Ouarzazate Marrakech Desert Tour

Make the most of your time in Morocco with a four-day private trip from Ouarzazate to Marrakech by way of the Merzouga desert. Ride a camel into the Erg Chebbi dunes, try sandboarding, enjoy Berber music and watch the sun set and rise over the Sahara. You travel in comfortable private transport – ideal for families and friends – and stay in two hotels and one luxury desert camp, with most meals included.

Day 1: Ouarzazate – Agdz – Merzouga

At 9:00 am your driver-guide picks you up at your accommodation in a private 4×4, minibus or minivan, depending on the size of your group, and drives you via Agdz and the Draa Valley to Merzouga. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Dar Morocco or similar.

Day 2: Nomads – Gnawa Music – Camel Ride to a Luxury Camp

At 10:00 am we set off by private 4×4 to visit nomads living behind the dunes of Erg Chebbi, drink tea in their tents and see how they live. After a short drive over the dunes we continue to the Mifis hills, where minerals are still mined, and to the village of Khamlia to hear Gnawa music, a spiritual tradition with West African roots. Lunch is a Berber pizza at a local restaurant.

After some time to relax, you ride a camel for about an hour into the dunes to the luxury camp, with sandboarding and sunset on the way. Dinner and Berber music, then overnight in a tent with private bathroom.

Day 3: Merzouga – Rissani – Todra Gorge – Dades Valley

Get up for sunrise over the dunes, have breakfast at camp and ride back to Merzouga. We visit the market in Rissani (market days are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday), pass through Erfoud and the Ziz Valley, then drive through the palm groves of Touroug and Tinjdad to the Todra Gorge. Its high cliffs are popular with climbers, and a short walk through the gorge is the best way to enjoy it. Free time for lunch, then on to Boumalne Dades. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Ksar Sultan Dades or similar.

Day 4: Dades Valley – Ouarzazate – Aït Ben Haddou – Marrakech

After breakfast we stop at a viewpoint over the Dades Valley and its many kasbahs, then follow the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs through the Valley of Roses and the Skoura palm grove to Ouarzazate. Here you visit the Taourirt Kasbah – once a residence of the powerful Glaoui family – and a film studio.

We continue to Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, where Gladiator, The Mummy and The Jewel of the Nile were filmed. After free time for lunch we cross the Tizi n’Tichka pass and drop you at your hotel in Marrakech around 6:00 pm.

Included

• Private transport with driver-guide, pick-up and drop-off
• 2 hotel nights and 1 night in a luxury camp, tent with private bathroom
• 3 breakfasts, 3 dinners and a Berber pizza lunch in Merzouga
• Local guide at Aït Ben Haddou
• Camel ride, sandboarding, sunset, sunrise, Berber music and a desert scarf

Not included

• Other lunches and drinks
• Personal extras

You can also find this trip on Viator, Tripadvisor and other booking sites.