Experience the ultimate Moroccan adventure with a 7-day tour that combines the Morocco Atlantic coast tour, the mystical Sahara Desert, and the majestic High Atlas Mountains. Starting in Marrakesh, this journey takes you through the lively city of Essaouira, the historic town of Taroudant, and the scenic landscapes of Tafraoute. Explore the Saharan dunes of Chagaga, ride camels at sunset, and visit iconic locations like Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site. This tour offers an in-depth experience of Morocco’s diverse culture and natural beauty.
1st day: Marrakesh – Essaouira
Departure at 8 a.m. when the driver will come to fetch you from whichever riad or hotel you might be staying in. You will take the motorway, passing thousands of Morocco-specific argan trees
on the way to this blue and white, very individual, sea-side town and port. Essaouira is many tourists’ darling! Previously known as Mogador to the Portuguese inhabitants, it is a
charming place, well-known for local handicrafts, especially thuja wood furniture, carving and small artefacts, sold in innumerable shops along the windy streets.
At the sea front, the customer chooses a selection of freshly caught fish to have prepared on the spot.
Essaouira has a favourable micro-climate; mild in winter and cool in summer, although frequently windy, which makes it very popular among surfers.The night is spent in a riad .
2nd day: Essaouira – Sidi Ifni
Leaving Essaouira after breakfast, you follow the coastal road south with constant views of the Atlantic, often battering the rocks and sending up scenic spray as it beats against them. We pass Agadir and
continue south to Tiznit, the town famous for its silver jewelry. From here we turn towards the sea and take
the particularly beautiful coastal road to Sid Ifni. This is a little neat blue and white town with a distinctly
Spanish feel to it. It takes its name from a local holy man and was the capital of the Ait Ba’arame tribe
famous for its resistance against the Spanish.The night is spent in a riad .
3rd day: Sidi Ifni – Tafraoute
From Sidi Ifni we turn north again back to Tiznit, where we stop to wander the soukhs. From here we enter the Anti Atlas mountains, passing Tighmi and the Kerdous pass, then Tizourhane until we reach Tafraoute.
This road is one of the most beautiful roads in the Moroccan mountains.The night is spent in a riad .
4th day: Tafraoute – Taroudant
After breakfast we visit the famous painted rocks, coloured in 1984 by the Belgian artist, Jean Verame. He used 18 tons of blue, pink, red, and black paint, helped in his project by men from the Tafraoute firebrigade.
This work of art has proved very controversial; people choosing to wonder at it, question its existence and to despise it. It is certainly an individual and “other” piece of art. We then set out northwards
continuing to follow the spectacular road which the Ait Baha river to the town of the same name. Later we turn right towards Taroudant, “the little Marrakesh”, so called for the similarity of its ramparts and town
walls to those of the “red city”. Here we spend the night having explored the town.
5th day: Taroudant – Chagaga
After breakfast we continue towards the desert. We cross the two passes of Tizi-n-Tighatine and Tizi-nIkhsane before reaching Kourkouda and Taznakht. This small town is famous for its Berber gelims and carpets. From here we continue south and drive into the Sahara across the stony desert, “reg” and “hammada” and across the now dried-up Lake Iriqui. In the middle of this lake we can search for fossils.
Lunch will be in Chagaga, far away from villages and ‘civilisation’. Here you take a camel ride and can clamber up to the top of the high dunes to watch the sunset. At the foot of the dunes, we have dinner and spend the night in a bivouac of nomad tents.
6th day: Chagaga – Ouarzazate
After breakfast in the bivouac, the itinerary crosses another 60 km of desert road via the Sacred Oasis to arrive in M’hamid You continue to Erg Lihoudi for a camel ride and then have lunch just outside the village before setting off again north up the Dra’a Valley towards Zagora. This small town is the largest oasis in the Dra’a Valley and is particularly famous for its dates. From here we follow the ancient caravan route used by the caravans that had crossed the Sahara for days and weeks bringing treasures from Mali or Mauretania. The road passes between the river and the mountains past all the Kasbahs and the local gardens giving you a clearer impression of life here in this area of Morocco. In Agdez at the head of the Dra’a Valley, you can stop to visit the oldest and most famous kasbah in the valley, Kasbah Tamnougalte. It is still partly inhabited by about eleven families. You then continue to Ouarzazate crossing the Tizi-n-Tififte pass, where some scenes from the film “Babel” were shot. In Ouarzazate you stay in one of the nicest riads in the town.
7th day: Ouarzazate – Marrakesh
After breakfast, driving north from Ouarzazate, you leave the main road and take a side road to Ait ben Haddou, which also belonged to the Lords of the Atlas, the Glaoui family. This is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is also well-known as being the backdrop to many Hollywood blockbusters, such as “Alexander”, “the Gladiator”, “the Kingdom of Heaven” The road then continues along the Ounila valley with beautiful and prosperous villages, mountains and views to Telouet, where you will stop to visit the Kasbah and perhaps have lunch. We reach Marrakesh by the early evening.
A fantastic experience, very hospitable and delicious food. Erch chegaga was an unforgettable experience. I am here now for the second time and feel at home here. Aziz the driver will never forget you...the dromedaries are very funny...I will definitely come back
We had an absolutely fabulous time and would like to thank you for arranging everything for us.
The clear highlight of the trip was the days we spent in the desert. We really wanted to create an "adventure" feeling for our trip, especially for our kids (5 and 8yrs). Since we live in an Alps in France surrounded by snow for 4 months of the year, I'm sure you can imagine that a visit to the desert was something truly different - just the ticket for an adventure! With a good balance between traveling in the land cruiser and the camels, along with the good quality of the camps, it all added up to be to a great time ... and the experiences of climbing the dunes at Chegaga will stay with us for a long time!!
We'd especially like say that Abdou was fantastic and made a wonderfully positive contribution to our holiday. His rapport with our kids was just great and, whilst not surprisingly they got a bit bored from time to time looking at decoration and listening to the history of the Kasbahs, the fun they had with Abdou more than made up for that. Its rare that you meet someone who is so genuine and full of life and simply happy to be doing what he's doing. He was fantstastic!
Thanks Abidine for arranging our fantastic desert tour, and our driver Houssain was so, so lovely and really looked after us and our children. I would like to thank him especially for his care and concern of our severely vomiting daughter 🙈. The drive to M’Hamid at the edge of the Sahara from Marrakech over the Atlas Mountains was nothing short of spectacular I would thoroughly recommend it. With children I would definitely suggest a longer tour as it was a very long drive for 1 night (it took 10 hours door to door including stops and lunch etc but there were quite a few extra stops for my daughter) and then you could stop to visit sights in more detail en route. The camel ride into camp at sunset was great and the starry sky was like nothing I’ve ever seen and the guys at the camp were really lovely, I just wished that I had better French to chat with them properly. It was only us and one other person at the camp which was fine for us, but if you are wanting a busier group then it might be worth asking about numbers in advance. Abidine was very helpful on email and answered my many questions promptly and couldn’t be more obliging. If we return to Morocco we will happily use privatedeserttours again. Thanks!
Before visiting Marocco I have made some extensive research through the internet, searching for various tour guides and asking for a price offer and pictures about the accomodation and car.
I have received several answers and in the end me and my boyfriend came to the conclusion that, -at least for us- a luxury camp wouldn´t be worth the money, which in the end also was the ride decision.
What I can tell about private desert tours is that we have been happy in all regards:
Our guide was super friendly and helpful (Ismael <3 ) and willing to support us in any question or wishes
The car was very comfortable and suitable for a desert trip (4x4 which is important for desert)
Also the tour was perfect! We choose the tour "Marrakech desert trip Chigaga Dunes Riding Camel Sandboarding" and slept two nights in the desert. What is good about the tour, that it goes through Erg Chigaga (which is important, as it is the biggest desert in Marocco and includes offroad driving which is more adventurous and not included in all tours. Usually the cheaper ones are not driving through the dunes and the car is a usual mini bus that can´t do offraod driving)
Furtherone the tour included camel riding (very nice :)) and sandboarding (we weren´t really talented but probably also very nice when you now how to do it)
Finally the tour also included all meals that where suuuuper delicous (freshly prepared and better than in some luxury restaurants that we have visited in Marrakesh) and the accomodations very clean(all bed sheets fresh etc. so that even my boyfriend felt comfortable who is usually very picky in this regard :) )
As a summary I can only recommend this tour to everybody, I was definately a very remindful experience and we felt save throughout the whole trip, as our guide was a local, born in the desert and new the area very well.
The next time we would choose to spend more time the beautiful desert instead of stressful Marrakesh! :)
All the best,
Michael and Christina
Last week I had a great experience with private desert tour visiting a kasbah in the neighborhood of mhamid. Abidine guided us in this magical place walking through the sand dunes telling us the story of this old fortress kept intact by time and the fact that it's quite new to tourists. Once inside we had the chance to talk with one of its inhabitants that invited us for the traditional tea, while his wife cooked a delicious tajine and we enjoyed great conversations in the roof of his house under a blue sky and a fairytale panorama. Highly recommended if you are planning a trip in mhamid, don't hesitate to contact private desert tours. Thanks again abidine for the wonderful experience you gave us the chance to share!!!
I had a wonderful experience with Private Desert Tours. Everything went very smoothly, and my trip was even better than I had imagined it would be. Accompanied by a terrific guide (who really knew his way around the desert because he came from a nomad family) and two other tourists, I traveled to Erg Chegaga by 4X4 vehicle. The ride into the desert was exciting; it was fun to watch how our guide skillfully navigated the bumpy terrain. We stopped along the way at a well, where our guide provided water for some cute donkeys who were "loitering" there. We arrived at our lovely bivouac, Bivouac Sous Les Etoiles, decorated in traditional style. The lodging, in tents, was extremely clean and comfortable. Big, thick blankets kept me toasty warm at night. There was also a very clean bathroom with Western-style toilets and showers. The desert was simply enchanting; on our first afternoon there, we climbed the dunes to watch the gorgeous sunset. Such a beautiful, peaceful experience! In the evenings, we were served delicious tagines which we ate with the four other guests who were also staying at the bivouac. After dinner, we would all gather around a campfire, gazing up at the star-filled sky (we even saw a few shooting stars), and listening to the guys who worked at the camp playing music on traditional Moroccan drums. The breakfasts were delicious and offered plenty of different options. On our way back out of the desert, our guide stopped at a few scenic points to let us take some photos. I had such a wonderful time that I wished I could have stayed longer. Book a trip with Private Desert Tours; you won't be disappointed!
Very nice experience, with a great atmosphere and beautiful views! Highly recommended!
or review us on Tripadvisor · Google
An Unforgettable Desert Adventure with Ismael and Abidine - I traveled through Morocco for four weeks as a young woman traveling alone, and my desert journey with Private Desert Tours and the two brothers, Ismael and Abidine, became one... read more
Madleina R
Unforgettable - Overall amazing experience. Everything was taken care of so there was nothing we had to worry about. Ismail was so patient with us throughout the 3 days. The accommodations were... read more
Mona R
Amazing tour! - Our private tour from Marrakech to Fez was truly an unforgettable experience and exceeded all of our expectations. From the very beginning, everything was perfectly organized, and we felt completely... read more
fra_2809
We highly recommend this agency to anyone looking for a well-organized and authentic desert adventure - We had an amazing experience with Private Desert Tours. The organization was absolutely excellent from start to finish. Everything was perfectly arranged, and the team made sure that every detail... read more
Cécile M
Excellent Tour in Morocco white amazing scenery fun guide and driver we could not be more happy of choosing this agency his Driver Guide informed about all the places we visited Next time in Morocco we would do our excursion again with this Agency.
-- Andria
From Marrakesh to the desert, 3 days and 2 nights, one of them in the desert with all the expected attractions, a spetacular sun set and a super nice “crew” for dinner and music! The previous nighto we spent in an oasis on a cute and super nice hotel owned by Belgium/French couple in Skoura. Abdul was the nicest driver/guide we ever had, good mood, good with out teenager son and super informed about local culture history and attractions.
-- Alex
I was traveling with my husband and teenage son and Ali made the trip so exciting and informative. My son especially enjoyed his time in the desert sand boarding and rug boarding. We enjoyed ourselves so much at sunset we also added on the sunrise camel trip last minute without any issues to accommodate our request. If you are looking for honest, safe, know ledgable guides…this is your company to go to!
-- Eliza Tess
