7-day desert tour from Tangier

After a slow morning in Chefchaouen's alleys, we head south to Volubilis. The Roman ruins here are in better shape than you'd expect, with mosaic floors still intact under the open sky and storks nesting on top of old columns.

Next stop is Meknes, the quieter of Morocco's four imperial cities. The Bab Mansour gate alone is worth the detour, and the old granaries and stables built for Sultan Moulay Ismail's army give you a sense of just how large this place once was. We reach Fes by early evening. Overnight in a traditional riad.

Fes gets a full day on this 7-day Morocco desert itinerary, and it earns it. A local guide leads you through the medina on foot, past leather tanneries, brass workshops, and the Al Qarawiyyin mosque and university complex, one of the oldest continuously operating universities anywhere.

You'll also stop at a few viewpoints where the whole medina spreads out below, rooftop antennas and all. It's chaotic in the best way, and by the end of the day you'll understand why people say Fes takes years to really know. Overnight in Fes.

Leaving Fes, the drive south passes through Ifrane first, a small town with sloped roofs and pine trees that looks almost out of place in Morocco. Past Ifrane is the cedar forest near Azrou, where troops of Barbary macaques often wander close enough to the road to get a good look.

The scenery keeps shifting after that. Midelt marks the start of drier country, and the Ziz Valley brings a long stretch of palm groves squeezed between rock and river. By late afternoon you reach Merzouga, right at the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes, where the light starts turning gold just as you arrive.

This is the centerpiece of the whole trip, and the reason most people book a Tangier to Erg Chebbi tour in the first place. In the morning, there's time for a short 4x4 ride out into the dunes, with stops at smaller villages and a chance to meet families still living a semi-nomadic life near the desert edge.

Later in the afternoon, you'll swap the vehicle for a camel and ride out toward camp as the dunes shift from orange to deep red under the setting sun. Dinner is at the camp, usually followed by drumming around the fire. Sleeping in the desert, with no light pollution and a sky full of stars, is the part most people remember longest from their Morocco desert adventure 7 days.

An early sunrise over the dunes is worth dragging yourself out of the tent for. After breakfast, we head toward Tinghir and then Todra Gorge, where the canyon walls rise almost straight up on both sides of a narrow road. It's a popular stop for climbers, though most visitors are happy just to walk through and look up.

From there, the road follows the Dades Valley, past rose fields and kasbahs built from packed earth that seem to blend right into the hillsides. Overnight in a hotel or guesthouse in the valley.

The final day of this 7-day desert tour from Tangier covers a lot of ground. First stop is Skoura, known for its palm groves and old kasbahs, then on to Ouarzazate, sometimes called Morocco's Hollywood thanks to the film studios just outside town.

A short detour leads to Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified earthen village that's appeared in more films and shows than most people realize. From there, the road climbs into the High Atlas Mountains and over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with sharp switchbacks and long views back over the valleys. By evening, you'll arrive in Marrakech, where the trip wraps up with drop-off at your riad, hotel, or the airport.