Unique 7-Day From Marrakech Desert Tour
A full week in Morocco with nothing to organise: we meet you at Marrakech airport, take you over the Atlas to the kasbahs, gorges and the Sahara, bring you back through the Draa Valley, show you Marrakech with a guide, and drop you at your flight.
Morocco in one week, without the logistics
This is our answer to the question we get most often: "We have a week. Can we see the desert and Marrakech?" Yes, and without a single transfer, hotel or guide to book yourself. From the moment your flight lands to the moment you check in for the one home, everything is arranged.
The shape of the week is a loop. Out over the Tizi n'Tichka pass to Aït Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate, along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs to the Dades Valley, through the Todra Gorge to Merzouga for a sunset camel trek and a night in the dunes. A full day exploring the villages, nomad camps and oases around Erg Chebbi. Then south-west through the Draa Valley, the longest river in Morocco, to Ouarzazate, and back over the Atlas to Marrakech for an afternoon with a local guide in the medina.
The tour is private, so the itinerary flexes around you. Long lunch here, an extra hour in the gorge there, the film studios in Ouarzazate if you want them. Your English-speaking driver-guide is with you all week.
Your week, day by day
What the week gives you
Mountains, kasbahs, gorges, the Sahara, the longest oasis in the country and the red city itself, in the right order and at a human pace.
Two crossings of the High Atlas
The Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres on the way out and again on the way home, with Berber villages and terraced valleys on both sides.
Aït Ben Haddou & Ouarzazate
The UNESCO-listed ksar on the old caravan route, then the Taourirt Kasbah and the film studios where Hollywood builds its ancient cities.
Dades & Todra
Skoura's palm groves, the Rose Valley and the Dades hairpins, then a walk on the floor of the Todra Gorge between walls 300 metres high.
Camel trek and a night in the dunes
Ride into Erg Chebbi for sunset, sleep in a private tent at the camp, drums by the fire, and climb the ridge before dawn for the sunrise.
Nomads, Gnaoua and oases
A full 4x4 day around the erg: mint tea in a nomad family's tent, Gnaoua musicians in Khamlia, the old mines of Mifis and the seasonal lake.
The Draa Valley and Marrakech
A hundred kilometres of date palms and ksour along the Draa, then the red city itself with a licensed guide: Bahia Palace, Ben Youssef, the souks.
The itinerary
Distances and driving times are pure road time; stops, photographs and lunches come on top. No day is a marathon.
We meet you at the airport
Whatever time your flight lands, your driver is waiting at Marrakech Menara with your name on a board. It's a short drive to your riad in the medina, where you can settle in and, if there's daylight left, wander to Jemaa el-Fna for a first look at the square as the food stalls light up. Breakfast is included at the riad; dinner tonight is yours to choose.
Over the Tizi n'Tichka to the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs
Pick-up at 8:30 after breakfast. The road climbs into the High Atlas almost immediately, with viewpoints over terraced Berber villages on the way up to the Tizi n'Tichka pass. On the southern side you reach Aït Ben Haddou, the fortified village on the old caravan route that has doubled for ancient cities in dozens of films. A local guide walks you through the lanes to the granary at the top for the view over the river.
Lunch is in Ouarzazate, with the Taourirt Kasbah and an optional visit to the Atlas Film Studios. The afternoon road east runs past the palm groves of Skoura and Kasbah Amridil, through the Rose Valley at Kelaat M'Gouna, and up into the Dades Valley. Dinner and the night are in a kasbah hotel above the river.
Todra Gorge, then camels into the Sahara
A short morning drive brings you to Tinghir and the Todra Gorge, where the road narrows to a canyon and you can walk beside the stream between the cliffs. Beyond, the valley opens onto the stony plateau, with lunch in Tinejdad or Touroug, and the road runs down to Erfoud at the edge of the Tafilalet oasis.
Merzouga in the late afternoon. Take an overnight bag (the rest of your luggage travels to the camp by 4x4) and mount your camel for the ride into Erg Chebbi, with a stop on a high dune for the sunset. At the camp: mint tea, a private tent, dinner, and drums around the fire under a sky with no light for fifty kilometres.
Sunrise, then the villages and nomads of the erg
Climb the ridge behind the camp before dawn to watch the light spread across the dunes, then breakfast and a shower before riding (or driving) back to the village. Your driver takes over in the 4x4 for a loop around the edge of the erg: the irrigation channels and gardens of the Hassi Labied oasis, the seasonal lake of Dayet Srji when it holds water, and Khamlia, where Gnaoua musicians play the rhythms their ancestors carried across the Sahara.
Further out are the old lead mines at Mifis and, somewhere on the plateau, a nomad family who will pour you tea in their tent. Lunch is a Berber pizza baked in the sand. The afternoon is free for sandboarding or a quad; the night is in a hotel facing the dunes, with a proper bed and a pool.
The Draa Valley, the longest river in Morocco
Leave the dunes after breakfast and drive to Rissani, the old caravan capital, where the souk fills with donkeys, dates and spice sellers on market days. The road west crosses empty pre-Saharan country dotted with acacias, past Alnif and Tazzarine, to N'kob and its cluster of kasbahs under the Jbel Saghro.
In the afternoon you drop into the Draa Valley and follow the river through kilometres of date palms and mud-brick villages, with stops for the views over the palm groves and the ksar of Tamnougalt. Over the Tizi n'Tinififft pass and into Ouarzazate by early evening, for dinner and the night at your hotel.
Back over the Atlas, then Marrakech with a guide
A morning drive back over the Tizi n'Tichka, this time with the light behind you, and into Marrakech around midday. After lunch a licensed local guide meets you for an afternoon in the city: the Koutoubia minaret, the Saadian Tombs, the Bahia Palace, the carved cedar and zellige of the Ben Youssef Medersa, and the souks, ending on Jemaa el-Fna as the storytellers and food stalls take over the square.
The guide walks you back to your riad. Dinner tonight is on your own; we're happy to recommend rooftops and book a table.
Free time, then the airport
Depending on your flight, spend the morning in the Majorelle Garden, the souks or the hammam, or simply have a long breakfast on the roof. Your driver collects you from the riad in good time and drops you at Marrakech Menara for your flight. That's the week.
Included and not included
Included
- Airport transfers on arrival and departure
- Private air-conditioned 4x4 or minivan for the whole week, fuel and tolls included
- English-speaking driver-guide from day 2 to day 6
- 2 nights in a riad in Marrakech, breakfast included
- 3 nights in hotels and kasbahs (Dades, Merzouga, Ouarzazate), dinner and breakfast
- 1 night in a private tent at the desert camp, dinner and breakfast
- Sunset camel trek into Erg Chebbi and the sunrise walk
- 4x4 excursion around Merzouga on day 4, with Berber pizza lunch
- Local guide at Aït Ben Haddou and a licensed guide for the Marrakech tour
- Sandboarding at the camp, mint tea on arrival, bottled water in the vehicle
Not included
- Flights to and from Marrakech
- Lunches (except day 4) and drinks, roughly 80 to 150 MAD per meal
- Dinners in Marrakech on days 1 and 6
- Entrance fees to monuments, kasbahs, gardens and the film studios
- Quad or buggy rides in the dunes
- Tips for the driver, guides and camp staff
- Travel insurance and personal expenses
Before you go
Best time to travel
October to April for the desert, with warm days and cold, clear nights. Marrakech is pleasant all year except the July and August heat, when we start early and keep afternoons short.
What to pack
Layers (desert nights near freezing in winter), a scarf or hat, sun cream, long comfortable trousers for the camel, shoes you can walk in, flip-flops for the camp, a power bank and a small overnight bag.
The camel ride
About an hour and a half into the camp. Not advised during pregnancy or with back problems; a 4x4 transfer is always available, and you'll still watch the sunset from the dunes.
Frequently asked
Yes. This tour is only offered privately. The vehicle, driver and itinerary are yours alone, which is what lets us adjust the pace, the stops and the hotels to suit you.
About 560 kilometres by the direct road. On this tour the distance is split over two days each way, with the kasbahs, gorges and the Draa Valley in between, so no single day feels long.
Yes. Your driver meets your arriving flight and drops you at your departing one. If you'd rather start from a hotel in Marrakech, or arrive a day early, we simply adjust the first and last days.
Always. At the standard camp each tent is private and bathrooms are shared. At the luxury camp each tent has its own bathroom with a hot shower, real beds and electricity. Both are lit by solar power and provide towels and toilet paper, though a small towel of your own never hurts.
Your main bags are driven to the camp by 4x4 and are in your tent when you arrive by camel. You only need a small bag for the ride itself.
Very much so. The driving is spread across the week with plenty of stops, the camel ride can be replaced by a 4x4 transfer, and hotel categories can be adjusted. Tell us who is travelling and we'll plan accordingly.
Price depends on group size, season and accommodation category. Send your dates and number of travellers on WhatsApp or through the form below and you'll have a quote within a few hours. A small deposit confirms the booking; the balance is paid on arrival. Deposits are refundable up to a week before departure.
Send us your flights and we'll plan the week
Fill in the form or message us directly. You'll get a personalised itinerary and a quote, usually the same day.
- No payment to enquireThe form only asks for your dates and group size. Nothing is charged until you confirm.
- Free to adjustAdd a night in Fes, upgrade the camp, swap a hotel. We build the week around you.
- Local teamBased in Morocco and reachable on WhatsApp every day, including during your tour.
Request your booking
Fill in the form and we'll reply with an itinerary and quote.