9 Days Morocco Desert Tour From Casablanca To Marrakech

Arriving at Casablanca, a driver awaits us for our land transfer to Marrakech, the door of the desert, 242km away (2 hours 45 minutes approximately). We will stay in different types of establishments, all 4 stars.

Walking Time: 1h to 2h
Driving time: 2h to 3h (200 km)
Meals included: breakfast, Dinner
Accommodation : Hotel :
Option - Confort :
Option - Luxury :
Steps: Marrakech

We spend the first 2 nights in Marrakech, a millennial city at the foot of the Atlas Mountains. We stay in a riad inside the Medina (old city), the old constructions, which represents with its alleys, its houses, its souks, its caravanserais, its traditional craft and commercial activities, a living historic city.

Walking Time: 1h to 2h
Driving time: 1h to 2h (km)
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation : Hotel :
Option - Confort :
Option - Luxury :
Steps: Marrakech, Monuments and gardens

Finally the start of our 6 day adventure in the desert. We Use for this tour On the way to the Dades gorges. To get there, we have to cross the High Atlas Mountains, via the Tizin-n-Tichka pass, at an altitude of 2260 meters. Breathtaking views of the almost desert landscapes.

Walking Time: 1h to 2h
Driving time: 5h to 6h (350 km)
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation : Hotel :
Option - Confort :
Option - Luxury :
Steps: Marrakech, Tichka pass, Ouarzazate, Skoura, Dades gorges

long day which will end in Merzouga. On the way, a little trekking in the Todra gorges visiting old villages, etc. An unforeseen event: our guide offers us a detour of a few hours, via a road almost never taken by tourists, which takes us to his home village. We cross mountainous regions, dotted with tiny villages, and where Berber nomads also live, in cavities on the mountainside. We are invited to share dinner with his uncle; the women of the house have prepared a traditional couscous for us, which we taste with the men of the family. What a memorable day!

In Merzouga, at the door of the sand dunes (erg Chebbi means Chebbi sand desert), we stay in a Riad with a swimming pool, view of the dunes and the sunset! The dunes of Merzouga are among the most beautiful sand dunes in the Sahara. The erg extends over 30 km long and 5 km wide. The dunes can reach 150 meters high.

Walking Time: 1h to 2h
Driving time: 2h to 3h (150 km)
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation : Hotel :Luxury Camp
Option - Confort :
Option - Luxury :
Steps: Dades, Todra, Merzouga

This morning, we will drive in a 4 x 4, for a few hours, with our local Berber guide, 80 km through a rocky desert plain. At the bottom, cliffs rise: it is the Algerian border. On this plain, some nomadic Berber families are settled; we visit one. The men are absent, gone for a few weeks with the herd of dromedaries. The women (there are 3 of them) offer us tea. The children run to meet our guide: he offers them yogurts and soft bars. We discover this rudimentary way of life. Children will never go to school; our guide reassures us ... they will learn from the school of life: the oldest are already gibbering in a few languages, learned from tourists like us.

We visit an old post of the French Legion, abandoned by them for a long time, but used as a base camp by Moroccan soldiers guarding the Algerian border, a Berber cemetery in the middle of the desert, a mine; we discover marine fossils, and we even water a herd of thirsty dromedaries, to an isolated well, with a makeshift container, found by our guide!

At the end of the afternoon, after a hearty and typical lunch, we set off on a camel, through the dunes, a hike of just over an hour, towards the deluxe bivouac camp, where we will spend the night. These bivouacs are comfortable, with a large bed, lounge area, bathroom (shower, toilet). The food served in the main bivouac is as everywhere to date: tasty, local and abundant. The most pleasant thing is always the hospitality, the pride and the good humor of the Berbers who work there. We end the evening with them, around a fire; they take out their musical instruments and sing their traditional songs.

Walking Time: 1h to 2h
Driving time: 2h to 3h (150 km)
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation : Hotel : Luxury Camp
Option - Confort :
Option - Luxury :
Steps: Merzouga, Rissani

On the 7th day, stand before 6am so as not to miss the sunrise; we climb on the top of a dune, just behind our bivouac, to finally admire this magnificent scene.

We dreaded seeing a desert overloaded with tourists, which lost its charm with the passage. However, we feel alone in the world. The place is still very well preserved and Berber guides protect this solid heritage of nature. What we remember most about these dunes is the silence and the colors of the sand, both at sunset and at sunrise!

After our breakfast in the tent, we take the road through the Berber villages and the road of the nomads. Another incredible landscape, palm groves, oases, medinas… We are settling down this evening at a Riad in Zagora, located in the heart of the Drâa oasis, in the palm grove surrounded by old date palms and pomegranate trees.

Walking Time: 1h to 2h
Driving time: 3h to 4h (300 km)
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation : Hotel :
Option - Confort :
Option - Luxury :
Steps: Merzouga, Alnif, Agdez, Dra Valley, Zagora

Today, on the way to Ouarzazate, through the Drâa valley, for the visit of the famous and imposing Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou (classified World Heritage by UNESCO), a striking example of traditional pre-Saharan habitats (earth buildings surrounded by walls), erected on the side of a hill.

To get to Aitbenhaddou Village where we will be staying this evening, our vehicle must cross the bed of a wadi (river) where the water level is low at this time of the year, as long as it doesn’t there is no rain or snow higher in the mountains! The adventure is worth it! Small kasbah with swimming pool and magnificent views over the valley and the site of Ait Ben Haddou.

Walking Time: 1h to 2h
Driving time: 1h to 2h (90 km)
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation : Hotel :
Option - Confort :
Option - Luxury :
Steps: Zagora, Agdez, Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou

last day of our itinerary, from Ouarzazate to Agadir. We cross the High Atlas mountains, this time via a pass at 1800 meters above sea level, passing by Taliouine (best saffron plantations), by orange, lemon, argan and date palm plantations. , etc… and via Taroudant, the little Marrakech, with its authentic medina and full of fun scenes of life.

We have a possibility to end this tour in Casablanca or Marrakech, its depend of your flight back.
Our adventure therefore ends with our arrival in Agadir , Marrakech or Casablanca , at the end of the afternoon,

Walking Time: 1h to 2h
Driving time: 1h to 2h (90 km)
Meals included: breakfast
Accommodation : Hotel :
Option - Confort :
Option - Luxury :