4-Day Sahara Desert Tour from Marrakech

After breakfast, it's a full day of driving east toward Erg Chebbi, the tallest dune field in Morocco. The route passes through Tinjdad, Jorf, and Erfoud, small towns that see little tourist traffic outside people heading the same direction as you.

At Merzouga, there's time for a short break before the camels arrive. You'll ride out to camp as the sun starts to drop, and it's worth having a camera ready. The dunes shift from orange to pink to a dull red before it gets properly dark. Dinner is served in a Berber tent at camp. Desert camping in Morocco means sand for a floor and more stars overhead than you're used to seeing.

Most people get up before sunrise for this. It's worth losing the sleep. From there it's back on the camels to Merzouga for breakfast and an actual shower, and the rest of the day goes into driving west, though not the way you came.

This leg runs through Berber villages, back into the Atlas Mountains, and through Tinghir before reaching the Todra Gorge excursion stop, a narrow canyon where the walls rise close to 300 meters on either side of a thin river. From there it's on to Boumalne Dades and finally Ouarzazate, where you'll spend the night.

After breakfast, the drive passes Ait Ben Haddou again, this time without the lunch stop, just enough time to look around once more if the light is better for photos. The kasbah shows up often in film and television, which is part of why it draws a crowd even midweek.

From there it's the Tizi n'Tichka pass in reverse, more Berber villages, and a drop back down into Marrakech by evening. This is where the 4 day Sahara desert tour from Marrakech ends, back where it started.