Ouzoud Waterfalls Private Day Trip from Marrakech

Duration: Full Day, approximately 10 hours
Tour type: Private Tours
Availability: To be confirmed by MTT operations.
Languages: English

Overview

Wild macaques in the trees, a long drop of white water, and pools at the bottom you can swim in. Your own car and driver, so you leave when you are ready rather than when a group is.

Tour highlights

Barbary macaques living wild in the trees around the falls
A private air-conditioned car or 4x4 and an English-speaking driver, with nobody else along for the ride
Swimming in the natural pools beneath the cascades
The three tiers of the Cascades d'Ouzoud dropping 110 metres, with viewpoints and rainbows standing permanently in the spray
A local English-speaking guide at Ouzoud, covered by the price
Optional wooden boat trip at the foot of the falls (around 20 MAD)
Collection and return at the door of your Marrakech hotel or riad
Lunch beside the river at a restaurant your guide points you to (around 80 to 120 MAD)
A timetable entirely of your own making: departure time, stops en route and hours at the falls
The drive across the Haouz Plain and the Tadla region, with stops whenever you ask

About this tour

Ouzoud sits 150 km northeast of Marrakech, where the river drops 110 metres in three tiers. This private full-day trip takes you there in an air-conditioned car or 4×4 with an English-speaking driver, and an English-speaking local guide joins you at the falls. The road out takes roughly 2.5 to 3 hours across the Haouz Plain and through the Tadla farming country, past olive trees, peach orchards and villages, and the driver pulls over anywhere you ask him to. Your guide walks you down past fig trees and olive groves to the viewpoints above the cascades, points out the families of wild Barbary macaques in the branches and tells you which riverside restaurant is worth your lunch money; you can swim in the natural pools at the bottom and take a boat out if you want to. Nothing is on a clock: you set the departure time, you choose the stops, you decide how long to stay, and the driver waits until you are ready to go back to your hotel or riad.

Itinerary

Print this itinerary

Marrakech - Haouz Plain / Tadla region - Ouzoud village and waterfalls - Marrakech

Out of Marrakech, at a time you set (about 2.5 to 3 hours on the road). Your driver comes to the door of your hotel or riad. Nobody else is added to your group. The road runs northeast over the Haouz Plain and into the farming country of the Tadla, through wide stretches of olive trees, peach orchards and old villages.

Stopping where you like. The driver pulls over on request: a roadside olive press, a viewpoint, a village market, anywhere the light is good. Done that way, the three hours count as part of the day rather than dead time.

Meeting your guide at Ouzoud. In the village you are introduced to your local English-speaking guide, whose fee is already in the price. He takes you onto the paths down to the falls and talks through the geology, the plant life and where the pictures are.

At the falls, for as long as you like. The walk down runs under shaded olive and fig trees to a series of viewpoints over the 110-metre Cascades d'Ouzoud, where the spray keeps a rainbow standing whenever the sun is on it. Your guide knows the quieter paths and the angles most visitors never find, and he will show you the macaque families in the trees around you.

Down at the bottom. There are natural pools at the base where you can swim, and boats to take out for about 20 MAD if you fancy it. The guide stays with you and nothing is being timed, so photographers can go back to a viewpoint, wait for the light to turn or follow the river further along.

Lunch by the water. Your guide sends you to the riverside restaurant he rates rather than the one that happens to be nearest: Berber tagine, fresh salad and mint tea with the noise of the cascades behind you. Reckon on 80 to 120 MAD.

Three hours, five hours, more. Stay as long as it suits you. Your driver sits waiting in the village car park, and you go when you decide to go.

The drive home, whenever you want it (about 2.5 to 3 hours). Once you are done, you walk back up to your driver. The return takes about 2.5 to 3 hours with stops on the way if you want them, and you are set down at the same door you left from.

What's included

Included

A private air-conditioned vehicle with an English-speaking driver
Door-to-door collection
return at your Marrakech hotel
An English-speaking local guide with you at the Ouzoud Waterfalls
A schedule you control, leaving
returning when you choose
Stops at scenic points along the route whenever you ask for them

Not included

Food and drink, paid by you on the day (reckon on 80 to 120 MAD)
The boat at the base of the falls (about 20 MAD, only if you want it)
Anything you choose to give the driver and guide

What to bring

To be confirmed by MTT operations

Good to know

Price table (per person, private tour):
1 person: EUR 195
2 people: EUR 125
3 people: EUR 95
4 people: EUR 85
5 people: EUR 75
6 people: EUR 65
7-9 people: EUR 55
10-13 people: EUR 45
14-17 people: EUR 35
Costs on the day that the price does not cover: lunch at roughly 80 to 120 MAD a head, the optional boat below the falls at roughly 20 MAD, and whatever you choose to give the driver and guide
Distance and timing: Ouzoud is 150 km from Marrakech, around 2.5 to 3 hours in each direction. The day comes to about 10 hours in total, though how much of it you spend at the falls is your decision, usually 3 to 5 hours, and the driver waits
Set against the shared alternative: MTT's own Shared Day Trip to the Ouzoud Waterfalls from Marrakech runs at EUR 19 on a fixed 08:30 departure to a group timetable, and on that trip the local guide is an optional EUR 3 extra. On this private trip the guide is standard
Who it suits: very good for families with children, since you move at the children's pace and stop when you need to
Minimum age and cancellation policy: to be confirmed by MTT operations

Frequently asked questions

Why pay for the private trip rather than the shared EUR 19 one?

The vehicle is yours alone, the guide's fee is already in the price, and the timetable is whatever you make it: leave when you want, stop where you want and stay at the falls as long as you want. The shared version leaves at 08:30 on the dot and runs to a group timetable.

Can I pick my own departure time?

Yes. Most people leave between 07:30 and 09:00, but you can go earlier or later. It is your vehicle and your day.

Can we ask for extra stops on the way?

Yes. Villages, viewpoints, olive presses, roadside markets: the driver pulls over wherever you point. It is completely flexible.

Do we get a local guide?

Yes, and the guide's fee is part of the price you pay. On the shared trip the guide is an optional EUR 3 extra; here it comes as standard.

Does this work with young children?

Yes. You go at their pace and rest when they need to, and the monkeys, the swimming and the boat ride tend to be the parts children remember.

How much time do we get at the waterfalls?

As much as you want, usually 3 to 5 hours. Your driver waits, and there is no group holding you to a departure.

Does the price cover lunch?

No, you pay for lunch yourself. Your guide will tell you which riverside restaurants are the good ones. Budget around 80 to 120 MAD.

Will the driver wait while we are down at the falls?

Yes, for as long as you need. There is no group departure to hurry back for.

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