Merzouga Desert 3-Day Tour: Camel Trek & Berber Camp

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.90 (31 reviews) 97% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellation

1/22

Duration3d

GroupUp to 1000

LanguagesEN · FR +1

PickupAt your hotel

High Atlas passes, a UNESCO kasbah, camel dunes at sunset, and a night under the Sahara sky

A 3-day desert tour from Marrakech that takes you across the Atlas Mountains, through the Kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou, and into Merzouga's Sahara, where you ride a camel into the dunes at sunset and sleep in a standard Berber camp. Hotel pickup and drop-off in Marrakech, air-conditioned transport, one night in Tinghir, camel trek, and camp accommodation are included; lunch and drinks are on you, and a guide fee applies if you want a tour of the kasbah itself.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Marrakech to Tinghir via Ait Ben Haddou

Meet at accommodation at 8:00 am
Drive over High Atlas Mountains and Tichka Pass
Optional visit to rural Argan Oil Co-operative
Visit UNESCO Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou
Lunch near Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou
Continue to Tinghir through Rose and Dades Valley
Overnight in standard hotel in Tinghir

Day 2 — Tinghir to Merzouga Desert

Breakfast at hotel
Drive through Todra Gorge
Lunch in Berber village en route
Arrive in Merzouga early afternoon
Meet camels and guides late afternoon
One-hour camel trek to desert camp for sunset
Walk to highest sand dunes for sandboarding
Enjoy traditional Saharan music and campfire
Overnight in desert camp

Day 3 — Merzouga to Marrakech via Atlas Mountains

Optional early sunrise climb of dunes
Breakfast and shower at camp
Camel ride back to edge of dunes
Drive through Anti Atlas and Draa Valley
Arrive in Marrakech early evening
Drop off at Jamaa el Fna square

The Experience

The tour starts at 8 am from your Marrakech accommodation and heads south over the Tichka Pass through the High Atlas Mountains. You'll pass through the Rose Valley and Dades Valley, stopping for lunch near the Kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou — a UNESCO World Heritage site of clay-built kasbahs where Berber families still live. If you want a guide to walk you through the kasbah's history and architecture, that's a separate fee of 2 euros per person. By evening you're in Tinghir, a small oasis town where you'll spend your first night in a standard hotel.

Day two is the desert day. After breakfast, you drive through the Todra Gorge — a narrow canyon carved by the river — and continue toward Merzouga. You'll arrive in the early afternoon, have time to rest, then meet your camel and guide in the late afternoon. The trek takes about an hour into Erg Chebbi, the massive sand dunes, timed so you reach the summit for sunset. After watching the light fade across the dunes, you walk to the highest point for sand boarding, then head to the camp for the night. There's live Saharan music and a campfire before you sleep in a standard tent under the stars.

The return on day three is a long drive — roughly 10 hours back to Marrakech through the Anti-Atlas Mountains and Draa Valley. You can climb the dunes at sunrise if you want to, then ride the camel back to the edge of the desert, have breakfast and a shower at the camp, and settle in for the journey home. You'll arrive in Marrakech in the early evening and be dropped at your accommodation or Jemaa el-Fnaa square.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off in Marrakech.
air-conditioned vehicle for all three days.
one night in a 3-star standard hotel in Tinghir.
one night in a standard tent at the Berber camp in Merzouga.
camel trek into the dunes (one camel per person).
breakfast and dinner at the camp.
live guide in English, Spanish or French.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Morocco First Gate

Is this one for you?Book the group tour if you're traveling solo or with one or two others and want to share the cost and the company; choose the luxury camp option if you prefer a private tent with better amenities after a long day in the desert. Either way, the fixed itinerary and included transport mean you're not arranging vehicles, negotiating with camel handlers, or figuring out where to sleep in the Sahara — the days are built and waiting.