Marrakech to Merzouga: 3-Day Desert Tour & Camel Trek

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Free cancellation

1/15

Duration3d

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · FR +1

PickupAt your hotel

Three days crossing the Sahara: Marrakech to the Merzouga dunes with a camel and a tent

You start from your Marrakech hotel at 7 AM and spend three days crossing the Sahara with a driver, a guide, and one camel each. You visit the kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou on day one, trek through the Todra Gorge and sleep in a Berber camp on day two, and watch the sunrise over the dunes before heading home on day three. Meals and both nights' accommodation are included; the return drop-off happens in the late afternoon.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Marrakech to Tinghir via Ait Ben Haddou

Pick-up from accommodation at 7:00 AM
Drive through Tizi-n-Tichka Atlas pass
View High Atlas Berber villages
Visit Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou
Lunch at Ait Ben Haddou
Stop at supermarket in Ouarzazate
Continue to Tinghir via Rose Valley
Overnight at hotel in Tinghir

Day 2 — Tinghir to Merzouga Desert Camp

Breakfast at hotel
Depart for Erg Chebbi Sahara Desert
Pass Berber villages and Todra Gorges
Visit oases of Tinjdad, Jorf, and Erfoud
Arrive at hotel in Merzouga
Pack small bag for desert night
Camel trek across Erg Chebbi dunes
Sandboarding and watch sunset on dunes
Overnight in traditional Berber nomad tents

Day 3 — Merzouga to Marrakech via High Atlas

Early wake-up for sunrise over dunes
Camel ride back to Merzouga
Breakfast and shower at camp
Return journey to Marrakech via Ouarzazate
Drop-off at hotel or riad in Marrakech

The Experience

The van is already rolling at 7 AM when you climb in from your hotel in Marrakech. The driver heads south through the Tizi-n-Tichka pass in the High Atlas, and the city disappears behind you fast. You're watching Berber villages slide past the window—stone houses stacked on hillsides, women in indigo wrapping laundry on flat roofs—and the air is already changing. By mid-morning you're at Ait Ben Haddou, the UNESCO kasbah that's been standing since the 17th century, its earthen walls the color of rust and sand. You walk through the narrow streets, past families who've lived there for generations, and then eat lunch in the courtyard before the tour buses arrive. After that, the road opens up again and you're heading east toward Tinghir, where you'll sleep in a hotel tonight and wake up ready for the desert itself.

Day two is the one you came for. After breakfast you drive through the Todra Gorge—cliffs so tall and close they block the sun—and then the landscape flattens into oasis villages, each one smaller than the last. By afternoon you're in Merzouga, at the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes. You drop your main luggage at the hotel, pack a small bag with what you need for the night, and then you're on a camel, one camel to yourself, heading into the sand as the sun starts to drop. The dunes are massive and quiet. When you reach the camp—traditional Berber tents with mattresses and blankets on the ground—you climb the highest dune with the guide to watch the sun go down, and then there's sandboarding on the way back down if you want it. Dinner happens around a fire, and later there's drum music and the sky full of stars in a way you don't see in cities.

The third morning starts early. You're up before dawn to ride the camels back and watch the sun come up over the dunes from the other direction—it's different, softer somehow. After breakfast and a shower at the camp, you're back in the van for the long drive home, retracing the route through Ouarzazate and over the Atlas pass. You'll roll into Marrakech around 7:30 PM, tired and covered in dust, and the driver drops you at your hotel or the nearest point to your riad. It's a lot of sitting in a vehicle, but the two nights—one in a proper bed, one under canvas in the Sahara—and the camel trek are the things that stick with you.

What’s included

Pickup from your Marrakech accommodation at 7 AM.
air-conditioned vehicle transport for three days.
hotel accommodation with dinner and breakfast in Tinghir.
entry to the UNESCO kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou.
passage through the Todra Gorge and Berber oasis villages.
one camel each for sunset and sunrise treks in the Erg Chebbi dunes.
overnight stay in a traditional Berber tent at the desert camp with meals and drum music.
breakfast and shower at the camp on day three.
drop-off at your hotel or nearest point in Marrakech around 7:30 PM.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Akdid tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want the main Sahara experience—the kasbah, the gorge, the dunes, and a night under canvas—without arranging transport, guides, or camp logistics yourself. The fixed itinerary and included meals mean you show up at your hotel at 7 AM and don't have to plan anything else.