4 days · 3 nightsAgadir → Merzouga → MarrakechEasyPrivate
From the Atlantic beaches to the Sahara and on to Marrakech: Taroudant, the saffron of Taliouine, Ouarzazate, a night in our camp, the gorges and Ait Ben Haddou.
A one-way route for travellers who start their holiday in Agadir and want to finish in Marrakech, seeing the Sahara on the way. The first day crosses the Souss and the Anti-Atlas, the second runs along the road of the kasbahs to the dunes.
After the camel ride and the night in our camp in Erg Chebbi, you return west through the Todra and Dades gorges and cross the High Atlas to Marrakech.
Highlights
Taroudant and Taliouine
The road of the kasbahs
Camel ride and night in our camp
Todra and Dades gorges
Ait Ben Haddou and Marrakech
Day by day
Day 1
Agadir – Taroudant – Taliouine – Ouarzazate
We pick you up at your hotel in Agadir in the morning and drive east through the fertile valley of the Souss, a sea of orange groves and argan trees. Our first stop is Taroudant, often called 'the little Marrakech', surrounded by seven kilometres of red earth walls; you can walk in its two souks, quieter and more authentic than those of the big cities. The road then climbs into the Anti-Atlas between the Jebel Siroua and the Jebel Toubkal to Taliouine, the capital of saffron: at a cooperative you learn how the precious red threads are picked by hand from the crocus flowers, and you can taste saffron tea. We cross the high plateaus, with their villages of stone, and arrive in Ouarzazate in the late afternoon. Dinner and night in a kasbah hotel.
Day 2
Ouarzazate – Skoura – Dades – Todra gorge – Merzouga, camel ride and night in our camp
An early start from Ouarzazate along the 'road of the thousand kasbahs'. We pass the palm grove of Skoura, with its earth castles among the palms, and the Valley of Roses, and stop at the entrance of the Dades gorge for a view of its red cliffs. At Tinghir we walk for half an hour into the Todra gorge, where vertical walls of orange rock 300 metres high close over a clear river. After lunch we cross the desert plateaus through the oasis of Tinejdad and the town of Erfoud, and in the late afternoon the dunes of Erg Chebbi appear on the horizon. Your cameleer is waiting at the foot of the sand: the caravan walks into the dunes as the sun goes down and reaches our camp at nightfall, where dinner, Berber drums around the fire and your private tent with bathroom are waiting.
Wake up for the sunrise over the Sahara, have breakfast in the camp and ride back to Merzouga, where a shower is available before leaving. We drive through Rissani, with a short walk in its market if it is a market day, and then west across the desert plateaus, where the road passes small oases and villages of earth. At Tinghir we enter the Todra gorge, a canyon with walls 300 metres high, where you can walk along the river and feel the cool air between the rocks. In the afternoon we continue to Boumalne and up the Dades valley, among fields of almond trees and kasbahs, to the narrowest part of the gorge. Dinner and night in a guesthouse with a terrace facing the red cliffs.
Day 4
Dades – Valley of Roses – Skoura – Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou – Marrakech
The last day follows the 'road of the thousand kasbahs'. We drive through the Valley of Roses and Kalaat M'Gouna, where you can buy rose water and creams made by local cooperatives, and the palm grove of Skoura with its earth castles. After Ouarzazate we visit Ait Ben Haddou, the ksar classified by UNESCO, and climb to its top for the view over the valley and the old caravan route. After lunch we cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with its viewpoints over the mountains and the Berber villages below, and descend to the plain of Marrakech. Arrival in the evening and drop-off at your riad or hotel.
Included
Private air-conditioned vehicle
Local driver-guide
Pick-up and drop-off at your riad, hotel or airport
Nights in riads, kasbahs and guesthouses
Dinners and breakfasts
Camel ride with cameleer
Night in our desert camp in Erg Chebbi
Not included
Lunches
Local guides in the cities (on request)
Entrance fees to monuments
Tips
Good to know
Pick-up between 7:00 and 8:00 at your riad, hotel, airport or port. Bring a small bag for the desert night: big luggage stays in the vehicle. Hotels can be upgraded on request.
No payment is needed to book: you pay on arrival in cash (dirhams or euros). Free changes if the weather is not good.
Questions
Are the tours private?
Yes. Only your group travels in the vehicle, with your own driver, and the program can be adapted.
Where do the tours start?
Wherever you are: your riad or hotel in Marrakech, Fez, Tangier, Casablanca, Agadir, Ouarzazate, Errachidia or Essaouira, or the airport or port when you land.
Which camp do we sleep in?
In our own camp in Erg Chebbi, with private tents, bathrooms with hot shower, dinner and breakfast, and Berber music by the fire.
Can I change the itinerary?
Yes, every tour is private and flexible: add nights in the desert, a quad or buggy ride, a different finishing city or better hotels. Just tell us when you write.
