Discover the 10 best day trips from Marrakesh. Whether Berber villages, beaches or waterfalls, we present the best excursion destinations.

Top 10: The best day trips from Marrakesh

After a few days in Marrakeshthe bustle of the souks and the narrow­ness of the alley­ways, the desire often arises to see a little more of the coun­try and explore the surround­ings, expe­ri­ence nature and give your eyes a little rest.

Morocco has an incred­i­ble vari­ety of land­scapes and cities to offer, but it is also very large. You can get a small insight into the diver­sity of the king­dom on a day trip around Marrakesh .

Whether it’s a trip to the Atlantic or to the Berber villages of the High Atlas, the vari­ety of day trips on offer may seem confus­ing at first.

To help you plan your trip and perhaps arouse your curios­ity about one or two expe­ri­ences, we present the most popu­lar excur­sion desti­na­tions in the vicin­ity of Marrakesh here. 

One thing in advance: the sand dunes of the Sahara cannot be seen on a day trip from Marrakesh. You will need at least 2 days, prefer­ably 3 or 4, and spend a lot of time in the car — on bad roads! 

But the area around Marrakesh also has a rocky desert, picturesque moun­tain villages and old coastal towns as well as the occa­sional adven­ture to keep every­one enter­tained on their vacation.

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Which day trips are recommended?

Of course, this depends on your indi­vid­ual inter­ests. From Marrakesh, you can explore orig­i­nal villages in the moun­tains, hike to a water­fall or eat fresh fish on the beach in Essaouira. 

We always advise our guests to plan 2–3 days for the city itself. If you stay longer, you will have enough time to go on an excur­sion and get to know the surround­ing area. 

Most day trips start after an early break­fast and you are back in the city in time for dinner. Some activ­i­ties, such as a dinner in the Agafay or a balloon ride, only require half a day. 

So if you have little time, you should think care­fully about where your prior­i­ties lie and how you want to spend your time. 

We hope that this list will help you make the right deci­sion and make your time in Marrakesh as event­ful as possible.

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How and where should I book an excursion?

The first port of call is certainly your accom­mo­da­tion. Many hotels work with local agen­cies to offer their guests an enjoy­able and safe expe­ri­ence. However, the day trips can usually only be booked on site, as the providers require a deposit. The hotel staff will then help with the pick-up and you don’t have to worry about anything your­self and have a contact person if things don’t go as planned. 

In the city itself, there is an agency on every corner sell­ing day trips and tours last­ing several days. For some excur­sions, such as a camel ride in the Palmeraie, I would have no qualms about book­ing there. However, we keep hear­ing from guests that the services on excur­sions to Agafay or the Ourika Valley were not as orig­i­nally adver­tised. So if you want to book an excur­sion spon­ta­neously, you should check whether you can find current reviews for the agency in ques­tion on Google or Tripad­vi­sor to avoid falling for empty promises. 

It is impor­tant to note that the sales outlets in the souk do not orga­nize the excur­sions them­selves, but only offer the day trips of larger agen­cies, which are usually located in the new town. So if you buy an offer as it is offered — every­thing is fine. 

However, this convo­luted system makes it diffi­cult to find out anything in advance via reviews on Google or Tripad­vi­sor, because if agency A has no more space, they will book with agency B with­out you notic­ing. And then it can happen that you are dumped in the 2‑star barbe­cue restau­rant on the street instead of the luxury camp offered in Agafay. It’s all happened before… 

As soon as you have indi­vid­ual special requests, you can be almost certain that these will fall by the wayside some­where in the commu­ni­ca­tion between the seller, provider and tour guide. The hotel with a private driver is usually the better way to orga­nize a day trip, as you have the oppor­tu­nity to inter­vene during the excur­sion if things don’t go as planned. 

If you like to plan ahead and want to be on the safe side, GetYourGuide* is a good place to start. Local agen­cies offer their excur­sions there and you can usually find out whether the qual­ity and service are right based on the reviews. 

There is also the ques­tion of whether you would like to go on a group excur­sion or a private excur­sion with your own chauf­feur. Group excur­sions are of course cheaper, but on a private tour the guide can better cater to your wishes. 

Some excur­sions are perfectly adequate as a group tour, while on other excur­sions it is nicer to have your own driver. The drivers usually speak English and French, other languages are rather rare. 

If you don’t want to book a private tour, you may be lucky and book an excur­sion for the next day in the souk. If you are spend­ing more than 3 days in Marrakesh, you can confi­dently book the excur­sions on arrival. However, if you have very specific ideas and are not flex­i­ble in terms of time, it is better to plan ahead.

The best excursions in the surroundings of Marrakesh

1. Agafay Desert

Die schönsten Tagesausflüge von Marrakesch: Sunset-Dinner in der Agafay-Wüste.
Sunset-Dinner in der Agafay-Wüste

The Agafay stone desert is only 45 minutes away from Marrakesh and is there­fore ideal for a half-day excursion.

There are many camps in the waste­land at the foot of the High Atlas which, in addi­tion to camel riding and quad biking, also have a pool which guests can use in conjunc­tion with a lunch.

The Agafay excur­sions with lunch* start at around 10 a.m. in Marrakesh and last until around 3 p.m., depend­ing on the provider. 

In the evenings, the camps offer camel riding and quad biking, a dinner in a Berber tent and, depend­ing on the camp, an impres­sive show with music and fire-eaters around the camp­fire.

An evening in the Agafay* begins at around 3 p.m. in Marrakesh and ends shortly before midnight with the return to the city, depend­ing on the time of year and the time of sunset.

The Agafay is the most popu­lar excur­sion from Marrakesh for many guests, which is also ideal for a short stay in the city. Espe­cially those who have no desert expe­ri­ence will love the special atmos­phere of the Agafay. There are count­less providers and many camps, which is why we have writ­ten a sepa­rate blog arti­cle about the Agafay desert.

The Agafay is best visited as part of a group tour, as it involves round-trip trans­porta­tion and a stay in a camp, and having your own driver does­n’t really add any value to the experience.

2. Ourika Valley

After just 45 minutes driving from Marrakesh, you reach the foothills of the High Atlas. 

The Ourika Valley impresses with a lively river, cozy barbe­cue restau­rants right on the water and a short hike to the waterfall.

On the way, you can stop at a small carpet museum and ask a guide to explain the knot­ting tech­niques. Usually a mint tea is served and of course you can also buy a carpet. 

Die schönsten Tagesausflüge von Marrakesch: Das Ourika-Tal.
Das Ourika-Tal

Depend­ing on the day of the week, there is the oppor­tu­nity to visit a local market or a water­mill.

The small Ecomusée Berbère de l’Ourika is also very infor­ma­tive and can be visited with a guide. Unfor­tu­nately, it was damaged in the severe earth­quake in 2023, so if you are inter­ested, just ask your guide about it, perhaps it will be open again. 

You have to scram­ble to the water­fall for about 30 minutes on a fairly bad path. Guides are wait­ing at the park­ing lot to help with the more diffi­cult parts if some­one is not good on their feet. However, the excur­sion is also nice if you don’t walk all the way to the waterfall. 

After­wards, you can eat freshly grilled lamb or tagine in the restau­rants right by the water. In summer, you can dangle your legs in the cool water, which is wonder­ful when the ther­mome­ter in Marrakesh climbs to 45°C!

A day trip to the Ourika Valley* is the most popu­lar excur­sion for our guests and a great expe­ri­ence if you want to see some­thing of the coun­try­side during a city trip to Marrakesh. 

I would prefer the excur­sion to the Ourika Valley with a private driver*, as there is a lot to see on the way there and back and you can adapt the day to your own interests.

André Heller’s Anima Garden is also located on the way to the Ourika Valley. Some agen­cies offer a visit to the garden, which takes no more than an hour, in combi­na­tion with an excur­sion to Ourika: Combined tour Anima Garden and Ourika Valley*.

3. Essaouira

Die schönsten Tagesausflüge von Marrakesch: Essaouira an der Atlantikküste.
Essaouira an der Atlantikküste

Essaouira, the old Portuguese fortress on the Atlantic, is just under a 3‑hour drive from Marrakech.

The harbor with its photo­genic blue fish­ing boats is partic­u­larly worth seeing in the morn­ing, when the goods are sold directly from the boat.

You can have your fresh catch prepared in the barbe­cue stalls at the harbor. Essaouira is a paradise for gourmets who love fresh fish and seafood! 

The cozy old town with its white houses invites you to stroll around. There is a souk that has a very differ­ent vibe to Marrakech and some excel­lent restau­rants with views of the ocean. Large parts of the old Portuguese city wall are impres­sively well preserved. 

You can swim on the beach in the summer months or ride horses or camels all year round. 

On the way to Essaouira, you will usually stop at an argan oil coop­er­a­tive, as the unique argan trees only grow in this area. You are also sure to see the famous goats that climb trees here. 

For the excur­sion to Essaouira* you don’t neces­sar­ily need a private tour, as the excur­sion mainly consists of the outward and return jour­ney and you can explore every­thing on foot in Essaouira.

There are also guided tours to Essaouira* if you don’t want to explore the city on your own. 

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4. Aït Ben Haddou 

The impres­sive clay kasbah in the south of the High Atlas is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is defi­nitely worth a visit.

However, it takes a good 3.5 hours to drive from Marrakech. The wind­ing road takes you over the High Atlas Moun­tains and back again at the end of the day. 

Although the forti­fied village with its unique archi­tec­ture is really worth seeing, you have to real­ize that you will be spend­ing most of the day in the car on this excursion.

ait ben haddou tagesausflug marrakesch
Aït Ben Haddou

Aït Ben Haddou is also a good stopover on the way to the Erg Chebbi sand dunes if you have a few extra days. 

Usually the trips to Aït Ben Haddou are offered in combi­na­tion with a visit to the film studios in Ouarza­zate*. Inci­den­tally, parts of Game of Thrones and Glad­i­a­tor were filmed in Aït Ben Haddou and the entrance gate that was built for GoT still stands. 

Those who are not inter­ested in the film studios can take an excur­sion­via the picturesque Telouet Valley*. There are orig­i­nal Berber villages and wild land­scapes to discover here before arriv­ing in Aït Ben Haddou. 

5. The Berber villages in the High Atlas

In addi­tion to the valley of Ourika with its water­fall, there are several other valleys that can easily be visited in one day on a round trip from Marrakesh.

The route varies depend­ing on the provider and some­times the tour is called the 3 Valleys Tour or a visit to Imlil, but on all of them you will see the impres­sive land­scape of the High Atlas and the orig­i­nal Berber villages.

Die schönsten Tagesausflüge von Marrakesch: Die Berberdörfer im Hohen Atlas.
Die Berberdör­fer im Hohen Atlas

The Ourika Valley is usually visited, then the jour­ney contin­ues to Asni, Imlil or Moulay Brahim. Along the way you will see Berber villages, more or less green valleys depend­ing on the season and the rugged slopes of Mount Toubkal, the high­est moun­tain in Morocco. 

At lunchtime you can enjoy tagine and mint tea in a typi­cal Moroc­can restau­rant and on the way back you may pass the Lalla Takerk­oust reser­voir, which supplies Marrakech with drink­ing water and looks bizarre in the dry landscape.

Popu­lar are Group tours to the High Atlas* because of the favor­able price, but this excur­sion is also well suited as an indi­vid­ual tour to the Berber villages* with a private driver.

Are you looking for a hotel in Marrakesh?

Our charm­ing Riad Selouane in the Medina offers the best ratings, break­fast on the roof terrace and first-class service!

Riad Selouane Marrakesh: the pool in the courtyard

6. Ouzoud Waterfals

Die schönsten Tagesausflüge von Marrakesch: Die Ouzoud-Wasserfälle.
Die Ouzoud-Wasser­fälle

3 hours (rather boring) drive east of Marrakech are the Ouzoud water­falls.

The water plunges almost 110 m into the depths to collect in several pools. Lush green­ery in the other­wise rocky land­scape makes up a large part of the charm of Ouzoud. 

You visit the water­falls from above, i.e. you first have the beau­ti­ful view, then descend and can eat in one of the many restau­rants along the lagoon and enjoy the view. 

The high­light of the excur­sion to the Ouzoud water­falls is the short raft ride to get up close to the water­falls and feel the spray on your skin.

At the moment it is better to visit the Ouzoud water­falls with a group tour* because private drivers have to park several kilo­me­ters before the actual falls and then you have to walk. Buses, on the other hand, are allowed to drive right up to the water­falls. As the situ­a­tion on site can change quickly, it is worth asking at the hotel or agency if you want to visit the Ouzoud water­falls with a private driver*.

The water­falls are partic­u­larly impres­sive in spring after snowy winters. You should there­fore find out before visit­ing the water­falls whether the river has enough water and whether the trip is worthwhile. 

7. Balloon ride at sunrise

You have to set off 2 hours before sunrise to expe­ri­ence the first rays of sunshine over the High Atlas from the basket of a balloon.

But the early start is worth it, because the balloons rising at dusk create a magi­cal atmosphere.

Die schönsten Tagesausflüge von Marrakesch: Ballonfahrt über die Wüste.
Ballon­fahrt über die Wüste

After the one-hour balloon ride, we have break­fast in the Berber tent before head­ing back to the city.

A Balloon ride at sunrise over the High Atlas* is a very special expe­ri­ence and is offered by many providers in Marrakesh. 

We were so enthu­si­as­tic about our balloon flight that we wrote a whole blog arti­cle about it: Balloon flight over Marrakesh: Sunrise over the Atlas Mountains.

8. The Palmeraie

Die schönsten Tagesausflüge von Marrakesch: Quad-Fahren in der Palmeraie.
Quad-Fahren in der Palmeraie

The so-called Palmeraie is located just outside Marrakesh. This palm oasis was the orig­i­nal reason for the found­ing of Marrakesh. 

There is a wide vari­ety of activ­i­ties on offer here: Quad biking, horse riding or camel riding. Many of the large hotels with pools and golf courses are also located here. 

For the adven­tur­ous Quad bike rides in the Palmeraie* or combined excur­sions with quad biking, camel riding and tea drink­ing in a Berber tent* are offered. 

In addi­tion to excur­sions with camel ride and tea in the palm oasis* you can also ride horses through the Palmeraie*.

Most tours in the Palmeraie are half-day activ­i­ties, some are also offered at sunset. Here you can confi­dently fall back on the group tours, a private chauf­feur hardly makes sense. 

9. An afternoon by the pool

Die schönsten Tagesausflüge von Marrakesch: Beldi Country Club.
Beldi Coun­try Club

After a few days in the city, you may have had enough of the hustle and bustle and the narrow­ness of the souk. 

There are some beau­ti­ful pool complexes in surround­ings of Marrakesh where you can spend a relax­ing after­noon and soothe your over­stim­u­lated senses. 

The Beldi Coun­try Club is one of these facil­i­ties and offers vari­ous pools, lunch under olive trees and a well­ness center with hammam and massage.

Also very styl­ish is the fairly new R’Matt, which, depend­ing on the season, is only open at week­ends and is a little further out of town.

In the Agafay desert, for exam­ple, the great Inara-Camp* offers a day pass with lunch and pool.

Marrakesh even has a real water park to offer: Oasiria* scores partic­u­larly well with chil­dren with its great slides and other attractions.

Most of the pools are heated, so you can enjoy the water at any time of year. We love the pools, espe­cially in summer when it’s too hot in the city to spend the whole day in the souk. 

10. Cooking Class

Moroc­can cuisine, with its spices and stews, is one of the best cuisines in the world. Tradi­tional Moroc­can cuisine has been passed down and cele­brated for gener­a­tions with family recipes. 

So why not learn from the profes­sion­als directly on site?

You can plan half a day for a cook­ing course and there is a wide vari­ety on offer.

Die schönsten Tagesausflüge von Marrakesch: Kochkurs bei Hassan.
Kochkurs bei Hassan

Very popu­lar is the Hassan and Ahmed’s cook­ing course in the Medina*. First you go shop­ping together at the local market, then you are intro­duced to the art of making tea. After­wards, vari­ous tagines and Moroc­can salads are prepared and eaten together at the end. 

Some riads also offer cook­ing classes for their guests or know a riad in the neigh­bor­hood that offers cook­ing classes, so it’s worth asking.

Combin­ing an excur­sion to the High Atlas with a cook­ing course in a Berber village* is also a wonder­ful expe­ri­ence. On this full-day excur­sion, you will learn how to prepare tradi­tional dishes from a local family.

If you love Moroc­can break­fast, you might be inter­ested in the Cook­ing course for Moroc­can pancakes*.

At Farm to Table Marrakech, just outside the city, the vegeta­bles for the cook­ing course are grown in their own garden. The cook­ing course begins with harvest­ing the ingre­di­ents in the garden, then prepar­ing the dishes in the fantas­tic outdoor kitchen and eating them together under the shady pergola. 

olive twig light brown

A day trip from Marrakesh is a great way to see the coun­try and its people and create unfor­get­table vaca­tion memories!

Looking for more information about Marrakesh?

Visit our travel guide to learn more about the sights of Marrakesh and Morocco!

Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh
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