 kilometres from north to south. We leave Fes for the Middle Atlas: Ifrane, the Switzerland of Morocco, and the Azrou cedar forest, where you can see Barbary macaques. We stop for lunch in Midelt, between the Middle and High Atlas, and drop down the Ziz Valley, with the Legionnaire’s Tunnel and its viewpoints over the palms. Via Errachidia and Erfoud we reach Merzouga for sunset: by camel over the dunes or by 4x4 to the camp.

    Night: Desert camp

  8. Day 8 · 4x4 excursion around Merzouga

    A full day to see what lies around the dunes. We head out by 4x4 on the tracks around Erg Chebbi and visit a nomad family, who still live in tents as they always have, for tea. In Khamlia, the Gnawa village, we listen to their music, which came from sub-Saharan Africa. Then the old Mfis mines, the black desert scattered with fossils and, if it has rained in winter or spring, the lake at Dayet Srij. In the afternoon, free time on the dunes: sandboarding or simply the sunset.

    Night: Merzouga

  9. Day 9 · Merzouga · Rissani · Erfoud · Todra Gorge · Dades Valley

    After sunrise in the desert, we head west. In Rissani you can wander its souk, one of the largest in the south, and see the mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif. We pass Erfoud and follow the kasbah road to Tinghir and the Todra Gorge, explored on foot. The night is in the Dades Valley.

    Night: Dades Valley

  10. Day 10 · Dades · Valley of Roses · Skoura · Ouarzazate · Ait Ben Haddou · Marrakech

    Last day on the road of a thousand kasbahs. We pass the Valley of Roses and the Skoura palm grove, go through Ouarzazate and stop at Ait Ben Haddou to explore the ksar. In the afternoon we climb the High Atlas over Tizi n’Tichka and descend to Marrakech, where the trip ends.

    Night: Marrakech

  11. Day 11 · Marrakech · Essaouira

    To the Atlantic coast, through argan trees: on the way there are cooperatives where argan oil is made. Essaouira is a walled medina above the sea, a UNESCO site, with its fishing port and the cannons of the Skala.

    Night: Essaouira

  12. Day 12 · Essaouira · Marrakech

    A free morning in Essaouira, with its port and beach, and back to Marrakech in the afternoon.

White rooftops of the Tangier medina and the bay beyond, seen from the kasbah
Stepped alley lined with flowerpots between blue walls in the Chefchaouen medina
The Kasbah of the Udayas above the Bou Regreg river, with colourful boats in Rabat
The dye vats of the Chouara tannery surrounded by houses of the Fez medina

What’s included

Included

  • Pick-up from your accommodation in Tangier and drop-off in Marrakech
  • Private air-conditioned vehicle
  • Multilingual driver for the whole trip
  • Accommodation: 11 nights, including the nights in the desert
  • Breakfasts
  • Dinner at the desert camp

Not included

  • Lunches
  • Other dinners (on request: ask when you book)
  • Monument entry fees and local guides
  • Tips

Places along the route

Chefchaouen

Tucked into the Rif mountains, Chefchaouen is famous for its medina of blue-washed walls. Its steep lanes, Outa el-Hammam square and kasbah are made for unhurried wandering, and from the Spanish Mosque on the hillside you get a sweeping view over the whole town.

Volubilis

Volubilis is a large Roman archaeological site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Set among olive groves, it preserves the Arch of Caracalla, columns of the basilica and many mosaics still in their original place, depicting mythological scenes. Its setting on a plain near Meknes makes the visit a real pleasure.

Fes el-Bali Medina

Fes el-Bali, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a vast car-free medieval medina packed with artisans’ workshops and winding alleys. It is home to Al Qarawiyyin, founded in 859, and to the Chouara tanneries, where hides are still dyed in colourful vats much as they were centuries ago.

Erg Chebbi Dunes

Erg Chebbi is the great sea of orange sand dunes rising beside Merzouga, on the edge of the Moroccan Sahara. At sunrise and sunset the light shifts colour across the ridges, making it the perfect place to walk barefoot on the sand, ride a camel or simply soak up the silence.

Todra Gorge

Near Tinghir, the Todra river has carved a narrow canyon between limestone walls that rise almost vertically. Walking along the floor of the gorge, beside the stream and beneath those cliffs, is genuinely awe-inspiring, and the valley leading up to it is dotted with palm groves and mud-brick villages.

Aït Ben Haddou

This earthen ksar, built on a hillside above the Ounila river, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. Its mud-brick houses and towers, linked by lanes climbing to an old granary, have appeared in many films. Crossing the river and walking to the top rewards you with one of the south’s most photogenic views.

Is this the tour for you?

A complete journey through Morocco: cities, mountains and desert in 12 days, with a driver just for you who adapts to your pace.

As it ends in Marrakech, you don’t retrace your steps: it works well if your trip continues from there or your flight home leaves from Marrakech.

It includes a full day in Merzouga to explore the area around the dunes by 4x4: a nomad family, the Gnawa village of Khamlia, the Mfis mines and, if it has rained, the lake at Dayet Srij.

The night in the desert

You reach Merzouga in the late afternoon, in time for sunset over the dunes. The camel ride to the camp is optional: if you prefer, the transfer is done by 4x4 and you miss nothing.

At night, the desert sky with no lights around. In the morning it is worth getting up early: sunrise over Erg Chebbi is one of the best moments of the trip.

For a more comfortable night, we recommend Tassili Luxury Desert Camp, our sister camp in Erg Znaigui, with private-bathroom tents. Ask when you book and we will include it in the proposal.

Berber guide leading a caravan of saddled camels, with the dunes in the background

Time on the road

Marrakech to Merzouga is about 560 kilometres across the High Atlas: with stops, 10 to 12 hours on the road.

Fes to Merzouga is about 470 kilometres via Ifrane, Midelt and Errachidia: 8 to 10 hours with stops.

It is a private tour: we stop for photos, meals or a stretch whenever you like, and you set the pace of each day.

Make it yours

As the tour is private, the itinerary can change: start on another day, add or drop a night, or finish in a different city. These are the most requested options:

How to book

Message us on WhatsApp or by email with your dates, how many you are and where you are starting from. We reply with a proposal, a fixed price and what it includes, with no obligation.

Frequently asked questions

Is the tour private?

Yes. The vehicle and driver are for your group only, with no other travellers, so stops and timings adapt to you.

Do I have to ride a camel?

No. The camel ride is optional: if you prefer, the transfer to the camp is done by 4x4.

Where do we sleep?

There are 11 nights: the first in Asilah, the second in Chefchaouen, the third in Chefchaouen, the fourth in Rabat, the fifth in Fes, the sixth in Fes, the seventh at the desert camp, the eighth in Merzouga, the ninth in the Dades Valley, the tenth in Marrakech and the eleventh in Essaouira. The proposal tells you the exact accommodation for each night.

Which meals are included?

Breakfasts and dinner at the desert camp. Lunches are not, as we stop wherever you like along the way. Other dinners are on request: if you’d like them, tell us when you book and we’ll include them in the proposal.

What language does the driver speak?

Our drivers speak several languages, including English. If you need Italian, just ask when booking.

Can it be done in 10 days?

Yes: we have the 10 days from Tangier to Marrakech tour. With fewer days there are more hours of driving in a row, which is why this itinerary spreads the journey better.

How much does the tour cost?

It depends on how many of you are travelling, the dates and the type of accommodation. The vehicle and driver are a fixed cost, so the more of you there are, the less it costs per person. Message us on WhatsApp and we’ll send you the price and availability the same day.

When is the best time to go?

Spring and autumn are the most pleasant; summer is very hot in the middle of the day, and winter nights in the desert are cold.

More tours from Tangier

Tassili Luxury Desert Camp at dusk, with the tents lit up
The tents of Tassili Luxury Desert Camp among the dunes

Where to sleep in the desert

A night in a private tent

If you want to stay longer in the desert, Tassili Luxury Desert Camp has ten tents with private bathrooms in Erg Znaigui, away from the main camp area.

  • Ten private tents
  • A private bathroom in every tent
  • In Erg Znaigui, away from the main camp area
See the tents
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