The mud-brick ramparts of Taroudant, with their towers and palm trees along the avenue

Private tour · 3 days

3-day desert tour from Agadir to Marrakech via Merzouga

A private 3-day desert tour from Agadir to Marrakech via Merzouga. Along the way: Ait Ben Haddou, the Dades Valley, the Todra Gorge and the Erg Chebbi dunes, and a night in the desert. Three days are enough to travel without rushing and sleep among the dunes.

Tour highlights

  • The walls of Taroudant and the rugs of Taznakht
  • The Todra Gorge and sunset over the Erg Chebbi dunes
  • Sunrise in the desert and the return through the Draa Valley

Day-by-day itinerary

  1. Day 1 · Agadir · Taroudant · Taznakht · Ait Ben Haddou · Skoura

    A long first day heading east. We leave Agadir across the Souss plain to Taroudant, ringed by earthen walls, and climb into the Anti-Atlas via Taznakht, known for its rugs. We stop at Ait Ben Haddou and carry on past Ouarzazate and the Skoura palm grove to the Dades Valley.

    Night: Dades Valley

  2. Day 2 · Todra Gorge · Tinghir · Erfoud · Merzouga

    In the morning, the Todra Gorge: a narrow canyon with walls of around 300 metres, explored on foot beside the river. We pass the Tinghir palm grove and Erfoud, the town of fossils, on the way to Merzouga. At the end of the afternoon the Erg Chebbi dunes appear: you ride up on a camel for the sunset or, if you prefer, go by 4x4 to the camp. Night in the desert.

    Night: Desert camp

  3. Day 3 · Sunrise · Rissani · Alnif · Draa Valley · Ouarzazate · Marrakech

    Sunrise over the dunes and back by the southern route. We pass Rissani and Alnif and drop into the Draa Valley, with its palm groves and kasbahs, on to Agdz and Ouarzazate. Then we cross the High Atlas again over Tizi n’Tichka and reach Marrakech at the end of the day. It is a long day on the road, broken up with stops.

The ksar of Aït Ben Haddou on its hillside, with palm trees and the riverbed in the foreground
The hairpin road winding down through the Dades Gorges
Towering rock walls on both sides of the path through the Todra Gorge
Crest of an Erg Chebbi dune lit by the orange evening light

What’s included

Included

  • Pick-up from your accommodation in Agadir and drop-off in Marrakech
  • Private air-conditioned vehicle
  • Multilingual driver for the whole trip
  • Accommodation: 2 nights, including the night in the desert
  • Breakfasts
  • Dinner at the desert camp

Not included

  • Lunches
  • Other dinners (on request: ask when you book)
  • Monument entry fees and local guides
  • Tips

Places along the route

Aït Ben Haddou

This earthen ksar, built on a hillside above the Ounila river, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. Its mud-brick houses and towers, linked by lanes climbing to an old granary, have appeared in many films. Crossing the river and walking to the top rewards you with one of the south’s most photogenic views.

Dades Valley and Gorges

The Dades Valley opens out between the High Atlas and Jebel Saghro, lined with earthen kasbahs, small fields and strikingly shaped rock formations. Further up, the road squeezes into a gorge and climbs in tight hairpin bends to a well-known viewpoint, an ideal spot to stop and take in the scale of the landscape.

Todra Gorge

Near Tinghir, the Todra river has carved a narrow canyon between limestone walls that rise almost vertically. Walking along the floor of the gorge, beside the stream and beneath those cliffs, is genuinely awe-inspiring, and the valley leading up to it is dotted with palm groves and mud-brick villages.

Erg Chebbi Dunes

Erg Chebbi is the great sea of orange sand dunes rising beside Merzouga, on the edge of the Moroccan Sahara. At sunrise and sunset the light shifts colour across the ridges, making it the perfect place to walk barefoot on the sand, ride a camel or simply soak up the silence.

Draa Valley

The Draa is Morocco’s longest river, and its valley forms a long ribbon of date palms between Agdz and Zagora. Along the road you pass mud-brick ksour and kasbahs, gardens watered by irrigation channels and bare mountains behind, a contrast that sums up life in the south better than almost anywhere.

Tizi n’Tichka Pass

At 2,260 metres, Tizi n’Tichka is the mountain pass that carries the road across the High Atlas between Marrakech and Ouarzazate. The route winds past Berber villages, terraced fields and russet slopes, and it is well worth pausing at the top to watch the landscape change as you head south.

Is this the tour for you?

It’s a well-balanced length: enough time to see the highlights of the route without spending the whole day in the car, and to enjoy sunset and sunrise on the dunes.

As it ends in Marrakech, you don’t retrace your steps: it works well if your trip continues from there or your flight home leaves from Marrakech.

The night in the desert

You reach Merzouga in the late afternoon, in time for sunset over the dunes. The camel ride to the camp is optional: if you prefer, the transfer is done by 4x4 and you miss nothing.

At night, the desert sky with no lights around. In the morning it is worth getting up early: sunrise over Erg Chebbi is one of the best moments of the trip.

For a more comfortable night, we recommend Tassili Luxury Desert Camp, our sister camp in Erg Znaigui, with private-bathroom tents. Ask when you book and we will include it in the proposal.

Aerial view of a small camel caravan and its shadows on the dunes

Time on the road

Marrakech to Merzouga is about 560 kilometres across the High Atlas: with stops, 10 to 12 hours on the road.

It is a private tour: we stop for photos, meals or a stretch whenever you like, and you set the pace of each day.

Make it yours

As the tour is private, the itinerary can change: start on another day, add or drop a night, or finish in a different city. These are the most requested options:

How to book

Message us on WhatsApp or by email with your dates, how many you are and where you are starting from. We reply with a proposal, a fixed price and what it includes, with no obligation.

Frequently asked questions

Is the tour private?

Yes. The vehicle and driver are for your group only, with no other travellers, so stops and timings adapt to you.

Do I have to ride a camel?

No. The camel ride is optional: if you prefer, the transfer to the camp is done by 4x4.

Where do we sleep?

There are 2 nights: the first in the Dades Valley and the second at the desert camp. The proposal tells you the exact accommodation for each night.

Which meals are included?

Breakfasts and dinner at the desert camp. Lunches are not, as we stop wherever you like along the way. Other dinners are on request: if you’d like them, tell us when you book and we’ll include them in the proposal.

What language does the driver speak?

Our drivers speak several languages, including English. If you need Italian, just ask when booking.

How much does the tour cost?

It depends on how many of you are travelling, the dates and the type of accommodation. The vehicle and driver are a fixed cost, so the more of you there are, the less it costs per person. Message us on WhatsApp and we’ll send you the price and availability the same day.

When is the best time to go?

Spring and autumn are the most pleasant; summer is very hot in the middle of the day, and winter nights in the desert are cold.

More tours from Agadir

Tassili Luxury Desert Camp at dusk, with the tents lit up
The tents of Tassili Luxury Desert Camp among the dunes

Where to sleep in the desert

A night in a private tent

If you want to stay longer in the desert, Tassili Luxury Desert Camp has ten tents with private bathrooms in Erg Znaigui, away from the main camp area.

  • Ten private tents
  • A private bathroom in every tent
  • In Erg Znaigui, away from the main camp area
See the tents
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