The shortest way to see the Erg Chebbi dunes from Fez, and still a real desert night rather than a rushed one. Two days, one night under canvas at the foot of the sand, with a private driver and a vehicle that is yours for the whole trip.
The first day is a long and genuinely beautiful drive: up through Ifrane and the cedar forest, across the high plateau to Midelt, then down the Ziz gorges where the road follows a river of palm trees for an hour. You reach the dunes in the late afternoon, swap the vehicle for a camel or a four-wheel drive, and cross into the erg in time for sunset. Dinner is tagine and bread around a fire, with drums if the camp is in the mood, and the sky out there is the reason people come.
Day two starts before dawn for sunrise over the sand, then breakfast at the camp and the drive north again, back in Fez in the evening. If you have a third day free, take the three-day version instead: it gives you the dunes in daylight rather than only at either end.
Good to know before you book
- Length
- 2 days · 1 night
Highlights
- Middle Atlas crossing with scenic stops
- Camel trek or 4×4 into the dunes
- Sunset over Erg Chebbi
- Camp dinner and music
- Sunrise in the dunes
The route
- i.Pick-up at your riad after breakfast
- ii.Ifrane and the cedar forest above Azrou
- iii.Lunch at Midelt, the halfway town
- iv.The Ziz gorges and the palm valley
- v.Camel or 4x4 into the dunes at sunset
- vi.Dinner, drums and a night in the desert camp
- i.Sunrise over Erg Chebbi, then breakfast
- ii.North through the Ziz valley and Midelt
- iii.Arrive Fez in the evening, drop-off at your riad
Included & not included
Included
- Private transport and driver (2 days)
- 1 night desert camp
- Dinner and breakfast at camp
- Camel ride to and from camp (or 4×4)
Not included
- Lunches and drinks
- Optional activities (quad, buggy)
- Tips
Good to know
Do we come back to Fez?
Yes. These are round trips and you are returned to your riad in Fez. The journeys listed under Morocco Tours end in Marrakech instead.
Is the camel trek compulsory?
No. A 4x4 can take you to the camp instead — tell us when you book.
How cold does it get at night?
Genuinely cold from November to February, whatever the daytime forecast says. Bring layers.
