Full-Day Trip from Marrakech to Atlas Mountains and The Ancient Ait Ben Haddou

The pick from our Riad was prompt as promised at 7 AM. There was only one other family in our van besides us. It can be a long day because of the 4 hour journey especially through the Atlas mountains. Breakfast was good at the restaurant we stopped in the morning that was part of this package. Our tour guide, Ismail kept it lively giving information about Morocco. Seeing the movie sets in Ouarzazate and the historical site of Ait Ben Haddou made the long drive worth it. The restaurant recommended by our guide for lunch was reasonable and clean. We were dropped off at our Riad by 8:45 PM. Overall, it was as great day trip from Marrakech and something that should be seen while visiting Morocco.

Highlights our guide Abdul had a great positive outlook on life and was super observant picking out things you could easily have missed like hidden palaces, cows riding on top of trucks and the sand castles of Ait Ben Haddou tour of Ouarzazate casbah views of the beautiful Atlas Mountains as we rode up and over them no random stops in random gift shops owned by friends breakfast with second helpings and again nice views from the mountains kept well hydrated by our guides and taking toilet breaks not an issue door to door pick up drop off language wasnt an issue, perfect English spoken great communication to arrange pick up time Friendly and light hearted Abdul and our expert driver made a 3 hour winding drive up and over the beautiful Atlas Mountains to the world heritage sand castles of Ait Ben Haddou and real casbah/ fake movie sets of Ouarzazate a relaxing and enjoyable experience! My pick up was well communicated well in advance and set for 06:20 and I was back by 9pm after a packed day

It was a long day by seeing the Castle and the movie museum in Ouarzazate. Both were very interest and our guide was wonderful, fun and very well spoken. I learned more about the area then I knew going in. The Air Ben Haddou was stunning. I loved walking around the grounds and taking in the views. The lunch stop was a delicious traditional meal and did not cost to much.

I chose this company as a result of the excellent reviews it already had. I was picked up just outside my Riad by Abdul very promptly in the morning for our early start. This company only takes a maximum of 8 people in its vehicle on a tour which made it a very intimate, enjoyable and personal experience I have been on a tour with another company where they had 2 van loads, near enough 40 people taken on a tour with 1 guide and would not recommend this. The views en route we had to pass through the high atlas mountains and many Berber villages were spectacular and breath taking and even though pictures do not do it any justice, Abdul had stopped at many points so we could take many photos. He's also very good at taking pics so dont worry if you are solo like me, you'll have many pics with you in them! We stopped for breakfast which was very much needed and had coffee, tea, omelette, bread, olive oil tasted really good in particular and olives and then were back on the road again. We finally arrived at the film studio which was a fun experience and then also had a tour of Taourirt Kasbah which is a UNESCO world heritage site. Our next stop was Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and my personal favourite location out of the three, you really have a sense of being transported back in time here and although there are quite a few tourists, its amazing how time had just stood still there. We had then stopped off for lunch at a restaurant to refuel for a hearty lunch. And then were back on the road again. The scenery on the way back was again more beautiful as it was later in the afternoon and the lighting had changed. Again Abdul gave us many photo opportunities and made lots of stops so we could capture the best views. Time for another refreshment stop for orange juice and once again sat taking in the wonderful views as the sunsets. Abdul had made the trip and tour such a wonderful experience. His knowledge of the country, the sites, the scenes are incomparable. He has such passion and enthusiasm in what he does that he wants you to have the best experience. At no point were we ever rushed. just made to relax and enjoy and soak up everything that we see and do. I would highly recommend this company, don't book with any other company and waste your money!

We had a wonderful and adventurous day - we were fortunate enough to see rain, snow and sun all in one day. Ait Ben Haddou is an authentic experience, beautiful, mysterious and relaxed. Abdul is very knowledgeable about sites, geology as well as the culture in ancient and modern Marokko. Enjoy!

Big high 5 for our Guide/driver Abdul. Pick up at 6am, drop off 8pm. Always courteous, friendly. Super driving skills, snow storm and bad visibility over the pass. Then taking over in Ait Ben Haddou as tourguide and accompanying the ladies back to someone shops. Huge knowledge about Morocco and never a dull moment. Shokran and all the best