Marrakech to Merzouga desert tour – 3 days
Marrakech to Merzouga desert tour – 3 days
Marrakesh, Morocco
Overview
Marrakech to Merzouga desert tour – overview:
Embark on an unforgettable 3-day desert adventure from Marrakech to Merzouga, where you’ll delve into the heart of the Moroccan Sahara. This journey is perfect for those eager to uncover the hidden gems of Morocco’s southern region.
You’ll gain fascinating insight into the lives of nomads and Berbers while exploring the historic Kasbahs of Aït Ben Haddou, Telouet, and Amredhil, as well as the lush Dra’a Valley, dotted with thousands of palm trees and traditional adobe houses.
Marvel at the dramatic landscapes of the Dades Valley, the towering Toudgha Gorges, and the fossil-rich lands of Erfoud, showcasing the remarkable geological wonders of Southeast Morocco.
In the serene Merzouga desert, you’ll ride camels across the golden dunes to a luxury camp, where you’ll spend an enchanting night under the stars. The evening will be made even more special with Berber music performed by the nomadic camp staff.
This Marrakech desert tour promises an experience that will stay with you for a lifetime!
3-day desert trip from Marrakech to Merzouga – highlights:
- Journeying across the Atlas Mountains and passing through the renowned Tizi-n-Tichka pass.
- Exploring Kasbah Telouet and the UNESCO-listed Aït Ben Haddou Kasbah.
- Stopping at the Skoura Oasis to admire the beautifully restored Kasbah Amredhil.
- Visiting Kela’a Mgouna, where you may purchase locally made cosmetic products from Damascene roses.
- Riding camels across the striking red dunes of Erg Chebbi while witnessing a breathtaking sunset.
- Spending the night in a private, luxurious desert camp tent in the heart of the Merzouga desert.
Included
- Transport in a private air-conditioned vehicle; 4×4 Toyota Prado TX or deluxe van and fuel
- Pick-up from and drop-off at your riad or hotel in Marrakech
- Experienced local English/French/Italian/Spanish-speaking Berber and nomad driver/guide
- Accommodation in air-conditioned rooms/suites with private bathroom
- The night in a luxury camp in Erg Chebbi with private toilet and shower and traditional Moroccan handmade furnishings
- All breakfasts, lunchs, – with vegetarian and vegan options available on request
- A camel ride with a guide, and free sandboarding – just speak to the camp staff
- Option to go to and return from the camp by 4×4
- Luggage service to the camp and all accommodation
- Berber drumming and music
- Free time to explore the sites such as Ait Ben Haddou, the Ounila and Dra’a valleys, Kasbah Tamnougalte, for walks, photos, and tea/coffee breaks
- The opportunity to ask the driver to stop when and where you wish
- Tea, coffee and mineral water in the desert
Excluded
- Drinks
- Tips
- Extras
Tour Plan
1st day: Marrakech – Dades Gorges
Your Marrakech desert adventure begins with an 8:30 AM departure, heading towards the High Atlas Mountains and crossing the scenic Tichka Pass. A detour takes you to the historic Telouet Kasbah, once the stronghold of the powerful Glaoui family, also known as the Lords of the Atlas. Unfortunately, the Kasbah has suffered significant damage from the earthquake in September 2023 and is now closed, but you can still admire its exterior and learn about its fascinating past from a local guide.
As you travel along the breathtaking Ounila Valley, you’ll be captivated by its winding paths, striking rock formations, and the vibrant hues of the soil, along with the many traditional Berber villages dotting the landscape.
Your journey continues to Aït Ben Haddou, the most renowned Kasbah in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage site, where you'll stop for lunch. From there, the road leads through Ouarzazate to the lush Skoura Oasis, where olive and almond trees flourish alongside fields of barley and a variety of fruit trees, including apples, apricots, figs, and pomegranates. A visit to the beautifully restored Kasbah Amredhil, once featured on the old 50-dirham banknote, is a highlight of this stop.
The route then takes you through Kela’a M’gouna in the Valley of Roses, where you may have the chance to sample locally produced rose-based cosmetic products. The day's journey concludes in the stunning Dades Valley, where you’ll spend the night in a charming guesthouse.
2nd day: Dades Gorges – Merzouga
After breakfast, your journey continues through the Dades Valley, navigating its famous winding roads, including the dramatic hairpin bends famously tested in the Cadillac brakes experiment. Upon reaching the stunning Dades Gorges, you'll have time to stretch your legs and admire the breathtaking views before continuing to the equally impressive Toudgha Gorges.
From there, you'll travel through the scenic Ziz Valley and the town of Erfoud, renowned for its abundance of fossils, which are skillfully transformed into intricate decorative pieces.
In the afternoon, you’ll arrive at the edge of the dunes, where you'll embark on a camel trek to your luxury desert camp. Upon arrival, you'll be warmly welcomed with traditional tea and biscuits. As the sun begins to set, you can climb the nearby dunes to witness the mesmerizing colors of the desert at dusk.
The evening is spent in your luxurious desert camp, where you'll enjoy a delicious dinner and unwind in a beautifully furnished tent, complete with a private bathroom, king-sized beds, and elegant Moroccan décor that enhances the tranquility and magic of the desert night.
3rd day: Merzouga – Marrakech
Witnessing the sunrise over the desert is a breathtaking experience, with shifting colors and shadows making the early wake-up truly worthwhile. After taking in this magical moment, we begin our journey back, heading west through the Dra’a Valley, with the rugged Saghro Mountains to our right. This region is among the driest in Morocco, receiving only around 100 mm of rainfall on the lower slopes and up to 300 mm in the higher elevations.
We pass through the villages of Tazzarine and N’Qob, where we pause for lunch while enjoying stunning views of the surrounding mountains.
In the afternoon, our route continues westward to Tansikht, following the banks of the Dra’a River. The valley is lush with towering palm trees and dotted with ancient kasbahs, characteristic of southern Morocco’s landscape. We trace the path of an ancient caravan route that once linked the Sahara to Agdez, transporting valuable goods from Mali and Niger. Near the top of the valley, we stop at Kasbah Tamnougalte, the oldest in the region, where remnants of watchtowers—once used to safeguard caravans—still stand atop the mountains.
Returning to the main road, we cross the Tizi-n’Tinfifte pass at 1,660 meters before reaching Ouarzazate. From there, we drive back across the majestic High Atlas Mountains, retracing our path toward Marrakech. By late afternoon, we arrive in the city, where your driver will escort you to your riad, marking the end of this unforgettable three-day desert adventure from Marrakech to Merzouga.
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NOTE !
NOTE! If the itineraries that we offer does not match what you’re looking for contact us and we will prepare a trip that suits your own needs and requirements.
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JoVerified One ticked off the bucket list We were so happy with our private tour to the desert. Our driver Hassan collected us from our riad, which is apparently rare according to the staff as most have you meet them outside the Medina, and we settled into our very clean and comfortable Prado. Hassan was very knowledgeable about history and culture and gave us options for stops and visits. One of the highlights was a traditional lunch at a locals cafe. Accomodation was excellent and the scenery brilliant. Our tour was custom designed to drop us at our next destination at the end making it very easy. We can highly recommend Morocco Exclusive Tours. William CollierVerified Stunning 4days trip From the first email exchanges, MET provided me with clear and timely information. They helped us to decide on options for our 4-day Merzouga dunes trip from Marrakech to Fes. The riads selected were very good and the campsite an incredible experience! Everything was extremely well planned (all meals were included and the restaurants were very good!). The trip to the campsite on camels was very well planned and our sunset stop is a lifetime memory. We saw many places, we visited kasbahs, walked along gorges, even a one hour walk in a wonderful relaxing orchard! Our guide and driver, Hassan and Youssef, were absolutely fantastic! Very outgoing, correct and educated young men. Youssef took great care of us always making sure that we were comfortable and had everything we needed. Hassan was the safest driver you could wish for. I won’t hesitate to recommend Morocco Exclusive Tours. Fernanda lupesVerified Incredible experience The booking process was super smooth, through the contact form on the website and then by exchanging with Youssef, who was very helpful and responsive. We managed to communicate everything in English.Hassan was a spectacular tour guide for our party of 4. We had such an amazing time. He was so friendly and had a good knowledge of the country, and worked hard to accomodate our every request. His driving was very smooth and comfortable. Our accomodation was awesome on the first night in the Dades Valley. On our next night in Merzouga, we rode camels at sunset then stayed at a fun desert camp. We messaged the tour company that night to do quad biking the next day, which they (Youssef) facilitated for us. This was an awesome add on and would highly recommend this.Everything met our expectations!! We totally recommend Morocco Exclusive Tours and definitely ask for Hassan. You won't regret it!! Thank you, Morocco Exclusive Tours, for making our trip fun, beautiful, and relaxing!! Stefano RVerified Amazing Unforgettable Moroccan adventure, 100%Highly recommended From the first email exchanges, Youssef provided me with clear and timely information. They helped me to decide on options for our 4-day Merzouga dunes trip from Marrakech to Fes. The riads selected were very good and the campsite an incredible experience! Everything was extremely well planned (all meals were included and the restaurants were very good!). The trip to the campsite on camels was very well planned and our sunset stop is a lifetime memory. We saw many places, we visited kasbahs, walked along gorges, even a one hour walk in a wonderful relaxing orchard! Our guide/driver Youssef Was absolutely fantastic! Very outgoing, correct and educated young men, took great care of us always making sure that we were comfortable and had everything we needed And was the safest driver you could wish for. All our needs were accounted for and we would certainly recommend Morocco Exclusive Tours to anyone visiting Morocco. Christian lamVerified Amaaazing experience I and my wife made the best decision to book a private tour with Morocco Exclusive Tours, Well worth the cost.Youssef was prompt, detailed, and ever-so-patient with my endless questions prior to booking. (Thank you so much!)But Hassan...what an excellent guide and driver! He was very knowledgeable about the desert regions, knew a lot of the people, and always knew the best places for food. He was also good at gauging when we wanted to talk .The ATV and camel riding in the desert, the rose city, and the spice shop were some of my favorites.We liked that we had options on sight-seeing and photo opportunities during the drive. They really take care of the details for each customer, taking the stress out of transportation and ensuring all the best sights were visited. The accommodations were also excellent. Best luxury tents in the desert. If we had to do this again, we would ask to stay in Skoura my final night. Seems exciting to stay in an oasis!Highly recommend this company and guide/driver. We truly appreciate his dedication and commitment to ensuring our trip was memorable and enjoyable. Thank you for the excellent service!I also recommend a 4-day tour at minimum to see the desert properly. moha kVerified Exceptionnel !!!!! Morocco Exclusive Tours organized a customized round trip through Morocco for us making sure to stop at all the sights we wanted to visit. The communication with Youssef was perfect and she always replied immediately whenever we had a question. And we couldn’t have been luckier with Hassan as our driver! He is a knowledgeable, kind, respectful and save driver who always made sure that we are comfortable. Thank you to the whole team for making this trip an extraordinary experience. Jonathan bamVerified INCREDIBLE TRIP !!! This was a wonderful experience for us that we will never forget. A special thnaks to Youssef, Morocco Exclusive Tours manager, who organized this wonderful three days for us, and in those three days we saw everything we wanted and much more.We drove through the high Atlas mountains, visited Ait Ben Haddou, Rissani, Efroud, the Azrou forest with adorable monkeys, the wonderful Telouet and Amridil kasbahs, saw beautiful landscapes, enjoyed the Erg Chebbi dunes.From the beginning, everything was wonderfully organized, the accommodations we stayed in were excellent and the kind you would have chosen yourself, the food was very tasty.Our guide/driver Hassan was a wonderful person, professional, patient, always ready to help and answered all our questions.In those three days we spent with him, he became a dear friend and a person we will always remember fondly.Thank you so much Morocco Exclusive Tours for all the wonderful moments and we hope that we will have the opportunity to make another wonderful tour for us again. Susy IVerified Safe even for a solo woman traveler! Would highly recommend this private tour of Morocco. 10/10! Where do I even begin? For my birthday I booked a ten-day Morocco exclusive tour. Best decision and I’m so glad I didn’t book with anyone else! I am a total planner when it comes to my travels. Thank you for taking that huge task off of my shoulders and making it the best tour for exactly what I wanted to see in only 10 days! Literally everything is catered around your tastes so the more specific you get with them the better the experience. You don’t have to worry about anything, accommodation, FOOD, transportation (my driver was amazing I could sleep with how smooth he drives)! Total peace of mind! We hit everything on my special list that I wanted to see and more. You guys truly made me feel so special going above and beyond, thank you again for making this birthday trip one I will always remember. P.S. I recommend bringing cash with you and exchanging it once you land to avoid CC fees. Cash for tipping which you will gladly want to do, Moroccan ppl are so helpful and of course, cash for shopping! There is a lot of shopping to be done but some don’t accept cards- even some local restaurants. 💕 Alondra RVerified The best trips in Morocco I went on a trip to Morocco with Morocco Exclusive Tours on Junuary 2023. It was an unforgettable experience! Our tour leader, Youssef, was knowledgeable, professional, organized, and friendly. He also secured excellent local tour guides for us in each destination. Our driver, Hassan, was careful, professional, and friendly. The accommodations were excellent; the riads were especially beautiful. The food was delicious. The trip itinerary was thorough, and the included activities were informative and enjoyable. I highly recommend this Travel Agency and might even take it again in the future. ElenVerified AMAZING 4 DAYS MARRAKECH DESERT TRIP I booked a private trip for me and my girlfriend to the Atlas mountains and the desert and it was awesome !Our driver and guide Moha made this an unforgettable trip. Excellent chauffeur, English and French speaking, and being a Berber himself with lots of knowledge about the area the history and the culture ..Some of our highlights: iat Ben Haddou and the small Painting we got there (tx to Moha) the camel sunset trip and night in the desert (watching millions of stars), Ouarzazat, and the many nice stops along the road ...100% to be recommended !!















