Morocco desert tours, with your own car and driver

Which desert? Merzouga, Erg Chegaga, Zagora or Agafay

"The desert" can mean four different places in Morocco, and they are not the same trip.

Erg Chebbi, by the village of Merzouga, is where most Sahara trips go. Its dunes rise up to 150 m and run for about 28 km along the Algerian border, 5 to 7 km wide. Merzouga is about 460 km from Fès and 550 km from Marrakech by road.

Erg Chegaga is the largest of Morocco's dune seas. It lies about 56 km beyond the end of the road at M'Hamid, reached by off-road tracks, and it is much quieter than Erg Chebbi. Our 14 days spend a night there after the dunes of Merzouga.

Zagora has palm groves along the Draa and a few small dunes. It is closer to Marrakech than Merzouga, but it is not the big Sahara landscape.

Agafay, about 30 km from Marrakech, is a stone desert of bare hills and plains, without sand dunes. It makes a fine evening out of Marrakech, but it is not the Sahara.

Our desert tours

From Marrakech

• 3 days: Marrakech to the Merzouga dunes and back. Over the High Atlas by Aït Ben Haddou to the Dadès Valley, then the Todra Gorge and a night in the dunes; back to Marrakech by the southern road, Alnif, Agdz and Telouet.
• 3 days: Marrakech to Fès through the desert. The same way in, but the third day goes north across the Middle Atlas to Fès.
• 5 days, 6 days, 7 days and 10 days: the desert first, then Fès, Chefchaouen and the imperial cities.

From Fès

• 10 days from Fès, with two nights in the Sahara.
• Fès to Marrakech through the desert in 3 days is the Marrakech to Fès tour the other way round. Ask us for it.

From Casablanca

• 6 days: the shortest tour from Casablanca with a night in the dunes.
• 8, 9, 10, 11 and 14 days. The 9, 10 and 14 days spend two nights in the desert.

From Tangier

• 8 days and 9 days, by Chefchaouen and Fès to the Sahara.

How far is the Sahara?

This is why a day trip from Marrakech to the real dunes does not exist. Day trips sold as "the desert" from Marrakech go to Agafay or, on a very long day, to Zagora.

Three days from Marrakech, day by day

See the 3 days from Marrakech.

Three days from Marrakech to Fès, day by day

See the 3 days from Marrakech to Fès.

Erg Chebbi or Erg Chegaga?

Erg Chebbi is the one to choose for a first trip. The dunes are high, the road reaches the village of Merzouga, and you walk or ride into the sand from the edge of the paved road. It is busier, with many camps spread through the dunes, but the dunes are big enough that your camp still feels apart.

Erg Chegaga is the bigger and wilder of the two. There is no road into it: from M'Hamid, a 4x4 takes you about 56 km across the hamada to the dunes, and there are far fewer camps. It suits travellers who have already seen Merzouga, or who want the most remote night possible. It adds days to the trip, which is why only our 14 days go there, after Merzouga.

Two nights in the desert: what the extra day gives you

On the 9, 10 and 14 days, you spend two nights in the Sahara. With a full day around Merzouga you can walk the dunes in the morning light, try sandboarding, rest at the camp in the heat of the day and drive to the old market town of Rissani, about 40 km away. You also see the sunset and the sunrise twice, which is not a small thing.

Is 3 days from Marrakech enough?

Yes, if the desert is what you came for and time is short. Three days give you the High Atlas, Aït Ben Haddou, the gorges and one night in the dunes. The cost is time on the road: about six hours on the first day, and a full day back on the third. With four or five days, the tours that continue to Fès are easier, because you do not drive back the same way.

A night in the dunes

You reach Merzouga in the late afternoon. From the edge of the dunes you ride a camel or walk to the camp, a group of tents among the sand, in time to watch the sun go down from the top of a dune. Dinner is served at the camp, often followed by music around the fire. The sky is very dark out there, and the stars are the second show. In the morning you climb a dune for the sunrise, have breakfast and go back to the car.

Camps range from simple tents with shared bathrooms to large tents with beds and a private bathroom. Tell us what you prefer when you ask for a quote. Your big suitcases stay in the car with your driver; take a small bag for the night.

How to choose your desert tour

1. Start where you land. From Marrakech, 3 days is the shortest. From Casablanca, the tours go by Fès and take 6 days or more. From Tangier, 8 or 9 days.
2. Decide how many nights in the dunes. One night gives you the sunset and the sunrise. Two nights, on the 9, 10 and 14 days, add a full day in the desert.
3. Avoid driving the same road twice. A tour that enters by Marrakech and leaves by Fès, or the reverse, shows you twice as much for the same driving.
4. Pick the comfort of the camp. Shared bathrooms or a private one, standard or luxury tent.
5. Check the season. Spring and autumn are the best; see below.

Questions to ask before you book a desert tour

Whoever you book with, these answers tell you what you are really buying:

1. Where is the camp? In the dunes, reached on foot or by camel, or at the edge of the sand by the road?
2. A private tent or a shared one? And a private bathroom, or a shared one?
3. Is the camel ride included, and for how long?
4. Are dinner and breakfast included at the camp?
5. How many hours on the road each day, and do you come back the same way?
6. Private car or shared minibus? And how many people in the group?
7. What happens if the weather turns, a sandstorm in spring or snow on the pass in winter?

On our tours the car is always private, and the quote answers the other questions before you book.

Respecting the desert

The dunes are home to the people who run the camps and to the villages around Merzouga. Take your rubbish back to the camp or the car, keep the music low at night so everyone can enjoy the silence, and ask before you photograph people. Stay on the tracks with your camel guide rather than wandering off alone in the dark: the dunes all look alike at night.

When to go to the Sahara

On the way from Marrakech, the Tizi n'Tichka pass, above 2,200 m, often sees snow from November to March, and your driver plans the crossing around the weather.

At the camp: practical questions

Toilets and showers. It depends on the camp. Simple camps have shared bathrooms in a separate tent; the more comfortable ones have a private bathroom in each tent. Tell us which you want.

Electricity and phone signal. Camps differ here too. Many have lights and a way to charge a phone, but do not count on Wi-Fi. A small power bank is a good idea.

Food. Dinner and breakfast are served at the camp. Tell us in advance about any diet or allergy.

Your luggage. The big suitcases stay in the car with your driver. Take a small bag with warm clothes, a toothbrush and your charger.

Water. Bring bottled water for the evening and the night; the car has water on board for the road.

Photographing the dunes

The best light is in the hour before sunset and the hour after sunrise, when the dunes turn orange and the shadows draw their shape. Climb a dune a little away from the camp to have the ridge to yourself. Keep your camera in a bag between shots, because fine sand gets everywhere, and change lenses inside the tent rather than in the wind. At night, without the moon, the stars are bright enough to photograph with a phone on a steady surface.

What to pack for the desert

• A warm layer for the night, even in spring and autumn, and a proper jacket in winter.
• A scarf or a light cotton turban against the sun and the sand.
• Sunglasses, sun cream and a hat.
• Closed shoes, or sandals you can empty of sand.
• A small bag for the night at the camp.
• A torch, or your phone's light.
• Cash for drinks and tips at the camp.

On the way: the gorges and the kasbahs

The road to the desert is half the trip. From Marrakech it climbs over the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka, above 2,200 m, to Aït Ben Haddou, a fortified village of earth houses on the UNESCO list since 1987. Then come Ouarzazate, the rose valley of Kelaat M'Gouna and the Dadès Valley with its winding road. Near Tinghir, the Todra Gorge closes in to a passage about 10 m wide between rock walls up to 160 m high. From Fès, the road crosses the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, where endangered Barbary macaques live, and runs down the palm groves of the Ziz Valley.

The desert with children

The dunes are a playground: there is sand to slide down, a camel ride to the camp, and a night under the stars. Two tips: choose a tour with a night in the Dadès Valley on the way, to break the drive, and bring warm pyjamas, because desert nights are cold for most of the year. Child seats are on request.

Why go private to the Sahara

Group desert tours from Marrakech fill minibuses and run on a fixed timetable. In your own car you leave when you are ready, stop at the viewpoints you like and stay longer where you want. You also choose your camp, and on the longer tours you avoid driving back the same way.

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