Merzouga Desert Tour: 3-Day Camel Trek & Desert Camp
Ride camels into the Erg-Chebbi dunes and sleep under stars at a desert camp.
A 3-day group tour from Marrakech to Merzouga desert in southern Morocco, crossing the High Atlas Mountains, visiting the Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, and ending with camel trekking into the Erg-Chebbi dunes and a night at an equipped desert camp. The tour includes hotel pickup in Marrakech, all transport in an air-conditioned vehicle, camel rides, meals, and accommodation in a typical Moroccan riad on day one and the desert camp on day two. A live guide speaks English, Spanish or French throughout the route.
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Step-by-step itinerary
Day 1: Marrakech to Dades Valley via Atlas Mountains
- Depart Marrakech at 07:00
- Cross High Atlas Mountains
- Visit Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou
- Visit Ouarzazate movie sites
- Lunch break
- Travel through Valley of Roses
- Arrive Boumalne Dades Valley
- Dinner and overnight in hotel
Day 2: Dades Valley to Merzouga Desert
- Breakfast at hotel
- Visit Todra Gorges
- Free time to explore gorges
- Lunch at local restaurant
- Drive to Merzouga
- Switch to camels for dune ride
- Watch sunset over dunes
- Arrive desert camp
- Dinner and campfire drums party
Day 3: Merzouga to Marrakech via Draa Valley
- Early sunrise view over dunes
- Breakfast at camp
- Camel ride back to Merzouga village
- Drive through Tazarine and Draa Valley
- Lunch break in Agdez
- Cross Tizi N’Tichka pass
- Return to Marrakech
The experience
The tour departs Marrakech around 7 a.m. in a modern air-conditioned vehicle, heading south across the High Atlas Mountains through the Tizi Ntichka pass at 2,260 meters. You'll stop at the Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified village known as a filming location for Game of Thrones, Gladiator and other major films. After lunch, the route continues through the Valley of Roses into the Dades Valley, where you spend the first night in a typical Moroccan hotel with a shared lounge, terrace and restaurant.
Day two takes you from the Dades Valley toward Merzouga, but first you visit the Todra Gorges, a narrow canyon formed by palm trees and high rock walls where you have free time to walk and explore. Lunch is at a local restaurant along the way. Once you reach the village of Merzouga, you switch from the vehicle to camels for roughly an hour of riding into the dunes, stopping to watch the sunset before arriving at the desert camp. The camp is equipped with private rooms and shared bathrooms. After dinner, you join a Berber music session around the campfire under the night sky.
The final morning starts early to catch the sunrise over the Erg-Chebbi dunes from the camp. After breakfast, you ride camels back to Merzouga village, then drive north through the Draa Valley and the village of Agdez (with free time for lunch) before crossing the Tizi N'Tichka pass again and passing through Berber villages on the return to Marrakech.
What’s included
- Hotel pickup in Marrakech.
- all transport in an air-conditioned vehicle.
- entry to the Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou.
- one night in a typical Moroccan hotel in the Dades Valley with breakfast and dinner.
- camel trekking (one camel per person).
- one night in the Akabar desert camp with breakfast and dinner.
- Berber music and campfire gathering.
- sandboarding in the dunes.
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Before you book
Lasts 3d, runs every day at 07:00 and 07:30, from US$ 5.70 per person, with a live guide in English, Spanish and French and with free cancellation up to 24 h before.
Prices and times updated 2 days ago
Operated by 3 days group tour from marrakech to merzouga
Is this one for you?Choose this if you want a shared-group tour where a local nomad family leads the route and handles all logistics, letting you move through the desert without managing town-to-town connections yourself.
Traveler reviews
Top questions
What languages is the tour guided in?
Live guide in English, Spanish and French.
What's the Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou and why is it on this route?
Ait Ben Haddou is a fortified clay village in the Atlas foothills that has served as a filming location for major productions including Game of Thrones and Gladiator. The tour visits it on day one as a major stop between Marrakech and the Dades Valley.
How long is the camel ride into the Merzouga desert?
The camel trek from Merzouga village into the Erg-Chebbi dunes takes roughly one hour, ending at the desert camp where you spend the night.
What kind of accommodation is provided in the desert camp?
The Akabar standard camp in Merzouga provides private rooms with shared bathrooms and showers, plus Moroccan meals included with your stay.
Is hotel pickup in Marrakech included?
Yes, the tour includes pickup from your hotel in Marrakech at the start of day one, around 7 a.m.
Are meals included in the tour price?
Breakfast and dinner are included at both accommodations. Lunches are at local restaurants along the route but are not included in the tour price.
Merzouga Desert Tour: 3-Day Camel Trek & Desert Camp
3d · EN · ES · FR · at your hotel
from US$ 5.70 per person