The Ultimate 3 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga: The Ultimate Sahara Adventure & Camel Trekking
Tour Essentials at a Glance
- Duration: 3 Days / 2 Nights
- Start: Marrakech
- End: Marrakech
- Accommodations: Various Options (See Below)
- Tour Style: Private A/C 4x4 Car or Minivan
- Price: Check it below
Overview Of The Marrakech desert tour 3 days
The Sahara Desert Marrakech desert tour 3 days, starting on the world famous ‘Marrakech’ site located in the centre of Morocco, provides an opportunity for a full immersion into both cultural and exploratory experiences. ‘Marrakech’ is an energetic and busy town, while the deserts and Atlas Mountains that lie to its South are less populated, incredibly diverse, and provide access to the most breathtaking desert landscapes and historical sites found anywhere in the world.
The high mountain passage of ‘Tizi n’Tichka’ provides a wonderful view of the entire Atlas Mountains and beyond. This hike follows ancient dirt roads that have been used by nomadic tribes since before the days of Christ. The hike also crosses through several small towns that have existed for centuries, including the town of Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, which was originally built as a trading post. In total, there are over 50 unique hilltop villages that span the regions of ‘Atlas,’ ‘Sahara,’ and ‘Tamakoucht.’ Each hilltop village offers a unique blend of traditional craftsman shops, artisan bakeries, and market stalls selling everything from food to hand-woven rugs. Each stroke of the paintbrush will create a memory in your mind and create a new appreciation for the culture of Morocco.
The highlight of your 3-day Sahara tour from Marrakech will be your Camel Trek in the Erg Chebbi Dunes, where you will view the sun setting over the rippling sands and sleep under the stars of an incredible Berber Desert Camp. After the sun rises, you will be treated to a spectacular start to your third day of trekking. Following your second night under a full moon, when you leave the camp, you will experience an unforgettable sunrise as it slowly rises over the dunes to the east. The view will take your breath away. The night sky is filled with the light of the Milky Way as you look above and remember the grandeur of our planet.
Highlights of the Marrakech to Merzouga 3 days tour
- Cross the dramatic Tizi n’Tichka (2260m) through the Atlas Mountains.
- Visit the fortified village of Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site renowned for its mud brick architecture and notable as a filming location for Gladiator, Game of Thrones, and Lawrence of Arabia.
- Explore the Todra Gorges with their 300m limestone cliffs, creating a natural stone cathedral.
- Enjoy Moroccan food made from scratch during your overnight stay in the beautiful Dades Valley.
- Experience a camel trek into the Erg Chebbi Dunes at sunset, just like the old days of camel trains moving across the desert.
- Spend a comfortable night in a traditional Berber tent with all the conveniences of modern times.
- Watch the beautiful sunrise over the Sahara’s dunes, transforming the sand into shades of rose and gold.
- Optional: You may have the opportunity to visit nomadic families and learn first-hand about their lives and culture.
Why private 3 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga
What are the Advantages of Taking a Tour with Us?
Genuine Local Knowledge: Our guides are from the area, meaning they have an intimate understanding of Berber culture, traditions, customs, sacred sites, and treasures that are not typically found in tourist guidebooks. Your guide is not just showing you around Morocco, but proudly sharing the history and beauty of their home.
Exceptional Lodging: All of our Luxury (Deluxe) Desert Camps provide each guest with a private tent and bath, a comfortable bed, and full facilities. Your tent has a standard/non-shared bathroom; therefore, comfort is guaranteed even in an isolated area.
Fully Customizable Tours: Our 3 days Marrakech Merzouga desert tour is fully adaptable to your personal interests, timelines, travel style, and preferences. If you want to go quad biking through the dunes or stay longer at Ait Ben Haddou, we can make those changes so that you get the most out of your trip.
Detailed Itinerary: Day-by-Day Route of 3 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga
Day 1: Marrakech - High Atlas mountains - Ait Ben Haddou - Dades Valley:
Approximate Driving Time (Excluding Stops): 6 hours
Beginning the 3 days Sahara desert tour Morocco, you will be leaving Marrakech early in the morning with a drive south towards the High Atlas Mountains, Africa’s tallest mountain range. As you drive into the mountains via Tizi n’Tichka Pass, you’ll see stunning views of the mountainscape along every twist and turn of the road.
You will see traditional Berber villages built onto the side of the mountain, complete with terraced farming fields on the mountains during your various stops for photos. You will be able to document the majesty of the mountains and observe how life continues to exist in these isolated places where time seems to pass at a much quicker rate than in your home country.
The descent from the mountains offers a completely different view of the landscape. After descending into the valley from the mountains, you will see the landscape change dramatically from lush valleys to dry land. The two biggest stops will be to Ait Ben Haddou, one of the most photographed kasbahs in Morocco, and Ouarzazate (the Hollywood of Morocco). The kasbah has been mostly unchanged for centuries and appears as if it were built in medieval times because of its earthen towers and small alleyways. You will have a tour where your guide will explain the art of building these unique structures that help keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter without using anything other than naturally available materials to build. After your tour, you will have lunch with a view overlooking this UNESCO-designated site.
On your way to Ouarzazate, the city also known as “Africa’s Hollywood,” you may want to stop at the globally successful Atlas Film Studios that were used in Blockbuster hits such as Gladiator, or see the intriguing Kasbah Taourirt with its beautiful maze of decorated rooms. As you continue your journey through the Valley of Roses, which has a wonderful smell during Spring Harvest Time, you arrive at Kalaat M’Gouna.
At Dades Valley, you will see many dramatic gorges and famous rock formations providing an incredible view of “monkey fingers”. The Dades Valley will offer you a perfect spot to spend the night at a nice guest house. The guest house will provide you with a unique experience of authentic Moroccan tagine, with fresh local ingredients for dinner. In addition, you will experience Berber hospitality, feeling like family rather than just a tourist.
Day 2: Dades Valley - Tinghir Oasis - Todra Gorge - Merzouga Sahara desert:
Approximate Driving Time (Excluding Stops): 4 hours
Camel Trek Duration: Approximately 1 hour
Travel time to your next location will commence at the same time as breakfast and end at the equivalent time of dinner. The first thing upon leaving our wonderful breakfast location with a beautiful scenic view of the valley will be heading toward the amazing Todra Gorges, where you’ll find a narrow canyon formed by a river cutting through limestone cliffs that rise to approximately 300 meters. It’s a beautiful place that attracts rock climbers from all around the world who come to challenge themselves and conquer the cliffs. There will be time for you to walk around through the gorge, feeling small in comparison to the massive walls that surround you and taking deep breaths of the refreshing mountain air.
Once you leave the gorge, you will travel further into the desert, where you will encounter another big change in the landscape of Morocco. You will drive through Erfoud, a village known for its fossil workshops, where you can view trilobites and ammonites preserved in black marble. It is during this time that you will begin to notice that the landscape is becoming more sandy, and that there are fewer palm trees and more sparse vegetation, and that the horizon ahead of you is beginning to shimmer because of the heat of the sun.
As you near your Sahara destination of Merzouga, the excitement will build as you see the magnificent Erg Chebbi dunes appear before you. You will see the golden-colored mountains of sand that you will be climbing onto. The height of the dunes can reach 150 meters, and they extend for a distance of 28 kilometers, creating the largest sand sea in all of Morocco.
Meet your camel caravan at the edge of the dunes. As you climb aboard and leave the modern world behind, the slow motion of the camels gives you a unique meditative experience as they sway softly back and forth on the sand. When you reach your desert camp, the sun is painting shades of amber, copper, and crimson on the dunes.
You will greet each other with a cup of traditional mint tea before settling into your private tent for dinner under the stars, a feast of Moroccan salads, tagine, and fresh fruit. As night falls, you will hear the drumming and music of Berber musicians gathered around the fire. When you lay on the sand looking at the stars in the Milky Way, you will realize that, for centuries, travelers have been drawn to the Sahara.
Day 3: Merzouga desert - Draa River - Ouarzazate - Marrakech:
Approximate Driving Time (Excluding Stops): 9–10 hours
The Sahara has one last surprise for early risers: in the morning, when the sun comes up over the dunes, it will look different at each moment until it reaches its highest point. In addition to being beautiful, the early morning light enables you to see textures that you wouldn’t normally see at other times of the day (e.g., light can create an effect of depth), and create lengthy shadows that highlight every ripple and curve of sand. Photographers will be very pleased with this golden hour, but for anyone who doesn’t have a camera, the view is something that will remain in their memory.
After breakfast in your Bedouin-style camp, you will travel via camel or 4×4 back to your driver to begin the return trip to Marrakech. While you will go back on the same road as you took out, your return route will follow a different road, which goes through the Draa Valley, which is Morocco’s longest river valley and part of the route of the ancient caravans connecting the Sahara with northern trading centres.
While driving through the Draa Valley, you’ll encounter large palm groves that can include thousands of date palms, a vivid green stripe across the desert landscape. Kasbahs and fortified villages are common throughout the valley, with many families continuing to raise crops using traditions handed down from generation to generation. You can see a unique example of this style of defensive architecture in the village of Nkob, which has over 45 Kasbahs.
After a quick stop in Ouarzazate to have lunch and re-energize yourself for the last leg of the trip, you will climb back into the High Atlas Mountains. The drive back along Tizi n Tichka Pass will provide you with an entirely different view of the mountain range than you experienced during Day 1 of your journey and will reveal many new features in the landscape. As you return to Marrakech, the sounds of the city and its energy will remind you that you are back in urban life, but your experience of the desert will remain with you long after the journey is over.
You will arrive back at your Marrakech hotel around 8:00 pm to complete a trip that has taken you across many roads, thousands of kilometers, but also creates a journey that will enable you to travel even further in terms of cultural and personal development.
Inclusive and Exclusive of the tour
Tour Inclusions
- Private, comfortable transportation (4×4 vehicle/minivan, air-conditioned)
- Pick-up & Drop-off from your Marrakeck hotel
- Experienced, English-speaking driver/guide with extensive knowledge of the region
- 1 night at excellent, comfortable hotels/riads in Dades Valley or Ouarzazate area
- One night at a comfortable/luxurious desert camp in Erg Chebbi with a private bath
- Camel trekking in Sahara Desert (1 camel per person for sunset and sunrise rides)
- Daily Breakfast (2 included) & Dinners (2 included - remote locations)
Tour Exclusions
- Lunch & all drink expenses during the tour
- Any personal or additional expenses or activities
- Optional tips for the driver/guide, hotel staff, camp staff. Tipping is culturally accepted in Morocco, and is always appreciated.
Map of the tour
Accommodations
Why Choose a Luxury Camp?
Not Every Desert Camp Is Created Equal. All Of Our Tours Use Luxury Desert Camps, Which Guarantee Private Tents With En–Suite Bathrooms And Showers. We Make It A Priority To Provide An Experience Of The Highest Comfort So That You Will Never Be Compromised In Terms Of Privacy Or Hygiene While Visiting The Sahara.
Your Tent Will Include A Comfortable Bed With High–Quality Linens, A Traditionally Styled Moroccan Décor, And Sufficient Lighting. The Camp Will Have Two Dining Areas and A Lounge Area That Blend Authentic Berber Aesthetics With Modern Convenience. This Is Not Just Your Typical Camping Experience; It Is A Boutique Hotel Experience Located In One Of The Most Dramatic Settings In The World.
Dietary Requirements
We Realise That It Is Common For Travellers To Have Different Dietary Needs. This Could Include Vegetarians, Vegans, Gluten–Free Individuals Or Even Those That Have Specific Allergies. We Can Provide For All Your Specific Dietary Needs By Preparing Special Meals For You.
The Most Important Factor To Remember Is To Communicate Just Let Us Know When You Make Your Reservation About Your Special Dietary Needs, And Our Chefs At The Camp Will Prepare All Your Meals To Suit Your Needs Without Compromising On The Quality Of Flavour Or Authenticity.
| Luxury Accommodations | Eden Boutique | Caravan Serai Luxury Desert Camp |
| Mid-range Accommodation | Grande Canyon Lodge Dades | Les Roches Luxury Camp |
| Confort Accommodation | Hotel Babylon | Les Roches Luxury Camp |
THE Price OF 3 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga
Tour Price: €250 – €560 per person (Prices vary based on the group size selected and the type of camp selected).
Price Example: €460 per person minimum for a Mid-range accommodation if there are two or more participants in the tour.
For detailed and customized pricing based on your specific needs, please contact us using the form below. Our team will get back to you promptly with a tailored quote to suit your preferences.
Booking and Payment Process
Making a reservation for a 3 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga is quick and easy. Customers have the option of reserving through either our website or by contacting us via WhatsApp. To complete your reservation, a deposit is required to secure your trip, as well as accommodations and transportation, which may fill up quickly during peak travel times.
The remaining balance is normally paid when you arrive in Morocco, and this payment can be made with cash (Euro, US Dollar, or equivalent Moroccan Dirhams) or through other means of payment. This flexibility in payment type offers security and convenience to travelers.
Essential Knowledge: Cultural & Logistical Preparation & Packing
Essential Prep. & Packing
Clothes: With Morocco’s varied landscapes, the weather also varies greatly. It can be very hot (30-40 °C) during the day in the desert, but it is usually much cooler in the desert during the night, especially in winter when it could dip to around freezing. You should pack for a variety of temperatures by including:
Shirts with long sleeves. These will keep your skin protected from the sun while also being culturally appropriate.
Trousers/jeans. Wear long pants or jeans on camel rides to prevent the chafing that may result from wearing shorts.
A fleece or thicker/warmer jacket for cooler desert nights.
Sturdy, closed-toe footwear. Wear something comfortable and suitable for walking.
Camel Trekking Pack: A pack to bring on your camel trek may contain the following items: Water, high-SPF sunscreen, sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat, and a torchlight/headlamp to see your way around your tent at night. There will not be any towels at the desert camp, so bring your own.
Your Luggage: While you’re at the desert camp, your main suitcase will remain locked in your transport vehicle (which may be a minibus or 4×4). Therefore, you should prepare a smaller overnight bag with all the necessary items for your stay at the desert camp.
Financial Aspects and Traditions
Cash Only: Moroccans will require cash for all transactions in rural areas, small towns, or outposts in the Sahara where they do not have the ability to use a credit/debit card. While there are ATMs in major cities such as Marrakech and Ouarzazate, they quickly become few and far between when travelling further out into the countryside. It is wise to keep small change available when you want to give someone a tip or make a small purchase.
Respect for Moroccan Culture: As Morocco is predominantly a Muslim country, many people in rural areas still practice more traditional aspects of the religion. Visitors should dress modestly (covering their knees and shoulders) and also ask permission before taking pictures of people, in addition to respecting prayer times. Showing even these small gestures of respect will go a long way and be appreciated by the locals.
Internet Connectivity: In urban areas and hotels/riads, Wi-Fi should be easily found; however, as you get further and further away from major cities (especially in and around the Sahara), it is common to have very limited or no internet connectivity.
Making Custom Changes To Your Tour
A 3 days Sahara tour from Marrakech can be tailored to your specific interests, physical ability, and speed requirements. If you are not physically able to take a camel ride due to mobility issues, we will arrange for a comfortable 4X4 vehicle transfer to and from your desert camp without charging you any extra fees; you will still get a chance to enjoy a magical stay in a desert camp without having to do the camel trekking part.
Extra activities
We can add additional activities, such as Quad biking in the dunes, sandboarding down steep dunes, Buggy tour, or just spending more time at any particular site or place that fascinates you. When you book your itinerary, let us know what your requirements are, and we will create an itinerary tailored specifically for you.
Why Choose Our 3 Days Tour from Marrakech to Merzouga?
This 3 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga desert offers an immersive experience, taking you through the Atlas Mountains and into the heart of the desert Dunes.”
During this 3 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga, you’ll visit Berber villages and enjoy a camel trek through the dunes. you can enjoy watching the stars over the dunes, Listen to the music, drums, and dance around the fire, spending the night in your private luxury tent. So don’t miss this opportunity book your 3 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga today for an unforgettable adventure with our expert.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are camel rides in the desert painful or hard?
No, camel riding is a slow–paced and is manageable for almost all fitness levels. The ride is usually about 1 hour each way. The way camels walk and sway creates a rhythmic, almost hypnotic, motion. If you have a back injury, mobility problems, or simply don‘t want to ride a camel, we can provide a transfer by 4×4 vehicle at no extra cost to you to the camp.
Are there bathrooms in the desert camps?
Yes! The luxury camps used on this tour include private tents with their own restrooms and showers with running water and hot water. You will not have to sacrifice your comfort or privacy while in the remote desert of the Sahara.
Are there showers in the desert camp in Merzouga?
Yes! The luxury camps used on this tour include private tents with their own restrooms and showers with running water and hot water. You will not have to sacrifice your comfort or privacy while in the remote desert of the Sahara.
Can vegetarians or people with dietary restrictions take part in the tour?
What is the estimated driving time each day for this tour?
What is the best time of year to go on this tour?
Is this tour appropriate for kids or older adults?
Can we hire quad bikes in Merzouga?
Is the tour suitable for all ages and fitness levels?
What type of accommodation can I expect during the tour?
Can I customize my itinerary during the 3 days tour?
Note: If our 3-day itinerary from Marrakech to Merzouga does not meet your requirements or needs, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our team will be happy to customize your Morocco tour to suit your interests and needs.