4-Day Private Merzouga Desert Tour from Marrakech
- Duration
- 4 Days / 3 Nights
- Tour type
- Private
- Tour category
- Desert Tours
- Availability
- To be confirmed by MTT operations.
- Languages
- English, French, Spanish
About this tour
4 Days / 3 Nights from Marrakech to Merzouga and Erg Chebbi. From EUR 275 per person.
Tour highlights
- Your own air-conditioned 4x4 or van and a licensed driver-guide, held for you across all 4 days
- Telouet Kasbah, the El Glaoui fortress standing on the old caravan route
- The Todgha Gorges, with a full morning to walk beneath 300 m limestone cliffs
- Skoura oasis, including a guided visit to Kasbah Amridil
- The Draa Valley, where kasbahs and date palms line the river, and Agdz, its old caravan town
- A private ensuite tent at a luxury desert camp, with a hot shower, real beds and electricity
- Tizi n'Tichka, the High Atlas pass at 2,260 m
- The Rose Valley and its cooperatives, with the Damascus roses at their most fragrant in April and May
- Camels into the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset and out again the next morning at sunrise
- The Anti Atlas volcanic crossing and the village of Nkob
- The viewpoint over the Dades canyons, and a night in the Dades Valley
- Aït Ben Haddou, the UNESCO ksar, with a guided walk inside it on Day 4
- Fossil workshops at Erfoud and the holy town of Rissani
- Ouarzazate, the "Hollywood of Africa"
- Drumming around the campfire and stargazing afterwards, with sandboards available at camp
Route at a glance
4 Days / 3 Nights · Marrakech → Erg Chebbi
- Marrakech Starting point
- Merzouga
- Erg Chebbi
About this tour
Four days shaped as a loop: south from Marrakech to the Erg Chebbi dunes beside Merzouga, then home by a second road, all of it in an air-conditioned 4×4 or van kept for your party alone, with a licensed driver-guide. Going out you climb the High Atlas at Tizi n'Tichka, call at Aït Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate, thread east through the palms of Skoura and past the Rose Valley into Dades, then carry on by way of Todgha Gorges, Erfoud and Rissani to the sand. The return turns southwest instead, over the Anti Atlas to Nkob, down the Draa through Agdz and into Ouarzazate, which frees the last day for Aït Ben Haddou and Telouet Kasbah. That fourth day is what you are really paying for: the Atlas is never driven twice, and there is room for the Draa Valley, for Telouet, and for a guided walk inside the ksar. Your rate carries collection from and return to your door, three nights of half board (Dades Valley, an ensuite luxury camp in the dunes, Ouarzazate) and camel treks at both sunset and first light. Lunches, entry charges, monument guides and tips sit outside it.
Day by day itinerary
Print this itinerary- Day 1 of 4
Marrakech - Tizi n'Tichka - Aït Ben Haddou - Ouarzazate - Skoura - Rose Valley - Boumalne Dades (6h drive) / High Atlas Crossing, Skoura Oasis & the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs
Collection from your Marrakech hotel or riad at around 08:00. The road runs southeast and climbs to Tizi n'Tichka at 2,260 m, the pass that carries you over the High Atlas, with pauses for photographs, for coffee and at a traditional Berber village. Then Aït Ben Haddou, and its UNESCO ksar. Lunch nearby is quick, the stop in Ouarzazate short. East again to the Skoura oasis, where a local guide walks you round Kasbah Amridil, and onward through the Rose Valley. Boumalne Dades arrives late in the afternoon, and there is still time to be driven to the top for the view over the Dades canyons. You eat and sleep at a hotel in the Dades Valley, half board. An upgraded hotel in the same valley can be booked instead, for a 40 EUR supplement per person.
- Day 2 of 4
Boumalne Dades - Tinghir - Todgha Gorges - Erfoud - Rissani - Merzouga (4h drive) / Todgha Gorges, Desert Markets & Your Sunset Ride into the Sahara
Breakfast first, then the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs takes you east to the oasis village of Tinghir. From there a walk follows the riverbank past old Berber settlements as far as the Todgha Gorges, where limestone walls 300 m high stand over a flat riverbed. Today holds only about 4 hours of driving, so the canyon can be walked end to end and lunch happens at the gorge itself. Erfoud comes next, a town known for its date market and its fossilised marble, then Rissani, the place the ruling Alaouite dynasty came from. You reach Erg Chebbi by mid-afternoon and go up into the dunes on camelback for sunset. The night is a private ensuite tent at a luxury camp at Merzouga, with hot shower, real beds and electricity. Dinner is Moroccan, served outdoors beneath a sky worth staying up for, and Berber drums keep going round the fire afterwards. Sandboards are there at the camp if you want them. Half board.
- Day 3 of 4
Merzouga - Nkob - Draa Valley - Agdz - Ouarzazate (6h drive) / Sahara Sunrise, the Anti Atlas & the Legendary Draa Valley
Camels again before dawn, back across the Erg Chebbi dunes for sunrise, then breakfast at camp and a run down to Merzouga village, where your driver is waiting. Today does not retrace yesterday. It bears southwest into the Anti Atlas, over volcanic massifs, as far as Nkob, the village where the Draa Valley opens. From Nkob you follow the longest river valley in Morocco, past kasbahs, mud-brick villages and date palm groves, and through Agdz, once a caravan halt on the road between Marrakech and Timbuktu. Ouarzazate comes in the early evening. You check in at a riad in town, one of two the itinerary draws on, and dine there. Half board.
- Day 4 of 4
Ouarzazate - Aït Ben Haddou - Telouet Kasbah - High Atlas - Marrakech (5h drive) / UNESCO Guided Walk, the Hidden Fortress of Telouet & Home
Breakfast, then a short hop to Aït Ben Haddou for the walk this ksar deserves, guided, through its alleyways and up to the granary on the hilltop. UNESCO put it on the World Heritage list in 1987, and the screen knows it well: Game of Thrones was shot here, so were Gladiator and Lawrence of Arabia. Telouet Kasbah follows, standing where the old caravan road crossed the High Atlas, raised by the warlord Thami El Glaoui late in the 19th century, its zellige tilework and carved stucco ceilings still intact. The afternoon recrosses the mountains, and you are set down at your Marrakech hotel or riad, door to door.
What's included
Included
- An air-conditioned private 4x4 or van and your own licensed driver-guide, reserved for your party across 4 full days
- Collection and return at the door of your Marrakech hotel or riad
- Night 1: a hotel in the Dades Valley, private ensuite room, half board with dinner and breakfast
- Night 2: a luxury desert camp in the Erg Chebbi dunes, private ensuite tent with hot shower, real beds and quality linens, half board
- Night 3: a riad in Ouarzazate, half board with dinner and breakfast
- The sunset camel trek into Erg Chebbi on the evening of Day 2 and the sunrise camel ride on the morning of Day 3
Not included
- Lunches and any extra drinks, around EUR 8-12 for a lunch
- Entrance fees where there are any
- Guides at the monuments, arranged on request and paid on the spot
- Optional extras: quad biking at approximately EUR 50/hr, sandboarding, a 4x4 dune circuit at Erg Chebbi
- Anything you choose to tip your driver-guide
- Travel insurance, which we recommend
What to bring
- To be confirmed by MTT operations
Group rates
| Group size | Price per person |
|---|---|
| 1 person | €915 per person |
| 2 people | €515 per person |
| 3 people | €435 per person |
| 4 people | €395 per person |
| 5 people | €365 per person |
| 6 people | €345 per person |
| 7-9 people | €325 per person |
| 10-13 people | €295 per person |
| 14-17 people | €275 per person |
Frequently asked questions
Is the fourth day worth it over the three-day version?
We think so. The fourth day removes the longest single drive of the trip and spends the time on Telouet Kasbah, on the Draa Valley, and on walking Aït Ben Haddou with a guide. Driving days come out shorter, and no stretch of road is repeated. If you have less time, the shorter option in this MTT set is the 3-Day Private Desert Tour: Marrakech to Merzouga.
Which stops does the four-day itinerary add?
Kasbah Amridil at the Skoura oasis; the whole Draa Valley drive through Nkob and Agdz; an overnight in Ouarzazate; Telouet Kasbah; and time inside Aït Ben Haddou with a guide.
How far is Merzouga from Marrakech?
Around 560 km, or 348 miles. We break that over four driving days, each one between 4 and 6 hours, and stop along the way both for the views and to stretch your legs.
Can we opt out of the camel ride at Erg Chebbi?
Yes. A 4x4 runs separately to the luxury camp for anyone who would rather not ride.
How long are we on the camels?
About 1 hour at sunset, then another 1 hour at sunrise the following morning, with the exact timing set by the season and the daylight.
What will we be driven in?
For 1-4 people, a private air-conditioned Toyota 4x4, either a Land Cruiser or a Prado. For 5 or more, a comfortable van. Either way the vehicle belongs to your party for the whole 4 days.
Are quad bikes available at Merzouga?
Yes. A local ATV rental company supplies the bikes, your driver makes the arrangement, and payment goes straight to that supplier. Reckon on EUR 50 per quad per hour.
Can we charge devices at the desert camp?
You can. Electrical outlets are fitted in the tents at the luxury camp, and in its restaurant and public areas too.
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