Trip Info
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Marrakech
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Marrakech
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Private minivan / 4WD
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Breakfasts and Dinners
Overview
During this 8 DAYS TOUR FROM MARRAKECH TO THE DESERT, you will get the opportunity to see the most stunning region of the Moroccan Sahara desert while taking in the contrasts and variations of its many landscapes as you pass through ports, old villages, mountain gorges, and valleys.
Spend time at souks, which are traditional markets with a wide variety of products for sale, including handwoven crafts and regional specialties. Stay at Morocco’s historic riads or ancient dwellings.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS 8 DAYS TOUR FROM MARRAKECH TO THE DESERT:
- Traverse the High Atlas Mountains and Tizi N’tichka pass.
- Walk to Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou and explore the Berber village.
- Visit Ouarzazate, the gate of the Sahara
- Visit the film studios (Optional)
- Take a promenade along the stream in Todra Oasis to the majestic gorges.
- Ride your camel and enjoy the views of Erg Chebbi dunes with its dramatic sunset.
- Spending a night in the desert camp
- Enjoy a Berber dinner under the stars and spend the night at your Merzouga desert camp.
- Pass through Draa Oasis
8 DAYS TOUR ITINERARY
As agreed and guaranteed to you before, the Real Morocco Tours team will be waiting for you at the door of Menara Marrakech airport. You meet them and they pick you up at your hotel or riad which is usually located in the old Medina*old city.
Overnight in Marrakech.
Around 8 am as agreed before. Our team will be waiting for you in the lobby of your hotel. They meet you there and pick you up to show you around some Southeast parts of our beautiful country. Crossing the highest road in Morocco, the Tizi N Ticha Pass in the High Atlas mountains. We stopped through the way for outstanding pictures of the muddy Berber villages, landscapes, and nature.
In about 4 hours drive, we arrive at one of the famous sites in Morocco, the Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah, a fortified castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A place where popular movies have been filmed. Such as Gladiator, Game of Thrones, Lawrence of Arabia, and many more. Visit this extraordinary site, then have lunch either there at the village of Ait Ben Haddou, or at our next stop Ouarzazate which is half an hour’s drive.
In Ouarzazate, the Hollywood of all Africa. You visit and discover the Atlas studio, the world’s largest film studio. Afterward, you drive through the road named the Road of Thousands of Kasbahs. To the city of roses in Morocco *Kelaat M’gouna. Here you can see the pinky flowers everywhere alongside the road during springtime, and see how people there make different products from roses.
Eventually, we arrive at Boumalne Dades, or Dades Valley, a calm town, with a beautiful green valley. You spend your first night here in a hotel or a riad with dinner included.
After a restful night and a flavourful breakfast at your hotel. The RMT team picks you up for your second day of the tour. It usually starts around 9 am. Leaving the town of Boumalne on the way to Tinghir, the city of Toudra Gorge is located. You visit the astonishing Canyons of Toudra Gorge, a place visited all year round by worldwide rock climbing for adventuring. You may be lucky to see them climbing during your visit. A place not far from where nomads still live in caves, they come with their animals “sheep, goats, donkeys” for water, and also take water with them for their home use. After a walk near the freshwater, you hit the road to Tinjdad town or near another village for lunch. Next to Erfoud, a town famous for fossils, not to forget fresh dates from the large valley of Ziz crossing the town. After that, in an hour’s drive, you get to the beautiful Sahara desert of Merzouga, one of the most visited sites in Africa.
Your camel man awaits you next to the dunes to lift you by his camels to the desert camp. The camel ride takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes including an amazing stop for an incredible sunset at the top of a high dune in the middle of the desert. Your camel guide will take several memorable pictures for you along the ride. Arriving at the well-equipped camp, you will be welcomed with Moroccan tea and some cookies by the camp workers. In an hour, the working staff serve you a delicious dinner, then they make a fire outside the camp under a sky full of stars, where they will be playing Berber and African music, while you enjoy and dance around the fire.
Overnight at the camp.
In the morning around 10 am and after breakfast at the camp. Our driver and guide pick you up by a 4WD for one of the best experiences in the desert. Your visit to the Merzouga area starts from your hotel driving by the high dunes of the desert. Firstly, a panoramic view stops for the Sahara from a high mountain close to the dunes. Then drive to nomad families living next to the Moroccan/Algerian border to learn about their culture and the way they are living in a harsh environment, sitting under their tents while having a cup of tea.
After that, our trip resumes to the M’ifis mascara mountain mine. You explore and have an idea of how workers get mines from the heart of the mountains. From there to Khamlia village, settled by the “black-skinned” people, who are famous for their Gnawa music all around the world. Here you try Berber Pizza, a recommended meal in Morocco this area is famous for. Besides, listening and dancing to Gnawa music played by these friendly people.
Later, we keep up to the Sahara Oasis for a walk inside its almond, palm, and fig trees and different vegetable plants. From there on, we drive you back to the hotel, to get ready to ride the camels to camp on the other side of the desert. Your camel man awaits you next to the dunes to lift you by his camels to the desert camp. The camel ride takes around 1 hour and 20 minutes including an amazing stop for an incredible sunset at the top of a high dune in the middle of the desert. Your camel guide will take several memorable pictures for you along the ride to the camp. Arriving at the well-equipped camp, you will be welcomed with Moroccan tea and some cookies by the camp workers. In an hour, the working staff serve you a delicious dinner, then they make a fire outside the camp under a sky full of stars, where they will be playing Berber and African music, while you enjoy and dance around the fire.
Overnight at the camp.
Life is getting up an hour early to live an hour more, but only on this day in the desert. For witnessing one that may be the best sunrise in your whole life, we always advise you to wake up early. After a tasty breakfast at the camp. There are two optional ways to get back to the village of Merzouga to recommence our trip. Either by camels or by a 4×4 vehicle.
We depart the pretty desert to Rissani town. The closest town to the Erg Chebbi. With the legendary history between the 14th and 18th centuries. You explore the largest Souk/market in the area, mainly the sheep and cattle market.
Then, continue your way through plenty of small Berber villages Alnif, Hassia, and Taghbalt. Here we will grab any chance to enjoy the sceneries along the drive to our destination Zagora desert. To know the deferential between the two Saharas in Morocco. Spend your night Here in Zagora in a hotel or riad with dinner included.
Today’s program is as follows: After a peaceful night at your hotel in the Zagora desert, it’s time to leave it behind, and direct to our next target, which is Marrakech. Driving along the longest valley in Morocco; Daraa Valley, full of palm trees that makes it an outstanding panorama. Then pass by Ouarzazate city, Hollywood of all Africa. On the way, we will pass via Ait Ben Haddou village too before you get and explore the Telouat Kasbah or Glaoui Palace, an abandoned castle, built starting in 1860.
Lunch will be either in Telouat town or later on in the High Atlas mountains. You cross Tichka Pass, with beautiful landscapes, nature, and muddy Berber small villages over the road.
Get to Marrakech in the afternoon, the fourth largest city in Morocco, an economic center, and home to gardens, palaces, and historical mosques.
Overnight in Marrakech.
Today’s program will be for visiting Marrakech. In the morning around 9h30, your local guide will be waiting for you at the reception of your hotel. Your guide will accompany and show you all the historical sites of the red city Marrakech, including; Jemaa el-Fna Square, one of the main cultural spaces in Marrakech founded in the eleventh century and considered one of the busiest squares in all the world. And Saadian tombs date back to the Saadian dynasty(1578–1603). In addition to Bahia Palace, one of Marrakech’s most impressive buildings that was built at the end of the 19th century, and intended to be the most eye-catching palace of all times. Moreover; the 12th Koutoubia mosque was, the most important and largest worship place at that time.
Later on, you will stroll inside the narrow streets of the old Medina *old city, and visit the colorful Souks/markets. After lunch in one of the restaurants in the old Medina, you hit the road to the modern area. Where you explore the blue garden of Majorelle and YSL Musume. In addition to Menara garden. In the end, we pick you up back to the hotel/riad to relax and be fresh after a long exploration day.
Overnight in Marrakech.
Your 8 Days Tour comes to an end, after a lot of adventures during your stay in Morocco. Our team RMT makes sure to transfer you to the Menara Marrakech, or Casablanca airport 2 or 3 hours before your departure; so as not to miss your flight back home.
This tour can start/end at both Marrakech and Casablanca airports.
Included In This Tour:
- Pick up at Marrakech airport.
- Private trip.
- Private transportation in an air-conditioned touristic minivan/4WD.
- Fuel/gas/All car-related expenses.
- An English-speaking guide during the trip/Well-experienced driver during the trip.
- 3 overnight stays in Boumalne Dades, Merzouga, Zagora, and Marrakech.
- 5 breakfasts and 4 dinners.
- Overnight in a luxury desert camp (private tents with private bathrooms).
- Sandboarding in the desert.
- Camel trekking in the desert.
- Drop off at Marrakech airport.
NOT INCLUDED IN THIS TOUR:
- Lunches & Drinks.
- Entrance fees to attractions and museums(cheap).
- Any other personal expenses.
FAQ (8 Days Tour – Marrakech ↔ Desert ↔ Marrakech)
It starts with pickup at Marrakech (or Casablanca) airport and ends with drop-off at Marrakech or Casablanca airport.
Yes. It includes camel trekking (about 1h20), sandboarding, and overnight in a luxury Sahara desert camp with dinner and music under the stars.
You visit Merzouga (Erg Chebbi) and Zagora Desert, experiencing two different Sahara landscapes.
The tour includes 5 breakfasts and 4 dinners. Lunches, drinks, entrance fees, and personal expenses are not included.