Ouarzazate Day Tour including Lunch from Marrakech

Comme le titre l'indique, nous avions prévu une excursion à Ouazazate, entre autre la visite des studios, l'attraction principale mais... On nous a cherchés à 06h30 à l'hôtel puis un ramassage qui a duré jusqu'à 08h50, soit. Vu le retard cumulé, le chauffeur s'est transformé en Sébastien Loeb durant tout le trajet, transformant notre voyage en stress permanent. Nous sommes arrivés à proximité de Ouazazate avec prise en charge d'un guide qui nous a fait visiter la Kasbah d'Aït Benhaddou (superbe, magnifique) prévue au programme. Malheureusement, on nous a ensuite fait perdre un temps énorme en nous emmenant...chez un marchand de tapis et artisanat.L'ensemble du minibus affichait la même déception que nous. Puis on nous a conduit visiter une deuxième Kasbah, mais pas celle qui était prévue au programme. Enfin on nous emmène aux studios pour nous restaurer au pas de course à 15h30 et une visite express des studios d'environ 45 minutes pour repartir affronter les routes de l'Atlas version rallye, pour un périple de 4 heures.

Read so many reviews, stating its a long day, saying not worth it, we thought it was. We left at 7am and got back about 8.30pm. Plenty of stops, great to say we have travelled through the Atlas Mountains with great sights. Ait Ben Haddou is far better in real life than in the photos or YouTube videos. We had an hour here which was just enough time to look around. Then went to the film studios and had lunch at the onsite Hotel 'Oscars' before having a guided tour around the film sets. Lunch was included, very average and basic we all shared (6 of us plus guide) I think what we paid for the drinks paid for the meal. A can of coke 40 Dirham about £3.60 and Bottle of Local Beer £8. This is why I have scored 4 out of 5. The Studios were a real good insight into how sets are created, we really found it interesting, the high light was discovering that the Yemen scenes from Prison Break Season 5 were filmed here and in the town. Really glad we did it.

This is a long day trip, a lot of which is sitting in the car, so bring some audio books. It is well worth the time and quite beautiful. Along the trip to and past the Atlas mountains, the landscape becomes more barren and arid, as it turns into a desert. The vistas stretch out as far as the eye can see and it is mesmerizing and can easily induce one into a blissful trance. You will have a chance to walk in the ancient ksar of Ait Ben Haddou for an entire hour, exploring at your own leisure. Afterwards you eat lunch at a movie studio, where they take you on set and you get to see the city of Meereen from Game of Thrones! Turns out a lot of movies and TV shows are filmed in Morocco. Afterward there is a bonus ksar at Ouarzazate to visit, before the long drive home. The driver was also the tour guide and he did a great job