Group of travellers in turbans on a camel ride across the dunes

Private tour · 7 days

7-day desert tour from Marrakech to Merzouga

A 7-day Morocco tour from Marrakech to Merzouga designed as a complete trip: we pick you up at the airport, cross the High Atlas to the desert, sleep two nights at Tassili Luxury Desert Camp and return to Marrakech through the Draa Valley and Ouarzazate, without repeating any road. On the last day, transfer to the airport.

Tour highlights

  • Ait Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate, with time to explore them
  • The Todra Gorge and sunset over the Erg Chebbi dunes
  • A nomad family, the Gnawa music of Khamlia and the Mfis mines
  • The Saghro massif and the Draa Valley
  • The Ouarzazate film studios and the Tizi n’Tichka pass

Day-by-day itinerary

  1. Day 1 · Arrival in Marrakech

    We pick you up at the airport or station and take you to your accommodation. If you arrive in time, at dusk Jemaa el-Fna square fills with food stalls, musicians and storytellers.

    Night: Marrakech

  2. Day 2 · Marrakech · Ait Ben Haddou · Ouarzazate · Dades Valley

    We pick you up from your accommodation in Marrakech at around 8:00 and cross the High Atlas over the Tizi n’Tichka pass, 2,260 metres up, stopping at the viewpoints. This is the sightseeing day: Ait Ben Haddou, the earthen ksar and UNESCO World Heritage Site where Gladiator and Game of Thrones were filmed, explored on foot, and Ouarzazate, the gateway to the desert, with time to discover both and take photos. In the afternoon we continue past the Skoura palm grove and the Valley of Roses to the Dades Valley. Night in a hotel or traditional kasbah, with dinner and breakfast.

    Night: Dades Valley

  3. Day 3 · Todra Gorge · Tinghir · Erfoud · Merzouga

    In the morning, the Todra Gorge: a narrow canyon with walls of around 300 metres, explored on foot beside the river. We pass the Tinghir palm grove and Erfoud, the town of fossils, on the way to Merzouga. At the end of the afternoon the Erg Chebbi dunes appear: you ride up on a camel for the sunset or, if you prefer, go by 4x4 to the camp. Night in the desert.

    Night: Desert camp

  4. Day 4 · 4x4 excursion around Merzouga

    A full day to see what lies around the dunes. We head out by 4x4 on the tracks around Erg Chebbi and visit a nomad family, who still live in tents as they always have, for tea. In Khamlia, the Gnawa village, we listen to their music, which came from sub-Saharan Africa. Then the old Mfis mines, the black desert scattered with fossils and, if it has rained in winter or spring, the lake at Dayet Srij. In the afternoon, free time on the dunes: sandboarding or simply the sunset.

    Night: Merzouga

  5. Day 5 · Merzouga · Rissani · Alnif · N’kob · Draa Valley · Ouarzazate

    Back to Ouarzazate by the southern route. After sunrise we pass Rissani and Alnif, cross the Saghro landscapes to N’kob and follow the Draa Valley, with its palm groves, to Agdz and Ouarzazate.

    Night: Ouarzazate

  6. Day 6 · Ouarzazate · High Atlas · Marrakech

    A relaxed departure from Ouarzazate. Depending on what you prefer, the Taourirt Kasbah or the Atlas Film Studios before crossing the High Atlas over Tizi n’Tichka. Arrival in Marrakech in the afternoon, with free time for the medina, the souks and Jemaa el-Fna square.

    Night: Marrakech

  7. Day 7 · Transfer to Marrakech airport

    Breakfast and transfer to Marrakech airport.

Jemaa el-Fna square full of stalls at sunset, with the Koutoubia minaret
Winding road climbing to the Tizi n'Tichka pass through the High Atlas mountains
The ksar of Aït Ben Haddou on its hillside, with palm trees and the riverbed in the foreground
Egyptian-style sphinxes and statues on a film set at the Ouarzazate film studios

What’s included

Included

  • Pick-up from your accommodation in Marrakech and return
  • Private air-conditioned vehicle
  • Multilingual driver for the whole trip
  • Accommodation: 6 nights, including the nights in the desert
  • Breakfasts
  • Dinner at the desert camp

Not included

  • Lunches
  • Other dinners (on request: ask when you book)
  • Monument entry fees and local guides
  • Tips

Places along the route

Aït Ben Haddou

This earthen ksar, built on a hillside above the Ounila river, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. Its mud-brick houses and towers, linked by lanes climbing to an old granary, have appeared in many films. Crossing the river and walking to the top rewards you with one of the south’s most photogenic views.

Ouarzazate

Ouarzazate is the gateway to the desert: this is where the High Atlas ends and the south of oases and kasbahs begins. It is known as the Hollywood of Morocco for its film studios, where international films and series have been shot. In the town stands the Taourirt kasbah, which belonged to the Glaoui family.

Dades Valley and Gorges

The Dades Valley opens out between the High Atlas and Jebel Saghro, lined with earthen kasbahs, small fields and strikingly shaped rock formations. Further up, the road squeezes into a gorge and climbs in tight hairpin bends to a well-known viewpoint, an ideal spot to stop and take in the scale of the landscape.

Todra Gorge

Near Tinghir, the Todra river has carved a narrow canyon between limestone walls that rise almost vertically. Walking along the floor of the gorge, beside the stream and beneath those cliffs, is genuinely awe-inspiring, and the valley leading up to it is dotted with palm groves and mud-brick villages.

Erg Chebbi Dunes

Erg Chebbi is the great sea of orange sand dunes rising beside Merzouga, on the edge of the Moroccan Sahara. At sunrise and sunset the light shifts colour across the ridges, making it the perfect place to walk barefoot on the sand, ride a camel or simply soak up the silence.

Draa Valley

The Draa is Morocco’s longest river, and its valley forms a long ribbon of date palms between Agdz and Zagora. Along the road you pass mud-brick ksour and kasbahs, gardens watered by irrigation channels and bare mountains behind, a contrast that sums up life in the south better than almost anywhere.

What makes this 7-day tour different

The first and last days are for arriving and leaving without rushing: pick-up at Marrakech airport, a first evening in the medina and Jemaa el-Fna square, and on day 7 a transfer to the airport to suit your flight, with time for an optional guided visit of Marrakech.

In between, the road of a thousand kasbahs and the desert: the High Atlas over Tizi n’Tichka, Ait Ben Haddou, Skoura and the Valley of Roses, the Todra Gorge and two nights in the dunes, with a full day’s 4x4 excursion (Khamlia, the Mfis mines, a nomad family) and free time for sandboarding or, if you like, quad and buggy.

The way back doesn’t retrace the route: from Merzouga to Ouarzazate via Rissani, Alnif and the Draa Valley, a night in Ouarzazate and the return to Marrakech over the Atlas, with the Taourirt Kasbah or the film studios if you fancy them.

Is this the tour for you?

A complete journey through Morocco: cities, mountains and desert in 7 days, with a driver just for you who adapts to your pace.

It includes a full day in Merzouga to explore the area around the dunes by 4x4: a nomad family, the Gnawa village of Khamlia, the Mfis mines and, if it has rained, the lake at Dayet Srij.

The night in the desert

You reach Merzouga in the late afternoon, in time for sunset over the dunes. The camel ride to the camp is optional: if you prefer, the transfer is done by 4x4 and you miss nothing.

At night, the desert sky with no lights around. In the morning it is worth getting up early: sunrise over Erg Chebbi is one of the best moments of the trip.

For a more comfortable night, we recommend Tassili Luxury Desert Camp, our sister camp in Erg Znaigui, with private-bathroom tents. Ask when you book and we will include it in the proposal.

Aerial view of a small camel caravan and its shadows on the dunes

Time on the road

Marrakech to Merzouga is about 560 kilometres across the High Atlas: with stops, 10 to 12 hours on the road.

It is a private tour: we stop for photos, meals or a stretch whenever you like, and you set the pace of each day.

Make it yours

As the tour is private, the itinerary can change: start on another day, add or drop a night, or finish in a different city. These are the most requested options:

How to book

Message us on WhatsApp or by email with your dates, how many you are and where you are starting from. We reply with a proposal, a fixed price and what it includes, with no obligation.

Frequently asked questions

Does the tour start at Marrakech airport?

Yes. On day 1 we pick you up at the airport and take you to your accommodation; on day 7, after breakfast, we take you to the airport in time for your flight. If you are already in Marrakech, we pick you up at your hotel or riad.

Where do you sleep in the desert?

Both desert nights are at Tassili Luxury Desert Camp, our camp in the Erg Znaigui dunes, in tents with a private bathroom: dinner, traditional music and an evening around the fire.

Can I add a guided visit of Marrakech?

Yes, on day 7 if your flight leaves in the afternoon: it is optional and arranged with a local guide. Let us know when you book.

Is it the same road there and back?

No. On the way out you travel through the Dades and the Todra Gorge; on the way back, through Rissani, Alnif and the Draa Valley to Ouarzazate, and from there to Marrakech over the High Atlas.

Is the tour private?

Yes. The vehicle and driver are for your group only, with no other travellers, so stops and timings adapt to you.

Do I have to ride a camel?

No. The camel ride is optional: if you prefer, the transfer to the camp is done by 4x4.

Where do we sleep?

There are 6 nights: the first in Marrakech, the second in the Dades Valley, the third at the desert camp, the fourth in Merzouga, the fifth in Ouarzazate and the sixth in Marrakech. The proposal tells you the exact accommodation for each night.

Which meals are included?

Breakfasts and dinner at the desert camp. Lunches are not, as we stop wherever you like along the way. Other dinners are on request: if you’d like them, tell us when you book and we’ll include them in the proposal.

What language does the driver speak?

Our drivers speak several languages, including English. If you need Italian, just ask when booking.

Can it be done in 5 days?

Yes: we have the 5 days from Marrakech to Merzouga tour. With fewer days there are more hours of driving in a row, which is why this itinerary spreads the journey better.

How much does the tour cost?

It depends on how many of you are travelling, the dates and the type of accommodation. The vehicle and driver are a fixed cost, so the more of you there are, the less it costs per person. Message us on WhatsApp and we’ll send you the price and availability the same day.

When is the best time to go?

Spring and autumn are the most pleasant; summer is very hot in the middle of the day, and winter nights in the desert are cold.

Ask for the price of this trip

Tell us the date, how many of you there are and where you start from. We reply the same day with a proposal and a price, with no obligation. Or on WhatsApp, if you prefer.

More tours from Marrakech

Tassili Luxury Desert Camp at dusk, with the tents lit up
The tents of Tassili Luxury Desert Camp among the dunes

Where to sleep in the desert

A night in a private tent

If you want to stay longer in the desert, Tassili Luxury Desert Camp has ten tents with private bathrooms in Erg Znaigui, away from the main camp area.

  • Ten private tents
  • A private bathroom in every tent
  • In Erg Znaigui, away from the main camp area
See the tents
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