Marrakech Holiday
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3-Day Desert Tour from Marrakech to Merzouga

Our 3-day desert tour from Marrakech crosses the High Atlas to Aït Benhaddou, goes through the Dades and Todra gorges and reaches the Erg Chebbi dunes at Merzouga on the second afternoon. You ride a camel to a desert camp for the night and drive back to Marrakech on day three, in a private car with your own driver.

  • DURATION
3 days / 2 nights
  • ROUTE
Marrakech, round trip
  • TOUR TYPE
Private tour
  • PICKUP
Your riad or hotel
  • PRICE
From €590 per person
Book now
Camel caravan on a dune ridge in Erg Chebbi near Merzouga, the desert night of the 3-day desert tour from Marrakech
Camels walking across orange dunes in the Moroccan Sahara
Camels resting below the ksar of Ait Benhaddou

3-day desert tour from Marrakech at a glance

  • 3 days / 2 nights
  • Marrakech · Tizi n'Tichka · Aït Benhaddou · Dades Valley · Todra Gorge · Merzouga · Marrakech
  • Private tour
  • Riad or hotel pickup
  • Best time: October to April
From €590 per person
Enquire
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Marrakech to Merzouga over the High Atlas

Three days is the least time you need to reach the Sahara dunes from Marrakech without rushing every stop. You travel in your own vehicle with a driver who knows the road, cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass and spend the first night in the Dades Valley.

On the second day you walk into the Todra Gorge, reach Merzouga in the afternoon and ride a camel into the dunes of Erg Chebbi for the sunset, and you spend the night at a desert camp. The last day is a long drive back to Marrakech, or the tour can end in Fes if that suits your plans better.

Highlights

  • The Tizi n'Tichka pass over the High Atlas, at 2,260 metres
  • The earthen ksar of Aït Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site
  • The Dades Valley and the high walls of the Todra Gorge
  • A camel ride into the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset
  • A night at a desert camp and sunrise over the dunes

Read more: Ksar of Aït-Ben-Haddou on the UNESCO World Heritage List and Erg Chebbi.

Day-by-day itinerary

How the three days go, from your pickup in Marrakech to the drop-off.

Day 1 · Marrakech to the Dades Valley

Pickup at your riad or hotel in the morning. The road climbs through the High Atlas to the Tizi n’Tichka pass, then drops towards Aït Benhaddou, where you walk up through the old ksar. After a stop in Ouarzazate you follow the valley of the kasbahs past Kelaat M’Gouna to the Dades Valley for the night.

  • Overnight: Hotel in the Dades Valley

A short drive up the Dades Gorge in the morning, then on to Tinghir and the Todra Gorge, where the canyon walls rise close on both sides. After lunch the road crosses the plains by Erfoud and Rissani to Merzouga. Late in the afternoon you ride a camel into the Erg Chebbi dunes and reach the camp for sunset, dinner and the night.

  • Overnight: Desert camp in Erg Chebbi

Wake early for sunrise over the dunes, ride back to Merzouga and have breakfast. The drive back to Marrakech is long, around nine to ten hours with stops, and you are dropped at your riad or hotel in the evening. If you would rather finish in Fes, tell us when you enquire.

What is included and not included

Included

  • Private vehicle and driver for the three days
  • Pickup and drop-off at your riad or hotel in Marrakech
  • One night in a hotel in the Dades Valley with dinner and breakfast
  • One night at a desert camp in Erg Chebbi with dinner and breakfast
  • Camel ride to and from the desert camp
  • Fuel and road costs

Not included

  • Lunches and drinks
  • Entrance fees and local guides at the sites
  • Tips
  • Travel insurance

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

From €590 per person

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 3-day desert tour from Marrakech

About 560 km by road over the Tizi n’Tichka pass, or nine to ten hours of driving without stops. On this tour the way out is split over two days with a night in the Dades Valley, and the drive back on day three is the long one.

If you want the high Erg Chebbi dunes and have three days, yes, as long as you are happy with two long days in the car. With a fourth day you come back by Zagora and the Draa Valley and no day is as long: see our 4-day desert tour from Marrakech.

The first two days have about six to seven hours on the road, with stops along the way. The last day back to Marrakech is the longest, around nine to ten hours.

Yes. Tell us when you enquire and we plan the last day from Merzouga to Fes through the Middle Atlas.

You sleep in a tent at a camp in the Erg Chebbi dunes, with dinner and breakfast. Tell us the level of comfort you want and we suggest camps that fit.

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 and pay the rest on the first day.

Book this tour

From €590 per person

The price per person is lower for bigger groups.

  • Private tour, only your group
  • Free enquiry, no obligation
  • Reserve with 20% now, pay the rest on day one
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Questions? Call +212 667 897 512
  • Private tour, only your group
  • Free enquiry, no obligation
  • Route and stays adjusted to you
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