The Marrakech to Erg Chebbi loop paced for families: shorter driving days, hotels with a pool, a family camp in the dunes and camel rides at both ends of the day.
The same road to the dunes as our other desert trips, reshaped for children. The distance does not change, over the Atlas to Aït Ben Haddou, through the gorges to Erg Chebbi and back, but it is split into four shorter driving days with real stops in between. You sleep in a hotel with a pool in the Dades Valley, at a family camp in the dunes and in a hotel in Ouarzazate. Children ride camels at sunset and sunrise, slide down the dunes on a sandboard and explore an earthen kasbah they may know from films.
Over the Tizi n'Tichka with stops for photos, then time to explore the earthen kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou, which many children recognise from films. You continue to a hotel in the Dades Valley with a pool to cool off in, for dinner and the night.
≈5 h · ≈300 km
A flat, easy morning walk in the Todra Gorge, then on to Merzouga. A camel ride at sunset takes you out to the family camp in the dunes, for dinner by the fire and an evening looking at the stars.
≈4 h · ≈240 km
Sunrise over the dunes and time to sandboard before breakfast. Then west along the road of kasbahs, with stops, to Ouarzazate and a comfortable hotel for the night.
≈4 h · ≈240 km
A visit to the Atlas Film Studios if you like, then the drive back over the Atlas to Marrakech, arriving in the late afternoon.
≈4 h · ≈200 km
This is our Marrakech to Erg Chebbi loop with the driving reorganised for children. The places are the ones every desert trip visits: over the Atlas to Aït Ben Haddou and the Dades on the first day, through the Todra Gorge to the dunes on the second, and back by Ouarzazate on the third and fourth. What changes is the length of each day, about five hours on the road on day one and about four on each of the others, broken into short stages with proper stops.
The one thing to know is that the dunes are a long way from Marrakech, around 560 km each way, and no plan can change that. Four days is what makes it comfortable: three nights in three places, and a night in the dunes that is not squeezed between two eight-hour drives. Doing the same distance in two days is exactly what tires children out.
You stay in a hotel in the Dades Valley with dinner and breakfast, at the family camp in Erg Chebbi with dinner and breakfast, and in a hotel in Ouarzazate with breakfast. The camp is set up for families, with camel rides at sunset and sunrise, sandboarding on the dunes and room for children to run about. Aït Ben Haddou, on the first day, has appeared in many films, which older children often enjoy.
The trip is sold for two or more, so the prices start at two people: €526 each for two, €399 for three, €346 for four, €314 for five, €270 for six, €252 from seven and €245 from ten. That includes the air-conditioned vehicle throughout, a driver-guide who speaks English and French, the three nights as described, both camel rides and all transfers and access fees.
Lunches are not included, and €12 to €15 a meal is a fair budget. The Atlas Film Studios ticket is optional, at about €7. Travel insurance and tips are extra. The trip is private, for two to twelve people, which on a family holiday mostly means you stop whenever someone needs to.
Starts from: Marrakech — your hotel or riad
PrivateA private loop from Marrakech to the Erg Chebbi dunes: two gorges on the way out, a camel ride at sunset, a night at camp and a quieter road home.
PrivateArrive in Marrakech and spend five days in the south by 4x4: the gorges, a full day around Erg Chebbi, a night among the dunes and the hidden oasis of Fint.
PrivateFive unhurried days to Erg Chebbi and back: two nights by the dunes, a day exploring around Merzouga by 4x4, and a different road home through the Draa Valley.
PrivateAn evening in the stony desert outside Marrakech: an hour on a quad, a camel ride at sunset and dinner at a desert camp.
