Day Trips from Fes: 6 Day Itinerary
Six days from Fes trades the Chefchaouen overnight for the bigger commitment: Meknes and Volubilis, Ifrane and Azrou’s macaques, and Sefrou and Bhalil across the first three days, then a full 3-day, 2-night Sahara run to Merzouga across the rest. This extends the 5-day itinerary with a swap, not an addition; the 7-day itinerary fits a shorter Sahara run in alongside Chefchaouen instead.
Book these before you go: a riad room in Fes el-Bali , a Meknes and Volubilis day tour , a Middle Atlas day tour , a Sefrou and Bhalil day trip , and a 3-day Sahara tour , since desert camp space is genuinely limited in peak season.
| Day | Focus | Travel time from Fes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meknes, Volubilis, Moulay Idriss | ~1h to Meknes by train; +30-40min on to Volubilis/Moulay Idriss |
| 2 | Ifrane, Azrou cedar forest (Barbary macaques) | ~1.5-2h each way |
| 3 | Sefrou, Bhalil cave houses | ~30-40min each way |
| 4 | Depart for Merzouga via Ifrane, Azrou, Ziz Valley; desert camp | ~7-9h out |
| 5 | Sunrise over the dunes, drive back toward Midelt | partial return leg |
| 6 | Return to Fes | remainder of the ~7-9h drive |
Day 1: Meknes, Volubilis, and Moulay Idriss
The ONCF train covers Fes to Meknes in 45 minutes to an hour for around 18-26 MAD. Give the Bab Mansour gate and Meknes’ own medina an hour, then a chartered grand taxi covers Volubilis and Moulay Idriss together for roughly 400-500 MAD total.
Volubilis costs 70 MAD, no advance booking, open 8am-6pm (5pm winter); the Archaeological Site of Volubilis has held UNESCO status since 1997. Moulay Idriss, 3km further, is the living pilgrimage town most rushed tours cut first. Book the day as one guided tour instead of stitching the train and taxi legs together.
Day 2: Ifrane and the Azrou cedar forest
Ifrane , roughly 1.5-2 hours from Fes, is an alpine-chalet town cold enough for real snow some winters, and Azrou’s cedar forest a short drive on holds a resident troop of Barbary macaques, close to a guaranteed sighting. Book a Middle Atlas day tour rather than tackle the mountain roads yourself.
Day 3: Sefrou and Bhalil
Sefrou sits about 30km, 35-40 minutes, from Fes, a walled medina and Mellah with a pace closer to a small town than a tourist stop. Its Cherry Festival , three days every June, has held UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status since 2012. Bhalil, 5km on, adds cave houses cut into the hillside that are still lived in. Book a Sefrou and Bhalil day trip or hire a grand taxi and set your own pace.
Why does this itinerary skip Chefchaouen?
Six days is enough for either a full Sahara run or a Chefchaouen overnight, not comfortably both. The Sahara’s Erg Chebbi dunes are the harder trip to fit into a shorter itinerary anywhere, so this version prioritizes them; the 7-day itinerary compresses the Sahara leg to fit Chefchaouen back in.
Day 4: Depart for Merzouga and the desert camp
Merzouga sits 7-9+ hours from Fes by road, routed through Ifrane, Azrou, Midelt, and the Ziz Valley. Leave early; you arrive at Erg Chebbi’s dunes in the late afternoon for a camel trek into camp, dinner around a fire, and a first night under a genuinely dark sky. Book a 3-day Sahara tour from Fes rather than arrange the Ziz Valley logistics independently.
Is the Sahara worth 3 days out of a 6-day trip?
Yes, if seeing Erg Chebbi at all is the goal. The one-way drive alone runs 7-9+ hours, so any shorter version either isn’t a real Sahara trip or quietly cuts the sunrise, the camp night, or both. Three days is the honest minimum, not padding.
Day 5: Sunrise over the dunes and the drive back
Camel or 4x4 back out at sunrise, breakfast at the hotel, then the drive back toward Fes begins, typically breaking overnight around Midelt or the Ziz Valley rather than pushing straight through.
Day 6: Return to Fes
Finish the drive back to Fes by afternoon or evening. Carry MAD cash for the whole trip; the dirham is a closed currency, obtainable only inside Morocco, and desert-route towns see far fewer card machines than Fes itself.