Fez to Marrakech: A Review of the 2025 ‘5 Luxury Days’ Desert Tour

You know, lots of people dream about a trip that crosses Morocco, and this particular route from Fez to Marrakech is, sort of, a classic for a reason. So, the idea of doing it over five days with a touch of comfort seemed pretty much perfect. I mean, I’d heard stories about the desert, the big mountains, and the old cities, so honestly, my expectations were pretty high. The promise was simple: see the best parts of the country without, you know, the usual hassle of figuring things out yourself. At the end of the day, it was all about having a real adventure but with a comfortable place to sleep each night. This wasn’t just about getting from point A to point B; it was, in a way, about what happens in between.

Day 1: Leaving Fez and Crossing the Atlas Mountains

Okay, so the first morning, our driver picked us up right from our riad in Fez, which was, like, a huge relief. You know how those old city streets are just a maze. Our transport for the next few days was, frankly, a very comfortable and air-conditioned 4×4. We set off and, almost right away, the city feeling just melted away, replaced by these, sort of, rolling green hills. First, we made a stop in Ifrane, and seriously, you wouldn’t believe this place is in Morocco. People call it “Little Switzerland” and honestly, they’re not wrong; it has these chalet-style houses and it’s, you know, extremely clean. It was, kind of, an odd but interesting start to the day.

As a matter of fact, the day got even better when we went a little further into the cedar forests. And guess what? We saw the Barbary macaque monkeys just chilling by the road. They are obviously very used to people, and our guide had some snacks for them, so we got to see them up close, which was, you know, a pretty cool moment. After that, the drive continued, and you could just feel the altitude changing as we climbed higher into the Middle Atlas mountains. The views, I mean, they were already getting really dramatic. That evening, we stopped in a town called Midelt, staying in what felt like a very nice kasbah-style hotel. The air was, like, so crisp and cool, a big change from the warmth of Fez, and you could, you know, really tell we were on our way to somewhere completely different.

Days 2 & 3: Into the Sahara and the Erg Chebbi Dunes

So, the next day was the one I was really waiting for, as a matter of fact. After breakfast, we drove for a few more hours, and the landscape, well, it changed so much. It got drier, rockier, and, sort of, more sparse. Then, finally, we saw it in the distance: a line of, you know, what looked like orange-gold dust. That was Erg Chebbi, and honestly, the pictures you see don’t really prepare you for the scale of it all. We arrived in the town of Merzouga, pretty much on the edge of the desert, in the afternoon. And right there, waiting for us, were our camels. Riding a camel is, well, an experience for sure; it’s a bit wobbly and definitely unique, but the view you get as you move through the dunes is just incredible.

We rode for about an hour, just as the sun was starting to get lower in the sky, which, you know, made all the colors of the sand just pop. Arriving at the luxury camp was, frankly, a surprise. I mean, you’re in the middle of the Sahara, yet our tent was more or less a hotel room. It had a proper king-sized bed, beautiful decorations, and, believe it or not, a full, private bathroom with a hot shower. After watching a truly stunning sunset from a high dune, we had dinner under the stars, which was, like, a whole meal with different courses. Later, the camp staff played some traditional Berber music around a bonfire, and just looking up at the sky, with absolutely no city lights, was something I’ll probably never forget. I mean, the sheer number of stars was mind-blowing. The next morning, we woke up super early to see the sunrise, which was, in a way, just as impressive as the sunset, and then we rode the camels back to Merzouga for breakfast.

Day 4: Through Gorges and the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs

Basically, after a really good breakfast back in town, we hopped into our 4×4 again and set off toward the Dadès Valley. The scenery today was, again, totally different from what we had seen before. We were now on what they call the “Road of a Thousand Kasbahs,” and, you know, you can see why. All these ancient, sand-colored fortified villages were just everywhere, built right into the landscape. We made a stop at the Todra Gorge, which is this, like, gigantic canyon with cliffs that are hundreds of feet high. We were able to get out and actually walk along the river at the bottom of the gorge, and you just feel so tiny next to these huge rock walls. It’s pretty humbling, you know?

Later in the day, we drove through the Dadès Gorge, which has these, sort of, crazy switchback roads that wind up the side of the mountain. The view from the top, looking back down at the road, is probably one of Morocco’s most famous photos, and, honestly, it’s even cooler in person. Our lodging for the night was, like, a beautiful little hotel perched right in the gorge itself. You could just sit on the balcony and listen to the river below. Dinner was another really pleasant, home-cooked Moroccan meal. At the end of the day, it was a day full of these, you know, epic landscapes and a lot of history that felt really raw and real.

Day 5: Over the High Atlas and Arrival in Marrakech

So, for our final day, we had one more big challenge: crossing the High Atlas mountains. The main road is called the Tizi n’Tichka pass, and it’s apparently one of the most amazing drives in the country. Our guide, who was, by the way, fantastic the whole time, knew all the best spots to stop for pictures. The landscape just kept getting bigger and more mountainous, with little Berber villages clinging to the hillsides. We also stopped at the famous Kasbah of Aït Benhaddou, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. You have, you know, definitely seen this place before in movies like Gladiator or Game of Thrones. We actually got to walk up through the old village to the very top, and the view from there was, honestly, spectacular. It felt like stepping back in time a thousand years.

As we started to descend from the mountains, you could literally feel the air get warmer and see the landscape turn green again. Then, in the late afternoon, we saw the first signs of Marrakech. The contrast between the total peace of the desert and the, you know, energetic vibe of Marrakech is pretty intense. Our driver guided us through the traffic and dropped us off right at the door of our riad. Looking back, this five-day trip felt like it packed in a month’s worth of sights and feelings. It was, sort of, the perfect way to see the massive diversity of Morocco’s nature and culture in a way that was, you know, really comfortable and completely stress-free.

Read our full review: 5 Luxury Days Tour Fez to Marrakech via Desert Full Review and Details
See Prices, Availability & Reserve Now (Book Your Fez to Marrakech Tour)