Country(ies): Morocco
Tour type: Shoestring
Group size: Min: 2 | Max: 25
Accommodation: 3-star hotels & desert camp
Meals:
Transport: A/C minibus & 4x4 landcruisers
Highlights: Marrakech medina, Djemaa El Fna square, Atlas Mountains, Kasbah Telouet, Ait Benhaddou World Heritage Site, Ouarzazate, Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, Todra Gorge, Dades Canyon, Erg Chebbi sand dunes, Berber desert camp
This exciting budget tour gives you a fantastic insight into the history and cultures of the Moroccan desert regions. The tour will take in beautiful scenery, the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert.
The tour starts in 4WD vehicles as we begin our journey towards the Sahara Desert. We'll travel across the Atlas Mountains and over the highest mountain pass in Africa. We'll also visit the famous UNESCO world heritage site of Ait Benhaddou which has featured in many famous movies. After passing through many berber villages and Kasbahs we'll read the desert at Merzouga where we'll spend the night in a Berber camp, set amongst the spectacular Erg Chebbi sand dunes. Following a unique evening we'll rise early to witness the beautiful sunrise from the top of nearby sand dunes and then enjoy further adventures in the desert visiting tiny villages and oases. We'll spend one night in the remote desert town of Zagora before returning to Marrakech through the Draa Valley and across the mountains again.
Back in Marrakech we'll take a city tour including the Bahia Palace, the Koutoubia Minaret, and the beautiful Majorelle Garden before finishing in the central square and surrounding souqs. Your evenings here are free to revisit the square which really comes to life after sun down with numerous street food stalls, musicians and entertainers. You then have a final day to explore Marrakech further or take an optional tour.
The standard tour uses mid-range hotels, together with the desert camp with upgrades available to a higher Comfort and Superior level on request.
If our scheduled departure dates don't work for you, or you would prefer not to travel with a group, then we can also run this tour privately for you and customise the itinerary and accommodation to suit your personal requirements. Please contact us for more information and prices.
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Hotel Gala Dinners
Many of Morocco's higher level hotels arrange a very special gala dinner with entertainment in the evening on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Payment for these is normally optional on Christmas Eve (24 Dec) but may be compulsory on New Year's Eve (31 Dec), whether you attend or not. Prices can range from around US$30 to over US$100 per person. Final decisions on prices and whether dinners are compulsory are made relatively close to the time. We aim to always select hotels that make their Gala Dinners optional, though this is is not always possible. Gala dinner prices are therefore not included in our prices above, but will be added to your booking if they become required. This generally will only apply if you add a hotel upgrade to your booking. More information is available on request.
This tour may also be booked privately on any dates, and we can customise the itinerary to fit your personal requirements. Hotel upgrades are available if you would like a higher level of comfort (see Options section for details).
The hotels and accommodations listed below are the ones we most often on this tour. From time to time we may exchange these for similar properties at the same level. In general, specific hotels cannot be guaranteed on our group tours, but you may select your preferred options if you are booking a tailor-made trip.
Le Tichka Hotel
Ouarzazate
Located in the centre of Ouarzazate, just 100 yards from Kasbah Taourirt, this economy level hotel offers an outdoor swimming pool and a tennis court. With 2 restaurants and a bar, the hotel is surrounded by gardens with palm trees.
Kasbah Leila, Bivouac Pieds-des-dunes
Merzouga
Situated in the heart of the Merzouga dunes, Hotel Kasbah Leila offers traditional rooms or Berber tents for an authentic Moroccan experience. All the rooms at Kasbah Leila are equipped with a bathroom and a four-poster bed.
Ksar Tinsouline
Zagora
Located in the Draa River Valley town of Zagora, the Ksar Tinsouline Hotel features an outdoor swimming pool, on-site restaurant and is just a short drive from the Tinfou Dunes.
Madina Club Resort
Marrakech
A large modern property, located in the Palmeraie district of Marrakech, just a short drive from the Medina.
Our tours are designed to include all that you need to enjoy a really special time in the destination youre visiting. However, we do also offer some extra options to complement the tour and add some additional sightseeing or activities, or some extra time at either end of the tour.
All accommodation based options (e.g. Single supplements, extra nights, cruise upgrades) should be booked and paid for in advance so that we can make the appropriate arrangements. Other options may either be booked and paid for in advance or while you are on the tour, though we recommend booking in advance to ensure there are no issues with availability.
Many options are priced the same throughout the year, but some may incur single or high season supplements - full details are given on the tour reservation form or on request.
The detailed Tour Notes below have been written to give you some more detailed information about how the tour runs, what to expect, and how to prepare for your holiday. We recommend downloading an up to date copy of these shortly before you travel in case of any changes.
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Morocco Desert Safari & Country Reviews
Product Review
Posted 15th of Sep 2017
Good itinerary, good guides.
Product Review
Posted 9th of Jun 2017
I enjoyed the trip. Only issue is that the tour guide changed a part of the trip because he didn't want us to do something. Not the fault of encounters. But otherwise the trip was great. I would like to say that travelling from Fez to Marrakech should be on a plane or train. Driving was too long and wasted a day.
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