Fes to Marrakech Sahara Tour: Camel Ride, Desert Camp & Atlas

4.97

(147 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We left Fes before the city was even awake—our driver Youssef showed up right on time, grinning like he’d had three coffees already. It’s funny how fast the landscape changes; one minute you’re passing tidy French-looking houses in Ifrane (I didn’t expect that), and then suddenly there’s cedar forest and monkeys darting around. The air smelled sharp and cold up there. We stopped for mint tea in Midelt—sweet enough to make my teeth ache—and Youssef told us about his uncle who collects fossils. I still have a little stone he gave me, tucked in my bag.

The drive was long but never boring. Somewhere after Erfoud, the palm trees started crowding the road and the sun got this coppery glow. When we finally reached Merzouga, I was dusty and hungry but weirdly happy. Our camels were waiting—mine was called Bob Marley (not joking). Riding out into Erg Chebbi at sunset felt both awkward (camels are not graceful) and kind of magical. The sand gets everywhere, but I didn’t care. Dinner at the camp tasted smoky from the fire, and after everyone else went to bed, I lay outside just watching stars until my neck hurt.

Waking up early for sunrise in the Sahara is something I thought would feel forced, but it wasn’t—it was quiet except for someone laughing softly near their tent. The light on the dunes is hard to describe, almost pink? After breakfast we rode back (my legs were sore), then set off towards Todra Gorges. Walking through that canyon, with its orange walls towering over us and kids playing by the riverbank, just felt peaceful. At Dades Gorge our hotel had these thick wool blankets that smelled faintly of rosewater—I slept like a rock.

The last day took us past endless kasbahs and fields of roses (they really do smell sweet when you roll down the window). We stopped at Ait Ben Haddou—honestly it looks unreal, like a movie set—and then climbed up through Tizi-n'Tichka Pass where clouds hung low over the mountains. By the time we rolled into Marrakech it was almost dark and I felt like I’d crossed an entire country in three days—which I guess we had.