5-Day Tour from Tangier to Fez via Chefchaouen & the Sahara
5 days · 4 nightsTangier → Merzouga → FezEasyPrivate
From the ferry or the airport of Tangier to the dunes of Merzouga: Chefchaouen, Volubilis, Meknes, a full day in the desert and a night in our camp.
Ideal for travellers arriving by ferry from Spain who want to see the Sahara in a short time. The first day takes you to Chefchaouen, the second through Volubilis and Meknes to Fez, and the third across the Atlas to the dunes.
In Merzouga you have a full day to discover the desert and a night in our camp, and the last day brings you back to Fez, where you can continue your trip or take the train.
Highlights
Pick-up at Tangier port or airport
Night in Chefchaouen
Volubilis and Meknes
Full day in Merzouga and night in our camp
Ends in Fez
Day by day
Day 1
Tangier – Cap Spartel – Chefchaouen
Your driver meets you at the port of Tangier Med, at the airport or at your hotel. If time allows, we start with a short tour of Tangier: the viewpoint of Cap Spartel, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, the Caves of Hercules and the old kasbah overlooking the Strait, from where you can see the coast of Spain. Then we drive south-east into the green Rif mountains, through hills of olive trees and small villages where women wear the traditional striped skirts and straw hats. In the afternoon we arrive in Chefchaouen, the famous blue town built on the slopes of the mountain. You have time to wander through its blue-washed alleys, sit in the square of Outa el Hammam under the walls of the kasbah and walk up to the Spanish mosque to watch the sunset over the town. Dinner and night in a riad in the medina.
Day 2
Chefchaouen – Volubilis – Meknes – Fez
After a last morning walk in Chefchaouen, when the streets are quiet and the light is soft, we leave the Rif and drive south through fertile valleys of cereals and olive trees. We stop at Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman city in Morocco, where you can walk among the columns of the basilica, the triumphal arch and the houses with their beautiful mosaics of Hercules, Bacchus and Orpheus. Nearby is Moulay Idriss, the holy town where the founder of the first Moroccan dynasty is buried. We continue to Meknes, the imperial city of Sultan Moulay Ismail, with its monumental gate of Bab Mansour, the royal granaries and stables where 12,000 horses once lived, and the lively square of El Hedim. We arrive in Fez in the late afternoon. Dinner and night in a riad in the medina.
Day 3
Fez – Ifrane – Azrou – Midelt – Ziz valley – Merzouga
Today we leave the cities behind and travel towards the Sahara. The road climbs into the Middle Atlas to Ifrane, a mountain town of red roofs and gardens, and crosses the cedar forest of Azrou, where you can stop to see the Barbary macaques. We continue across the high plateaus, grazed by flocks of sheep, to Midelt for lunch, with the snowy peaks of the Jebel Ayachi in the background. In the afternoon the landscape becomes desert: we descend the Ziz gorges, a narrow canyon carved by the river, and follow the palm valley of the Ziz, with its old ksour of earth, through Errachidia and Erfoud. At sunset the dunes of Erg Chebbi appear on the horizon, glowing orange and pink. Dinner and night in a hotel at the foot of the dunes in Merzouga.
Day 4
Merzouga: Rissani, nomads and Gnawa music, camel ride and night in our camp
A day dedicated to the desert. In the morning your driver takes you around Erg Chebbi by 4x4: the market town of Rissani, heir of the medieval caravan city of Sijilmassa, the tent of a nomad family in the black hamada, where you share tea and bread baked in the sand, and the village of Khamlia, where the Gnawa musicians welcome you with their drums and songs. After lunch you can rest at the hotel pool or add a quad, buggy or sandboard session in the dunes. In the late afternoon you meet your cameleer and ride into the dunes with the caravan, climbing a high crest on foot for the sunset. At nightfall you reach our camp, where you sleep in a private tent with bed and bathroom, after a dinner of tajine and an evening of music around the fire.
Day 5
Merzouga – Ziz valley – Midelt – Ifrane – Fez
After the sunrise over the dunes and breakfast in the camp, you return to Merzouga by camel and we set off north. We follow the Ziz valley, a deep canyon filled with thousands of palm trees and dotted with old ksour, and stop at a viewpoint over its blue lake near Errachidia. The road climbs through the Ziz gorges and the tunnel of the Legionnaire to Midelt, the 'apple city', at the foot of the Jebel Ayachi, where we stop for lunch. In the afternoon we cross the Middle Atlas, with its cedar forests where Barbary macaques come close to the road, and pass through Ifrane, a mountain town with sloping roofs nicknamed 'the Switzerland of Morocco'. We arrive in Fez in the early evening and your driver accompanies you to your riad in the medina.
Included
Private air-conditioned vehicle
Local driver-guide
Pick-up and drop-off at your riad, hotel or airport
Nights in riads, kasbahs and guesthouses
Dinners and breakfasts
Camel ride with cameleer
Night in our desert camp in Erg Chebbi
Not included
Lunches
Local guides in the cities (on request)
Entrance fees to monuments
Tips
Good to know
Pick-up between 7:00 and 8:00 at your riad, hotel, airport or port. Bring a small bag for the desert night: big luggage stays in the vehicle. Hotels can be upgraded on request.
No payment is needed to book: you pay on arrival in cash (dirhams or euros). Free changes if the weather is not good.
Questions
Are the tours private?
Yes. Only your group travels in the vehicle, with your own driver, and the program can be adapted.
Where do the tours start?
Wherever you are: your riad or hotel in Marrakech, Fez, Tangier, Casablanca, Agadir, Ouarzazate, Errachidia or Essaouira, or the airport or port when you land.
Which camp do we sleep in?
In our own camp in Erg Chebbi, with private tents, bathrooms with hot shower, dinner and breakfast, and Berber music by the fire.
Can I change the itinerary?
Yes, every tour is private and flexible: add nights in the desert, a quad or buggy ride, a different finishing city or better hotels. Just tell us when you write.
