4-day Casablanca to Marrakech desert tour: coast, cities and the Sahara

This day is the core of the Casablanca to Merzouga tour, and it's also the longest drive of the trip, though the scenery keeps changing enough that it rarely feels long. After breakfast in Fes, the road climbs toward Ifrane, a mountain town that looks almost European, with steep roofs built for snow.

Just past Ifrane is the cedar forest near Azrou, where wild Barbary macaques often wait close to the road. From there, the drive continues through Midelt and opens into wide, dry mountain views before dropping into the Ziz Valley, where palm trees start to appear again along the riverbed.

By late afternoon you reach Merzouga and the dunes of Erg Chebbi. The Sahara desert camel trek starts from here, usually timed so you're on the sand as the sun goes down. You spend the evening and night at a desert camp among the dunes, with a clear view of the stars once the fires die down.

You can watch the sunrise from the dunes before breakfast if you're up early enough. After leaving camp, the road passes through Rissani, once a stop on old trans-Saharan trade routes, and Erfoud, known locally for dates and fossils.

The scenery shifts again after Erfoud. Flat desert gives way to palm groves and rock walls, leading to Todra Gorge, where the canyon narrows sharply and the cliffs rise straight up on either side of the road.

The second half of the day is the heart of the Dades Valley and Todra Gorges tour route: winding roads, red rock formations, and small villages built into the hillsides. You'll spend the night in Dades Valley, with dinner included.

After breakfast in Dades Valley, the drive continues toward Ouarzazate, passing old kasbahs and dry, open mountain country on the way. Southern Morocco looks nothing like the north, and this stretch of road is where that becomes obvious.

The main stop of the day is Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO-listed fortified village built almost entirely from earth and clay. It has appeared in enough films and shows that the location itself is well known, but seeing it in person, especially from across the riverbed, is worth more than any photo of it.

From Ait Ben Haddou, the road climbs into the High Atlas Mountains and over the Tizi n'Tichka Pass, one of the highest paved roads in the country. After the pass, it's a fairly quick descent into Marrakech, where your driver drops you at your hotel, riad, or the airport to close out this 4-day Casablanca to Marrakech desert tour.