Zagora or Merzouga: Which Sahara Desert Tour to Choose from Marrakech

Choose Zagora if you have two days. Choose Merzouga if you have three or more and the tall dunes are the reason you came to Morocco. That is the whole answer, and everything below explains why the choice really comes down to how many days you can give it.

We operate trips to both, so we have no reason to push one over the other. Most pages you will find comparing Zagora and Merzouga are written by an agency that only sells one of them.

Zagora or Merzouga: the difference in one table

Time needed Zagora: 2 days, 1 night. Merzouga: 3 days minimum, 2 nights.
Distance Zagora: about 720 km return. Merzouga: about 1,100 km return.
Driving Zagora: roughly 7 hours each way. Merzouga: 9 to 10 hours each way, split over two days.
The dunes Zagora: small dunes and stony desert. Merzouga: the Erg Chebbi, 28 km long, up to 150 m high.
Scenery on the way Zagora: Tizi n’Tichka pass, Ait Ben Haddou, the Draa Valley. Merzouga: the same plus the Dades and Todra gorges.
Price from Zagora: from 80 EUR shared, 185 EUR private. Merzouga: from 94 EUR shared, 190 EUR private.
Best for Zagora: short stays, families, a first taste. Merzouga: the postcard Sahara.

What Zagora actually is

Zagora is the desert you can reach and come back from in two days. The road crosses the High Atlas by the Tizi n’Tichka pass, passes the earthen ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, then follows the Draa Valley south through palm groves. In Zagora itself a sign still reads Timbuktu, 52 days by camel.

Be clear about the sand. The dunes around Zagora are modest: low, scattered, and set in stony desert rather than an ocean of sand. You will ride a camel, you will sleep under canvas, you will see a sky with no light pollution. What you will not see is the wall of orange dunes that appears in every photograph of the Moroccan Sahara. That is 360 kilometres further on.

Zagora is the right answer when the clock decides for you. Two days out of a short stay in Marrakech still gets you a real desert night, and the drive itself through the Draa Valley is worth the ticket.

What Merzouga actually is

Merzouga sits beside the Erg Chebbi, and the Erg Chebbi is the reason people cross half the country. It runs about 28 kilometres from north to south, with dunes rising 150 metres above the surrounding desert. This is the Sahara of the photographs.

Getting there is the price you pay. Merzouga is roughly 560 kilometres from Marrakech, nine to ten hours of driving, which is why every honest itinerary splits it over two days with a night in the Dades Valley on the way. The route also takes in the Todra Gorge and the kasbah road, so the driving is not wasted time, but it is still driving.

Three days is the minimum, and it is a real three days. Anyone offering Merzouga in two is either driving through the night or not going to Merzouga.

Who should not book Merzouga

This is the part most comparison pages leave out, and it is the part that saves people a bad holiday.

  • If you only have two days free, Merzouga does not fit. Book Zagora and enjoy it, rather than spending two days in a car and calling it the Sahara.
  • If you are travelling with young children, nine to ten hours each way is a lot to ask. Zagora is the compromise families actually finish.
  • If long car journeys are a problem for you, for motion sickness or any other reason, the mountain roads to Merzouga are winding and the stages are long. Say so when you book and we will tell you honestly whether it is a good idea.
  • If you want dunes without the drive, neither of these is your answer: the Agafay stone desert is forty minutes from Marrakech. It is not the Sahara and we will never pretend it is, but it is a genuine desert evening on a day with no time to spare.

Shared or private: the other half of the decision

Both deserts are sold in two forms, and the gap in price is larger than most people expect.

Shared means a minibus with other travellers, a fixed departure time and a fixed itinerary. It is the reason a night in the Sahara can start at 80 to 94 EUR. If your budget decides the trip, this is how the trip happens.

Private means the vehicle is yours. You stop where you want, you leave when you want, and you can rearrange the day. It costs roughly twice as much and it is worth it when you are a family, when photography matters to you, or when you simply do not want your holiday timed by someone else’s schedule.

Frequently asked questions

Is Zagora or Merzouga better?
Merzouga has the better desert: the Erg Chebbi dunes reach 150 metres and run for 28 kilometres. Zagora has the better logistics: two days instead of three, and half the driving. Better depends entirely on how many days you have.

Can you do Merzouga in 2 days from Marrakech?
Not properly. Merzouga is about 560 kilometres from Marrakech, nine to ten hours of driving each way. A two day version means arriving exhausted and leaving immediately. Three days is the honest minimum.

How far is Zagora from Marrakech?
About 360 kilometres, roughly 7 hours of driving each way, around 720 kilometres for the return trip over two days.

Are there real sand dunes in Zagora?
Yes, but small ones, set in stony desert. The big sand sea, the one in the photographs, is the Erg Chebbi at Merzouga.

Which is better for families?
Zagora, in most cases. The driving stages are half as long, and the camel ride and desert camp are the same experience children remember.

Is the desert camp the same in both?
The standard is comparable: ensuite tents on our luxury camps, shared facilities on the budget options. The difference is what surrounds the camp, low dunes at Zagora, a wall of sand at Erg Chebbi.

Still not sure

If you are working out how the desert fits into the rest of your stay, our guide to how many days you need in Marrakech sets out what each length of trip makes possible, desert included.

Background on the sand sea itself is on Wikipedia’s Erg Chebbi page.

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