Sahara desert tours from Marrakech
Three routes cross the High Atlas from Marrakech to the Sahara. Zagora takes two days and suits a short stay. Merzouga takes three, with a nine-hour drive back, and brings you to the high dunes of Erg Chebbi. The four-day route adds the Draa Valley, the Saghro mountains and the Valley of Roses at a slower pace. All three include transport, a camel ride and a night in a desert camp. Only have an evening? Agafay's stone desert is 45 minutes away. All four are compared below.
Which desert tour should you book?
The four ways into the desert from Marrakech, side by side. The real difference between them is time: how many nights away, and how many hours on the road.
| Trip | Time away | On the road | The desert | From | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agafay desert | Half a day, back the same evening | About 45 minutes each way | Stone desert: pale hills and Atlas views, no dunes | €80 | A short stay, small children, or no appetite for a day on the road |
| Zagora, 2 days | 2 days, 1 night in a desert camp | About 7 hours each way, over the Tizi n'Tichka pass | Sand dunes, smaller than Erg Chebbi, past the Draa Valley palm groves | €60 | Exactly two free days and a real night in the desert |
| Merzouga, 3 days | 3 days, 2 nights: a hotel in the Dades Valley, then a desert camp | Long days; the drive back on day 3 is about 9 hours | Erg Chebbi: orange dunes up to 150 metres high | €80 | The dunes everyone pictures, with three days to spare |
| Merzouga, 4 days | 4 days, 3 nights: two hotels and a desert camp | The drive home is split over two days | Erg Chebbi, plus the Draa Valley, the Saghro mountains and the Valley of Roses | €140 | The whole journey at an easier pace; the one we recommend most |
Before you book a desert tour
How long is the drive from Marrakech to the desert?
Agafay is about 45 minutes from Marrakech. Zagora is about seven hours each way, crossing the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass with a stop at Ait Ben Haddou. Merzouga is further: on the three-day tour the drive back on the last day takes about nine hours, and the four-day tour splits the return over two days.
Where do we sleep, and what is the desert camp like?
Every Sahara tour includes one night in a desert camp, which you reach by camel at sunset, with dinner by the fire. The Merzouga tours add hotel nights on the way: one in the Dades Valley on the three-day route, two on the four-day route. You choose the camp level when you book: Comfort is included in the price, and Luxury and Super Luxury carry a supplement shown on each tour page.
What is included in the price?
On the Sahara tours: pickup from your riad, an air-conditioned minibus with a bilingual driver, the camel ride, the nights above, breakfast from the second day and civil liability insurance. Other meals, drinks and tips are not included. The Agafay trips include the transfer, a camel ride, a quad ride and a meal with a Berber show.
When is the best time of year for a desert tour?
The tours run all year. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable. Summer days in the desert are very hot, and winter nights in the camp are cold, so bring warm layers between December and February.
Are the tours shared or private?
The prices shown are for a shared departure. If you would rather have your own vehicle and driver and set your own pace, ask us for a private version of any of these routes.
Ask for a private tourCan I see the Sahara on a day trip from Marrakech?
Not really. The nearest sand dunes, at Zagora, are about seven hours away, so a day trip would be almost all driving. With one day, Agafay gives you the desert landscape — stone rather than sand — and you are back in Marrakech the same evening.
Ready when you are
Ready to put a route on the calendar?