One of the most unforgettable experiences you can have as a traveler coming to Morocco is to take an excursion to the Sahara desert, and being based in Merzouga, we obviously think that you can’t visit Morocco without coming to the desert!

If you’re planning a desert trip from Marrakech, there are a lot of different options, and it can be quite confusing to choose one. Merzouga and Zagora are the most famous and two most visited desert destinations in Morocco.

Although Merzouga and Zagora and part of the same desert, they are geographically very different from each other. Both destinations are located in the south east of Morocco, and coming from Marrakech, it will take you around a day of traveling to reach either location.

Zagora is located around 360km away from Marrakech and the journey takes around 6 hours by car, without stops. It’s very possible to make a trip to Zagora in 2 days and 1 night. The biggest difference between Zagora and Merzouga is that Zagora is more arid and rocky, so if you’re looking for giant rolling dunes, you might be disappointed, but this doesn’t detract from Zagora’s charm. It is more of a flatter, rockier desert.

Merzouga on the other hand is around 560km away from Marrakech, and takes 9-10 hours by road. The journey is usually done in two stages, and it’s the most popular desert destination for travelers who have more time to spend on their desert journey. We wouldn’t recommend trying to visit Merzouga from Marrakech in less than 3 days and 2 nights. Merzouga is where you will find the rolling dunes (some more than 150 meters high), movie-worthy landscapes and the classic camel in the desert experience.

Choose Zagora if ...

1. you only have a short time in Morocco

The Zagora desert is about 6 hours away from Marrakech, as opposed to Merzouga, which is about 10. We don’t recommend a one night trip to Merzouga due to the long driving times.

If you only have a short time in Morocco but want to see the desert, we would recommend choosing a Zagora tour as it’s shorter and can be done in two days and one night, as opposed to a Merzouga desert trip which would take minimum two nights.

It’s important to remember that the Zagora desert doesn’t have rolling dunes in the same way that Merzouga has and is more of a rocky desert. So while it’s still a desert, it likely won’t live up to your dreamy expectations of huge orange dunes.

2. you’re on a tight budget

because the desert trip from Marrakech to Zagora and back is far shorter and requires one less night of accommodation, it’s a bit cheaper than options to Merzouga.

3. you’re flying in and out of Marrakech and want the easiest route

Because Zagora is closer to Marrakech than Merzouga, it is an easier option (around 8 fewer hours driving) if you are flying in and out of Marrakech.

However, if you are coming to explore Morocco we recommend that you fly into one airport in Morocco and out of another to avoid backtracking and see more of this beautiful country!

Choose Merzouga if...

1. you want to say that you’ve been to the ‘real’ Sahara desert

Although technically speaking, Merzouga is the gateway to the Sahara and the ergs (sand dunes) you’ll find here are part of the “Pre-Saharan Steppe,” everyone considers the dunes outside of Merzouga to be the Sahara Desert.

Looking around at the impressive, 150-meter-high sand dunes you’ll find everywhere, you can go ahead and call it the Sahara.

2. you want the true ‘camel in the desert’ experience

In Merzouga, you will embark into impossibly high sand dunes that look picture-perfect and seem to go on endlessly. If you’re already traveling 6+ hours into the desert, we think that you may as well go all the way!

3. you want to continue north towards Fes or Chefchaouen

If you want to visit the desert during your Morocco trip, it will take a long time to go from Marrakech to Merzouga and then back to Marrakech, unless you are flying in and out of Marrakech as your only option and aren’t planning to do anything else in Morocco.

A better option is to use Merzouga as a triangulation point for further exploration. We have tours that go from Marrakech to Merzouga to Fes, and this saves you a full day of traveling compared to going back to Marrakech and continuing onward.

Choose either Zagora or Merzouga if …

1. you want an incredible night under a starry sky

Whether you choose Merzouga or Zagora, either way, you’re far away from the light pollution of urban Moroccan. If you’re lucky enough to have a cloudless sky, you’ll enjoy some of the most beautiful stars of your life.

However, the further you go east into Morocco towards the Algerian border, the more remote it gets and therefore the less light pollution you’ll find. So if want to take some amazing photos of the Milky Way, we’d definitely choose Merzouga over Zagora

2. you want to stop in the Atlas Mountains, Ait Ben Haddou, and Ouarzazate

Our Zagora and Merzouga tours follow a fairly similar route, which means that you will get to stop off in the Atlas Mountains, the UNESCO-listed kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou where Game of Thrones and Lawrence of Arabia were filmed, and Ouarzazate a.k.a. the Moroccan Universal Studios.

Our trips to Merzouga also include a stop in the stunning Dades Gorge (trips to Zagora don’t).

3. you want an incredible but challenging experience

Visiting the desert will be like no other experience you have had before, and whether you opt for Zagora or Merzouga, we know that you will have an unforgettable experience.