How to Get to the desert from Marrakech

Trips and excursions to the desert are among the most highly rated experiences for the many hikers who gather in Marrakech year after year. There are several options for reaching the amazing dunes from the red city, but one of the most common is to book an excursion. Read on to find out more.

There are three entrances to the Sahara Desert from Marrakech: Agafay, Merzouga and Zagora. Any of the three options are interesting choices for an excursion, allowing you to enjoy one of your favourite activities without worrying about how to get there.

The prices of these excursions are affordable, and booking any of them is the most convenient way to go to the desert because it also optimises your experience by including accommodation, meals and some activities in many cases. The most popular excursions are:

• Excursion to the Marrakech desert with dinner — from £40
• Excursion to the Atlas Mountains from Marrakech — from £31
• 2-day excursion to the Zagora desert from Marrakech — from £74
• 3-day trip to the Merzouga desert from Marrakech — from £93

Among the options studied, this is the only one that allows you to book a day trip to the desert from Marrakech. For this reason, Agafay is the ideal alternative for any traveller who wants to discover the Marrakech desert and has a tight schedule, as it is only 40 minutes away by road.

What is the Agafay Desert excursion like?

Most agencies offering organised tours of the Agafay desert include pick-up and drop-off at your hotel in Marrakech among their services.

This means that all you have to do is choose which activities you want to do in the desert from the many options available. Some popular alternatives are: camel rides with afternoon tea, water sports on Lake Takerkoust, glamping experiences in luxury tents in the desert, romantic dinners under the stars, lunches and much more.

• Price: From £34
• Duration: From 40 minutes for a direct trip to 2 hours if you include stops at tourist attractions before arriving at the desert.

The Merzouga desert is the furthest from Marrakech. A road trip will take at least 8.5 hours without stops. Quite an adventure through Morocco! Fortunately, from the city of Marrakech, you will find excursions that take care of everything for you.

What is the excursion to the Merzouga desert like?

Several tour operators offer organised excursions to the Merzouga desert, taking you from your hotel in Marrakech to the great sand mountains.

This is by far my favourite option, as it not only saves us the hassle of planning a long trip to the desert, but also saves us a lot of the inconveniences and unforeseen events that could arise. For a few euros, you will have the opportunity to relax and enjoy the company of very friendly guides whose job is to make your experience as enjoyable as possible.

On a guided excursion, the road trip will be a little longer, possibly 12 hours of transport. However, it is the perfect opportunity to visit other tourist attractions that are always included in the tours as stops along the way.

• Price: From €96.
• Duration: A guided tour from Marrakech to Merzouga will take at least 3 days.

The Zagora Desert is located about 6 hours by road from Marrakech; the popular Moroccan city also offers all kinds of transport options to reach the destination.

What is the excursion to the Zagora Desert like?

This is my favourite option for visiting places like the Zagora Desert, as the operators who have been organising these excursions for decades know how to make the trip a thoroughly enjoyable experience for tourists.

Departing from your hotel in Marrakech, the trip to Zagora includes: stops at points of interest, transport and accommodation in the desert. Most of your trip will be taken care of without taking up any of your time.

• Price: From €90.
• Duration: The entire excursion from Marrakech usually lasts 2 to 3 days in total.

Finding a taxi to take you from the centre of Marrakech to your destination in Agafay is really easy. Taxis are a widely used method of transport and those operating around hotels usually speak 2 or 3 languages quite fluently.

However, travelling to other desert destinations such as Mezourga or Zagora can be much more expensive and not all taxi drivers will be willing to travel so far.

When taking taxis in Morocco, you must be very careful and always agree on the fare in advance and before getting into the car. Taxis here do not use meters, and if you do not agree on the price of the journey, the driver can charge you whatever they want at the end of the journey.

• Price: Approximately €35 per trip. Remember to factor in the return trip to the hotel.
• Duration: A maximum of 40 minutes for a journey without stops.

The car rental business in Marrakech is in high demand by tourists and local travellers, which is why getting a car is very easy and in certain scenarios may be the most reasonable option.

However, it is not an alternative that I would recommend for inexperienced travellers visiting the city for the first time and who are not entirely familiar with its ways and customs. The chaotic traffic in Marrakech could be stressful and overwhelming.

Agafay

Renting a car may be impractical for short distances, such as the trip to the Agafay desert. However, it can be quite useful if you are a confident driver in any country.

• Price: a basic car in Marrakech costs a minimum of €8 per day. Consider fuel costs as an additional expense.
• Duration: The non-stop journey from Marrakech to the Agafay desert takes only 40 minutes.

Merzouga

This alternative way of getting to Merzouga offers many advantages, such as the possibility of a 100% personalised itinerary with stops only at your points of interest.

The main drawback is that it requires a lot of planning and organisation on the part of the traveller, which is why I do not recommend it for those visiting Morocco for the first time.

If you are planning a road trip from Marrakech to Merzouga, bear in mind that although you will find many petrol stations, the towns are often far apart, so you need to keep an eye on the fuel gauge.

• Price: a vehicle in Marrakech will cost you an average of €8 to €10, to which you must add the cost of fuel and tolls.
• Duration: The direct journey by road without stops to Merzouga will take at least 10 hours.

Zagora

It is very important to remember that the police and most of the people you meet will not speak English, so you must be prepared to communicate effectively in other languages. On the positive side, having your own transport will allow you to plan your trip as you wish, with stops at the main sights in Marrakech

• Price: a vehicle in Marrakech will cost from €8 per day. To this you must add the cost of fuel and any tolls.
• Duration: The direct journey by car from Marrakech to Zagora takes around 7 hours on average.

Although it is the most expensive option, if you don't have much time to enjoy Marrakech, you can consider this option for travelling to the Merzouga or Zagora desert.

Merzouga

If your goal is to reach the Merzouga desert in the shortest time possible, you may want to consider flying part of the way. Although there are currently no direct flights between Merzouga and Marrakech, you can take a flight from the red city to Ouarzazate or Errachidia. From there, you can hire a taxi or take a bus to your final destination in Merzouga.

I do not recommend this option due to the additional cost involved, but mainly because it limits the desert crossing experience to just the final destination.

• Price: A plane ticket from Marrakech will cost from €130 upwards. To this you must add the price of the taxi or bus, giving a total average of €170 for the trip.
• Duration: An average of 10 hours from your destination in Marrakech.

Zagora

The city of Zagora has its own airport, Zagora Airport (OZG). You can take a flight from Marrakech and, once in the city, hire the services of a tour company to take you to the desert.

There are two reasons why I do not recommend this option:

1. Flights to Zagora, although short, are difficult to find due to low demand. The airline that operates flights between Marrakech and Zagora is
   Air Arabia Maroc; most flights include a stopover at Casablanca Airport, which can last several hours before your next flight.

2nd - Flying between cities will not allow you to enjoy the beauty of Morocco, which is ultimately the goal of every traveller.

• Price: The cheapest flights cost around €320 on average.
• Duration: The flight time without stopovers is only 2.5 hours in total.

Marrakech is the busiest and most active city in Morocco, so you can take a bus from its main station to reach virtually any destination in the country.

Merzouga

Although it is the cheapest option of all, it is my least favourite due to the many inconveniences it entails: firstly, it is a long and tiring journey in which you will have to sit for a long time, and secondly, you will not be able to stop to appreciate the beauty that Morocco has to offer along the way.

• Price: For approximately €35, you can travel all the way to the village of Merzouga. From there, you can book a day trip through the desert.
• Duration: If you decide to travel by bus from Marrakech to Merzouga, be prepared for at least 16 hours on the road with no stops planned.

Zagora

The bus is an extremely economical option for travelling from Zagora to Marrakech, but it is not recommended for tourists. A bus trip will deprive you of enjoying the beauty of Morocco, as you will not be able to stop at any points of interest.

If you still choose this option, the transport company Supratours runsdaily trips from Marrakech to Zagora. You can find the bus at the main terminal in the city. Bear in mind that it will be extremely difficult to find operators and service personnel who speak Spanish.

• Price: For less than €18, you can cover the cost of the bus trip to Zagora.
• Duration: The approximate travel time is 8 hours in total.

When people talk about the Marrakech desert, what they are actually referring to is the area of the Sahara Desert that is located in Morocco. The Moroccan Sahara Desert is divided into two large ergs or groups of dunes: the Erg Chebbi desert near the village of Merzouga and the Erg Chigaga desert near the village of Zagora. The Agafay Desert, on the other hand, is an arid and rocky area on the outskirts of Marrakech, but not a sandy desert per se.

Marrakech is known worldwide as a city of luxury and charm, thanks to its fabulous architecture and diverse cuisine. It is the most popular city in Morocco, the point where the vast majority of tourists travelling from all over the world to this oriental paradise converge.

Morocco is a very large country that offers travellers several desert areas to choose from. So if you plan to travel to the desert from Marrakech, you should choose the option that best suits certain determining factors, such as your travel itinerary, length of stay, the best time of year to visit Marrakech, your budget, and the level of adventure you can handle!