Travel guides
Plan a better Morocco trip.
Honest, practical guides from a Marrakech atelier — the questions every traveller asks, answered with real numbers and local knowledge.
57 guides available
Itineraries
Itineraries guides
Day-by-day routes our concierge builds, from first-timers to slow travellers.
ItinerariesItineraries · One week
Morocco Itinerary: 7 Days
A week is the perfect length for a desert-focused trip. Here are two proven 7-day routes built around the Sahara — a deep dunes loop to the remote Erg Chigaga, or the classic Erg Chebbi week with extra time in Marrakech — plus how to choose between them.
ItinerariesItineraries · Ten days
Morocco Itinerary: 10 Days
Ten days is the sweet spot for a desert-led trip — long enough to reach the dunes unhurried, spend two nights deep in the Sahara, and still see the gorges, kasbahs and one imperial city, with the coast as an optional finish.
ItinerariesItineraries · Two weeks
Morocco Itinerary: 14 Days — The Grand Two-Week Route
Two weeks is the dream length for a desert lover: time for two different stretches of Sahara, the full kasbah road and gorges, the imperial cities of the north and the Atlantic coast — all unhurried, with the dunes given the days they deserve rather than a single rushed night.
ItinerariesItineraries · Family
Morocco Family Itinerary: 10 Days with Children
A 10-day family itinerary built around the desert — the camel ride and starry camp night every child remembers — with Marrakech and the Atlantic coast bookending the Sahara. It's paced for children's energy: private riads with pools, manageable drives and the kasbahs and gorges that turn the long road to the dunes into an adventure.
ItinerariesItineraries · Trip length
How Many Days Do You Need in Morocco?
If the Sahara is your goal, give it room. Five days is the workable minimum to pair Marrakech with a proper desert overnight; ten days lets the dunes breathe alongside the gorges, kasbahs and one imperial city. Here's what each trip length unlocks for a desert-focused holiday.
ItinerariesItineraries · Road trip
Morocco Road Trip Guide: Routes, Tips & What to Expect
The southern desert loop from Marrakech is one of the great drives on earth — the High Atlas passes, the kasbah road, the Draa Valley palmeries and the dunes of Erg Chebbi unfolding in sequence. This guide covers how to plan it, what the roads are really like, where you need a 4x4, and whether to self-drive or take a driver.
ItinerariesItineraries · Desert tour
Morocco Desert Tour from Marrakech: The Complete Route Guide
This is the trip most people picture when they imagine the Moroccan Sahara: leaving Marrakech, climbing the Tizi n'Tichka, threading the kasbahs and gorges, and arriving by camel at a camp in the dunes of Erg Chebbi. Here is the complete route, from the (impossible) day trip to the unhurried five-day circuit, with honest timings, costs and advice.
Planning
Planning guides
When to come, what it costs and how to shape the trip before you fly.
PlanningPlanning · When to go
The Best Time to Visit Morocco
If the desert is the heart of your trip, plan around the dunes first. October to April is the prime Sahara window — comfortable days in Merzouga and Erg Chigaga, brilliant stargazing and cold but magical camp nights. Spring and autumn are the all-round sweet spots for combining the dunes with the cities and the Atlas.
PlanningPlanning · Safety
Is Morocco Safe to Visit?
Yes — Morocco is among the safest, most visitor-friendly countries in North Africa, and the desert routes south of Marrakech and Fes are well-travelled, well-organised and reassuringly calm. Most day-to-day friction is petty souk hustle and overcharging in the cities, all easily handled.
PlanningPlanning · Visa & entry
Morocco Visa & Entry Requirements
Most travellers — including US, Canadian, UK, EU/Schengen, Australian, New Zealand and Japanese passport holders — enter Morocco visa-free for up to 90 days, easily long enough for any desert itinerary. You need a passport valid for at least six months beyond arrival.
PlanningPlanning · Money
Morocco Travel Costs & Budget
A Sahara desert tour fits almost any budget. A shared standard tour with a basic camp can be remarkably cheap; a private 4x4 trip with a luxury camp at Erg Chigaga and a driver-guide sits firmly in premium territory. Knowing where the money goes helps you spend it on the parts that matter.
PlanningPlanning · Ramadan
Travelling in Morocco During Ramadan
Ramadan reshapes the rhythm of Morocco — quiet daytime towns, then electric, communal evenings. For desert travellers it can be a special time to visit: the camps and tours run normally, the dunes are uncrowded, and an iftar shared in an oasis town is unforgettable. The key is knowing what changes and planning around it.
PlanningPlanning · Solo & Women
Morocco for Women Travellers
Women travel Morocco's desert routes solo and in small groups in large numbers every season, and most rate it a highlight. The cities take a little managing — street attention is real — but the desert itself, with its small-group camps and vetted guides, is one of the calmest, friendliest places a woman can travel in Morocco.
PlanningPlanning · Family travel
Morocco with Kids: A Family Travel Guide
A desert tour is one of the best things you can do with children in Morocco — the camel ride, the dune-climbing, the campfire and a sky full of stars stay with kids for years. With sensible pacing and a camp that has proper beds, the Sahara works for almost any family.
PlanningPlanning · Honeymoon
Morocco Honeymoon Guide
For a honeymoon, the Sahara is the centrepiece: a private candlelit dinner served on the dunes, a sky thick with stars and no one else for miles, a sunrise camel ride for two. Wrap a luxury desert camp into a Marrakech riad-and-hammam trip and you have one of the most romantic journeys on earth.
PlanningPlanning · Sahara
Sahara Desert Tour Guide: Merzouga, Chigaga & Zagora
This is the question every desert traveller starts with: which dunes? Erg Chebbi at Merzouga for towering, accessible grandeur; Erg Chigaga near M'Hamid for true remoteness; or Zagora for a quick taste when time is short. We break down the three, what the camps are really like, when to go and how to get there.
PlanningPlanning · Trekking
Trekking the Atlas Mountains: Toubkal, Imlil & Beyond
Every desert tour from Marrakech crosses the High Atlas, and many travellers add a day or two in the mountains to break the journey south. The range rises to 4,167 metres at Jbel Toubkal, North Africa's highest peak — and whether you want a half-day walk from Imlil or a full summit, it pairs beautifully with the dunes beyond.
PlanningPlanning · Surf
Surfing in Morocco: Taghazout, Agadir & Imsouane
Morocco's Atlantic coast surfs best from September to April — neatly overlapping prime desert season, so surf-and-Sahara combinations are popular. Warm winters, cheap living and a relaxed scene centre on Taghazout, with long right-hand points at Imsouane and beginner beaches in Agadir.
PlanningPlanning · Marrakech
Things to Do in Marrakech: The Essential Guide
Marrakech is the gateway to the Sahara — the city where almost every desert tour begins and ends. Before or after the dunes, it offers sensory overload in the best possible way: a medieval medina, world-class gardens, hammam rituals, rooftop dinners and a square that transforms nightly into one of the world's great open-air spectacles. Here is how to spend your city days.
PlanningPlanning · Fes
Things to Do in Fes: The Essential Guide
Fes is the northern gateway to the Sahara — the alternative start point to Marrakech for desert tours, with the dunes of Merzouga a single long day's drive south via Ifrane and Midelt. The city itself is the world's largest inhabited medieval medina: 9,400 lanes, 14th-century madrasas, the planet's oldest university and the Chouara tanneries, all demanding a good guide and unhurried time.
PlanningPlanning · Chefchaouen
Things to Do in Chefchaouen: The Essential Guide
Chefchaouen, Morocco's blue city in the Rif Mountains, sits at the opposite end of the country from the Sahara — but it makes a beautiful cool-climate counterpoint for travellers extending a desert trip into the north. Its small, blue-washed medina is genuinely lovely, its mountains reward hikers, its food is distinctively Rifian, and its pace is the slowest in Morocco.
PlanningPlanning · Essaouira
Things to Do in Essaouira: The Essential Guide
Essaouira is the perfect decompression after the desert — a fortified white-and-blue Atlantic port three hours west of Marrakech, with breezy ramparts, a working fishing harbour, outstanding grilled seafood and world-class windsurfing. Many travellers finish a Sahara loop here, trading dune silence for salt air and ocean light.
PlanningPlanning · Agadir
Things to Do in Agadir: The Essential Guide
Agadir is Morocco's beach-resort capital — 10 km of Atlantic sand, year-round sunshine and easy package infrastructure, rebuilt from scratch after the 1960 earthquake. For desert travellers it works as a relaxed warm-down at the end of a trip and as the gateway to the Souss Valley, the argan forests and the Taghazout surf coast.
PlanningPlanning · Rabat
Things to Do in Rabat: The Essential Guide
Rabat, Morocco's understated capital, sits far from the dunes but makes a calm, cultured stop for travellers bookending a desert trip on the coast. Its UNESCO-listed monuments, royal kasbah and Roman ruins come without the tourist crush of Marrakech or Fes, at the unhurried pace of a working capital.
PlanningPlanning · Tangier
Things to Do in Tangier: The Essential Guide
Tangier, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, is about as far from the Sahara as Morocco gets — but it's a striking northern bookend for travellers who want a full-country trip around their desert days. Its restored kasbah, rebuilt seafront and reclaimed literary history make it one of Morocco's most interesting cities.
PlanningPlanning · Casablanca
Things to Do in Casablanca: The Essential Guide
Casablanca is where many Sahara journeys actually begin — its airport (CMN) is Morocco's main international hub, and the high-speed train whisks desert-bound travellers on to Marrakech and the south. Before you head for the dunes, the city's centrepiece, the colossal Hassan II Mosque, plus its Corniche and Art Deco streets, reward a day beyond the transfer.
PlanningPlanning · Ouarzazate
Things to Do in Ouarzazate: The Essential Guide
Every desert tour passes through Ouarzazate — 'the door of the desert' — the staging post where the High Atlas gives way to the Saharan south. It's the crossroads for both great routes: east through the gorges to Merzouga's Erg Chebbi, and south down the Draa Valley to Zagora and remote Erg Chigaga. Aït Ben Haddou and the legendary Atlas Studios sit right on the doorstep.
PlanningPlanning · Meknes
Things to Do in Meknes: The Essential Guide
Meknes, the quietest of Morocco's imperial cities, makes a calm cultural stop for travellers shaping a longer trip around their desert days — easily paired with Fes before heading south to the dunes. It rewards lingering: a UNESCO medina, the monumental gates and granaries of Sultan Moulay Ismail's 17th-century capital, and Roman Volubilis 33 km north.
PlanningPlanning · Winter travel
Morocco in Winter: What to Expect & Where to Go
Winter (December–February) is arguably the best season for a Sahara trip. The dunes get their clearest skies and most brilliant stargazing of the year, the daytime heat is gone, and the camps are quietly atmospheric — you just need to pack properly for the genuinely cold nights. Here's what to expect and where to go.
PlanningPlanning · Summer travel
Morocco in Summer: Heat, Coast & What Still Works
Summer (June–August) is the one season we steer desert travellers away from the dunes: Merzouga and Erg Chigaga hit 45–50°C and camps scale back or close. If your dates are fixed in summer, this guide covers the cooler alternatives — the Atlantic coast, the Rif and the higher-altitude south — and when to save the Sahara for instead.
PlanningPlanning · Solo travel
Morocco Solo Travel: An Honest Guide
Solo travel in Morocco is rewarding, affordable and genuinely feasible — and the desert is one of the easiest, most sociable parts of it. Joining a small-group Sahara tour gives a solo traveller instant company at the camp fire, while the cities take a little more awareness. Here's how to do both well.
PlanningPlanning · Marrakech season
Best Time to Visit Marrakech
March to May and September to November are the best months to visit Marrakech — and they happen to be ideal for setting off to the desert too, with comfortable city warmth and dune-friendly temperatures down south. Summer is hot and the worst time for a Sahara excursion; winter is mild, crowd-free and prime desert season.
PlanningPlanning · Sahara season
Best Time to Visit the Sahara in Morocco
This is the question that should shape your whole trip. October to April is the Moroccan Sahara's golden window — walkable days, crisp clear nights and dunes raked with low golden light. July and August are punishing, with the dunes too hot to enjoy and many camps closed. Below, month by month, is exactly what to expect at Erg Chebbi and Erg Chigaga.
PlanningPlanning · Beaches
Best Beaches in Morocco
After the dunes, many travellers crave the ocean — and Morocco's 3,000 km of coastline delivers, from the windswept ramparts of Essaouira to the calm family bays of Agadir and the surf of Taghazout. Here is where to go, when, and how to pair a beach finish with your Sahara trip.
PlanningPlanning · Accommodation
Where to Stay in Morocco: Riads, Hotels & Desert Camps
For a desert trip the headline stay is the Sahara camp — but a great itinerary strings together riads in the cities, a kasbah guesthouse on the road, and a tented camp in the dunes. This guide covers each, with most attention on getting the desert camp right, since that's the night you'll remember.
PlanningPlanning · Baby & toddler travel
Morocco with a Baby or Toddler: A Practical Guide
Travelling to Morocco with a baby or toddler is entirely possible and often surprisingly smooth — Moroccan culture adores small children. A full Sahara trip is best saved until they're four or five, but the cities, coast and Atlas foothills work beautifully at any age with the right preparation. Here's how.
PlanningPlanning · When to go
Best Time to Visit Fes: Weather, Crowds & What to Expect
Spring (March–May) and autumn (September–November) are the best times to visit Fes — and the same windows are ideal for setting off south to the desert, since Fes is the northern gateway to Merzouga. Mild weather, manageable crowds and good walking conditions in the labyrinthine medina. Here's what each season brings.
PlanningPlanning · Desert activities
Morocco Camel Trekking: How to Plan the Perfect Sahara Ride
Riding a camel out across the dunes to a tented camp is the experience that defines a Moroccan Sahara trip. This guide demystifies it: where to ride, what the camel actually feels like, how long to book, what the night in the dunes involves, and how to choose between Erg Chebbi and Erg Chigaga.
PlanningPlanning · When to go
Best Time to Visit Chefchaouen: Season, Weather & Practical Tips
Chefchaouen, the blue city of the Rif, makes a cool-climate northern counterpoint to the desert — and spring (March–May) and autumn (September–October) bring it the mildest weather, manageable crowds and the loveliest light. Here's what each season brings, and how it slots into a wider Morocco trip.
Practical
Practical guides
Safety, visas, money, packing and the ground-truth that makes a trip seamless.
PracticalPractical · Packing
What to Pack for Morocco
For a desert trip, pack for two climates in one bag: hot, dusty dune days and surprisingly cold camp nights. Breathable layers, one genuinely warm top, a scarf against blowing sand, and slip-on shoes you don't mind filling with grit cover almost everything.
PracticalPractical · Transport
Getting Around Morocco
Trains cover Morocco's northern cities well, but the desert lives beyond the rail map. To reach Merzouga, Zagora or Erg Chigaga you'll travel by private 4x4 or driver-guide, by long-distance bus, or on an organised tour — and the journey through the Atlas and the Draa Valley is a highlight in itself.
PracticalPractical · Connectivity
SIM Cards & Internet in Morocco
Staying connected is cheap and easy in Morocco's cities — but on a desert trip the more useful skill is knowing where the signal drops. A local SIM or eSIM from Maroc Telecom, Orange or Inwi gives you fast 4G on the road south; out in the dunes you'll often, blissfully, have none.
PracticalPractical · Getting there
Marrakech to Merzouga: Routes, Times & Transport Options
The drive from Marrakech to Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes is the single most important leg of any classic Sahara tour — roughly 550 km of High Atlas passes, kasbahs and gorges that is a destination in its own right. This guide lays out every option: the routes, realistic timings, bus versus private driver, and how many days to give it.
PracticalPractical · Pre-trip checklist
Morocco Travel Checklist: Everything to Do Before You Go
A complete pre-departure checklist for a Morocco desert trip: documents, bookings (including that all-important camp reservation), cash for the cashless dunes, health, connectivity and packing — everything to confirm before you board so the Sahara goes off without a hitch.
PracticalPractical · Airport transfers
Getting from Casablanca Airport (CMN) to Your Destination
Casablanca Mohammed V Airport (CMN) is where many Sahara trips begin. From here the train and private transfers carry you on to Marrakech or Fes — the two launch points for the desert — so getting this first leg right sets the tone for the whole journey south.
PracticalPractical · Insurance
Morocco Travel Insurance: What You Need & Why
Travel insurance matters more on a desert trip than almost anywhere — the Sahara is remote, medical help is hours away, and evacuation from the dunes is expensive without cover. If you're riding camels, sleeping in the desert or crossing the Atlas, this is what to look for, what it costs and which activities need specialist cover.
PracticalPractical · Connectivity
eSIMs for Morocco: The Traveller's Guide to Staying Connected
An eSIM lets you activate a Moroccan data plan before you land, skip the airport queue and keep your home number live — handy for staying in touch with your driver on the long road south. Here is how eSIMs work in Morocco, which providers reach furthest into the desert, and where the signal finally runs out.
PracticalPractical · Health
Is Tap Water Safe to Drink in Morocco?
Tap water is treated to national standards in Morocco's cities, but on a desert trip the smarter habit is bottled or filtered water throughout — especially out on the long southern transfers and at remote camps where water is well-sourced or trucked in. Stomach upsets from unfamiliar local bacteria are common even when the water isn't contaminated.
PracticalPractical · Dress code
What to Wear in Morocco: Dress Code for Travellers
Morocco has no legal dress code for tourists, but on a desert trip modest, covering clothing is both respectful in the traditional oasis villages and genuinely practical against sun, sand and cold camp nights. Here is exactly what to wear in the medinas, on the dunes and in between, and why.
Culture
Culture guides
Food, etiquette, craft and the customs worth knowing before you arrive.
CultureCulture · Food
Moroccan Food & Drink
Food on the desert route is its own pleasure: slow-cooked tagines bubbling over coals, bread baked in the sand, dates from the oasis palmeries, and the endless ritual of sweet mint tea poured under the stars at camp.
CultureCulture · Etiquette
Morocco Etiquette & Customs
A little cultural awareness goes a long way in the desert south, where village and nomadic life is more traditional than in the cities. Dress modestly, greet warmly, ask before photographing people, use your right hand, and lean into the unhurried rhythm of mint tea, conversation and Berber hospitality.
CultureCulture · Photography
Morocco Photography Guide
The Moroccan Sahara is one of the most photogenic landscapes on earth — sculpted dunes that turn from gold to deep orange at the edges of the day, star-filled night skies and the kasbah road in between. Knowing where to stand, when the light works, and how to photograph people respectfully makes all the difference.
CultureCulture · Language
Moroccan Arabic & French Phrases for Travellers
Morocco runs on Darija (Moroccan Arabic) in daily life and French in business and signage — and in the desert south, Tamazight (Amazigh/Berber) is the mother tongue of many camp teams, camel handlers and oasis villages. A handful of phrases opens doors that money alone cannot, especially out on the route.
CultureCulture · Shopping
Shopping in the Souks: What to Buy, Fair Prices & Tips
From the great souks of Marrakech to the date market at Rissani on the edge of the dunes, Morocco's markets reward preparation. Knowing what to look for in rugs, leather, ceramics, lanterns, dates and argan products, what fair prices look like, and how to bargain and ship turns a desert trip into a treasure hunt rather than buyer's regret.
CultureCulture · Festivals & events
Morocco Public Holidays & Festivals
Morocco's calendar blends moon-driven Islamic holy days, fixed national holidays and vivid regional festivals — including several in the desert south, like the Dadès Valley rose festival at Kelaât M'Gouna and the UNESCO-listed nomad gathering of the Tan-Tan Moussem. Knowing the calendar helps you plan around closures and time your trip to catch them.
CultureCulture · Souvenirs
Moroccan Souvenirs: What to Buy & Where
The best souvenirs from Morocco are made there, by hand, and things you'll actually use — not plastic camels. The desert route adds its own treasures: dates from the Rissani palmeries, rose products from the Dadès Valley and Berber rugs straight from oasis co-ops. Here is what to buy and where to find the real thing.
CultureCulture · Culinary
Moroccan Cooking Classes: What to Expect & Where to Book
A Moroccan cooking class is one of the most immersive ways to connect with the country's culture — shopping a souk for saffron and preserved lemons, then slow-cooking a tagine over charcoal. It pairs naturally with a desert trip, where many camps let you watch (or help with) bread baked in the sand. Here's what you'll learn and how to choose a class.