Sahara desert tours from Marrakech to the Erg Chebbi dunes

Three days at the shortest, four if you would rather not spend a full day driving home. Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes are a long way from Marrakech: you cross the High Atlas over the Tizi n’Tichka pass, drop past Ouarzazate and follow the valleys east, which is about seven hours on day one and six more on day two.

The 3-day tour comes back in one push of roughly ten hours. The 4-day tour breaks the return with a night near Ait Benhaddou and a visit to Telouet.

Yes, and the road is half the tour. Between Marrakech and the dunes you pass Ait Benhaddou, the fortified ksar on the UNESCO list, the Telouet kasbah in the Ounilla valley, the Valley of Roses, and the Dades and Todra gorges where the road threads between rock walls. There are stops throughout rather than a straight drive.

If long days in a vehicle do not suit you, the four-day itinerary is the gentler one.

Yes. Both are private to your group, in a 4x4 or minibus with an English-speaking driver, so you set the pace and the stops. Prices are per person and come down as the group grows.

If you would rather finish in Fes than return to Marrakech, ask: we have routed guests that way via Midelt.

At Merzouga you meet the camels and ride out into the Erg Chebbi dunes for sunset. The night is spent in a Berber camp among the dunes, with dinner, music and a great many stars. You are up early for sunrise from the sand, ride back to the village, and have breakfast and a shower at a lodge before the road again.

No. The camel trek is included and is how most guests reach the camp, but it is a short ride and you can walk alongside or be driven in by 4x4 instead. Tell your driver on the day.

October to April is the most comfortable. Spring and autumn give warm days and cool nights; winter days are pleasant, though desert nights are genuinely cold, so bring a warm layer. July and August are very hot in the desert by day, and the tours still run, but midday is for shade rather than the dunes.

Prices are per person and come down as the group grows. The three-day tour is €340 per person for a group of two or three, €275 for four to seven and €235 for eight to twelve. The four-day tour is €420, €345 and €315 across the same tiers. Each tour page carries its full price table.

That covers the vehicle and driver throughout, a hotel night in the Dades gorges, a night camping on the dunes, the camel ride, and breakfast and dinner at both. Lunches, entrance fees, drinks and tips are extra, so bring cash in dirhams.

Yes, and many guests do. Pairing a Toubkal ascent or an Atlas valley walk with the dunes is one trip rather than two, and those itineraries are on our combined tours page. Tell us your dates and we will put a route together.