Visitors from the Gulf arrive at Erg Chebbi with more desert experience than most, and it is worth saying plainly how this one differs. It is not a continuous sand sea like the Rub al Khali. Erg Chebbi is a single erg roughly 28 km long and 5 km wide, standing abruptly out of flat hamada, with the High Atlas visible behind it on clear mornings. The contrast is what makes it photograph the way it does.
Getting there is the commitment. Merzouga is nine hours from Marrakech and eight from Fes, and practically nobody drives it in one go. The standard approach is two days each way with a night in Dades or Ouarzazate, which turns the journey itself into the best part: Tizi n Tichka at 2,260 m, the kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou, the Route of a Thousand Kasbahs, the Todra Gorge.
This is where a driver stops being a convenience. Two Atlas crossings, passes that close briefly in winter, long stretches with no fuel and no signal, and a final handover at the edge of the sand where the road simply ends. Our drivers run it weekly. Every booking is private and the price is settled before you travel.
Why hire a driver here
- Nine hours from Marrakech, eight from Fes - two days in either direction
- Tizi n Tichka tops 2,260 m and can close for a few hours in winter
- Long empty stretches with no fuel, no services and no signal
- The road ends at the dunes - camps are reached by camel or 4x4
- Luxury camps with private tents suit family groups far better than shared ones
Included in every booking
- The driver, the vehicle, fuel and every toll along the route
- The driver's own room and meals for the length of the trip
- Collection in Marrakech, Fes, Ouarzazate or any point en route
- Stops at Ait Ben Haddou, the Todra Gorge and the Draa palm groves
- Cold water and charging points in the vehicle
