I'm overwhelmed and need your advice
 

Hello, Fodorites!
I am planning my first taste of Morocco, sadly a short one for this first taste. We would like to see Tetouan, Chefchaouen, and Fes, and do a desert tour from Fes. Having read some trip reports, it seems most people tour these areas with a private driver. (I certainly do not wish to rent a car and drive myself.) How do people find these drivers, or is there another recommended way to travel between these cities? We will be coming from and returning to Spain, and will wait to build our itinerary there until we nail down this Morocco side trip.

Many thanks in advance--I am grateful for your advice.

Peggy D.

Well, as a good planner should, I did some more research and read more trip reports. And thanks to Rome2rio, I see that there are reliable bus routes between these towns. We currently plan to take a bus from Tangier to Chefchaouen, spend one night there, then on to Fes also by bus.
So may I alter my question, dear travelers? It seems most people do their desert tour from Marrakech, but I am saving Marrakech for my next trip and opting instead to spend my limited time in a smaller area and doing a longer desert tour (four days instead of three). My question is--has anyone done a desert tour in and out of Fes and if so, could you recommend your tour company?

It's a fairly long way to the desert from Fes. My research for our trip (in March) suggests there are two major staging areas for desert trips - Merzouga (the most common) and M'Hamed.

To get to M'Hamed you can fly to Zagora (via Casablanca - not daily flights so you'd have to account for that in your planning) and then private driver to M'Hamed (the desert camp we stayed at arranged that transportation).

Fes to Merzouga looks to be a long (12 hour) bus ride.

Given the fact this trip is primarily in the north perhaps keep the desert visit for your trip to Marrakeck?

My trip report is here

https://www.fodors.com/community/afr...eport-1666164/

Thank you, Elizabeth! Your advice was helpful. I was able to change my itinerary and am now doing a Fes-to-Marrakech desert tour, and am taking a couple of extra days to see a little of Marrakech before returning to Spain. This will work perfectly for us. Many thanks for your reply.

p.s. to Elizabeth...I had already read your trip report and it is FANTASTIC! I love the format, and it really helped me think things through.

Have a great time!