5-Day Private Desert Tour from Marrakech to Merzouga

What you see and do

• Start gently: over the Tizi n'Tichka pass to Ait Ben Haddou and a first night in Ouarzazate.
• Visit the Atlas Film Studios and Taourirt Kasbah in Ouarzazate before the road south.
• Follow the palm groves of the Draa Valley through Agdz and Nkob to the dunes.
• Spend two nights at Erg Chebbi, with a sunset camel ride on the first evening and sandboarding included.
• Use the free day to meet a nomad family, hear Gnawa music in Khamlia and look for flamingos on Merzouga's seasonal lake.
• Come home another way: Todra Gorges, the Dades Valley, the Valley of Roses and Amridil Kasbah in Skoura.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day 1Marrakech to Ouarzazate over the High Atlas195 km

   About 4 hours of driving plus stops. Night in a hotel in Ouarzazate.

   The first day covers a little over half the distance that the shorter tours drive on day one. Pickup is from your riad or hotel, or from Marrakech Menara Airport if you are landing that morning.

   The road rises into the High Atlas and over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with stops where the view opens over terraced fields and villages built into the slopes. In the colder months the higher peaks often carry snow. The route today also takes in Telouet Kasbah, on a side road just beyond the pass.

   The afternoon belongs to Ait Ben Haddou. Because Ouarzazate is close, there is no need to hurry: you can climb through the ksar to the top and sit with the view. Films shot here include Gladiator. Dinner and the night are in Ouarzazate.

   
2. Day 2Ouarzazate to Merzouga along the Draa Valley394 km

   About 7 hours of driving plus stops. Night in a desert camp in the Erg Chebbi dunes.

   This is the one long day of the tour, so it helps to know that tomorrow has almost no driving. It begins in Ouarzazate itself with the Atlas Film Studios and Taourirt Kasbah, a large earth-built fortress in the town. Entrance fees for both are paid on the spot.

   The road then drops to Agdz and the Draa Valley, where the river supports a long line of palm groves and old kasbahs. Lunch is usually taken in Nkob or Alnif, two quiet towns on the southern road that most desert tours never see.

   You come into Merzouga by way of Rissani in the afternoon. The vehicle stays at the edge of the sand and camels carry you into the dunes, with a stop on a high ridge for sunset before reaching camp. Dinner is followed by drums around the fire.

   
3. Day 3A full day around Merzouga

   Short local drives, some off-road. Night in a hotel in Merzouga or a second night in the desert camp.

   Nothing has to be packed in a hurry this morning. Get up for sunrise if you like, have breakfast at camp, then ride back to the edge of the dunes where your driver is waiting.

   The day is a loop around the erg. A usual order is an off-road drive to a former mining site, tea with a nomad family in their woven tent, and a visit to Khamlia, a village whose families trace their roots south of the Sahara and who keep Gnawa music alive.

   After lunch at a local restaurant there is a walk in the palm groves and a short drive to Merzouga's seasonal lake, which draws flamingos when it holds water. It can be dry, so treat the birds as a bonus. The second night is in a hotel by the dunes or back at camp. Tell us which you prefer when you enquire.

   
4. Day 4Merzouga to the Dades Valley by Todra Gorges275 km

   About 5 hours of driving plus stops. Night in a hotel in the Dades Valley.

   You leave the sand after breakfast. Rissani, the old capital of the Tafilalet oasis, holds its souk on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, and it is worth a walk through if the day matches.

   In Erfoud you can look into a fossil workshop, where slabs of local stone are cut and polished to show the sea creatures inside. The road continues through the palm groves of Touroug and Tinjdad to the Todra Gorges, with free time for lunch and a walk between the cliffs. Rock climbers use these walls, and you may see them at work.

   The day ends in the Dades Valley, reached through Boumalne Dades. On the way up the valley you stop at the rock formations known as the Monkey Fingers and at a viewpoint over the valley.

   
5. Day 5Dades Valley to Marrakech by Skoura338 km

   About 7 hours of driving plus stops.

   The return starts through Kelaat M'Gouna and the Valley of Roses, where rose water and cosmetics are made and a rose festival is held each May.

   Further west the road enters the Skoura palm grove. Amridil Kasbah stands among the palms here and is one of the best kept of the many kasbahs along this stretch.

   Lunch is in Ouarzazate, then you cross the High Atlas once more by the Tizi n'Tichka pass. You are dropped at your accommodation or at Marrakech Menara Airport in the evening. If you are flying out, book a late flight or stay the night.

   

Price and what changes it

This 5-day private tour costs €700 to €1,000 per person. Every trip is tailored, so the final price depends on your group size, hotel and camp level, and what you add.

• Four nights instead of two or three. The step up from the shorter desert tours is mostly extra nights with dinner and extra days of vehicle and driver.
• Where you sleep on the second Merzouga night. A second camp night and a hotel night can be priced differently, and the camp level matters twice if you stay both nights in the dunes. See desert camps in Merzouga compared.
• Group size and extras. The vehicle is a shared fixed cost, so larger parties pay less each. Quad bikes, buggies and extra 4x4 outings are optional and paid separately. For the full picture see what a Morocco tour costs.

Other lengths are priced on the Morocco tour cost page.

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