Ouarzazate Excursions: Day Trip or Desert Tour?

Many travellers arrive in Ouarzazate with the same question: is a day trip enough, or should we spend a night in the dunes? Both are good answers, depending on your time, your patience for long drives and how much of the desert you want to feel. Here is an honest comparison based on the real routes and drive times of our day trips and desert tours.

The day trips at a glance

Our four day trips from Ouarzazate run in a private vehicle with an English speaking driver, include lunch and bring you back to Ouarzazate the same day.

Zagora and Draa Valley. South across the Anti Atlas and the Tizi n Tinifift pass to Agdz, where the Draa palm grove begins and stretches for more than 190 km. You see the kasbah of Tamnougalt, Zagora and its famous sign reading "Tombouctou 52 days", the manuscript library and green pottery of Tamegroute, and the first dunes of Tinfou. The camel ride at Tinfou is paid separately, and the Tamegroute library is closed on Saturdays.
Valley of Roses and Dades Gorges. The Skoura palm grove, Kalaat Mgouna, where the rose festival takes place in May, the rose valley track through fortified villages to Ait Youl, a visit to nomad families living in caves and lunch in the Dades Gorges.
Amethyst and Berber villages. Off road by Land Cruiser to the village of Tiggert, a mule ride with a villager in search of amethyst and lunch with a local family.
1000 Kasbahs and Todra Gorges. Pickup around 8 am, Amridil Kasbah in the Skoura palm grove, Kalaat Mgouna, the Todra palm valley near Tinghir and the limestone walls of the gorges, with a return in the late afternoon.

Zagora: the desert in a single day

If your time in Morocco is short, the Zagora and Draa Valley day trip is the only one of our day trips that lets you feel the desert in one day. You follow the Draa Valley and its palm groves to the first sand dunes at Tinfou, which you can explore by camel or on foot, and you sleep in your own bed in Ouarzazate that night. What a day trip cannot give you is the evening and the morning in the dunes: the sunset from camp, the silence of the night and the sunrise. The per person price falls with group size, from 210 USD for a solo traveller to 95 USD each for four people or more.

The desert tours and their drive times

A desert tour adds what a day trip cannot: a sunset camel ride, a night in a Berber camp and sunrise over the sand. Every tour includes a private vehicle, an English speaking driver, pickup at your hotel or riad in Ouarzazate, dinner and breakfast in the desert. The trade off is time on the road. The prices below are the per person rate for groups of four or more; smaller groups pay more per person.

Mhamid or Erg Chigaga, 2 days and 1 night. The Mhamid dunes, called Erg Lihoudi, are about four and a half hours from Ouarzazate through the Draa Valley. Erg Chigaga lies further off road beyond Mhamid, about six hours from Ouarzazate. From 180 USD per person.
Erg Chebbi, 2 days and 1 night. Around five hours of driving each way to the dunes near Merzouga, via the Amridil Kasbah, Kalaat Mgouna and lunch in the Todra Gorges, returning through Rissani, Nkob and Agdz to arrive around 5 pm. From 195 USD per person.
Erg Chebbi, 3 days and 2 nights. The same dunes with the Dades and Todra gorges, Tamtatoucht and Amellagou on the way, and a first night in a hotel. From 300 USD per person.
Erg Chigaga, 3 days and 2 nights. A Sahara loop with a night in Zagora and a night in camp 60 km off road beyond Mhamid, where there are no hotels, returning across Iriki Lake and Foum Zguid. From 340 USD per person.
South Oasis Route, 4 days and 3 nights. Hidden off road routes through the Saghro mountains, Nkob and remote Saharan villages to Erg Chebbi. From 421 USD per person.

How to choose

Choose a day trip if

You have one or two days in Ouarzazate and want to see a valley, a gorge or a village beyond the city.
You prefer your own hotel to a desert camp.
You want a taste of sand without committing to a long drive.

Choose a 2 day desert tour if

A night in the dunes is the reason you came south.
You accept a long drive in exchange for sunset and sunrise in the desert. Mhamid is the shortest drive; Erg Chebbi passes the Todra Gorges on the way.

Choose 3 or 4 days if

You want the drive itself to become part of the trip, with gorges, remote villages and fewer hours in the car each day.
You are drawn to the remote dunes of Erg Chigaga, which we recommend over three days because of the six hour drive.

Season and comfort

Ouarzazate has a desert climate, with July the hottest month at around 38 °C and January lows around 3 °C, and the nights in the dunes follow the same pattern. In winter, pack warm layers for the camp. On the Erg Chebbi tours a luxury camp upgrade is available for more comfort, especially in the cold winter months, and luxury tents can also be arranged at Mhamid and Erg Chigaga on request at extra cost.

Combining both

You do not have to pick just one. Over four days, for example, you could ride a quad or a horse to a nearby film set on day one, spend day two on the Valley of Roses and Dades day trip, then leave for a two day desert tour. Our article on planning adventure activities in southern Morocco has more sample itineraries.

Still unsure? Tell the team how many days you have and what matters most to you, and they will suggest the best fit. Send a reservation request or ask on WhatsApp.