5 Days: From the Sahara Sands to the Atlas Mountains

Overview

In short: Private tour · 5 days / 4 nights, starting and ending in Casablanca airport — about 1,695 km and 19 places, including 1 night in the desert.

Duration

5 days / 4 nights

Starts

Casablanca airport

Ends

Casablanca airport

Tour type

Private tour

Group size

Up to 50 travellers

Language

Flexible, on request

Distance

≈ 1,695 km in total

Stops

19 places

A compact desert loop for travellers flying in and out of Casablanca: a guided day in Marrakech, then the classic south-eastern circuit over the High Atlas to the Dades Valley and a night in the Erg Chebbi dunes, before returning to Marrakech and the airport.

Morocco is a crossroads of Amazigh, Arab and European influences, from the maze-like Marrakech medina and Jemaa el-Fna to the 12th-century Kasbah of the Udayas in Rabat.

Highlights

• Marrakech medina
• Artisans' quarter and souks
• Sahara desert
• Camel ride
• Sightseeing by car
• Old imperial city of Marrakech
• High Atlas mountain ranges

Route

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5

Lines join the stops in order; they are not the exact roads. Distances are road estimates. Open the route in Google Maps

Day by day

1. Day 1Casablanca airport – Marrakech city tour with a local guide

   Casablanca Airport › Marrakech

   Pick-up at Casablanca airport and direct drive to Marrakech (about 2.5–3 hours), where you meet your local guide.

   Visits: the Koutoubia Mosque, Majorelle Garden (cacti, palms and ferns, created by painter Jacques Majorelle) and the 16th-century Saadian Tombs with their mosaic tiles.

   After lunch, time in the souks: babouche slippers, the carpenters' market, El-Attarine spice and perfume souk and the Cherratine leather souk, ending on Jemaa el-Fna with its snake charmers, musicians, acrobats and storytellers.

   ≈ 255 kmOvernight: Riad in Marrakech
2. Day 2Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Skoura – Valley of Roses – Boumalne Dades

   Marrakech › Tizi n'Tichka › Ait Ben Haddou › Ouarzazate › Skoura › Kelaat M'Gouna › Boumalne Dades

   Pick-up at 8:15 and over the High Atlas via Tizi n'Tichka with photo stops.

   Visit a women's argan-oil village, then UNESCO-listed Ait Ben Haddou (Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Alexander) with lunch there.

   On past Taourirt Kasbah in Ouarzazate, Skoura, Kelaat M'Gouna (Rose Festival) and Boumalne Dades.

   ≈ 300 kmOvernight: Hotel in the Dades ValleyMeals: Dinner + breakfast
3. Day 3Dades Gorges – Tinghir – Todra Gorge – Erfoud – Merzouga

   Boumalne Dades › Dades Gorges › Tinghir › Todra Gorge › Tinjdad › Erfoud › Merzouga

   Short walk in the Todra Gorge, then Tinjdad, Jorf and Erfoud, where the Tafilalet oasis begins.

   Freshen up at a Merzouga hotel (luggage goes to camp by car — bring a small bag), then a sunset camel ride across Erg Chebbi.

   Sandboarding on the high dunes, dinner at camp with drums and singing, and a night in a nomad tent under the stars.

   ≈ 310 kmOvernight: Amazigh nomad campMeals: Breakfast + dinner
4. Day 4Merzouga – Alnif – Tazzarine – Nkob – Ouarzazate – Marrakech

   Merzouga › Rissani › Alnif › Tazzarine › Nkob › Agdz › Ouarzazate › Tizi n'Tichka › Marrakech

   Sunrise from the dunes, breakfast, then back to Merzouga by camel or car.

   Long drive through Alnif, Tazzarine, Nkob, the Draa Valley and Ouarzazate, back over the High Atlas to Marrakech in the afternoon/evening.

   Optional (extra cost): dinner at the Chez Ali restaurant with folk music and a horse show.

   ≈ 575 kmOvernight: MarrakechMeals: Breakfast
5. Day 5Transfer to Casablanca airport

   Marrakech › Casablanca Airport

   Transfer to Casablanca Mohammed V airport according to your flight time (be there two hours before departure).

   ≈ 255 kmMeals: Breakfast

What’s included

Good to know

• Best season for the desert: October to April. In summer daytime heat often exceeds 40°C; in winter nights at camp can drop close to freezing.
• The Tizi n'Tichka pass (about 2,260 m) can get snow or brief closures in winter; the driver adjusts timings to road conditions.
• Pack a small daypack for the camp night (water, charger, warm layer, toiletries). Large luggage stays in the vehicle or hotel.
• Essentials: sunscreen, sunglasses, a scarf/cheche against sand, comfortable shoes and a warm jacket for the evening.
• Mountain roads are winding; bring motion-sickness medication if you need it.
• Carry small dirham notes for tips, purchases and meals that are not included; ATMs are scarce in villages and in the desert.
• Always ask before photographing people, especially women, children and nomad families.
• Marrakech → Casablanca airport is about 220 km (2.5–3 h); for a morning flight you will need a very early departure — consider flying out of Marrakech instead.

Guided visits on this route

Our local guides also lead these walks and day trips in towns this tour passes through. Ask us to add one.

Read before you go

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