Trip highlights
- 1Fes el-Bali medina — UNESCO 9th-century city
- 2Sahara Desert camel trek and camp under stars
- 3Aït Benhaddou (Game of Thrones filming location)
- 4Todra Gorge vertical rock walls
- 5Dades Valley rose-scented kasbah route
Daily spend
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Day-by-day plan
Arrive Fes
Monday, March 15
Est. spend
$100
per person
🌅 Morning
Arrive Fes-Saïss Airport
Fes-Saïss Airport
Fes-Saïss Airport (FEZ) is 15km from the medina. Grand taxi costs 150 MAD ($15). The medina walls are the most intact medieval city walls in the Arab world — a UNESCO site continuously inhabited since 789 AD.
Stay inside the Fes el-Bali medina in a riad. The experience of sleeping inside the 9th-century city is irreplaceable. Dar Seffarine and Riad Lune et Soleil are excellent.
☀️ Afternoon
Fes el-Bali medina first walk
Fes el-Bali, Fes
Fes el-Bali is the world's most complex medina — 9,000 streets, 14 mosques, 120 fondouks (merchant caravanserais), and the Al Quaraouiyine university (859 AD, the world's oldest continuously operating university). Hire a licensed guide for the first half-day.
A licensed guide (certified by the Fes regional authority, not a street tout) costs 300 MAD ($30) for a half day and is essential for the medina's complexity. The tanneries, the Al Quaraouiyine library, and the Bou Inania Medersa are the three unmissable sights.
🍽️ Meals
Maison MK, Fes el-Jdid
Moroccan · $45 · The best restaurant in Fes — in a converted merchant's house with a fountain courtyard. The pigeon pastilla and lamb mechoui are extraordinary.
Fes Deep Dive
Tuesday, March 16
Est. spend
$80
per person
🌅 Morning
Chouara Tanneries
Chouara Tannery, Haj Saïd Aïssaoui, Fes el-Bali
The medieval leather tanneries of Fes — dye vats of saffron, poppy, indigo, and mint arranged like a painter's palette, with workers treading hides in the vats exactly as they did in the 11th century. View from the balconies of surrounding leather goods shops (they give free viewpoints expecting a purchase).
The smell is powerful (ammonia and pigeon droppings are used in the processing) — the shops provide sprigs of mint to hold near your nose. Visit in the morning when workers are active and the light falls into the vats.
Al Quaraouiyine Mosque and University
Rue Al Quaraouiyine, Fes el-Bali
Founded 859 AD — the world's oldest university (UNESCO confirmed). Non-Muslims cannot enter but the gates give views of the extraordinary main prayer hall and the minaret from the 10th century. The adjacent library is UNESCO's 'oldest in the world in continuous use.'
☀️ Afternoon
Borj Nord and Merenid Tombs sunset view
Borj Nord, north hills of Fes
The hilltop above Fes el-Bali — the 16th-century Borj Nord (firearms museum) and the ruined Merenid dynasty tombs give the best view of the medina rooftops and minarets at sunset. One of the finest urban panoramas in the Arab world.
The panoramic café at the Borj Nord serves mint tea while you watch the evening call to prayer echo across the medina. The sound of 14 mosques calling simultaneously is extraordinary.
🍽️ Meals
Clock Café, Fes
Moroccan fusion · $18 · Fes institution — open courtyard in the medina, creative Moroccan-international fusion, and cultural events. The camel burger is famous.
Ifrane to Midelt — Atlas Crossing
Wednesday, March 17
Est. spend
$90
per person
🌅 Morning
Fes to Ifrane and the Middle Atlas
Ifrane → Azrou → Midelt
Drive south from Fes through Ifrane (Morocco's 'Little Switzerland' — Alpine architecture, Barbary macaques in the cedar forests) and Azrou (the Cedar Forest with wild Barbary macaques begging for food on the roadside). Drive continues over the Middle Atlas to Midelt.
Hire a driver for the full desert circuit (1,000 MAD/$100 per day is fair including fuel). The same driver for the full circuit is far better than changing at each stop.
☀️ Afternoon
Midelt and the Ziz Gorge
Ziz Gorge, Errachidia Province
Midelt sits between the Middle and High Atlas ranges — the gateway to the southeast. The Ziz Gorge (continuing south) is one of the most dramatic canyon landscapes in Morocco.
🍽️ Meals
Kasbah Asmaa, Midelt
Moroccan · $20 · Good atlas trout (caught in the Moulouya river) and lamb tagine at the kasbah hotel in Midelt.
Sahara Desert — Erg Chebbi
Thursday, March 18
Est. spend
$200
per person
🌅 Morning
Drive to Merzouga and Erg Chebbi
Merzouga, Errachidia Province
The 200km drive from Midelt through the Tafilalt palm oasis and Erfoud to Merzouga — the gateway to the Erg Chebbi dunes. The dunes rise 150m directly from flat desert floor — dramatically beautiful from the moment they appear on the horizon.
The dunes appear suddenly after the flat stony desert — the transition from hammada to erg is visually dramatic. Ask your driver to stop at the viewpoint where the dunes first appear.
☀️ Afternoon
Camel trek to desert camp at sunset
Erg Chebbi, Merzouga, Morocco
The classic Sahara experience — mount a camel at 4pm and trek 1 hour into the dunes to a luxury desert camp (heated tents, proper beds, solar lighting). The sunset from the dune crest is extraordinary. Dinner under the Milky Way with Gnawa musicians.
Book a luxury tented camp rather than the basic €30 camps — the difference is significant. Azalai Desert Camp, Dar Ahlam desert extension, and Sahara Experience are reliable. Included in most overnight desert packages.
🍽️ Meals
Desert camp dinner
Moroccan/Berber · $0 · Included in camp rate. Tagine cooked on charcoal, Berber bread, and dates under the stars.
Sahara Sunrise to Dades Valley
Friday, March 19
Est. spend
$100
per person
🌅 Morning
Erg Chebbi sunrise from the dune crest
Erg Chebbi, Merzouga
4:45am climb to the dune crest for the Sahara sunrise — the sand turns orange-gold-pink in sequence as the sun rises behind the Algerian border. Camel ride back to Merzouga. Optional: sandboarding on the dunes before breakfast.
The sunrise is the reason you came. Set an alarm for 4:30am regardless of how comfortable the desert camp is.
☀️ Afternoon
Todra Gorge — vertical red walls
Todra Gorge, Tinghir, Draa-Tafilalet
The Todra Gorge narrows to 10m between vertical limestone walls 300m high — one of the most dramatic landscapes in North Africa. Rock climbers come from across Europe for the walls. The palm oasis at the gorge entrance is extraordinary.
Walk 2km up the gorge from the tourist entrance — the crowds thin and the walls narrow further. The light falls into the gorge mid-morning.
🍽️ Meals
Restaurant Amazigh, Tinghir
Moroccan · $15 · Simple but excellent tagine at the gorge entrance town. The best value meal of the circuit.
Aït Benhaddou & Ouarzazate
Saturday, March 20
Est. spend
$90
per person
🌅 Morning
Aït Benhaddou UNESCO Kasbah
Aït Benhaddou, Souss-Massa-Draa
The most cinematic location in Morocco — a fortified mud-brick village (ksar) where Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, Game of Thrones (Yunkai), and 200 other films were shot. A UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987. Cross the dry Ounila riverbed on stepping stones and climb to the summit granary.
Only 7 families still live in the ksar (most have moved to the new village opposite) but the architecture is extraordinary and the film connection makes it a unique experience. The view from the top over the palm oasis and the High Atlas beyond is magnificent.
☀️ Afternoon
Ouarzazate — the Hollywood of Morocco
Ouarzazate, Draa-Tafilalet
Ouarzazate (pronounced wa-zaz-at) has the Atlas Film Corporation studios — where Gladiator, Babel, Jewel of the Nile, and Game of Thrones were filmed. Studio tour: 50 MAD ($5) and genuinely interesting for the film sets still standing.
🍽️ Meals
Chez Dimitri, Ouarzazate
Moroccan/International · $25 · The original film-crew restaurant since 1928. Every major director who filmed in Ouarzazate has eaten here. Good tagine and acceptable wine.
Tizi n'Tichka Pass & Marrakech
Sunday, March 21
Est. spend
$130
per person
🌅 Morning
Tizi n'Tichka High Atlas crossing to Marrakech
Tizi n'Tichka pass, High Atlas
The mountain pass (2,260m) on the trans-Saharan route between Ouarzazate and Marrakech — one of the great mountain road drives in Africa. Snow-capped peaks, Berber villages, and the hairpin descent to the Marrakech valley.
Stop at Telouet Kasbah (Glaoui family's 19th-century palace, 20km off the main road) — one of the most mysterious and atmospheric buildings in Morocco, partially ruined and rarely visited.
☀️ Afternoon
Arrive Marrakech — Djemaa el-Fnaa for final evening
Djemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakech
Drop into Marrakech from the mountains and finish the circuit at the world's most theatrical square. The perfect end to the desert road.
🍽️ Meals
Djemaa el-Fnaa food stalls
Moroccan street food · $20 · End the desert circuit where Morocco is most theatrical.
Before you go
📅 Best time to visit
March–May (wildflowers in the Atlas, comfortable desert temperatures 20–30°C). September–November (post-summer, clear skies, harvest season in the oases). June–August is extremely hot in the desert (45°C+) — avoid.
🛂 Visas
Morocco is visa-free for US, UK, EU, Canadian, Australian citizens for 90 days. No formal application required.
💱 Currency
Moroccan Dirham (MAD). Driver hire for the full circuit (Fes–Merzouga–Marrakech, 7 days) costs 4,000–6,000 MAD ($400–600) including fuel. All-inclusive deal is better than paying per leg.
🆘 Emergency numbers
police: 190
ambulance: 150
gendarmerie: 177
💬 Things you won't find in a guidebook
- The Sahara Desert nights are cold (5–10°C) even when days are 35°C. Bring a warm layer for the desert camp evening.
- The Dades Valley route (Valley of the Roses) in April–May is when damask roses are harvested for rose water and rose oil — the air is scented for 50km along the valley.
One thing worth not skipping
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