The 3 days desert tour from Errachidia is a private round trip from Errachidia to the Erg Chebbi dunes at Merzouga and back, with two nights in the desert. It runs 130 km south on the first day, spends a full day inside the erg, and returns through the Todgha Gorge on the third. Because Errachidia has its own airport, it is the fastest way to reach the Moroccan Sahara from anywhere in the country.
This desert tour from Errachidia is private. You travel only with your own group, in an air-conditioned 4×4 or minivan, with the same driver-guide for three days. Nothing is shared and nothing is fixed: if you have an early flight home, we swap the long day 3 for the short one.
| Duration | 3 days / 2 nights |
|---|---|
| Start and end | Errachidia (hotel, airport or bus station) |
| Desert | Erg Chebbi dunes, Merzouga |
| Tour style | Private round trip, customizable |
| Accommodation | 2 nights: desert camp, or one camp night and one kasbah night (see options) |
| Meals | 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts |
| Total distance | About 545 km with the full day 3, or about 350 km with the short version |
| Nearest airport | Moulay Ali Cherif (ERH), about 5 km from the centre of Errachidia |
| Price | On request (see what affects the price) |
Key facts about the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia
- Errachidia to Merzouga: 130 km on the N13, about 2 hours 10 minutes without stops.
- The dunes: Erg Chebbi rises to about 150 m and runs some 28 km from north to south.
- Day 3, full route: 330 km and about 5 hours through Tinejdad, the Todgha Gorge and Goulmima.
- Day 3, early flight: 130 km and about 2 hours 10 minutes straight back through Erfoud.
- Getting there: Ryanair flies Marrakech to Errachidia non-stop in about 1 hour, three times a week.
- Camel ride: optional. A 4×4 reaches the camp at no extra cost.
- Not included: lunches, drinks, entrance fees and tips.
Highlights of the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia
- Swimming at the Source Bleue de Meski, 20 km south of Errachidia, below the ruins of Ksar Meski.
- A stop at the Ziz Valley viewpoint, where date palms follow the riverbed between bare red cliffs.
- Erfoud and its fossil workshops, where black marble is cut to reveal Devonian sea creatures.
- Rissani, cradle of the Alaouite dynasty, with its souk on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- Ksar Oulad Abdelhalim, built around 1900 and nicknamed the Alhambra of the Tafilalt.
- Riding a camel into Erg Chebbi for sunset and sleeping in a desert camp under the stars.
- Sunrise from a dune crest, which most travellers remember above everything else.
- Gnawa music in Khamlia, added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage in 2019.
- Mint tea with a nomad family on the hamada, the stony plain east of the erg.
- The abandoned galena mines of Mfis and the seasonal lake of Dayet Srji.
- Walking into the Todgha Gorge, about 10 m wide at its narrowest point.
- The Ferkla oasis at Tinejdad, with fortified ksour above the palm groves.
Why start a Sahara trip in Errachidia?
Errachidia is the closest city with an airport to the Erg Chebbi dunes. From here Merzouga is 130 km away, about two hours of driving. From Marrakech the same dunes are 560 km and a full day, and from Fes they are 470 km. In other words, the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia gives you the desert without the transfer.
That matters most for two kinds of traveller. First, anyone flying in on the Marrakech to Errachidia route, which takes about an hour instead of a day on the road. Second, anyone already in the south who wants the Sahara without rebuilding their whole itinerary around it.
Itinerary of the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia to Merzouga
The plan below is our standard route for the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia. However, we adjust the stops, the camp and the pace to your wishes. Driving distances and times come from the road itself and do not include stops.
Day 1: Errachidia – Meski – Ziz Valley – Erfoud – Rissani – Erg Chebbi
Your driver-guide meets you at your hotel, at the airport or at the bus station. After a short briefing you head south on the N13. Twenty minutes and 20 km later comes the Source Bleue de Meski, where springs fill a natural pool below the ruins of an old ksar. The French Foreign Legion enlarged the pool and added steps, and local families still come to swim and picnic under the palms.
Next, the road climbs to the Ziz Valley viewpoint. Thousands of date palms run along the riverbed between bare red cliffs, with earthen ksour every few kilometres. Then comes Erfoud, the fossil capital of Morocco, where craftsmen cut and polish black marble until orthoceras and goniatites appear on the surface. These are marine fossils from the Devonian, roughly 400 million years old.
Afterwards you stop in Rissani, the market town of the Tafilalt and the cradle of the Alaouite dynasty that still rules Morocco. One kilometre north lie the ruins of Sijilmasa, founded in 757 and, for centuries, the northern gate of the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade. Nearby stands the Ksar Oulad Abdelhalim, built around 1900 for the elder brother of Sultan Moulay Hassan I and still nicknamed the Alhambra of the Tafilalt.
In the late afternoon the dunes appear. A camel is waiting at the edge of Erg Chebbi, and the trek into the sand takes about an hour, timed so that you reach the camp for the sunset. Dinner is served under the tents, and afterwards the camp team brings out the drums around the fire.
- Driving distance: about 135 km
- Driving time: about 2 hours 15 minutes
- Camel ride: about 1 hour to the camp
- Overnight: desert camp in Erg Chebbi
- Meals: dinner
Day 2 of the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia: sunrise over Erg Chebbi – Khamlia – Mfis – nomad families – Dayet Srji
Your guide wakes you before dawn. You climb the crest behind the camp, sit down and wait; the colour change takes about twenty minutes and it is what most travellers remember afterwards. Breakfast follows at the camp or at the kasbah, with a hot shower.
Then a 4×4 takes you around the erg on the tracks the caravans used. You stop at Khamlia, a village of about 390 people 7 km south of Merzouga, whose families descend from people brought north along the trans-Saharan routes. A Gnawa group plays the three-string guembri and the iron qraqeb; UNESCO added Gnawa to its list of intangible cultural heritage in 2019.
The circuit continues past the abandoned galena mines of Mfis and the black volcanic hills, then stops under a nomad tent for mint tea. Your guide translates while the family explains how they move with the pasture and where they find water. Afterwards you cross to Dayet Srji, the seasonal lake west of the dunes, which fills after rare rains and attracts flamingos when it holds water.
The afternoon is free: sandboarding, tea on a terrace, a swim in the kasbah pool, or nothing at all. Before dinner you go back up for a second sunset, from a different face of the erg.
- Driving distance: about 80 km, mostly by 4×4
- Activity time: about 4 hours, plus free time
- Overnight: desert camp or kasbah hotel near the dunes
- Meals: breakfast and dinner
Day 3: Merzouga – Ferkla oasis – Tinejdad – Todgha Gorge – Goulmima – Errachidia
After breakfast you take the long way back, west across the Tafilalt plain. At Jorf, lines of round mounds cross the ground: these are khettaras, underground tunnels dug centuries ago to carry water from the mountains to the oases without losing it to the sun.
Soon after, the Ferkla oasis opens around Tinejdad, with fortified ksour standing above the palm groves. Then comes the Todgha Gorge, above Tinghir. The canyon narrows to about 10 m at its tightest point, with smooth walls of some 160 m there and cliffs of 300 to 400 m further along. You walk through the narrows and watch the climbers on the rock before lunch beside the stream.
Afterwards the road turns north-east through Goulmima, another oasis with a restored ksar, and follows the Ghris valley back to Errachidia. You arrive in the late afternoon.
- Driving distance: about 330 km
- Driving time: about 5 hours
- End: Errachidia, at your hotel, the airport or the bus station
- Meals: breakfast
Shorter day 3 for early flights
If your flight or bus leaves before the afternoon, we go straight back through Rissani and Erfoud: about 130 km and 2 hours 10 minutes, with time for the fossil workshops on the way. In that case the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia covers roughly 350 km in total instead of 545 km. Tell us your departure time when you book and we plan the day around it.
Route and driving times day by day
| Day | Route | Distance | Driving time | Night |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Errachidia – Meski – Ziz Valley – Erfoud – Rissani – Erg Chebbi | 135 km | 2 h 15, plus the camel ride | Desert camp |
| 2 | Erg Chebbi circuit – Khamlia – Mfis – nomad families – Dayet Srji | 80 km | About 2 h by 4×4 | Camp or kasbah hotel |
| 3 (full) | Merzouga – Tinejdad – Todgha Gorge – Goulmima – Errachidia | 330 km | 5 h | End of the tour |
| 3 (short) | Merzouga – Rissani – Erfoud – Errachidia | 130 km | 2 h 10 | End of the tour |
Gallery of the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia
What is included in the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia
Included
- Pick-up and drop-off in Errachidia: hotel, airport or bus station.
- Private air-conditioned 4×4 or minivan for the whole route, with fuel and tolls.
- English, Spanish or French speaking driver-guide.
- Two nights of accommodation: desert camp, or one camp night and one kasbah night.
- Camel trek at sunset and at sunrise.
- 4×4 desert circuit around Erg Chebbi on day 2.
- Visit to a nomad family, with mint tea.
- Gnawa music session in Khamlia.
- 2 dinners and 2 breakfasts.
- Mineral water in the vehicle.
Not included
- Lunches and drinks outside the camp.
- Entrance fees to monuments and museums.
- Local guides, which are optional.
- Extra activities such as sandboarding, quad bikes or buggies.
- Flights, travel insurance and personal expenses.
- Tips for the driver and the camp team.
Map of the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia
In detail, the loop is: Errachidia → Meski → Ziz Valley → Erfoud → Rissani → Merzouga and Erg Chebbi (2 nights, with Khamlia, Mfis and Dayet Srji) → Jorf → Tinejdad → Tinghir → Todgha Gorge → Goulmima → Errachidia.
Accommodation in the Merzouga dunes
Every option of the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia uses the same route, vehicle and driver-guide. Only the level of comfort changes. We confirm the exact camp and hotel names when you book, according to availability on your dates.
| Option | Night 1: desert camp | Night 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Berber tent with shared bathrooms | A second camp night, or a simple hotel by the dunes |
| Comfort | Tent with a private bathroom and a hot shower | Comfort tent again, or a kasbah hotel with a pool |
| Luxury | Luxury tent with carpets, proper furniture, electricity all night and a private terrace | Luxury tent again, or a boutique kasbah |
Many travellers prefer one night in the camp and one in a kasbah hotel, because a real shower and a pool after a day in the sand make the second night easier. Tell us which you want when you book.
3 days desert tour from Errachidia price
The price is on request, because every private tour is quoted for your own group. In practice, four things change it:
- Group size: the price per person falls as more people share the vehicle.
- Camp level: standard, comfort or luxury.
- Season: Christmas, New Year and Easter are the busiest periods.
- Extras: local guides, entrance fees, sandboarding, quad or buggy rides.
Send us your dates for the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia, the number of travellers and your preferred camp level through our contact page, and we reply with a full quote the same day.
How to book this desert tour from Errachidia
- Send your travel dates, number of people, camp level and your departure time on day 3 through the contact form, by email at favoritesmoroccotours@gmail.com or on WhatsApp (+212 786 278 943).
- We reply with a personalised itinerary and a price.
- You confirm the tour. Payment by PayPal is accepted.
- Your driver-guide meets you in Errachidia on the first morning.
How to reach Errachidia
- By plane: Moulay Ali Cherif airport (ERH) sits about 5 km from the centre, roughly 10 minutes by taxi. Ryanair flies from Marrakech non-stop in about 1 hour, three times a week, and Royal Air Maroc connects Errachidia with Casablanca.
- By bus: CTM and Supratours run daily from Fes, Meknes, Casablanca and Marrakech. Fes to Errachidia takes around 7 hours by bus, against about 5 h 30 by car for the same 335 km.
- By car: the N13 links Errachidia with Fes and Meknes through Midelt, and the N10 links it with Tinghir and Ouarzazate.
- Pick-up: we collect you wherever you arrive, at whatever time your flight or bus lands.
Best time for a desert tour from Errachidia
March to May and September to November are the most comfortable months for the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia, with warm days and clear light on the dunes. Winter works too, although desert nights fall below 5 °C and you will want a real jacket in the camp. In July afternoon temperatures often pass 45 °C, so we start early, keep the middle of the day for the pool and ride the camels late. For a fuller picture, read our guide to the best time to visit Morocco.
What to bring
- A warm jacket for the camp nights, especially between November and March.
- Sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat or a scarf against the sun and the sand.
- Comfortable shoes, plus sandals for the dunes.
- A small overnight bag for the camp; your main luggage stays in the vehicle.
- Swimwear for the Source Bleue de Meski and the kasbah pool.
- A power bank and some cash in dirhams. See our guide to the Moroccan dirham.
- Modest clothing for the villages; our guide to what to wear in Morocco explains the details.
Reviews
Travellers who booked this desert tour from Errachidia share their experience after each trip. If you have already travelled the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia with us, a short review helps other people decide. Read our reviews on TripAdvisor.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Merzouga from Errachidia?
Merzouga lies 130 km south of Errachidia on the N13, through Erfoud. The drive takes about 2 hours 10 minutes without stops, which makes Errachidia the closest airport city to the Erg Chebbi dunes.
Is the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia private?
Yes. The vehicle, the driver-guide and the schedule belong to your group only. Nobody else joins you at any point.
Can I catch a flight on day 3?
Yes, and this is the most common request. We use the short day 3 through Rissani and Erfoud, about 2 hours 10 minutes, and drop you at the airport with time to spare. Just tell us your departure time when you book.
Can I skip the camel ride?
Of course. A 4×4 reaches the camp directly, so children, older travellers and anyone with back problems still sleep in the dunes. Your luggage travels the same way.
Do the camps on the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia have private bathrooms?
Standard camps have shared bathrooms. Comfort and luxury tents have a private bathroom with a hot shower, and luxury camps keep the electricity on all night.
Which days is the Rissani souk open?
Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tell us your dates and we will try to place day 1 on one of them, because it is one of the biggest markets in south-eastern Morocco.
What happens if there is a sandstorm?
Sandstorms are short and usually pass in a few hours. If the wind makes the camel ride uncomfortable, we drive to the camp by 4×4 instead, and if a camp night is genuinely unsafe we move you to a kasbah hotel at no extra cost.
Can the tour run in reverse, or end somewhere else?
It can. Many travellers finish in Marrakech or Fes instead of returning to Errachidia. For the Marrakech version, see our 4 days tour from Errachidia to Marrakech.
Is the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia suitable for families with children?
It is. Day 1 is short, the camel ride is optional and the camp is the part children remember. Tell us their ages and we adapt the seats, the pace and the tents.
What food do we eat?
Dinners at the camp include soup, a tagine or couscous, fruit and mint tea. In Rissani you can try madfouna, the stuffed Berber bread locals call desert pizza. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meals are available on request.
How old are the fossils in Erfoud?
The orthoceras and goniatites in the black marble come from the Devonian, roughly 400 million years ago, when this part of Morocco lay under a shallow sea.
How high are the Erg Chebbi dunes?
The highest crests reach about 150 m, and the erg runs roughly 28 km from north to south. The dune behind most camps takes 10 to 20 minutes to climb.
Have another question about the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia?
Write to us through our contact page or on WhatsApp.
Who we are
Favorites Morocco Tours is a local travel agency based in Marrakech, and the 3 days desert tour from Errachidia is one of the routes we run most often. Our drivers know the Tafilalt roads as well as the Atlas ones. We design private tours across Morocco, from the Sahara to the imperial cities, and we publish the real driving times before you book. Learn more about us.
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Contact us
- Phone / WhatsApp: +212 786 278 943
- Email: favoritesmoroccotours@gmail.com
- Office: Marrakech, Morocco
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