Sahara Desert (Merzouga & Erg Chebbi)

The dune sea you’ve seen on every Morocco poster is Erg Chebbi, a 20-odd-kilometre run of orange sand rising to 150m at the village of Merzouga, hard against the Algerian border. Getting there is the whole story: it’s 560km and a full 9–10 hours from Marrakech, climbing the Tizi n’Tichka pass — North Africa’s highest paved road at 2,260m — before the landscape unspools through Aït Benhaddou’s mud-brick kasbah, the Todra Gorge and the Valley of Roses. That distance is why the only sensible version is a 3-day loop: two long driving days either side of one night in the dunes. The 2-day Merzouga tours sold off Marrakech’s streets are a trap — they’re almost entirely minibus for a couple of hours of sand.

If two days really is your limit, the closer Zagora desert (6–7 hours out) is the fallback, but be clear-eyed: Zagora is rocky scrub with modest dunes, not the cinematic Sahara. Merzouga is the one worth the drive. A neater trick, if your wider route allows, is to start from Fez instead — the dunes are about 90km nearer — and do a one-way Fez-to-Marrakech desert tour so you cross the Atlas once rather than doubling back through both imperial cities.

On cost, a shared small-group 3-day tour lands around £80–130 per person including the camp, camel ride and most meals; a private tour for two runs roughly £425–765 for your own driver and pace, and luxury 4x4-and-ensuite-camp options start near £425 each. Go in spring or autumn — March–May or September–November — when days sit at a workable 25–35°C and the nights merely cool rather than baking or freezing. Summer tops 45°C and no decent operator camps in July or August. Whatever the month, pack warm layers: desert nights drop sharply, and check your travel insurance actually covers the camel trek.