How to get to Merzouga

Fes is the most common starting point. It is roughly 460 to 470 kilometres by road, which is seven to eight hours of real driving through Ifrane, Midelt, the Ziz gorges and Erfoud.

Supratours and CTM both run a daily coach that leaves Fes in the evening and arrives in Merzouga early the next morning. It is cheap and reliable, but you sleep sitting up and you see none of the scenery.

A private transfer with a driver costs more and takes the same time, but you stop at the Ziz valley viewpoint, the cedar forest and Midelt for lunch, which turns the drive into part of the trip.

• Distance: about 465 km
• Driving time: 7-8 hours without stops
• Overnight coach: departs evening, arrives around sunrise

Marrakech to Merzouga is a long day: around 560 kilometres and nine to ten hours over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, through Ouarzazate, the Dades and Todra gorges and Erfoud.

Very few people do it in one go. The usual pattern is a two-day route with a night in Dades or Todra, and most desert tours out of Marrakech are built exactly that way.

• Distance: about 560 km
• Driving time: 9-10 hours, better split over two days
• Recommended overnight stop: Dades or Todra gorge

The nearest airport is Errachidia (ERH), about 130 kilometres away, roughly two hours by road. Ouarzazate (OZZ) is around four and a half hours. Both have limited domestic connections, so most visitors still land in Fes or Marrakech.

Rissani is the last town before the desert: 40 kilometres out, about 35 minutes. Shared grand taxis run between Rissani and Merzouga through the day and are the cheapest way to close the gap.

• Errachidia airport: about 2 hours
• Ouarzazate airport: about 4.5 hours
• Rissani to Merzouga: about 35 minutes

Whatever time you get in, we collect you from your hotel, riad, guesthouse or camp anywhere in Merzouga and Hassilabied at no extra cost. Send us your arrival time on WhatsApp and we will fit the ride around it.

Guests coming off the overnight coach usually ride the same morning, before the heat. Guests driving down from Fes or Marrakech normally prefer the sunset ride on the day they arrive.