5-Day Morocco Tour from Essaouira: the Sahara & Ait Ben Haddou
Overview
A 5-day private tour of Morocco, beginning and ending in Essaouira. It runs south over the High Atlas to the edge of the Sahara and back by a different road, so no stretch is driven twice.
Highlights
- The Skala ramparts and the working fishing port at Essaouira
- 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 Dades gorge and its switchback road
- The Todgha Gorges, where the cliffs close to a few hundred metres apart
- A camel trek into Erg Chebbi and a night at a desert camp beneath the dunes
The route
Essaouira – Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – Dades Valley – Todgha Gorges – Merzouga – Alnif – Agdz – Marrakech – Essaouira
5 days, 4 nights. The day-by-day itinerary is below.
Good to know
- One night is spent at a desert camp, reached by camel in the late afternoon.
- 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
- 4 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 big driving day. We cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass, around 2,260 metres, stop at Ait Ben Haddou below it, then continue east along the kasbah road. Around seven hours in total, so we leave early.
- 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
- The Skoura palm oasis and the old kasbah road east
- Late arrival at Boumalne Dades
Overnight in the Dades Valley.
A day that ends on foot. We follow the road east through Tinghir to the Todgha Gorges, then cross the hamada to Merzouga, timed so the camels leave in the late afternoon and you reach camp as the light goes.
- Morning through the Dades gorge and its switchback road
- Tinghir, with its palm oasis strung along the valley floor
- The Todgha Gorges, where the cliffs close to a few hundred metres apart
- Lunch in Tinghir
- Afternoon across the hamada by Tinejdad and Erfoud
- Arrival at the edge of Erg Chebbi
- Camel trek into the dunes, roughly ninety minutes
- Dinner and Gnawa drumming at camp
Overnight in a desert camp at Erg Chebbi.
West along the southern road below the Jbel Saghro, then down into the Draa and north to Ouarzazate. Around six hours, and the quieter of the two routes back from the desert.
- Sunrise over Erg Chebbi before breakfast
- Rissani and its souk, on the site of Sijilmassa
- Alnif, known for its fossil beds
- Nkob and its cluster of kasbahs
- Lunch en route
- The Draa valley and its palm groves
- North over the Tizi n'Tinififft to Ouarzazate
Overnight in Ouarzazate.
The longest day of the trip, and unavoidably so: the pass, then Marrakech, then the run west to the coast. Around seven and a half hours of driving, so we start early and keep the stops short.
- Early departure from Ouarzazate
- Crossing of the Tizi n'Tichka in morning light
- Stop in an Amazigh village on the northern slope
- Marrakech around midday
- Lunch before continuing west
- The Chiadma plains and the argan country
- Evening arrival and drop-off in Essaouira
A full day on the road. If your schedule allows, ending in Marrakech instead removes around three hours from this final day.
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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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