The three deserts at a glance
The choice depends first on how much time you have. If your stay lasts three or four days, Agafay is the only option that does not eat up half the trip. From five days on, the tour to Merzouga becomes realistic. Zagora sits in between: more driving than Agafay, fewer dunes than Merzouga.
| Desert | Distance from Marrakech | Minimum time | Landscape | Observed prices per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agafay | About 40 km, 45 min to 1 hour | Half a day or an evening | Stony hills, views of the Atlas | €45 to €130 for an organised trip |
| Zagora | About 350 km, 6 h 30 to 7 h 30 | 2 days and 1 night | Draa Valley, palm groves, small dunes | From about €70 in a group, €190 private |
| Merzouga (Erg Chebbi) | About 560 km, 9 to 10 hours of driving | 3 days and 2 nights | Large sand dunes, up to 150 m | From about €85 to €95 in a group, €195 private |
Prices observed in October 2026, excluding tips and drinks.
Agafay: the desert in an evening
The Agafay Desert is a plateau of stony hills at the foot of the High Atlas. There are no sand dunes: if you dream of photos on a golden ridge, this is not the right choice. On the other hand, the outing is effortless. The classic formula leaves in mid-afternoon, with pick-up at your riad: a camel ride or a quad session, sunset over peaks that are snow-capped in winter, dinner in a camp, and back in town around 10 pm. Some camps also offer a night on site in furnished tents.
Agafay suits families with young children, short stays and travellers who want to keep their days for the city. Our Marrakech in 3 days itinerary shows how to fit it in at the end of a day.
Zagora: two days through the Draa Valley
The two-day trip to Zagora is the best-selling compromise. On the first day, the road crosses the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m), then stops at the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After Ouarzazate, it runs down the Draa Valley through Agdz, between palm groves, earthen kasbahs and arid mountains. You reach the camp in the late afternoon, often after a short camel ride, for dinner and a night under canvas. On the second day, the drive back to Marrakech follows the same road.
The scenery of the Draa Valley is the real highlight of this trip. The dunes around Zagora remain modest: they are small strips of sand, nothing like Erg Chebbi. Allow about seven hours of driving each day, stops included. The largest dunes in the region, Erg Chigaga, lie much further south, beyond M'Hamid, about sixty kilometres along a 4x4 track: they call for a dedicated tour of three days or more.
Without a tour, CTM coaches link Marrakech to Zagora in about 7 h 30 to 8 hours, with two departures a day and a ticket of around 220 to 240 MAD. You then need to book your camp yourself, and it will pick you up in town.
Merzouga: three days to Erg Chebbi
Merzouga, a small village at the foot of Erg Chebbi near the Algerian border, is the destination for anyone who wants the postcard "Sahara": orange sand dunes that rise above 150 m in places, over about twenty kilometres. The classic three-day tour from Marrakech follows this outline.
Day 1: Tizi n'Tichka, Aït Ben Haddou and the Dades Valley
Departure around 7 am. The road crosses the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka, stops at Aït Ben Haddou, passes Ouarzazate, then follows the Valley of Roses through Kelaat M'Gouna. The night is spent in a hotel or guesthouse in the Dades Valley, after about 400 km of driving.
Day 2: the Todra Gorge, then the desert
In the morning, you stop in the Dades Gorge and then in the Todra Gorge, near Tinghir, where the road runs between sheer rock walls. In the afternoon, the road reaches Erfoud and Rissani, then Merzouga. At the end of the day, a camel caravan takes you to the camp in the dunes for sunset, dinner and the night.
Day 3: sunrise and the drive back to Marrakech
You wake before dawn to watch the sun rise over the dunes, ride back by camel, have breakfast, then face the longest leg: about 560 km and nine to ten hours of driving to get back to Marrakech around 8 or 9 pm. This is the main weakness of the three-day tour: nearly 20 hours of driving in all for a single night in the dunes. If you can, take four days, with two nights in the desert or a stopover on the way back, or end the tour in Fes rather than returning to Marrakech.
Getting there by coach
A Supratours coach runs directly from Marrakech to Merzouga every day. It leaves in the morning from the Supratours coach station, behind Marrakech railway station, and arrives in the evening after about 12 hours on the road, via Ouarzazate, Tinghir, Erfoud and Rissani. The ticket costs around 260 to 280 MAD. Book two days ahead in high season and arrange for your camp to pick you up on arrival, after dark.
Choosing your tour
Tours are sold everywhere: riads, agencies in Guéliz, touts in the medina and online platforms. The price differences come down to a few points to check before you pay.
- Group or private: shared tours travel in 15- to 17-seat minibuses on a fixed schedule. A private tour, in a 4x4 or a van with a driver, costs about twice as much but lets you choose the stops.
- Type of camp: a standard camp offers tents with beds and shared facilities; a "luxury" camp offers tents with a private bathroom, for a supplement that can reach several hundred euros a night in the upmarket camps of Erg Chebbi.
- What is included: check that the price covers the night of day 1, dinners and breakfasts and the camel ride. Lunches, drinks, local guides at Aït Ben Haddou or in the gorges, and tips are almost always extra.
- Payment: pay the agency a deposit at most and keep a written confirmation of the programme. Be wary of very cheap offers sold in the street, which make up the difference with stops in shops. Our guide to scams to avoid in Marrakech describes these practices.
When to go to the desert
Spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are the best seasons: warm but bearable days, cool nights. In summer, temperatures often exceed 45 °C in Merzouga and Zagora; tours still run, but the heat makes the long hours on the road exhausting. In winter, from December to February, the days remain pleasant, but nights in the desert drop close to 0 °C and snow can close the Tizi n'Tichka pass for a few hours. The camps provide thick blankets; still bring a warm jumper and a hat. To compare with the climate in Marrakech month by month, see our guide to the best time to visit Marrakech.
What to pack
For one or two nights, a small bag is enough: large luggage often stays in the vehicle or at the riad.
- a scarf or a cheche against wind and sand, sunglasses and sunscreen;
- light clothes that cover you for the day, and a warm jacket for the night, even in spring;
- a head torch, wet wipes and a power bank: electricity is limited in standard camps;
- cash in dirhams for lunches, drinks and tips.
For what to wear depending on the place and the season, our guide on what to wear in Marrakech gives the details.
Further reading
To fit an Agafay outing into a short stay, follow our Marrakech in 3 days itinerary. To budget for the rest of the trip, see our Marrakech travel budget guide. And to see the desert from above, read our guide to hot-air ballooning in Marrakech.
