7 Days Trip from Fez to Casablanca via Merzouga

A week-long private journey from Fez to Casablanca by way of the Sahara and Marrakech: two nights at Merzouga with nomads, Gnawa music and a desert camp, the Todra and Dades gorges, the Valley of Roses, a night at Aït Ben Haddou and a guided day in Marrakech.

Day 1: Fez – Ifrane – Azrou – Midelt – Merzouga

After breakfast we leave Fez and drive through Ifrane to the cedar forests near Azrou, home to wild Barbary macaques – a great place for photos. Lunch is in the small Berber village of Zaida. We continue through the Atlas Mountains via Midelt and Rich to Erfoud, where the Tafilalet oasis and the Sahara begin, and on to Merzouga. Dinner and overnight at Hotel L’Homme du Désert or similar.

Day 2: Gnawa Music – Nomads – Night in a Luxury Camp

After breakfast we drive to Khamlia, a village famous for Gnawa music, a spiritual tradition its families brought from West Africa. After listening (and maybe dancing), we follow part of the old Paris–Dakar rally route across the stony desert towards the old Mifis mines.

At midday we stop with a nomad family for tea and a Berber pizza lunch, and learn how people live in the desert through sandstorms and summer heat. In the afternoon you return to the hotel to relax, then ride a camel for about an hour into the dunes, with sandboarding and sunset on the way. Dinner, Berber music and overnight in a luxury camp in a tent with its own bathroom (lunch, dinner and breakfast included).

Day 3: Merzouga – Todra Gorge – Dades Gorge

After breakfast and a shower in your tent, we drive west through Berber villages, Tinjdad and the palm grove of Tinghir to the Todra Gorge, then on to Boumalne Dades. Dinner and overnight at Ksar Sultan Dades or similar.

Day 4: Dades Gorge – Kelaa M’Gouna – Ouarzazate – Aït Ben Haddou

After breakfast we drive through Kelaa M’Gouna, Morocco’s capital of roses, to Ouarzazate to visit the film studios. In the afternoon we arrive at Aït Ben Haddou, where you spend the night in a traditional guesthouse.

Day 5: Aït Ben Haddou – Tizi n’Tichka – Marrakech

In the morning you explore the UNESCO-listed kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou. We then cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass (2,260 m), with wide views of valleys and Berber villages, and arrive in Marrakech in the evening. Overnight at Riad Bahia Salam or similar, with breakfast.

Day 6: Marrakech

Explore the red city with a local guide. Overnight at Riad Bahia Salam or similar.

Day 7: Marrakech – Casablanca

We pick you up in the morning and drive to Casablanca, where you visit the Hassan II Mosque before we drop you at your hotel or the airport.