3-Day Morocco Tour from Essaouira: Ait Ben Haddou
Overview
A 3-day private tour of Morocco, beginning and ending in Essaouira. It is built as a loop, so no stretch of road is driven twice.
Highlights
- The Marrakech souks, and Jemaa el-Fna as the food stalls open at dusk
- The UNESCO-listed ksar at Ait Ben Haddou, and the climb through its kasbahs to the granary at the summit
- The Skoura palm oasis and the Amridil Kasbah on the old road east
- The Draa valley, where the palm groves run unbroken for a hundred kilometres
The route
Essaouira – Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – Skoura – Zagora – Marrakech – Essaouira
3 days, 2 nights. The day-by-day itinerary is below.
Good to know
- Some days involve long stretches of driving. Where that is the case it is stated plainly in the day it applies to, rather than buried in the small print.
- The tour runs as a round trip, starting and finishing in Essaouira, with pickup and drop-off at your accommodation.
Included/Excluded
- Private air-conditioned vehicle
- Driver throughout the tour
- 2 nights accommodation
- Breakfast & Dinner
- Camel Ride at Erg Chebbi
- One night in a desert camp
- Pickup and drop-off at your accommodation
- International flights and airport taxes
- Lunches, except where stated in the itinerary
- Drinks and beverages
- Entrance fees to monuments, museums and sites
- Travel insurance
- Tips and gratuities
- Personal expenses and anything not listed as included
Tour Plan
An easy opening day. We leave the Atlantic behind and turn inland through the Chiadma plains, where the argan trees thicken and the windswept coast gives way to dry scrub. Around three hours of driving, arriving in Marrakech with the afternoon still ahead of us.
- Morning pickup from your accommodation in Essaouira
- Coast road inland through the Chiadma plains
- Stop at a women's argan cooperative to see the nuts pressed by hand
- Watch for goats grazing up in the argan branches along the roadside
- Arrival in Marrakech around midday
- Afternoon in the medina souks and the Koutoubia quarter
- Evening on Jemaa el-Fna as the food stalls open
Overnight in Marrakech.
The long middle day: the crossing of the Tizi n'Tichka, Ait Ben Haddou below it, then on toward the pre-Sahara so the second night can be spent at a desert camp rather than in Marrakech again.
- Early departure from Marrakech
- Ascent of the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with photo stops on the switchbacks
- Ait Ben Haddou: the fortified earthen ksar on the old caravan route, now UNESCO listed
- Time to walk up through the kasbahs to the granary at the summit
- Lunch below the ksar
- Ouarzazate and the Taourirt Kasbah
- East along the Skoura road toward the desert fringe
- Evening at a desert camp near Zagora
Overnight at a desert camp.
The longest day on the road: back through Ouarzazate and over the Atlas a second time, then west to the Atlantic. Around eight hours in total, so we leave at first light.
- Sunrise at the desert camp before breakfast
- West through Ouarzazate
- Second crossing of the Tizi n'Tichka, in morning light
- Lunch in Marrakech
- West across the Chiadma plains
- Stop at a women's argan cooperative
- Evening arrival and drop-off in Essaouira
A long final day on the road. Ending in Marrakech instead removes around three hours, if that suits your onward plans.
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Amodou Tours offers expertly planned multi-day trips across Morocco, from Marrakech to the Sahara and beyond. Our local guides create authentic, stress-free experiences.
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