8 Day Desert Quest | Guided Off-road Motorcycle Tour in Morocco

8 days Morocco guided Advanced Moto Aventures from $3,105

Overview

About 90% off-road this Desert Quest is aimed at off-road bikers wanting extra time in the sand. Some experience in dunes and sand is preferable for you to get the most from your ride, but not imperative. You will ride through the 3 Ergs (sand / dune areas) – Chegaga, Ouzina, and Chebbi, where you will attempt the ascent of the highest dunes in Morocco at 205 meters. You will also cross the spectacular Jebel Saghro mountain range with winding trails and some major drop-offs into the valleys below. Pass through the “Monument Valley” of this very austere and lunar-like terrain. A fully equipped support truck follows not far behind bringing Hussein, the mechanic, to sort out any punctures or make a quick checkover after an off.

Highlights

Tour starts and ends in Ouarzazate
Mountain and desert adventure
Conquer the Erg Chigaga and Chebbi dunes
Follow the High Atlas Mountains and Jbel Sahro tracks
Daily delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner
KTM 450 EXC motorbikes included
7 nights accommodation
Pick-up and drop-off at Ouarzazate airport

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival day
You will arrive at Ouarzazate airport and a short transfer to your 4-star riad-style hotel, or by minibus road transfer organized from Marrakech. Your bike awaits your arrival. Freshen up, do the bike paperwork, then free to laze by the pool or wander into town. Dinner is a buffet in the hotel.
Day 2: Ouarzazate to Fuim Zguid (approx. 203 kilometers / 126 miles)
Have breakfast at 08.00, then leave at 09.00. Enjoy 17 km on the asphalt before turning onto our first track of the day, it will be 80 km before you see the asphalt again so plenty of time to get used to your bike and the terrain. The track is twisting and undulating with a few loose rocky sections. A refreshment stop at the tarmac, then you are off again along a 50 km fast but twisting section of hard-packed sand…watch out for the surprises. Picnic lunch under an acacia tree near the gold mine at Bou Azzer. After lunch, some nice desert riding through some low hills before hitting the plateau
Day 3: Fuim Zguid to Oualid Driss (approx. 170 kilometers / 106 miles)
Upon leaving the hotel, it’s 5 km on the road to the town of Foum Zguid where you refuel before heading out into the desert. Rocky at first, you soon arrive at the dry (hopefully) lake bed of Lac Iriki. 40 km of fast riding across the lake brings you to the western side of the Chegaga Dunes. For those up for it, there are also around 40 km of medium-sized dunes to be crossed before you arrive at the bivouac in the dunes, where you stop for lunch. Those not wanting to commit to the dunes at this early stage of the tour (there are plenty more opportunities to dune ride later on) can take a 60 km
Day 4: Oualid Driss to Desert Bivouac (approx. 221 kilometers / 137 miles)
A fast day ride skirting the Algerian border. Leaving at 09.00, you head the 6 km back up the road to Mhamid where you refuel the bikes. From here straight back into the small dunes and sandy riverbeds as you head the 40 km north towards the village of Tazzarine. Refuel and you set off winding through the palmerie alongside the river Draa. Once back into the desert, you can expect to be stopped by the Moroccan military on at least 2 different occasions as the border with Algeria is not far away and this has become a sensitive area once again. Great, fast desert tracks once used on the Paris /
Day 5: Desert bivouac to Merzouga (approx. 97 kilometers / 60 miles)
A short day today to maximize your time in the big ‘cathedral’ dunes of Erg Chebbi. After breakfast, you leave the bivouac at 09.00 and set off for Morocco’s highest dunes at Erg Chebbi. There are more than 20 cathedral dunes that are more than 100 m in height with the highest being 205 m above the plateau….for those of you up to it, you will ride them all. You track from the bivouac to the dunes and traverse an open plain with many acacia trees. This area reminds one of East Africa – just missing the giraffe grazing in the trees. Expect some sandy and rocky sections on what is for the most pa
Day 6: Merzouga to Dades (approx. 261 kilometers / 162 miles)
Your longest day today with some fast desert riding and some slow mountain sections as you traverse the Jbel Saghro mountain range. As usual, you leave the hotel at 09.00. The first 50 km today are the same as the last 50 km of yesterday’s ride. From here to your lunch stop, you have some very mixed riding on what are totally new tracks for you. Ranging from a very ‘messy’ 10 km as you try to cross the Gheris River to long fast sections across the many wide open plateaux to be found in this area. There are many areas where the sand has been blown up against the hills making some very spectacul
Day 7: Dades to Ouarzazate (approx. 192 kilometers / 119 miles)
After breakfast refuel and then up the Dades Gorge and off in a westerly direction following the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Undulating, fast sections interspersed with rocky trails through major washouts and gullies, bring you out onto a plateau. Picnic lunch somewhere up on the plateau. A sandy twisting riverbed and a further 20 km of fast trails across a flat plateau bring you back to Ouarzazate and your base hotel. Handover of bikes for Hussein to check them over. Relax by the pool before buffet dinner.
Day 8: Departure day
After breakfast, your transfer to Ouarzazarte airport, or back to Marrakech if the transfer is arranged for this.

Ride Details

Terrain: sand dunes, off-road, and mountain trails
Bike: rental bike (KTM 450)
Mileage: 1144 kilometers / 711 miles
Daily rides: 97 - 261 kilometers / 60 - 162 miles
Riding gear: not included, please bring your own riding gear
Meals: Half-board meals

What's included

KTM 450 EXCs bike rental
3rd party insurance
All fuel
Quadlock mount, USB cable, and SIM card
Pick-up & transfer to/from Ouarzazate airport to the local hotel (return transfers from Marrakech can be arranged for you. We try to join bikers up to reduce costs)
7 nights twin-share accommodation with half-board
Picnic or cafe lunches
Drinking water during the day’s biking (carried in the 4×4)
Support vehicle with driver & mechanic, equipped with a fridge, compressor, large first-aid box, medical equipment, satellite phone, GPS

Not included

Return flights
Medical insurance with repatriation (obligatory)
700 EUR security deposit for the bike rental (refundable)
Pocket money for souvenirs, alcohol, soft drinks, etc. (reckon 50 EUR unless you drink a lot!)
Your biking gear and drinking system
Marrakech return transfers (80 EUR for shared, 250 EUR for private transfer for 1 taxi up to 3 passengers)

Accommodation

You will stay at small hotels, riads, and auberges wherever you stop. The tour uses a selection of accommodations, always the nicest available in the area you are stopping, such as three-star local auberges and inns, and four-star hotels built in the old kasbah (castles) style. Most of the hotels have swimming pools, but they’re normally cold! The night in the desert bivouac is always a highlight. After a good meal, you lie around the campfire, listening to some local musicians and gazing up at the stars.

Food

The package includes half-board meals. Drinking water is provided in the support vehicle. Please let Moto Aventures know if you have any allergies.

Getting There

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