What both tours have in common
The 3-day and 4-day tours follow the same road out of Marrakech: the Tizi n'Tichka pass, Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, the Dades Valley, the Todra Gorges and finally Merzouga, where you ride a camel into the dunes of Erg Chebbi at sunset and sleep in a camp. Both are private, both include two nights in the same quality of accommodation, and both end back in Marrakech.
The 3-day tour: the classic
Day one is about 7 hours of driving with stops. Day two is 5 hours plus the camel ride. Day three is the long one: 9 to 10 hours from Merzouga back to Marrakech via the Draa Valley, with a lunch stop and photo stops but no real visits. You arrive in Marrakech around 19:00.
It is the right choice if you have exactly three days, if you travel light and are happy to read or nap in the car, or if the desert is the goal and the road is the price. Thousands of travellers do it every year and come back delighted.
The 4-day tour: the same trip, breathing
The extra day is spent on the return. Instead of driving Merzouga to Marrakech in one go, you stop for the night in a kasbah in the Draa Valley, which means a morning 4x4 excursion around Merzouga (the Gnawa village of Khamlia, nomad families, the fossil beds), a leisurely drive through the palm groves, a visit to the ksar of Tamnougalt, and an arrival in Marrakech at 17:30 on day four, not exhausted.
Choose it if you travel with children, with parents, or with anyone who does not love long drives. Choose it if you want time to actually walk in the gorges and the ksar instead of stopping for ten minutes. Choose it if you are a photographer: the extra night is at golden hour in the Draa.
When 5 days is the answer
If Fes is on your list, do not do the desert as a round trip and then take the train. The 5-day loop (Marrakech, desert, Fes, back to Marrakech) or the 3-day one-way tour ending in Fes saves you a full day and adds the cedar forest, the Ziz Valley and a guided day in the oldest medina in the world.
Our honest recommendation
If the budget and the calendar allow it, take 4 days. The difference in price is one night in a kasbah and one more day of driver; the difference in experience is large. If you only have 3 days, take the 3-day tour and do not hesitate: the desert at sunrise will make you forget the car.
Still unsure? Send us your dates and who is travelling, and we will tell you which one we would book for ourselves.
