Nine days from Marrakech built around a family's pace: camel rides, kasbahs they can climb, shorter driving days and rooms that fit four. Each stop has something to do when you arrive.
- Duration
- 9 days / 8 nights
- Route
- Marrakech → Merzouga
- Pace
- Short driving days, one longer stretch to the desert
Overview
Nine days timed to a family's pace rather than an adult's: shorter driving days, rooms that fit four, and something to do at every stop the moment you arrive.
Photos
Route
- 1Marrakech
- 2Aït Benhaddou
- 3Dades Valley
- 4Merzouga
Highlights
- Camel rides out at the dunes
- Kasbahs children can actually climb
- Shorter driving days with stops that work
- Rooms that fit four, booked with that in mind
Day by day
A representative plan. Every trip is adjusted to your dates, your pace and what you want to see.
1
Day 1
Arrival in Marrakech
Your driver meets you at the airport and takes you into the medina, about twenty minutes from the terminal. Evening is Jemaa el-Fna, with the food stalls filling the square and the Koutoubia lit up behind them.
Nothing else is planned today, and the bags stay shut until tomorrow.
2
Day 2
A full day in Marrakech
A whole day in one city before the road starts. Morning in the souks with a guide or on your own, afternoon at the Menara gardens or by the pool at the riad.
An early night helps, because the first real drive is tomorrow.
3
Day 3
Marrakech at your own pace
Nothing scheduled. Some families take the morning in the Bahia Palace and the dyers' souk, others take a taxi out to the Jardin Majorelle, and some do neither.
The evening is yours too, and most people end up back on Jemaa el-Fna.
4
Day 4
Marrakech to Ait Benhaddou
About three and a half hours over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, the first proper mountain road of the trip. Your driver stops at the top for photos and something hot to drink.
Afternoon is the ksar at Ait Benhaddou, built of mud brick and climbed on foot. Children manage it without help, and there is time for a second go before dinner.
5
Day 5
Ait Benhaddou to the Dades Valley
About three hours today: half an hour to Ouarzazate, then east through the valley of a thousand kasbahs to Boumalne Dades. Afternoon is the gorges road above the valley, a run of switchbacks with the whole valley below.
A short day, so there is time for a walk along the river before dinner.
6
Day 6
Dades to Todra Gorge and back
About an hour across to Todra Gorge, where the cliff walls close in above the river and you can walk under them as far as you like. Back in the Dades by lunchtime, with the rest of the day free.
The shortest day of the nine. No packing, no check-out, and a shallow stretch of river to cool off in.
7
Day 7
Dades to Merzouga
About four to five hours to the sand, with a stop in Erfoud for the fossil workshops. Arrive mid-afternoon and take a camel out to the camp at Erg Chebbi in time for the sun going down.
Dinner is at the camp, and there is sandboarding on the dunes before it if anyone is still standing.
8
Day 8
Sunrise on the dunes, then the pool
Up before sunrise for the walk up the dunes while the sand is cold, then back to the hotel for breakfast and a shower. Afternoons at the edge of the desert are hot, so the pool does most of the work.
Late afternoon is a short drive out to Khamlia, a village of musicians a few kilometres away, or nothing at all. This is the day families use to wash, dry and regroup.
9
Day 9
Merzouga and the road home
This is where the tour ends. From Merzouga it is a full day's drive back to Marrakech, so most families either fly out of Errachidia, about two and a half hours north, or add a night and work their way back slowly.
Either way the morning is slow: breakfast, one last look at the dunes, and no alarm.
Good to know
Pace and driving
Three days have no driving at all, and day one is only the airport transfer. The longest is Dades to Merzouga at about five hours, with the stop at Todra Gorge.
Rooms for four
Rooms are booked as four-person family rooms or two doubles that sit next to each other, confirmed before you travel rather than sorted out at the desk.
Who it suits
Children from about six upwards, and parents who want something to do at every stop instead of a long transfer. Desert nights are cold in winter, so pack layers for everyone.
What's included
- Private vehicle and driver for the whole itinerary
- Accommodation each night, with breakfast
- Airport transfers at the start and end
- A local guide in the medinas where a guide adds most
- A named contact in Marrakech throughout your trip
Not included
- International flights
- Lunches, dinners and drinks unless listed
- Entrance fees to monuments and sites
- Tips for your driver and guides
- Travel insurance
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