3 days · 2 nights
Marrakech → Merzouga → Marrakech
The classic Sahara run. Aït Ben Haddou, the Dades gorges and a night under the stars on the big dunes.
Aït Ben HaddouDadesErg Chebbi
Day-by-day
Private desert tours from Marrakech, Fes, Casablanca or Tangier — your own 4x4, your own licensed Berber driver-guide, and a night on the Erg Chebbi dunes. Built around your dates, not a departure board.
Tell us your dates. We send back a day-by-day route and an exact price — usually within a few hours, always within 24.
Most requested routes
These are the itineraries guests ask for most. Every one is a starting point: add a night, slow the pace, swap a kasbah for the coast. Tell us and we rebuild it around you.
The classic Sahara run. Aït Ben Haddou, the Dades gorges and a night under the stars on the big dunes.
Straight across the country with no backtracking — you finish in Fes, ready to carry on north.
The sweet spot. Same route as the 3-day with room to breathe — real time in the gorges and at the dunes.
Land at Casablanca and see the lot: Fes, Volubilis, the desert and Marrakech, without a rushed morning.
The road south
The 5-day Marrakech loop, stop by stop. Shorter tours compress it; longer ones add nights rather than distance.
Roughly 1,100 km over five days, all of it in your own vehicle. Your guide stops wherever you ask — the timings above are a frame, not a timetable.
Hour by hour
This is the day most guests remember — the one that ends on the dunes.
Msemen, olives, fresh orange juice and mint tea at your kasbah hotel, usually with the gorge walls going pink behind you. No alarm unless you set one.
Three hundred metres of red rock closing in over a shallow river. A short walk, a tea with the men who run the stalls at the mouth, then back on the road.
Tagine in a family place your guide knows rather than the one with the coach park. Long enough to be a meal, short enough to keep the afternoon.
Erg Chebbi rises out of flat hammada with no warning at all — 150 metres of orange sand where a minute ago there was nothing. Everyone stops the car here.
Forty-five minutes across the sand with the light going gold, then low. Prefer a 4x4 or a walk? Say so and that is what happens instead.
Tagine under the stars, Berber drumming round the fire, and later the quietest dark you will ever stand in. Proper beds in the tent; hot showers in the luxury camps.
The honest comparison
Shared tours are cheaper, and for some trips that is the right call. Here is exactly what the difference buys you.
| Private tour with us | Typical shared tour | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is in the car | Only your group | 14–18 strangers in a minibus |
| Departure dates | Any day you like | Fixed days, cancelled if under-booked |
| Stopping for photos | Whenever you ask | Scheduled stops only |
| Changing the route mid-trip | Yes — guests do it often | Not possible |
| Airport pick-up | Included, any hour | Meeting point, fixed time |
| Travelling with kids or elderly parents | Pace set by you | Group pace, long waits |
| Cost per person | Higher solo, close to shared at 4–6 people | Lowest — that is the trade |
The per-person price falls as the group grows, because the vehicle and driver-guide are shared between you. At four or more the gap narrows sharply.
Why travellers pick us
Every tour is private. Stop for the photograph, the mint tea, the detour nobody planned. There is no coach waiting and nobody to hold up.
Licensed, government-accredited driver-guides who grew up on these roads and speak your language. They know which family runs which guesthouse.
One figure covering vehicle, fuel, guide, accommodation and the meals listed. A small deposit holds it; the balance is paid in Morocco, in cash.
A storm closed a pass on one guest’s trip and we rebuilt the route that evening. Real people, same time zone, all the way through.
Where you sleep
We use small, family-run places chosen for character rather than size. Tell us your standard and we match it.
Proper beds, thick blankets and a rug floor. Luxury camps add private bathrooms with hot showers. Solar light and charging in the evening; no Wi-Fi, which most guests end up grateful for.
Mud-brick buildings in the gorges and along the road of a thousand kasbahs, most with a pool and a terrace facing the valley. Quiet, cool and usually run by one family.
Courtyard houses inside the medina walls in Marrakech and Fes — tiled, shaded and startlingly quiet given what is going on two streets away. Breakfast on the roof.
What you pay for
You get a full itinerary and an exact price before any money changes hands, and you can rework it as many times as you want.
Cancel more than 30 days before departure and your deposit comes back in full, or is held as credit. Date and route changes are free at 14 days.
Only a small deposit travels in advance. The rest is settled at the start of your tour — EUR, USD, GBP or dirham.
Timing
Morocco works year-round, but the Sahara has a clear season. This is the honest version, not the one that fills empty months.
Pack layers whatever the month. Desert nights are cold from November to March, and the High Atlas holds snow well into spring.
How it works
Group size, when you land, roughly what you want to see. Two lines is enough — we ask the rest.
Within 24 hours: a day-by-day route, the accommodation, and an exact price for your group. Change it as often as you like.
That secures your vehicle, guide and rooms. The balance is paid when you arrive, and we are reachable the whole way through.
5.0 from 500+ reviews
Our guide knew every family running the guesthouses we stopped at. It felt like travelling with a friend, not a tour company.
Zero hidden costs, exactly as quoted. Punctual every single day across a two-week loop from Tangier.
They rebuilt our whole route in one evening when a storm closed the pass. Genuinely 24/7 support and endless patience with our kids.
The desert camp was the highlight of our year — proper beds, hot showers and the clearest night sky I have ever seen.
We asked to slow the pace on day three and nothing was a problem. That flexibility is what you pay for.
Booked for my parents in their seventies. The driver carried bags, found shade, never rushed them once.
Before you ask
It depends on group size, season and the standard of accommodation — and the price per person falls as the group grows, because the vehicle and driver-guide are shared. That is why we quote rather than publish a headline figure. Send your dates and numbers and you will have an exact price with nothing left to add later.
Three days covers Marrakech and a fast desert run. Five to seven is the sweet spot: desert, gorges, kasbahs and an imperial city without rushing. Ten or more lets you add Chefchaouen, Fes and the coast at a relaxed pace.
Merzouga (Erg Chebbi) has the tall, classic Sahara dunes and is worth the longer drive from Marrakech. Zagora is closer and cheaper but the scenery is stonier and less dramatic. For a first visit we almost always recommend Merzouga, and we will say so even when Zagora would be an easier sell.
Not at all. It is usually 45–60 minutes across the dunes at sunset, and you can travel to camp by 4x4 instead, or simply walk out. Tell us in advance and it is arranged before you arrive.
You arrive in the late afternoon, watch the sun set over the dunes, then eat a tagine dinner under the stars with Berber drumming round the fire. Tents have proper beds and blankets; luxury camps add private bathrooms with hot showers. Camps run on solar power, so there is lighting and charging in the evening but little or no Wi-Fi.
A modest deposit secures your vehicle, guide and accommodation. The balance is paid at the start of your tour in Morocco — cash in EUR, USD, GBP or dirham, or by prior arrangement. Nothing is due to get a quote.
Yes. Cancel more than 30 days before departure and your deposit is refunded in full or held as credit. Changes to dates or routing are usually free if requested at least 14 days ahead. Full detail is in our Terms & Conditions.
Yes, and it is a large part of what we do. Because the tour is private, the pace is entirely yours — shorter driving days, more stops, later starts, child seats, and a guide who will carry bags and find the shade without being asked.
Vegetarian food is easy everywhere in Morocco. Tell us about vegan, gluten-free, halal or allergy requirements at booking and we brief every kitchen on the route in advance, camp included.
Every one. No minibus, no strangers, no fixed departure dates. Your driver-guide stops when you want to, for photographs, mint tea or an unplanned detour.
Two lines is enough to start. We come back with a route, the accommodation and an exact price for your group — usually within a few hours.
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