Match-ups
Merzouga vs Zagora vs Agafay
For: A desert night from Marrakech with only 2 or 3 days
Three deserts, three very different trips. Only one has the tall sand dunes of the postcards.
Merzouga2 Zagora0 Agafay3
5 rounds. Numbers come with their sources under each round; the scores out of 5 are our own take. Draws count for no one.
Round 1
The road from Marrakech
Driving distance and time, one way
Merzouga 8–9 h About 560 km over the High Atlas
Zagora about 6 h About 350 km
Agafay about 30 min About 27 km
Agafay is next door; Merzouga is a long day each way.
Sources local-morocco-tours.com rome2rio.com rome2rio.com Checked 2026-11-14.
Round 3
The sand
Our take, scored out of 5
Merzouga 5 / 5 Erg Chebbi: tall orange dunes, the Sahara of the postcards
Zagora 3 / 5 Small dunes near the town; a taste of the Sahara, not the full picture
Agafay 1 / 5 A stony desert of hills, no sand dunes
Merzouga, by far.
Round 4
On the way
Our take, scored out of 5
Merzouga 5 / 5 The High Atlas, Ouarzazate, the Dades and Todra gorges
Zagora 4 / 5 The High Atlas, Ouarzazate and the Draa valley palm groves
Agafay 2 / 5 Nothing much: it's under an hour away
Merzouga, if you like road trips.
Round 5
Time in the car
Our take, scored out of 5
Merzouga 1 / 5 Most of two days in a minibus
Zagora 2 / 5 Most of both days in a minibus
Agafay 5 / 5 An hour each way
Agafay: you don't spend the trip in a van.
The verdict
Have 3 days? Merzouga, for real dunes. Have 2? Zagora, but know its dunes are small. Have one evening? Agafay: a stony desert with a camp dinner, an hour from Marrakech.
Merzouga2 Zagora0 Agafay3
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Photo credits "2018 01 (Blue) - Chaouen" by Fbrandao.1963, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Jemaa el-Fnaa Marrakech at sunset" by Herokk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Merzouga Dunes 2011" by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Fes Bab Bou Jeloud 2011" by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Taghazout village" by Jimbobbailey312, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Moroccan mint tea" by Reyes Martínez, CC0, via WordPress Photo Directory · source "Tubing" by eelke dekker, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr · source "Kitesurf-Dakhla-Morocco (4)" by Nomadz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Bab Kasbah, Tangier" by David Jones, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Kasbah des Oudaias P1060356" by Pline, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "City walls at the port, Essaouira 01" by Adam Harangozó, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Sunshine on mosque Hassan II in Casablanca, Morocco - Flickr - Milamber's portfolio" by Milamber's portfolio, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Main Gate Chellah Rabat Nov25" by Timothy A. Gonsalves, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Ksar Aït Benhaddou, Marocco" by Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Blick auf Volubilis 1990" by Christian Wittmann, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Stucco decoration, Bou Inania Madrasa, Fez" by Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Tetouan, near the Medina and Qasba" by Ideophagous, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Ibn Danan Synagogue DSCF5081" by R Prazeres, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "La Citerne portugaise" by Guilandre, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Camels at Aït Benhaddou, Saharan caravan route, Morocco" by Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Koutoubia Mosque, Marrakech", watercolour by Hercules Brabazon Brabazon (1821–1906), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Qarawiyyin Mosque DSCF4250" by R Prazeres, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "The northern gate of Sijilmassa Mansouria" by Hmidanix, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Gnawa Singer" by Monaam Ben Fredj, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Kasbah Ait Benhaddou, Morocco (1) (30765760583) (cropped to focus on old town)" by ER Bauer from Freising, Germany, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Rice terraces, Bali" by Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Hagia Sophia Mars 2013" by Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "1000 Three domes of Oia in Santorini" by Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Wadi rum desert" by Peter Chisholm, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Teide Canadas" by Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Seville, Plaza de España (edited)" by Dmitry Dzhus, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Alfama, Lisbon, Portugal July 2021 - Tram" by Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Egypt, Cairo, Islamic Cairo, the City of a Thousand Minarets" by Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source "Tangier Medina" by Travel4Brews, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source