Sahara desert tours from Marrakech: Zagora in 2 days or Merzouga in 3, what each costs and leaves out

💡 The Short Version: Neither desert trip is a day trip. Zagora is a 2-day tour with a night in a camp, from £53.30 (list £56.10), leaving at 07:00 and back around 18:00 on day 2. Merzouga, at the Erg Chebbi dunes, is a 3-day tour with a hotel night and a camp night, from £91.63 to £97.02 (list about £102), leaving at 07:00 and back around 20:00 on day 3, which is not guaranteed. Most of both trips is driving. Lunches (about 10 to 13 euros each), drinks, tips and quads are extra, and winter nights in camp fall to 0 to 5°C. Prices vary by option and date; the checkout shows the total (GetYourGuide).

Zagora or Merzouga

The Erg Chebbi dunes in the evening light. Photo: Thomas Fuhrmann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The tours

3-day Merzouga and Sahara desert tour

4.9 stars from 23,380 reviews · 3 days · from £97.02 (list £102.09)

Day 1 leaves at 07:00 over the Tizi n’Tichka pass to Aït Benhaddou, then Ouarzazate, with dinner and a night in a hotel room with a private bathroom around Kelaat M’Gouna. Day 2 goes through the Todra gorges to the desert, with a camel ride and sandboarding at sunset, and a night in a camp at Erg Chebbi. Day 3 is a sunrise camel ride, breakfast and the drive back. The tourad includes breakfasts and dinners, the camel rides or a 4x4 transfer, sandboarding and music, and lets you choose a private or a shared tour with standard or luxury camping. Lunches, drinks, tips and a guide at Aït Benhaddou (2 euros a person) are extra, and the Atlas Studios are an outside photo stop only except on the private premium tour. The operator says the arrival back on day 3 is not guaranteed and tells guests to allow extra time when planning flights.

A tented camp beside the dunes at Merzouga. Photo: Isabeldianamadrid, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Merzouga 3-day desert safari with food

4.7 stars from 15,119 reviews · 3 days · from £91.63 (list £101.82)

The same routead with three options: options 1 and 2 use a standard desert camp and option 3 a luxury camp with a private bathroom and hot shower. Three lunches are included with option 2 only; with the others budget about 10 to 13 euros a lunch plus drinks. Day 2 stops in the Todgha gorges and an oasis walk at Tinghir. Quad bikes, a 4x4 excursion and a buggy at Merzouga are paid extras, and a New Year’s Eve option adds festive extras. Large suitcases stay in the van, so bring a small backpack for the camp. Hotel night 1 is a private room with a private bathroom.

Zagora 2-day desert safari

4.5 stars from 1,178 reviews and 2,328 reviews · 2 days · from £60.52 and £53.30

Two tours cover the Zagora trip. The Zagora 2-day desert safari with food and campad (from £60.52, list £75.65; some dates cost up to £204) leaves at 07:00 over the Tizi n’Tichka pass, visits Aït Benhaddou, follows the Draa valley through Agdz and ends with a sunset camel ride into the camp; day 2 is a sunrise, breakfast, the camel back and the drive home, around 18:00. The camp is standard (shared bathroom) or luxury (private bathroom). The 2-day tour to Zagora and Aït Benhaddouad (from £53.30, list £56.10) uses a standard camp with shared showers and toilets; a reviewer reports a tent for four people shared with other guests. On that tour lunch and drinks, the 3 euro kasbah entrance and a local guide are extra, and the quad option is 50 euros.

What you pay on top

The base price leaves out the things a desert night needs.

• Lunches. About 10 to 13 euros a meal on the 3-day tours, and not included on the Zagora tours.
• Drinks and tips. Both are extra on every tour above.
• Excursions. Quad bikes, 4x4 trips and buggies at Merzouga are paid extras.
• Cash. Bring euros or dirhams; there are no cash machines in the desert, and cards may not be accepted at lunch stops.

What to see

• The Tizi n’Tichka pass and Aït Benhaddou. Day 1 of both trips; see the Aït Benhaddou day trip for what is in the village.
• Ouarzazate and the road of a thousand kasbahs. The film-studio town and the Dadès valley on the way to the gorges.
• Todra gorges. The Merzouga tours walk through the gorge and the oasis at Tinghir on day 2.
• The Draa valley. The Zagora tours drive through its palm groves and past its kasbahs.
• Erg Chebbi. A large sand-dune sea on the western edge of the Sahara, with the camel ride and sandboarding at golden hour and a sunrise ride at the end.
• If you want to go on to Fes. GetYourGuide’s 3-day desert tour from Marrakech to Fesad (4.8 stars from 1,347 reviews, from £81.35, list £129.07, luxury camp) is a one-way route, not a round trip.

The palm grove at Agdz in the Draa valley. Photo: Sylvestre BOCCO, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Practical information

• Winter nights. Nights from November to February can fall to 0 to 5°C. Standard tents have blankets and no heating, and luxury tents have heating. Bring a jacket.
• Luggage. Large suitcases stay in the van, and the camels carry only a small bag.
• Timing. Pick-up is at 07:00 on day 1 and the details arrive by WhatsApp the evening before. Do not book a flight home on the evening of day 3.
• Tents. Check the option for a private or shared tent and a private or shared bathroom; the luxury camps have a private bathroom.
• The one thing that ruins the trip. Booking the cheapest date with a flight home that evening: the return is not guaranteed.

For a desert evening without the drive, see the Agafay Desert, a stony plateau 40 to 50 minutes from the city. The full list is day trips from Marrakech. 3 days in Marrakech shows where a multi-day trip fits, the best time to visit Marrakech covers the season, and what to book before you go to Marrakech has the tickets that sell out. Marrakech airport to the medina covers the way in and out.