- Home
- Luxury Tours
- 13-Day Luxury Morocco Tour, Marrakech Riads and the Erg Chigaga Dunes
13-Day Luxury Morocco Tour, Marrakech Riads and the Erg Chigaga Dunes
This 13-day luxury Morocco tour splits its time between a riad in Marrakech and the far south. You spend three nights in the city on arrival, a week on the road with three nights at a luxury camp in Erg Chigaga, then three more nights in Marrakech before you fly home.
- DURATION
- ROUTE
- TOUR TYPE
- PICKUP
- PRICE
13-day luxury Morocco tour at a glance
- 13 days / 12 nights
- Marrakech · Tizi n'Tichka · Telouet · Aït Benhaddou · Ouarzazate · Agdz · Zagora · M'hamid · Erg Chigaga · Lake Iriki · Foum Zguid · Ouarzazate · Marrakech
- Private tour
- Riad or hotel pickup
- Best time: October to April
A luxury Marrakech holiday with a week in the south
The holiday opens and closes in the same riad, so you unpack twice in Marrakech and travel light in between. A guide takes you through the medina on your first full day; the other city days are yours.
In the middle comes the loop to the dunes. You cross the High Atlas by Telouet, sleep in a kasbah hotel at Aït Benhaddou and follow the Draa Valley as far as M’hamid. Past the village the asphalt stops and a 4×4 takes you on to the camp. After three nights you leave by the bed of Lake Iriki, dry for most of the year.
Highlights
- Six nights in a riad in the Marrakech medina
- The Glaoui kasbah at Telouet and the ksar of Aït Benhaddou
- Two days down the Draa Valley palm groves
- Three nights at a luxury camp in Erg Chigaga
- The 4x4 crossing of Lake Iriki to Foum Zguid
Read more: Medina of Marrakesh, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Erg Chigaga.
Day-by-day itinerary
How the 13 days go, from your pickup in Marrakech to the drop-off.
Day 1 · Arrival in Marrakech
Pickup at the airport and the drive to your riad. The rest of the day is free.
- Overnight: Riad in Marrakech
Day 2 · The medina with a guide
A guided walk through the souks to the Ben Youssef Madrasa and the Bahia Palace, ending at Jemaa el-Fna as the food stalls open.
- Overnight: Riad in Marrakech
Day 3 · A free day in Marrakech
Time for the Majorelle Garden, a hammam or the riad’s roof terrace. Your driver can take you anywhere in the city.
- Overnight: Riad in Marrakech
Day 4 · Marrakech to Aït Benhaddou
Over the Tizi n’Tichka pass and along the side road to Telouet, where the Glaoui family’s kasbah stands half ruined, then down the Ounila valley to Aït Benhaddou.
- Overnight: Kasbah hotel near Aït Benhaddou
Day 5 · Aït Benhaddou to Zagora
Past Ouarzazate the road climbs the Tizi n’Tinifift and drops to Agdz, where the Draa palm groves begin. Zagora lies about an hour and a half further along the river.
- Overnight: Hotel in Zagora
Day 6 · Zagora to Erg Chigaga
Past the pottery workshops of Tamegroute to M’hamid. The last stretch is a two-hour 4×4 track, and you reach camp for sunset.
- Overnight: Luxury desert camp in Erg Chigaga
Day 7 · A day in the dunes
A camel ride in the morning, then lunch and a slow afternoon at camp.
- Overnight: Luxury desert camp in Erg Chigaga
Day 8 · A second day in the dunes
Walk out to the higher dunes, try sandboarding or stay in the shade of your tent.
- Overnight: Luxury desert camp in Erg Chigaga
Day 9 · Erg Chigaga to Ouarzazate
The track runs west over the flat bed of Lake Iriki to Foum Zguid. From there the road climbs north to Tazenakht, a carpet-weaving town, and on to Ouarzazate.
- Overnight: Kasbah hotel near Ouarzazate
Day 10 · Ouarzazate to Marrakech
The drive back over the Tichka pass takes about four hours, so you are at your riad by mid-afternoon.
- Overnight: Riad in Marrakech
Day 11 · Marrakech
A free day in the city.
- Overnight: Riad in Marrakech
Day 12 · Marrakech
A last free day before your flight.
- Overnight: Riad in Marrakech
Day 13 · Departure
Transfer to Marrakech airport.
What is included and not included
Included
- Private vehicle and driver for the 13 days, with a 4x4 for the desert tracks
- Pickup and drop-off at your riad or hotel in Marrakech
- Six nights: riad in Marrakech, breakfast
- One night: kasbah hotel near Aït Benhaddou, breakfast
- One night: hotel in Zagora, breakfast
- Three nights: luxury desert camp in Erg Chigaga, dinner and breakfast
- One night: kasbah hotel near Ouarzazate, breakfast
- Airport transfers in Marrakech
- Camel ride in the dunes
- Local guides for the city visits in the itinerary
- Fuel and road costs
Not included
- Lunches and drinks
- Entrance fees at the sites
- Tips
- Travel insurance
Your luxury camp in Erg Chigaga
You spend three nights at a luxury camp in Erg Chigaga.
The camp is in the Erg Chigaga dunes, about 60 km of 4×4 track beyond M’hamid and far from any village, so the nights are dark and quiet.
From October to April the desert nights are cold, so bring a warm layer for dinner and the evening by the fire.
Ask us which camp we have booked for your dates, and we tell you more about it before you travel.
In your tent and at the camp
- A large tent with a proper bed
- A private bathroom with a shower
- Dinner and breakfast at the camp
- Camel ride in the dunes
Pickup, best time to go and what to bring
Pickup points
We pick you up at your riad or hotel in Marrakech at the time you choose. If your riad is in a lane cars cannot enter, the driver waits at the nearest square or gate and someone from the riad walks you there.
Best time to go
October to April is the most comfortable time. Days are warm and nights cool, and in December and January the desert can drop close to freezing at night. From June to August the afternoons are very hot, so we start early and rest in the middle of the day.
What to bring
Layers, with a warm jacket for the desert night from November to March; a hat, sunglasses and sun cream; a scarf against wind and sand; shoes you can walk in on sand; a head torch; a small bag for the camp night, since your main luggage stays in the vehicle; cash in dirhams for drinks and tips; a power bank.
Good to know
Carry cash in dirhams: camps and small villages rarely take cards, and the last cash machines are in towns such as Ouarzazate, Zagora and Erfoud. Phone signal is often weak in the dunes. Camps have toilets and showers, shared at standard camps and private at luxury ones. Keep cameras and phones in a bag when the wind lifts the sand, and ask before you photograph people in the villages. Your main luggage stays locked in the vehicle overnight.
Price, deposit and cancellation
Prices are per person and depend on the size of your group. You book with a 20% deposit by card or PayPal and pay the balance on the first day of the tour.
If you cancel 30 days or more before the start, we refund the deposit in full; after that the deposit is kept. You can change the date once for free if you ask 14 days or more before. The details are in our Cancellation Policy.
Questions about the 13-day luxury Morocco tour
Is Marrakech good for a luxury holiday?
Yes. The city has riads of every size, many with pools and hammams, and good restaurants, and three nights at each end of the trip gives you time for them after the desert.
When is the best time for a luxury holiday in Morocco?
March to May and late September to November are warm without the summer heat, and the desert nights are mild. Winter works too, with cold nights in the dunes.
Do we keep the same riad at both ends?
Yes, unless you ask for a change. You can leave luggage you do not need for the desert at the riad.
Can we spend fewer days in Marrakech?
Yes. Drop one or both of the last city days and the tour becomes 11 or 12 days.
What is a luxury camp like?
Large tents with proper beds and a private bathroom with a shower. Dinner and breakfast are served at the camp. Tell us if you have a camp in mind and we check availability.
Can we change the route or the hotels?
Yes. We can add nights, change hotels or swap the order of the stops, since only your group is on the tour. Tell us what you have in mind when you enquire.
How do I book?
Send an enquiry with your dates and group size and we reply with availability and a quote. When online booking is open for this tour, you can also reserve with a deposit by card or PayPal.
Book this tour
Send your dates and group size and we reply with a quote.
- Private tour, only your group
- Free enquiry, no obligation
- Private tour, only your group
- Free enquiry, no obligation
- Route and stays adjusted to you
More Luxury Morocco Tours
- Imperial Cities
Best of Morocco Tour, 16 Days in Riads and Desert Camps
16 days / 15 nights · Casablanca, round trip
Our Best of Morocco tour takes 16 days from Casablanca, staying in comfortable riads and desert camps throughout.
- High Atlas
Atlas Mountains Overnight from Marrakech, 2 Days at a Lodge near Imlil
2 days / 1 night · Marrakech, round trip
This Atlas Mountains overnight from Marrakech takes you an hour and a half up to Imlil for two days of walks and a night at a mountain lodge facing Toubkal.
- Agafay Desert
Agafay Luxury Camp, a Night in the Agafay Desert from Marrakech
1 night · Marrakech, round trip
An Agafay luxury camp is the closest desert night to Marrakech, about 40 km from the city on a plateau of bare, stony hills.