Planning · Budget
Real extra costs on Marrakech day trips: lunch, boats, entries and tips
By Rachid — Owner and itinerary editor, Rachid Excursions
Two day trips can look a few euros apart on a booking page and end up much further apart by the evening. The difference is almost always what happens on site: a lunch stop, a boat, a ticket, a tip. Below is every locally paid item listed on our own tour pages, trip by trip, so you can see the real cost of a day before you choose.
Locally paid extras, trip by trip
| Trip | Published price | Lunch (about) | Other local costs | Already included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ourika Valley (shared) | €18 | 80–120 MAD | Optional argan or saffron cooperative purchases; drinks; tips | Transport, pickup, local guide for the waterfall walk |
| Essaouira coast (shared) | €20 | 80–120 MAD | Goat-photo tip 10–20 MAD; optional beach camel, horse, quad or surf; drinks | Transport, pickup, argan cooperative stop, about 5 h free time |
| Ouzoud waterfalls (shared) | €23 | 100–150 MAD | Boat ride about 20 MAD; drinks; tips; no guide at the falls | Transport, pickup, walk down to the base |
| Ouzoud waterfalls (private) | €160 for two | 100–150 MAD | Drinks; tips | Private minivan and driver, English-speaking guide, boat ride |
| Aït Ben Haddou & Ouarzazate (shared) | €30 | 100–150 MAD | Kasbah Taourirt ticket (amount not listed); tip for the local guide; drinks | Transport, pickup, local guide at Aït Ben Haddou, Kasbah Taourirt visit |
| Three Valleys (private) | €120 per car | 80–120 MAD | Optional easy walks or mule rides at extra cost | Private vehicle and driver, pickup, fuel and tolls |
| Imlil (private) | €120 per car | 100–150 MAD (optional family-cooked lunch) | Optional mule hire about 200 MAD | Private vehicle, local mountain guide, Berber family visit with mint tea |
| Agafay sunset & dinner | €35 | Buffet dinner included | Drinks; tips for guide, camel handlers and camp staff; extra quad time or buggy on request | Pickup, 1 h quad, 30-min camel ride, dinner, fire show |
| Palmeraie quad & camel | €30 | Not a meal trip | No extras listed on the tour page | Pickup, 2 h quad or buggy, 1 h camel ride, mint tea |
| Hot-air balloon (shared) | €100 | Breakfast included | Tips; photos or videos sold by the operator, if offered; transport from outside Marrakech; travel insurance | Hotel transfer, about 1 h flight, certificate, breakfast |
| Cooking class | €30 | You eat what you cook | No extras listed on the tour page | Chef, ingredients, full menu, mint tea, recipe cards |
Lunch: the biggest extra
On the full-day shared trips we publish, lunch is paid on the day, which lets you choose what and where you eat. At Ourika the stop is a riverside restaurant with tables set in the river (about 80–120 MAD). In Essaouira most people eat grilled fish at the port stalls (about 80–120 MAD). At Ouzoud the terrace restaurants over the falls, and the shared lunch stop on the Aït Ben Haddou trip, are about 100–150 MAD. On the private Three Valleys and Imlil days, lunch is likewise extra: about 80–120 MAD at a Berber restaurant on Three Valleys, and about 100–150 MAD for a home-cooked meal with the family in Imlil.
Boats, tickets and activities
- Ouzoud boat ride: about 20 MAD per person, paid on site on the shared trip; included in the €160 private day
- Kasbah Taourirt, Ouarzazate: the entrance ticket is paid on the day on the Aït Ben Haddou trip; the amount is not listed on the tour page, so ask when you book
- Aït Ben Haddou entrance on the 3-day Merzouga tour: about €3, paid on site
- Essaouira beach camel, horse, quad or surf: optional, arranged during your free time and paid separately
- Imlil mule: about 200 MAD if you would rather ride than walk uphill
- 3-day Merzouga tour: lunches on all 3 days, drinks, the Fes ending (+€25 per person) and optional quad or sandboarding are extra
Tips
Tips are listed as not included on most of our tour pages and are at your discretion. The only amount a tour page gives is for the argan-tree goats on the Essaouira road, where 10–20 MAD to the shepherd is customary if you take photos. On the Aït Ben Haddou day trip, a tip for the local guide is listed as an extra; on the Agafay evening, tips for the guide, camel handlers and camp staff are not in the €35. Keep small notes and coins in dirhams so you are not hunting for change.
Cash and payment
Most standard day tours are paid on the tour day in cash (MAD, EUR or USD) unless your written confirmation states otherwise. For activities such as the balloon flight and the cooking class, payment timing and any deposit are confirmed in writing before booking. The locally paid extras above are quoted in dirhams, so take out MAD in Marrakech before a day in the mountains or on the coast rather than counting on a cash machine along the way.
A worked example
One person on the shared Ouzoud trip: €23 published price, plus about 20 MAD (€2) for the boat and about 100–150 MAD (€10–15) for lunch, gives about €35–40 before drinks and tips. Two people on the private Ouzoud day: €160 for both, with the boat and an English-speaking guide included, plus about 200–300 MAD (€20–30) for two lunches, gives about €180–190 for the pair before drinks and tips.
Sources and verification
These sources support destination, heritage, climate, health or travel-advice context. Prices and supplier details are confirmed in writing for each booking.
- Morocco travel advice
UK Government
Current travel, safety, entry and local-law guidance.
- Morocco official tourism portal
Moroccan National Tourism Office
Official destination context for Marrakech, desert, coast and Atlas travel.
Frequently asked
Tours mentioned above
Ourika Valley — Day Trip
Full day · Berber villages · Ourika waterfalls · Riverside lunch
A relaxed full-day escape from Marrakech into the lush Ourika Valley — just 1h15 from the medina. Follow the river deep into the High Atlas, stop in traditional Berber villages, then hike with a local guide to the Ourika waterfalls at Setti Fatma before a slow lunch at a riverside restaurant with your feet almost in the water. Back in Marrakech in time for a hammam and sunset drinks.
Essaouira Coast Day Trip
Atlantic Medina & Argan Cooperatives
Head west from Marrakech to the wind-city of Essaouira on the Atlantic coast. Departure at 08:45 with a stop on the way at a women's argan oil cooperative, where you'll see how local Berber women press argan for cooking and cosmetics. Arrive in Essaouira for around five hours of free time to explore the UNESCO medina, walk the Skala de la Kasbah sea ramparts, wander the fishing port, relax on the beach or try a camel or horse ride, before returning to Marrakech by 19:00.
Ouzoud Waterfalls — Shared Day Trip
Shared full day · 110m falls · Boat ride paid on site · Barbary macaques
A full day of green landscapes, spray and monkeys — the perfect contrast to the medina. Leave Marrakech at 08:45 and drive ~150 km north-east through the Middle Atlas and small Berber villages to the Ouzoud waterfalls, Morocco's tallest at 110 m. Walk the shaded path down to the base, take a small wooden boat under the mist of the falls, meet the wild Barbary macaques, and stop for a slow tagine lunch on a terrace overlooking the cascades before heading back to Marrakech for around 19:30.
Ouzoud Waterfalls — Private Day
Private driver & English-speaking guide
A fully private day in the Middle Atlas. Your driver and English-speaking guide pick you up at 7:30 AM, walk you top-to-bottom of the 110-metre Ouzoud waterfalls, take you on a small boat to the base of the falls, and stop for lunch on a terrace overlooking the cascades before returning to Marrakech.
Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou — Day Trip
Full day · UNESCO kasbah · Tizi n'Tichka pass · Local guide
A cinematic full-day crossing of the High Atlas from Marrakech to the ochre pre-Saharan south. Leave at 07:30 and climb the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m) with panoramic Berber-village stops, then spend the morning inside Aït Ben Haddou — the UNESCO-listed earthen ksar famous from Gladiator and Game of Thrones — with a local guide. Continue to Ouarzazate to visit the Kasbah Taourirt, share a group lunch on site and drive back through the mountains to Marrakech, arriving around 19:30.
Agafay Desert — Sunset & Dinner
Afternoon & evening · Quad + camel · Buffet dinner · Fire show under the stars
An Agafay desert afternoon and evening from Marrakech for €35 / MAD 350 per person, 14:00 to 22:00 with hotel or riad pickup. It includes 1 hour of quad biking, a 30-minute camel ride at sunset, a buffet dinner at a Berber camp and a fire show; drinks and tips are extra. Agafay is a stone desert 45 minutes from the city, not the Sahara sand dunes — for dunes, take the 3-day Merzouga tour. Get picked up at 14:00, ride quad for an hour across the lunar stone desert with the High Atlas on the horizon, swap the engine for a 30-minute camel ride at sunset, then settle into a Berber camp for a buffet dinner (grilled meats, chicken, salads, couscous) and a traditional fire show under the stars. Back at your riad by 22:00.
Hot Air Balloon — Shared Flight
Shared sunrise flight over the palm groves · €100 per person
A shared sunrise balloon flight for €100 / MAD 1,000 per person. You are collected from your Marrakech hotel or riad between 06:00 and 06:30, take off from the Palmeraie just before sunrise for about an hour in the air with the Atlas Mountains on the horizon, then have a Moroccan breakfast with mint tea on landing and receive a personalised flight certificate. You are back at your hotel around 10:00.