cs / en
cs / en
ROAD TRIP: ANTI-ATLAS
Morocco

ROAD TRIP: ANTI-ATLAS

  • 8 days
  • couples
  • spring, fall

Beautiful and easy road trip starting and finishing in Agadir, Morocco. During the week-long trip you will explore the Anti-Atlas Mountain range. You will visit small mountain villages, unexpected oases and Berber towns. You can also make your journey more interesting by going on hikes: you’ll have many great opportunities to do so. You will also discover the Atlantic coastline with its miles of deserted beaches. You will taste the excellent Moroccan cuisine and meet very hospitable and friendly people. For this road trip, a regular rental car will suffice, although a car with a slightly higher chassis, such as a Dacia Duster, would be better. It is not a difficult journey to drive. The ideal time to come to Anti-Atlas is early spring or autumn. In winter it can be very rainy, sometimes there’s even snow in places, and conversely in summer it may get too hot.

5 / 5

From the airport in Agadir, you'll take the first crossing to the village of Tiout, but you'll take a bit of a detour and stop in the absolutely stunning Agadir Inoumar. You'll start your second day with a tour of the unique oasis at Tiout and then head straight into the Anti-Atlas Mountains. The destination is Tafraoute, the largest Berber town in the area. The drive itself is beautiful and offers some incredible views. At Tafraoute, you will go to see Napoleon Rock and then to the world famous Painted Rocks.

The third day will be spent entirely on the road, but this day the journey is the destination – the passage through the Ait Mansour Valley is one of the best experiences on this trip. You'll also visit the magnificent viewpoint of Aoukerda Canyon and take a short but challenging hike to The Window of Life. On the fourth day, you will trek through the Aoukerda Canyon for almost half a day and then move to a near-desert campsite where you will spend the night.

On day five you will head to the Atlantic coast to the town of Sidi Ifni, driving through a very poor region where people live on the edge of the desert with limited access to water. In Sidi Ifni you will find a beautiful long town beach with ideal conditions for kiteboarding. On the sixth day you will enjoy the morning on the famous Legzira beach and then drive to the town of Tiznit, famous for its medina full of shops and stores with all kinds of goods.

On the seventh day you will go on a slightly unusual safari in Souss-Massa National Park and the rest of the day can be spent by the sea, perhaps on Tifnit Beach. The last day depends on your departure time, but if you're flying in the afternoon you can stop for a short tour of Agadir.

Author: Jirka Maleček
For additional info click

Travel Info

Plane tickets – use your favourite flight search engine. If you don't have a favourite, try kiwi.com

Car rental – there are several reputable and local car rental companies at Agadir Al-Massira International Airport. If you don't have a favourite, try using AVIS. The ideal car for this trip is a Dacia Duster, it doesn't even need to be a 4x4. BEWARE of mileage restrictions and choose a no-restriction offer, otherwise your rental may become more expensive.

Accommodation – arrange everything in advance, ideally use booking.com, or try contacting individual properties directly.

Prices in the destination – for Europeans, it is very cheap here. Just beware that paying by card is not common and you will often be asked for cash. 

Money exchange – you can exchange money at the airport, it may be a little cheaper elsewhere, but the chance of finding an exchange place outside the airport is quite low. I was never able to withdraw from an ATM during the whole week. You can only pay by card somewhere, they didn't even take cards at some petrol stations. We managed to change money in Tafraoute, there is a bank there. 

Calling and data – right at the airport you can buy a data card from two local operators. We opted for e-SIM from Inwi. The signal was excellent. 

When to come here – spring is ideal, or autumn. In winter it can be very rainy, snow in places and conversely in summer the heat may be too great 

Ramadan – if you are considering whether to go during Ramadan then we can only recommend it. We tried it and the only thing we underestimated was our coffee addiction, but that was quickly solved by buying a thermos. Everywhere we stayed they provided us with dinner and breakfast as is standard.

Process

• Buy your flights

• Book your accommodation 

• Arrange your car rental 

• Adjust your schedule for the first and last day to suit your time 

• Make reservations at recommended restaurants

• Pay your travel insurance

What will you see on the way?

Painted Rocks

Painted Rocks

The rocks, painted in different colours near Tafraoute, are the work of Belgian artist Jean Verame. In 1984, with the help of local firefighters, he created a large artwork as a tribute to his late wife. The project took three months to finish, and 18 tons of paint were used. We were there completely out of season and late in the afternoon and we were all alone. We found it better to drive to the Red & Blue rock (the first painted stones on the right), continue by car for a short distance, as far as the road would allow, and then walk the last bit. You'll be able to take nice pictures of everything from above. We were lucky enough to see two gazelles quite close up when we walked here. 

Aoukerda kaňon

Aoukerda

Aoukerda, also known as the Grand Canyon of Morocco, is a beautiful canyon in the Anti-Atlas Mountains. You can see it from several viewpoints, which can be easily reached by a new asphalt road. You can also go on a hike directly through the canyon. The road from the village of Igmir is beautiful. In addition to the very famous overlook at the spot marked as Grand Canyon Park, be sure to stop a little further down at The Window of Life.

The Arche of Legzira

The Arche of Legzira

This sedimentary reef, naturally formed by erosion, juts out into the sea and connects the coastline to the sea surface. The beach is accessible at low tide and is best enjoyed at sunset, when both cliffs turn an intense red colour. This is the last amazing arch left after two other large, iconic arches along the coast collapsed in September 2016. The arch is accessible from Legzira beach, where you'll find parking and plenty of restaurants and bars. The arches can be reached on foot. In season, the beach rents out quad bikes, or you can arrange camel rides.

Daily itinerary

Day 1

Arrival, tour of Agadir Inoumar and transfer to the settlement of Tiout

Today you will visit the beautiful Agadir Inoumar and transfer to the settlement of Tiout with its beautiful oasis.

Day 2

Passage through the Anti-Atlas Mountains

In the morning, explore the oasis of Tiout, then take a beautiful drive to the town of Tafraoute to see the famous Painted Rocks.

Day 3

One of the highlights of the journey – Ait Mansour Valley

Today you will go on a longer crossing and you will see the truly amazing Ait Mansour Valley, then many beautiful mountain villages and finally the Aoukerda Canyon.

Day 4

Morning trek and then crossing to the edge of the desert

In the morning you will go on a hiking trek through the Aoukerda canyon, after lunch you will cross to the edge of the desert to the town of Icht. In the early evening you can arrange a tour of the old village of Icht.

Day 5

Crossing to the Atlantic Ocean

Today's route runs partly along the edge of the desert, where you will pass through several poorer villages and towns. The destination is the Atlantic coast and the town of Sidi Ifni.

Day 6

The famous and beautiful Legzira beach with its stone arch. The town of Tiznit.

Spend the morning and part of the afternoon on the beautiful Legzira beach. In the afternoon you will go to the town of Tiznit and explore the ancient medina.

Day 7

Safari in Souss-Massa National Park and relax on a beach

Today you will go on a rather unusual safari in the Souss-Massa National Park. Then have lunch at Tifnit beach, where you can observe the ocean and visit the large sand dunes.

Day 8

Departure

Adjust today's programme according to your departure time.

User reviews

Review icon

There is no traveller review yet. Be the first to share your experiences!

We're choosing the route of the month!

Check out the route of the month!
LANZAROTE

What's new?

Are there really too many tourists?

Are there really too many tourists?

Niky Malečková 17.07.2024 520

Our experience of a week in July on the Greek island of Rhodes

Road trip in Morocco during Ramadan

Road trip in Morocco during Ramadan

Niky Malečková 28.03.2024 649

We had a unique holiday!


To view this section
you must be logged in.