5 Days Tour from Tangier to Marrakech

Welcome to Tangier Morocco, the link between Europe and Africa. We will pick you up from your Tangier accommodation and drive you to Fes, Morocco’s cultural center, traveling via the Rif Mountains and some tiny villages, including Chefchaouen, also known as ‘Chaouen’ locally. This town is a visual feast of blue: walls, doors, windows, stairways, alleyways, and archways—everything is a mix of delicate pastel sky blue and darker, more forceful hues. It’s a small town, so you’ll have plenty of time to explore this Moroccan blue treasure.

After lunch, you leave Chefchaouen and travel south to Fez, one of Morocco’s most beautiful imperial capitals, to prepare for tomorrow’s intriguing tour around this delightful medieval city.

This is your chance to visit the UNESCO-protected Fez Medina from the perspective of a resident, with your private guide. Fes is Morocco’s oldest imperial city and possibly the most interesting to tour. The city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has seen little colonial construction, allowing you to enjoy its medieval charm. Fes is made up of two old medina neighborhoods, Fes el Bali (where you’ll spend the majority of your time) and Fes el Jdid (a slightly younger part of the city), as well as the early twentieth-century French-designed Ville Nouvelle.

Begin your journey through the narrow and maze-like historic lanes of the medinas in Fes el Bali (789 CE) with your guide. As you stroll through the several souks (markets) providing spices, leather items, and pewter, take note of the architecture influenced by Spain and Tunisia. Visit the renowned Chouara Tannery and climb to the roof of a nearby shop for a better view of the goings-on. The area is known for its tanneries and the bitter scent they emit. Visit the 14th-century Al Attarine Madrasa and enjoy the zellij tilework before heading to Al-Qarawiyyin University (859 CE), one of the world’s oldest universities continuously operational. For a more panoramic view of the city, head to Fes el Jdid’s Mellah (ancient Jewish neighborhood).

You will depart Fez early this morning and travel to the Middle Atlas Mountains. Enjoy a pleasant journey through Berber settlements. Stop in the picturesque city of Ifrane (known as “Moroccan Switzerland”), then proceed to Azrou, the famous cedar forest where you may view monkeys, and then pause in Midelt for lunch. After lunch, we continue to Erfoud, which is famed for fossils, via Ziz Valley (a beautiful panoramic view of the oasis countryside).On the way from Erfoud to the dunes, you’ll pass various nomadic Berber tribes; don’t forget to take striking photos.

Arrive in Merzouga, where you will meet your camels for a trip across the Erg Chebbi desert, over the red dunes, until all you see is sand and sky, with only the odd snort of the camels and the soothing sound of their footfall on the sand to break the silence. Stop to enjoy the sunset along the road before arriving at your campsite, where you will be greeted with mint tea and pastries. After admiring the dunes and surrounding scenery, prepare for a Moroccan meal served beneath the stars by the campfire. After dinner, you’ll gather around the fire to listen to traditional Berber music played on drums under a starry sky.

If you want to watch the sun begin its daily arc with a cool blue morning sky as it illuminates the desert shadows before becoming a glowing ball of fire, your desert camp hosts will wake you up very early to do so. Don’t forget to take iconic photographs for Instagram. You’ll return to a local motel for a refreshing hot shower and breakfast.

We will leave Merzouga towards Rissani, which is the largest and most crowded weekly market in the south of Morocco, walk to see craft stores, dates markets, animal trades (such as goats, sheep, donkeys, camels, and cows), and continue our journey to Erfoud, known for its fossilized marbles, before arriving at the Todra Gorge, Morocco’s highest oasis valley canyon. Take in the panoramic vistas of the historic mud Berber villages that overlook the valley. Get to the Gorge and walk beneath the 300-meter-high red cliff, where many rock climbers come to enjoy their favorite sport. We’ll drive through the Dades Valley, where we’ll spend the night at a lovely hotel in the heart of the valley.