Are Kasbah Trails tours private, or do we join a group?

Every Kasbah Trails itinerary is 100% private — just you, your travel companions, and a dedicated driver-guide in your own vehicle. There are no strangers added to your group and no fixed departure dates to work around.

Can you customize an itinerary, or do we have to book one exactly as listed?

Every trip on this site is a starting point. Tell us your dates, pace and interests on WhatsApp or through the form below, and we'll adjust the route, swap in extra nights, or build something from scratch around what you actually want to see.

What's included in the price of a private Morocco tour?

Standard inclusions are a private air-conditioned vehicle with fuel and tolls, an English-speaking driver-guide for the whole trip, accommodation in riads, kasbahs and a desert camp, the Erg Chebbi camel trek, daily breakfast, local guides in the imperial cities, and all local taxes. International flights, most lunches and dinners, entrance fees, tips and travel insurance are not included.

How much does a private Sahara desert tour cost?

Pricing depends on group size, season, and the level of riad or kasbah you choose, since every trip is quoted individually rather than sold at a fixed group rate. Message us on WhatsApp with your dates and traveller count for an exact quote — there's no obligation to book.

Is Morocco safe to visit, and is a guide necessary for the Sahara?

Morocco is a well-established, welcoming destination for private travel, and the desert routes we run — through Ouarzazate, the gorges and Merzouga — are on paved and well-travelled roads. A local driver-guide isn't strictly required to enter the country, but it makes the long mountain and desert legs far easier, and it's how a camel trek and desert camp get arranged properly rather than booked blind.

When's the best time of year for a Sahara desert tour?

Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) give the most comfortable temperatures for both the High Atlas passes and the dunes. Summer is workable but hot in the desert by midday; winter nights in the Sahara and the mountains can be cold, so pack layers if travelling between November and February.

Which cities can a tour start and end in?

Most itineraries start or end in Marrakech, Fes, Casablanca or Tangier — wherever your flight lands. Filter the tours by city to see what's available, or ask us to build a route between two different cities if you don't see the combination you need.

Travel guide · 6 min read

Fes vs Marrakech: Which Imperial City Should You Visit First?

Written by the Kasbah Trails team

Published August 21, 2026

A local guide overlooking the kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou on Morocco's kasbah road

Both are imperial cities with major medinas, both show up on nearly every Morocco itinerary, but walking through them feels nothing alike — different pace, different crowd, different sense of what century you're in. If your itinerary only has room for one, here's how to decide.

Marrakech: livelier, more geared to visitors

Marrakech's medina is dense and commercial, centred on Jemaa el-Fnaa's food stalls, storytellers and snake charmers, with souks radiating outward in every direction. It's an easier first stop for jet-lagged travellers — more riads, more English spoken, an airport a short taxi ride from the old walls — and it's the starting point for most desert routes, including our 3-day and 5-day Sahara tours.

Fes: older, quieter, more intact

Fes el-Bali is generally considered the largest car-free urban area in the world, and it feels it the moment you step inside — narrower lanes, donkeys still doing the job vans do elsewhere, working artisan quarters rather than tourist-facing souks, and the Chouara tannery, one of the oldest in the world, still operating in full view of the terraces above it, dye pits and all.

If you can only pick one

For a first Morocco trip focused on the Sahara, Marrakech makes more practical sense as your base — it's the standard starting point, and desert routes from there are noticeably shorter than from Fes. If your priority is medina atmosphere and history over logistics, Fes edges it out, particularly if you're also routing through Chefchaouen or the Rif, where Fes sits closer on the map.

The good news: most longer routes include both

Anything 6 days or longer tends to connect them, so the either/or framing above mostly only bites on shorter trips. Our 6-day desert tour from Marrakech to Fes and most 8–11 day grand tours visit both cities on either side of the desert loop, which is the real answer for most travellers: don't choose, just sequence them properly.