Fes is our home city, and one of the best places in Morocco to begin a journey. Our Morocco tours from Fes run in every direction — south over the Middle Atlas to the Sahara, west to the Atlantic coast, and out to the Roman ruins of Volubilis less than an hour away. Every tour on this page starts in Fes, is fully private, and is planned by our own family at Morocco Stunning Tours.
Starting in Fes has real advantages. You begin in the country’s cultural capital, with its 1,200-year-old medina, then travel south on the scenic road through Ifrane and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas — a greener, gentler route to the desert than the one from Marrakech. Pick-up is from your riad or the airport, and you travel with a local driver-guide who knows the road and the people along it.
Whatever kind of trip you have in mind, there is a tour from Fes to match it.
Imperial cities & culture. Combine Fes with Meknes, Rabat and Marrakech to see the four imperial cities — the medinas, madrasas and old palaces at the heart of Moroccan history.
Sahara desert tours from Fes. The classic trip runs south through the Ziz Valley and its palm groves to the great dunes of Erg Chebbi at Merzouga: a camel walk into the sand, a night at our Berber camp, and sunrise over the dunes before you continue toward the gorges or on to Marrakech.
Private tours. Every trip we run from Fes is private. Your own vehicle and guide, departure times that suit you, and the freedom to stop for photos, a longer lunch, or an extra hour wherever you like. Nothing is shared with strangers.
Day trips from Fes. Short on time? Spend a day at Volubilis and the holy town of Moulay Idriss, explore the Fes medina with a local guide, or drive up to Ifrane and the cedar forest to see the Barbary macaques. Back in Fes by evening.
Here are our current tours departing from Fes. Each one is private and can be adjusted to your dates, pace and budget — tell us what you have in mind and we will shape it around you.
Included on most Fes tours: a private air-conditioned vehicle and fuel, a local driver-guide, hotel and riad pick-up, and the desert camp and camel experience where listed, with our own on-the-ground support throughout.
Usually not included: flights, lunches, monument entrance fees and tips. We are happy to add local city guides or extra nights on request.
The biggest car-free urban area in the world, and the reason most people come. Donkeys still carry the goods, because nothing else fits down the lanes. Coppersmiths hammer trays by hand in the square named after them. Enter at Bab Bou Jeloud, the blue gate, and follow the main artery downhill — everything in Fes runs downhill towards water, which is how the city has always worked. Take a guide on your first day. There are around 9,000 lanes, almost no signs, and your phone loses GPS between the walls. If you skip it you’ll end up paying a boy twenty dirhams to lead you back to a gate. Most people do that once.
The photograph you have seen of Fes was taken here. You look down from a leather shop terrace onto men working hides in stone vats, the same way it has been done since the 11th century — saffron yellow, indigo, poppy red. Someone hands you a sprig of mint at the door. Take it. The smell is strong and the mint is the only thing between you and it. Your guide will explain what is happening in each vat, and no, you don’t have to buy anything on the way out.
Al-Qarawiyyin was founded in 859 AD by Fatima al-Fihri, and UNESCO calls it the oldest continuously operating university in the world. Non-Muslims can’t go into the prayer hall, but you can look in from the doorways and it’s worth the two minutes. For interiors you want the medersas instead. Bou Inania and Al-Attarine are both open to everyone, and every surface inside them is carved cedar, zellige or sculpted plaster. If you only go into one building in Fes, make it Al-Attarine. It’s smaller and it’s better.
Fes is where the craftsmen are. Whole quarters of coppersmiths, weavers, potters and woodworkers, all working for real customers rather than putting on a show for visitors. It’s also the best city in Morocco to eat — pastilla, mechoui pulled out of a pit oven, harira, and tagines that are simply better here than anywhere else. We take you where Fassis eat, which is usually a room with six tables and no sign outside. If you want to shop, this is the city for leather, blue pottery and brass. Haggling is expected and friendly: start around half and meet in the middle.
Most head south through the Middle Atlas and the Ziz Valley to the Sahara dunes at Merzouga. Others cover the imperial cities, Chefchaouen, or day trips to Volubilis and Meknes.
A Fes-to-Merzouga desert trip is comfortable in 3 days and 2 nights. Four to five days lets you add the Dades and Todra gorges and finish in Marrakech.
Yes. Every tour from Fes is private, with your own driver-guide and vehicle, and the itinerary is planned around you.
Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are ideal. In high summer we start desert drives early to beat the midday heat.
Tell us your dates and what you would like to see, and we will send back a real plan — not a template. No pressure, and no pushy emails.
