Best time for day trips

Highlights

• About four hours at the Ouzoud waterfalls
• Boat ride and local guide in option 1, 3 and private
• Barbary macaques along the paths

About this trip

The most-reviewed Ouzoud trip runs in several options that differ clearly in what is included. The cheapest option is self-guided: transport and free time only, with no local guide and no boat ride. Option 1 adds the guide and the boat, and only option 3 and the private trip include lunch; otherwise lunch is paid in cash on site.

The drive takes about three hours each way with a coffee stop, so you spend about four hours at the falls and return around 19:00. Medina riads that the van cannot reach get a meeting point five to ten minutes’ walk away.

What’s included

• Pickup and return in an air-conditioned minibus
• Driver and guide for the transfer
• Local guide and boat ride (not in the self-guided option)
• Lunch (option 3 and private only)
• Free time at the falls

Not included

• Local guide and boat ride in the self-guided option
• Lunch in options 1 and 2, payable on site
• Drinks and water

Pickup and meeting point

Pickup at your hotel or riad between 7:30 and 8:00. For places in the medina that the van cannot reach, a meeting point five to ten minutes’ walk away is arranged.

Highlights

• Camel ride of fifteen to twenty minutes
• Tea at a Berber camp, sunset and campfire
• Dinner with music and a fire show
• No quad ride on this trip

About this trip

The calmer Agafay evening: no quad, a camel ride of fifteen to twenty minutes, tea at a Berber camp, sunset, dinner and a show by the campfire. The bus takes about forty minutes from Marrakech, and you are back in town around ten in the evening.

Hotel pickup is included, but the bus cannot enter the medina: guests staying in a riad there meet at Hotel Islane. Table water, lemonade, tips and the camp pool are listed as not included, and a private version of the trip exists as a separate option.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and return
• Air-conditioned bus
• Tour guide
• Camel ride
• Dinner show and tea at the camp
• Campfire, music and fire show

Not included

• Table water and lemonade
• Tips
• Pool access (surcharge)

Pickup and meeting point

Pickup at your hotel. If your riad is inside the medina, you meet the bus at Hotel Islane.

Highlights

• About five hours in Essaouira
• Medina, harbour and ramparts at your own pace
• Option to stay on the coast and skip the return

About this trip

Five hours in Essaouira on the route, which is more than most trips to the coast give you: time for the medina, the harbour, the Skala ramparts and the beach. On the way you stop for breakfast at a café and at the Marjana argan cooperative.

Lunch comes with the second option, and the cheapest option is listed without lunch. An official guide in Essaouira is listed as not included, so you explore the town on your own unless you hire one there. Pickup starts at 7:15, the exact time follows the evening before, and you are back between 19:00 and 20:00. If you want to stay in Essaouira, tell the operator in advance so your luggage can travel along.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and return in an air-conditioned vehicle
• Driver speaking English, French or Spanish
• Fuel and liability insurance
• Cooperative visits
• Lunch, only in the lunch option

Not included

• Official guide in Essaouira
• Lunch in the option without lunch
• Personal expenses

Highlights

• Long stop at the Setti Fatma waterfalls
• Small breakfast at an argan cooperative
• Break by the Ourika river

About this trip

This Ourika trip gives the waterfalls the most time on its route: almost two hours and forty minutes at Setti Fatma, plus a break by the river. The first waterfall is easy to reach; going further needs effort and sturdy shoes. A small breakfast at an argan cooperative is part of the day.

The riverside lunch comes with option 2, and the cheapest option leaves it out. The operator’s transport permit covers international visitors only, so residents of Morocco cannot join.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and return
• Air-conditioned vehicle
• Local guide
• Argan cooperative visit with a small breakfast
• Lunch, only with option 2

Not included

• Lunch in option 1
• Drinks

Highlights

• Walk through Berber villages above Imlil
• Lunch at a family house in Ait Souka
• Walk length adjustable

About this trip

Two to three hours of walking from Imlil through the villages Ait Mizan, Targa and Imoula to lunch at a family house in Ait Souka, with a small group of up to fifteen. On the way out there is an optional camel ride in the Agafay Desert and a photo stop at Moulay Brahim.

Lunch is included; tips are not. The paths are signposted but can be uneven, and the walk can be shortened. Pickup is between 8:20 and 9:00, with the return between 17:00 and 18:00.

What’s included

• Hotel pickup and return
• Guide
• Berber lunch and mint tea
• Camel ride

Not included

• Tips

Highlights

• Summit of Adrar Talamrout with views of Toubkal
• Tizi n’Tamatert pass
• Lunch in the mountains

About this trip

The real hike on this site: from Imlil at 1,740 m over the Tizi n’Tamatert pass to the summit of Adrar Talamrout at about 2,700 m, roughly 14 km with about 900 m up and down. Lunch is taken outdoors on the descent, and the driver waits in Imlil.

Pickup is at 8:30 and the return around 18:30. Hiking shoes and poles can be rented in Imlil. Hotels more than thirty minutes from the centre may pay an extra transfer fee. Reviewers say you need good fitness.

What’s included

• Guide with hotel pickup and drop-off
• Air-conditioned car
• Lunch and mint tea

Not included

• Hiking gear (shoes can be rented in Imlil)
• Tips
• Extra transfer fee for hotels more than thirty minutes from the centre