Day trips and tours from Marrakech, rated by the people who took them.
From the Atlantic coast to the dunes of Erg Chebbi, six trips from Marrakech, each in one of our vehicles with one of our drivers, starting from your hotel at a fixed price confirmed before you travel.
A trip is, first and foremost, a driver and a road.
Six trips from Marrakech, from an evening in Agafay to a three-day tour to Erg Chebbi. All of them start at your hotel, in our own vehicles and with our own drivers.
A good trip rarely comes down to the programme, which is much the same everywhere. It comes down to the departure time, the person at the wheel and the vehicle chosen.
That is why we do not buy in our trips from other operators: the driver who takes you to Ouzoud is employed by Easy Take, has driven the road dozens of times, and knows when the tour buses arrive and when they leave.
The choice of vehicle matters just as much. The five valleys can only be done by 4x4 because the track is unpaved; Essaouira works very well in a Sprinter or a Trafic depending on the size of the group. We tell you the right category when we send your quote, and the price is fixed before you travel.
Essaouira day trip: the city of the trade winds
Marrakech is 176 km from the Atlantic, and the road itself is part of the day: the plateau opens up, the argan trees appear, and we stop at an argan cooperative where the work is still done by hand.
Once you arrive, Essaouira is best seen on foot. The ramparts and the medina are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the fishing port still works as a fishing port (the blue boats, the fish auctions, the smell that goes with them), and the beach catches the trade winds that gave the town its nickname. Then there is free time: this is a town for walking without a plan.
Allow eight to ten hours door to door. The day suits families well; the pace is flexible because the vehicle and the driver stay with you.
- Duration
- 8–10 hours
- Distance
- 176 km
- Departure
- Your hotel
3-day desert tour to Merzouga
This is the classic route through southern Morocco, and the only one on this page that takes three days. First you cross the Tizi n’Tichka Pass, which takes you from the northern side of the High Atlas to the Saharan side: the landscape changes completely within an hour’s drive.
Next comes the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou, a mud-brick village clinging to its hillside, then the Dadès Gorges and their winding roads. The second day takes you to Merzouga, at the foot of Erg Chebbi, where the night is spent in a desert camp. The third day brings you back to Marrakech.
The outward journey is 560 km: this is a real tour, not a day trip. The vehicle is chosen to match: a coach for an organised group, a 4x4 or a Sprinter for a family. The driver’s rest breaks are built into the schedule from the quote stage.
- Duration
- 3 days
- Distance
- 560 km
- Night
- Desert camp
Ourika Valley, private day trip
Ourika is the closest valley to Marrakech: 68 km, and you go from palm trees to mountains. It is the trip we recommend when you only have a day and want to see the High Atlas without spending half of it on the road.
The valley runs up alongside the river, between Berber villages clinging to the slopes. At the far end is Setti Fatma, whose waterfalls are reached on foot along a rocky path. Good shoes are all you need. Lunch is by the water, on terraces set up in the riverbed.
This trip is private: the vehicle and the driver are yours alone, so you can leave early, stop wherever you like and head back when you decide.
- Duration
- Full day
- Distance
- 68 km
- Option
- Private
Five valleys by 4x4 and lunch in Agafay
This is the day for anyone who wants to leave the tarmac behind. The route links five Atlas valleys by dirt track, in a Toyota Prado 4x4, the only vehicle in our fleet that can handle it.
You pass through hamlets the tour buses never reach, cross fords and climb up to ridges with the Haouz Plain on one side and the peaks on the other. Lunch is in the Agafay Desert, the stony desert half an hour from Marrakech whose lunar landscape surprises everyone who expected sand.
The day calls for some tolerance of rough tracks: it gets bumpy at times, and that is exactly the point. Six seats maximum per vehicle.
- Duration
- Full day
- Vehicle
- 4x4
- Lunch
- Agafay
Agafay Desert, dinner show and camel ride
The Agafay Desert is only 32 km from Marrakech, which makes this the shortest trip on this page, and the only one that takes place in the evening.
You arrive in the late afternoon for the camel ride, just as the light falls across the stony hills. Dinner follows, in a tent, with Moroccan food, live music and a campfire. The return is after dark; the drive is short, so the evening fits in with a flight that lands during the day or an already busy schedule.
It is the trip people choose most often for a first evening in Marrakech, or to end a stay.
- Duration
- Evening
- Distance
- 32 km
- On the programme
- Camel ride
Ouzoud Falls, private day trip
A 110 m drop: Ouzoud has the highest waterfalls in Morocco, in the Middle Atlas, 165 km from Marrakech.
You walk down to the pool on a path through the olive groves, a shaded walk of about half an hour that takes you past mills still in use. On the way you almost always come across Barbary macaques, which live wild in the area. At the bottom, boats take you close to the curtain of water. The rainbow that forms in the spray in the afternoon is the photo everyone takes home.
Like the Ourika day trip, this one is private. That is what lets you leave early and reach the falls before the tour buses, which makes a real difference to the day.
- Duration
- Full day
- Distance
- 165 km
- Drop
- 110 m
Before you book a day trip from Marrakech.
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What our passengers say, quoted word for word.
Excellent service ! Le car est très propre, confortable et ponctuel. Le chauffeur Mr Hassan est très professionnel, courtois et conduit avec beaucoup de prudence, ce qui met les passagers en confiance. […] En plus, le prix est très raisonnable par rapport à la qualité du service.
Expérience inoubliable entre Casablanca, Marrakech et Erg Chegaga. Quel plaisir de découvrir le Maroc avec un 4x4, un chauffeur et un guide privé. […] Nabil est un chauffeur professionnel et exceptionnel, aussi bien sur route que sur les pistes du désert.
Ma fille et moi, nous avons passé une excellente journée dans la vallée de l’Ourika avec notre chauffeur Hamza. […] C’est un excellent chauffeur qui a su maîtriser les conditions climatiques exceptionnelles (la neige !). Excursion exceptionnelle.
Nous avons passé une journée merveilleuse avec Hamza. Son français est parfait et nous a fait découvrir cette partie du Maroc que nous ne connaissions pas, à savoir Les Trois Vallées. […] Merci pour tout, c’était plus que parfait.
Un grand merci à notre chauffeur Si Hassan qui nous a transportés à bord d’un autocar très confortable. Nous avons particulièrement apprécié sa gentillesse, son professionnalisme et sa conduite souple, rassurante et parfaitement sécurisée. […] Un chauffeur exemplaire.
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