Best things to do in Agafay Desert: activities and what to expect

Agafay is not an activity park, and the visitors who enjoy it most treat it accordingly. Most people do one thing in a day, usually at one end of it, and spend the rest of the time looking at the horizon. Two activities in a single day is one too many, and by the second you are watching the clock rather than the light.

That said, the plateau does have a real list of things to do, all of them arranged from the camps. Here they are, with what they cost and when to take them.

The short answer

Every one of these is described in full, with what is included, on the activities page.

Camel rides

The classic, and the one most visitors book. The route runs along the ridge above the canyons rather than across open ground, which is what gives it the view. It lasts 45 to 60 minutes and costs from €35 per person.

Two things nobody mentions. It is slower and quieter than you expect, which is most of the appeal. And the hour matters more than the route: take it in the hour before sunset, when the plateau turns ochre, rather than at two in the afternoon when everything is flat and white.

It suits nearly everyone, including children and people who have never been near a camel. The animals are led on foot by a handler; you are not steering anything.

Quad biking

Guided, on the tracks east of the camps, from €50 per person for an hour. No licence is required and the briefing takes five minutes. Goggles and a helmet are provided, and you will finish covered in dust regardless of what you wear.

Book it for mid-morning rather than midday. The tracks are exposed and the heat between noon and four in summer turns an enjoyable hour into an endurance test.

Wear closed shoes and clothes you do not mind ruining. The ground is gravel, and the dust gets into everything.

Buggies

A buggy is two-seated, which changes the experience: one of you drives and the other does not. It costs €110 for the vehicle rather than per person, for an hour, and it takes the wider circuit further east than the quads go.

It is the better choice for a couple who want to cover ground, and the worse choice if you both want to drive. If that is the case, take two quads.

Horse riding

Along the canyon edge, at a walk and a trot, from €50 per person for an hour. This one comes with a caveat we would rather give in advance: it suits people who have ridden before more than complete beginners. The ground is uneven and an hour in the saddle is longer than it sounds if you have never done it.

Early morning is the right time. The light is good, the horses are fresh, and the temperature has not yet become a factor.

Dinner in the desert

Dinner is served at the camps after dark, outside when the weather allows, and costs €55 per person. It is cooked on site rather than reheated, and it is the part of an evening that people describe afterwards.

If you are staying overnight, the room rate covers the tent and breakfast; dinner is separate. If you are coming for the evening only, the Night Pass includes it.

A table set apart from the common area, with its own service, can be arranged for a proposal or an anniversary. It needs a few days’ notice and is described on the Night Pass page.

The pool

Underrated, and in July it is the honest reason to come. The camps have infinity pools facing the plateau, and a Day Pass from €49 per person covers the pool, the terraces and lunch, from 11am to 6pm.

This is the activity for a family with young children, for anyone who has spent three days walking the medina, and for the middle of a summer day when nothing else on this list is enjoyable.

The hot air balloon

Worth one clarification, because plenty of websites blur it: the balloon flies over the plain outside Marrakech, not over the Agafay plateau. It is a genuinely good experience, and it is not a flight over the stone desert.

From €130 per person, it includes return transport from Marrakech, a 40 to 60 minute flight at sunrise, and breakfast under a nomad tent afterwards. The pick-up is very early, often around five in the morning.

Music and the fire show

Most camps host gnawa musicians on some evenings, and a few put on a fire show after dinner. Neither is guaranteed on a given night, because it depends on the camp and the day.

Say which you would prefer when you book. Some people come specifically for the music; others want a silent camp and are disappointed to find drums going at ten. Both are arrangeable if we know in advance.

What to do at which hour

How much to book

One activity per day is the answer for almost everyone. The plateau does its work in the gaps, not during the hour on a quad, and a schedule packed end to end turns a desert into a checklist.

If you are staying a night, book one activity for the late afternoon and nothing else. If you are coming for a day, take the pool and add a camel ride at the end of it.

Booking and payment

• Camel rides can usually be arranged on the day; quads, buggies and horses cannot, because the equipment is shared between camps
• Activities are not included in a room rate or a pass; they are quoted and paid separately
• Prices are confirmed in writing before you travel, so there are no surprises on the plateau
• Payment is in cash on the day, to the driver, along with the rest of your booking
• Age and height minimums apply to quads and buggies; tell us who is coming and we confirm

Getting there is its own question, and we cover it separately in our guide to travelling from Marrakech to Agafay.