My 2025 Marrakech 3 Day Desert Tour Review

So, you’re apparently thinking about doing a Marrakech 3 day desert tour, right? Well, that’s honestly a pretty good idea, because it’s a trip that literally everyone talks about. I actually just got back from one, so I figured I could sort of walk you through what the 2025 version of this trip feels like, you know, from start to finish. It’s almost impossible to get a straight story online, with so many options and different operators out there. Basically, what I want to give you here is just a real-person look at what to expect—the amazing parts, and some of the, well, less-amazing parts, to be honest. You will definitely be spending a lot of time in a van, so I suppose it’s good to know if it’s worth it for you personally. Anyway, let’s get into what happens on day one.

Kicking Things Off: The Drive from Marrakech into the Mountains

Okay, so your first day literally starts super early in the morning. Our pickup was, like, around 7:30 AM, and you should probably expect something similar. A minivan or a 4×4 comes to grab you, and honestly, you might be sharing it with a few other travelers. For instance, our van was more or less full, but it was still sort of comfortable, which was a pleasant surprise. As I was saying, you then start the drive out of Marrakech, and pretty soon you’re going up into the High Atlas Mountains, which is really cool. The road, called the Tizi n’Tichka pass, is apparently one of the most scenic drives in Morocco, and seriously, the views are something else.

The van just keeps climbing higher and higher, you know, twisting around these sharp corners. If you get carsick, you may want to sit near the front, just a heads up. The driver will likely make a few stops along the way for photos and for you to grab a coffee or use the restroom. We stopped at this little café on the side of a cliff, and it was just a little bit chilly up there, but the view was absolutely worth it. This part of the day is really all about the changing scenery; you literally watch the landscape transform from city buildings to green hills and then to these stark, reddish mountains. It’s actually a lot of driving, so make sure you have a good book or some music, but honestly, I spent most of my time just looking out the window, pretty much in awe.

An Afternoon Stop at a Real Life Movie Set: Aït Benhaddou

After a few hours in the mountains, your next big stop is typically the famous ksar of Aït Benhaddou. You have almost certainly seen this place before, even if you don’t recognize the name, right? It’s basically a UNESCO World Heritage site, and they’ve filmed tons of movies and TV shows there, like Gladiator and Game of Thrones. And so on, it’s just this incredible old village made of mud and straw, built right into the side of a hill. It honestly looks like something straight out of a history book or a fantasy film. We had about an hour or two here, which was, you know, just enough time to explore a little.

You’ll probably have a guide who walks you through the narrow, winding alleys, or you can just wander around on your own, which is what we sort of did. It’s pretty amazing to just touch the walls and think about how long this place has been standing. You can actually climb all the way to the top for a panoramic view of the surrounding desert landscape, and seriously, you should definitely do that. There are a few shops inside where locals sell crafts and art, and at the end of the day, it’s a very cool cultural experience.

I mean, standing there at the top, looking out over the same view people have seen for centuries, you just sort of feel very small, but in a really good way. It’s one of those moments that really sticks with you.

After that, you usually have lunch at a nearby restaurant before getting back on the road for the final leg of the day’s drive, often to a town like Ouarzazate or somewhere in the Dadès Valley for your first overnight stay in a hotel. This first hotel is, well, usually a fairly standard place, nothing too fancy but it does the job.

Riding a Camel into the Sahara: What It’s Really Like

Alright, so day two is basically the day everyone is waiting for. After breakfast, you get back in the van and continue the drive towards the Sahara Desert. The scenery on this drive changes again, becoming, like, much drier and more wide-open. You’ll probably make a stop at the Todra Gorge, which is this huge canyon with a little river running through it. It’s a really popular spot for rock climbers, and it’s honestly quite impressive to just stand there and look up at the massive rock walls on either side. It’s a bit of a tourist spot, but still very much worth seeing.

Then, in the late afternoon, you finally arrive near the Erg Chebbi dunes, which is the part of the Sahara you’re there to see. And this, my friend, is where it gets really good. You leave your big luggage behind and pack a small overnight bag, because you’re about to meet your camel. Honestly, getting on a camel is a little awkward and kind of a strange feeling. They stand up in this jerky two-part motion, so you just have to hold on tight, you know? But once you’re up there, it’s an incredible experience. You slowly ride in a caravan, just like in the movies, deeper and deeper into the sea of orange sand. The silence out there is just a little bit unreal, with the only sound being the soft footsteps of the camels on the sand. The shadows get super long as the sun starts to set, and everything, literally everything, turns a beautiful golden color. This camel ride is, frankly, the absolute highlight for most people.

A Night Under a Billion Stars: The Desert Camp Experience

So, after about an hour or so on the camel, you’ll arrive at your Berber desert camp for the night, just as it’s getting dark. These camps are usually a collection of large, sturdy tents set up in a circle, with a central area for a campfire. Obviously, the quality can vary a lot, from pretty basic to more “glamping” style setups with actual beds and sometimes even private bathrooms. Our camp was somewhere in the middle; we had real beds, which was great, but the bathrooms were shared. Honestly, it was perfectly fine for one night, and pretty much what I expected.

As I was saying, your hosts will then make you dinner, which is usually a traditional tagine, and it was actually really delicious. After dinner is when the magic really happens. You all gather around the campfire, and the Berber guides start playing drums and singing traditional songs. You can just sit back and listen, or, like some people in our group, you can try to play along. After the music, you should definitely take a short walk away from the camp, away from the firelight, and just look up. With literally zero light pollution, the number of stars you can see is mind-blowing. You can clearly see the Milky Way, and we even saw a few shooting stars. It’s just a little bit of a powerful and humbling experience to feel so far away from everything under that huge, sparkling sky. You just don’t get a view like that back home, right?

The Long Road Back and Some Final Thoughts

Day three starts very, very early, as a matter of fact. You’ll be woken up before dawn to climb up a sand dune and watch the sunrise over the desert. You might be a little sleepy, but seriously, you have to do this. Watching the sun peek over the horizon and slowly light up the endless waves of sand is just an unforgettable sight. The colors of the sky and sand change by the minute. After sunrise, you get back on your camel for the ride back to the edge of the dunes, where you’ll have breakfast and maybe a quick shower. And then, well, it’s time for the long drive back to Marrakech.

I’m not going to lie, this day is pretty much just driving. It’s a very long stretch, basically backtracking the way you came, so it can feel a little bit repetitive. You will probably stop for lunch somewhere in the middle of the day. To be honest, everyone in our van was sort of tired and quiet on the way back, just looking at their pictures and sleeping. You’ll finally get back to Marrakech in the early evening, around 7 or 8 PM. They will drop you off at your hotel or the nearest accessible point, and just like that, your desert adventure is over. It’s sort of a whirlwind three days with a ton of time spent on the road, but the experiences you get, especially on that second day and night, are things you’ll probably remember forever.

• The Drive is Long: Seriously, be prepared for a lot of time in a van. It’s scenic, but it is still a lot of sitting.
• Day 2 is the Main Event: The camel ride and the night in the desert are absolutely the core of the whole experience.
• Manage Expectations: Your hotel and camp might be basic or they might be fancy. Just go with the flow, you know?
• Pack Smart: Bring sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, warm clothes for the cold desert night, and a small overnight bag.
• It’s a Tourist Trail: You will be with other tourists. This isn’t a solo, off-the-grid adventure, but it’s still a really, really cool experience.

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