Merzouga and Erg Chebbi itinerary, day by day

Golden dunes to the horizon, a camel ride at sunset and a night under the stars on the edge of the Moroccan Sahara: the map, what is worth booking and everything that costs nothing.

🗓️ 2 or 3 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: March to April and October to November

Erg Chebbi · Photo Ruochen Studio / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Merzouga and Erg Chebbi in 2 days

2 stops · 8 things to do · Camel & 4x4

1Merzouga and Erg Chebbi

Day 1

The gateway to the great erg: a Berber village at the foot of dunes that rise to about 150 metres, among the highest in Morocco.

🎟️ Worth booking

4x4 tour of Erg ChebbiHalf day · from €40
A loop round the great erg: the dunes, an oasis and the camps of nomad families.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The dunes of Erg Chebbi · Dayet Srji lake (after the rains) · Merzouga village

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Kasbah Mohayut (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Riad Madu (€95 a night) · Luxury: Kasbah Tombouctou (€160 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Chez Marrakech ★ 5 · 252 reviews
Snack hassi fast food ★ 5 · 204 reviews
Snack Hassi Labied ★ 4.9 · 1844 reviews · €
Cafe_Snack_Restaurant_ Hamid ★ 4.9 · 1401 reviews · €
Restaurant Nomad ★ 4.9 · 832 reviews

Photo Pexels

🐪 Camel Trek · 1h · through the dunes

2A camp in the dunes

Day 2

A camel caravan out to the camp, a Berber dinner, and a night sky with no town light to spoil it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Camel trek and a night in a desert camp1 night · from €70
By dromedary to a camp among the dunes, then dinner and drumming under the stars.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Sunrise over the dunes · A night under the stars · Sandboarding down the dunes

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Golden Camp Merzouga (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Merzouga Luxury Desert Camp (€130 a night) · Luxury: Kasbah Erg Chebbi (€95 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Riad Merzouga Dunes ★ 5 · 473 reviews
Snack hassi fast food ★ 5 · 204 reviews
Snack Hassi Labied ★ 4.9 · 1844 reviews · €
Cafe_Snack_Restaurant_ Hamid ★ 4.9 · 1401 reviews · €
Restaurant Nomad ★ 4.9 · 832 reviews

Photo Stewart Cameron / Pexels

Merzouga and Erg Chebbi in 3 days

3 stops · 12 things to do · Camel & 4x4

1Merzouga and Erg Chebbi

Day 1

The gateway to the great erg: a Berber village at the foot of dunes that rise to about 150 metres, among the highest in Morocco.

🎟️ Worth booking

4x4 tour of Erg ChebbiHalf day · from €40
A loop round the great erg: the dunes, an oasis and the camps of nomad families.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The dunes of Erg Chebbi · Dayet Srji lake (after the rains) · Merzouga village

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Kasbah Mohayut (€40 a night) · Mid-range: Riad Madu (€95 a night) · Luxury: Kasbah Tombouctou (€160 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Pexels

🐪 Camel Trek · 1h · through the dunes

2A camp in the dunes

Day 2

A camel caravan out to the camp, a Berber dinner, and a night sky with no town light to spoil it.

🎟️ Worth booking

Camel trek and a night in a desert camp1 night · from €70
By dromedary to a camp among the dunes, then dinner and drumming under the stars.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Sunrise over the dunes · A night under the stars · Sandboarding down the dunes

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Golden Camp Merzouga (€55 a night) · Mid-range: Merzouga Luxury Desert Camp (€130 a night) · Luxury: Kasbah Erg Chebbi (€95 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Stewart Cameron / Pexels

🚙 4x4 · 1h · Khamlia & Rissani

3Khamlia and Rissani

Day 3

Oasis Morocco: Gnawa music in the village of Khamlia, and Rissani, the old caravan town beside the ruins of Sijilmasa.

🎟️ Worth booking

Gnawa music in Khamlia2h · from €15
Hypnotic rhythms of drums and iron castanets, brought here from West Africa and kept alive by the families of the village.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

Khamlia village · The souk and ksour of Rissani · The fossil workshops of Erfoud

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Riad Ali (€35 a night) · Mid-range: Kasbah Panorama (€65 a night) · Luxury: Magic Luxury Camp (€130 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Snack hassi fast food ★ 5 · 204 reviews
Restaurant café louja ★ 5 · 101 reviews
Snack Hassi Labied ★ 4.9 · 1844 reviews · €
Cafe_Snack_Restaurant_ Hamid ★ 4.9 · 1401 reviews · €
Restaurant Nomad ★ 4.9 · 832 reviews

Photo Jorge Franganillo / CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Take this itinerary with you

The free printable Merzouga and Erg Chebbi guide: map, stops day by day, hotels by budget. Works offline.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Madfouna: flatbread stuffed with spiced meat, onion and egg, baked in the embers. Locals call it the Berber pizza.
Tagine: slow-cooked in the clay pot it is named after, and the standard dinner in the desert camps.
Couscous: traditionally a Friday dish.
Tafilalet dates: the oases around Rissani and Erfoud grow some of the best in the country, and the Medjool variety comes from here.
Mint tea: less a drink than the way hospitality is done.

⚠️ What to avoid

Ignore the touts who flag down cars on the road into Merzouga to sell you a camp. Book ahead, or through your lodging.
Agree the price of any excursion before you set off, and haggle for fossils and rugs.
Ask before photographing people.
Desert nights are cold from November to March: pack a warm layer.
Do not drink the tap water. Bottled, with the seal unbroken.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Merzouga and Erg Chebbi guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Merzouga and Erg Chebbi, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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