For New Zealanders the Sahara is the part of Morocco with no equivalent at home. The Southern Alps prepare you for the Atlas, and the Coromandel prepares you for the coast, but nothing anywhere in New Zealand prepares you for 150 metres of orange sand standing out of flat stony desert with nothing green in any direction.
It is also nine hours from Marrakech and eight from Fes, which shapes every itinerary built around it. Practically nobody drives it in one push and nobody should. Two days each way with a night in Dades or Ouarzazate is standard, and it converts the transfer into the best part of the trip: Tizi n Tichka at 2,260 m, the kasbah at Ait Ben Haddou, the Route of a Thousand Kasbahs, the Todra Gorge.
This is the route where a driver stops being a preference. Two Atlas crossings, passes that close briefly in winter, long stretches with no fuel and no coverage, and a final handover at the edge of the sand where the road runs out. Our drivers run it weekly. Every booking is private and the price is fixed before you travel.
Why hire a driver here
- Nine hours off Marrakech, eight off Fes, meaning two days each way
- Topping 2,260 m, the Tizi n Tichka can shut for a few winter hours
- Long stretches with no fuel, no services and no mobile coverage
- Where the road finishes the dunes begin; camps come by camel or 4WD
- Nights are near freezing in winter, which nobody packs for
Included in every booking
- The vehicle, the driver, every litre of fuel and every toll
- The driver's own bed and meals for however long the trip runs
- Collection from Marrakech, Fes, Ouarzazate or any point in between
- Proper stops at Ait Ben Haddou, the Todra Gorge and the Draa oases
- Cold water on board and somewhere to charge a phone
