A Sahara loop for travellers staying on the coast. From Agadir we drive inland by the walled town of Taroudant and the saffron hills of Taliouine to Ouarzazate, through the gorges of Dades and Todra to the Merzouga dunes, and back through the Draa region.
Accommodation: selected hotels or kasbahs, and one night in a private tent at a Berber desert camp in Merzouga. Guidance and transport: a multilingual local guide-driver in an air-conditioned vehicle.
Pickup from your hotel in Agadir · Drop-off back in Agadir
Around 7:30 AM (we confirm the exact time with you before the trip)
Agadir is far from the big dunes, so most days are 5 to 7 hours on the road, with regular stops. In return you see the whole south: mountains, gorges, oases and the Sahara.
Route: Agadir → Taroudant → Taliouine → Tazenakht → Ouarzazate
Night: hotel or kasbah in Ouarzazate · Meals: dinner
We pick you up at your hotel in Agadir in the morning and drive east across the Souss plain, through argan trees and orange groves, to Taroudant. Often called little Marrakech, it is a quiet market town surrounded by red earthen ramparts, and we stop for a walk through its souks and main square.
The road then climbs into the Anti-Atlas to Taliouine, the saffron capital of Morocco, where the purple crocus flowers are picked by hand in autumn. We stop at a saffron cooperative to learn how it is harvested and to taste saffron tea. Lunch is on the way (not included).
In the afternoon we pass Tazenakht, a town known for the carpets woven by the women of the nearby villages, and reach Ouarzazate in the late afternoon. Dinner and the night are in a hotel or kasbah in Ouarzazate.
Approx. 370 km · 6–7 h driving
Route: Ouarzazate → Skoura → Valley of Roses → Dades Valley → Tinghir → Todra Gorge
Night: hotel or kasbah near Tinghir · Meals: dinner
After breakfast we drive east on the road of a thousand kasbahs. The palm grove of Skoura comes first, full of old earthen kasbahs, and we stop to visit one. Then comes the Valley of Roses around Kalaat M’Gouna, where small pink Damask roses are grown along the fields and turned into rose water.
At Boumalne we turn into the Dades Valley for its famous winding road between red rock walls, with a viewpoint above the hairpin bends. Lunch is in the valley (not included). In the afternoon we continue to Tinghir and drive into the Todra Gorge, where the canyon walls rise more than 300 metres above a clear stream, and you walk along the river between the cliffs.
Dinner and the night are in a hotel or kasbah near Tinghir.
Approx. 170 km · about 4 h with stops driving
Route: Tinghir → Tinejdad → Erfoud → Rissani → Merzouga
Night: Berber desert camp in Merzouga · Meals: dinner
A shorter drive this morning, east through the oases of Tinejdad, where long lines of craters mark the khettaras, the underground water channels that have fed the palm groves for centuries. We continue past Erfoud, known for its fossils, to Rissani, the old market town of the Tafilalt, and on to Merzouga. Lunch is on the way (not included).
In the late afternoon your camels are ready at the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes. You ride into the sand for sunset, about an hour to the camp. Dinner is served in the camp, often with drums and songs around the fire, and you sleep in a Berber tent among the dunes.
Approx. 190 km · 3–4 h driving
Route: Merzouga → Alnif → N’kob → Tazzarine → Agdz → Ouarzazate
Night: hotel or kasbah in the Ouarzazate area · Meals: dinner
Watch the sun rise over the dunes, then ride back to the village for breakfast. Today we take the quiet southern road west, along the foot of the Jbel Saghro, through a landscape of black volcanic hills and small oases. Alnif is known for its trilobite fossils, and Tazzarine for its palm groves.
N’kob, a village with dozens of old kasbahs, some of them still lived in and some turned into guesthouses, is the home village of our founder Abdou, and a good stop for lunch (not included) and a walk among the kasbahs.
In the afternoon we reach the Draa Valley at Agdz and cross the Anti-Atlas to Ouarzazate. Dinner and the night are in a hotel or kasbah in the Ouarzazate area.
Approx. 370 km · 6–7 h driving
Route: Ouarzazate → Taliouine → Taroudant → Agadir
Night: end of tour in Agadir · Meals: breakfast
After breakfast we leave Ouarzazate and drive back west over the Anti-Atlas by Tazenakht and Taliouine, with stops for photos and tea. We come down into the Souss valley at Taroudant and cross the argan plain to the coast.
We arrive in Agadir in the afternoon and drop you at your hotel, where the tour ends.
Approx. 370 km · 6–7 h driving
