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What to Expect in the Marrakech Palmeraie: Your Complete Guide
The Palmeraie sits just outside Marrakech, 10 to 15 minutes by car from the Medina or Gueliz. It is a palm grove of several thousand hectares with dirt tracks running through it, a handful of villages, and a good deal more shade than the word desert suggests.
Most people book something there without much idea of what the place is like. This is what to expect before you do.
What the Marrakech Palmeraie actually looks like
Over 100,000 palms, with sandy and red-earth tracks running between them, low walls, traditional Berber settlements and stretches of open ground with rolling dunes. It is flat enough to be easy going and open enough to see a long way.
It is quiet. That is the main difference from the Medina, and for most visitors it is the whole point.
How long it takes to get there
10 to 15 minutes by car from the Medina or Gueliz. Hotel pickup and drop-off is included, which puts the total time away from your hotel at roughly 1.5 to 3.5 hours depending on what you book.
That is short enough that a Palmeraie excursion fits either side of a half day in the city.
Ways to see the Palmeraie
Three, and they suit different people:
- Quad biking: Two hours, €25.99. The fastest way to cover ground, and the only one with a minimum age, which is seven.
- Camel rides: Two hours, €19.99. Walking pace the whole way, with a handler leading.
- Pony tours: One hour, €17.33. Built for children, with a handler beside each child.
Combos pair any two of them into one booking, which is what most families end up doing.
When to go
Mornings are cooler and quieter. Sunset is the most requested slot in spring and autumn, for the light. In July and August the middle of the day is worth avoiding altogether.
The groves give genuine shade, so summer is more manageable in the Palmeraie than it is in the city.
What to wear and bring
Closed shoes, loose clothing, sunglasses and sunscreen. Long trousers if you are riding a quad. Water in summer.
The tracks are dusty. Anything you would mind getting dust on is better left at the hotel.
Private tours versus shared groups
PalmExc runs private excursions only. Separate bookings are never combined, so the group is the people you arrived with, and the pace and the stops are yours to set.
It matters most with children, and with anyone nervous about riding, because there is nobody else's schedule to keep up with.
Plan your visit
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