Marrakech golf and desert days: Agafay, the Atlas and ballooning
- 19 October 2026
In Marrakech, a round of golf combines easily with the Agafay desert, a hammam or the Jardin Majorelle: 18 holes in the morning, an outing in the afternoon. From Assoufid, the centre of the Agafay commune is 15.7 km away, about 21 minutes’ drive without traffic according to an OSRM route calculation. The upper Ourika valley (Setti Fatma), Imlil and Ouirgane are a different matter at 1 hr 14 to 1 hr 22 from the medina without traffic: those are non-golf days.
How far each outing is from the courses
The times below were calculated on 19 October 2026 on the actual road network with OSRM (OpenStreetMap data), between the course location published by the club or the Royal Moroccan Golf Federation (Jemaa el-Fna square for the medina) and an OpenStreetMap reference point for each sight. They assume no traffic: allow more in town at rush hour and on mountain roads. For Agafay, the reference point is the centre of the Agafay commune (caïdat); each desert camp has its own location, so ask for it.
| Outing | From the medina (Jemaa el-Fna) | Nearest course (OSRM drive time) | Best format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jardin Majorelle | 3.4 km, 7 min | The Montgomerie: 7.1 km, 10 min; Atlas Golf: 7.9 km, 11 min | Late afternoon after a round |
| Agafay desert (commune centre) | 26.7 km, 35 min | Assoufid: 15.7 km, 21 min; Fairmont Royal Palm: 22 km, 27 min; Atlas Golf: 22.5 km, 28 min | Afternoon and sunset, after 18 holes in the morning |
| Ourika valley (Tnine Ourika) | 36.4 km, 49 min | Palm Golf Ourika, at km 13 on the same road | 9 or 18 holes, then the lower valley |
| Setti Fatma (upper Ourika valley) | 62.9 km, 1 hr 22 | Palm Golf Ourika, on the same road (not calculated: the course is not mapped in OpenStreetMap) | Non-golf day |
| Imlil (Asni district) | 64.7 km, 1 hr 20 | Atlas Golf: 59.9 km, 1 hr 12 | Non-golf day |
| Ouirgane (Asni district) | 63 km, 1 hr 14 | Atlas Golf: 58.2 km, 1 hr 06 | Non-golf day |
| Hot-air balloon | Early-morning pick-up from your accommodation; about 4 hr 30 (Ciel d’Afrique) to 5 hr (Marrakech By Air) in total, according to the operators | Whole morning, golf in the afternoon or a rest day | |
The rule of thumb: anything within 40 minutes of a course fits into half a day; the rest takes the whole day. The courses on the Guemassa and Amizmiz roads (Assoufid, Fairmont Royal Palm, Atlas Golf: 21 to 28 minutes) are best placed for Agafay; Atlas Golf and The Montgomerie, about 10 minutes from the medina, also suit a day in the city.
Golf in the morning, the Agafay desert in the afternoon
Agafay is not the Sahara: it is desert scenery on Marrakech’s doorstep. The Moroccan National Tourist Office describes camps set among the dunes of Agafay, designed as African lodges with furnished tents. For a golfer the appeal is the distance: you can reach a camp after lunch without giving up the morning round.
A typical day starts at Assoufid Golf Club on the Guemassa road, 20 minutes from the medina according to the club. Tee off around 8am, play Niall Cameron’s par 72, lunch at the clubhouse, then drive 21 minutes (OSRM, to the commune centre) to Agafay. Published 2026-27 green fee: 1,300 MAD (18 holes), 700 MAD (9 holes); maximum handicap 35.
For a shorter version, play 9 holes at Atlas Golf (450 MAD on the club’s rate card, which carries no validity dates) on the Amizmiz road, then drive 28 minutes to Agafay. From Samanah Golf Club (1,100 MAD, the club’s public 18-hole rate), allow 31 minutes according to OSRM.
We do not recommend a particular camp. Ask the camp for its exact location, the return time and how you get there.
Hot-air ballooning: mornings only
A balloon ride takes the slot you would normally use for golf, because it lifts off at sunrise. Two Marrakech operators publish their programme and prices online; we quote what each says as an example, not as a recommendation of one over the other. Ciel d’Afrique (website checked on 19 October 2026):
- in business since 1990; balloons go up “only in the morning” for safety reasons;
- early-morning pick-up by 4×4 or van from your accommodation, with part of the drive to the launch site on tracks;
- about 4 hr 30 in total, of which 40 to 60 minutes in the air depending on the weather, with views of the Jbilet hills;
- Berber breakfast in a tent, prepared by women from the village of Oulad El Garn (taken on board for the royal flight), a flight certificate, then the drive back;
- booking by 8pm the day before (classic and VIP) or 4pm (royal);
- published prices per person: 2,400 MAD (classic), 3,900 MAD (VIP, minimum two people), 5,800 MAD (Top VIP, minimum two people), 6,800 MAD (royal).
Marrakech By Air shows a civil aviation licence (no. 2443/2007) and an air operator certificate (CN-XT15/08) on its website. Its English pages, checked on 19 October 2026, list flights every day, in the morning between 6am and 11am; an early 4×4 pick-up; about an hour in the air facing the High Atlas; an excursion of about 5 hours with a Berber breakfast in a tent and a camel ride in the Palmeraie; and a classic flight at 2,050 MAD or €200 per person (50% off for children under 10, undated page). Whichever operator you choose, ask for its licence and its weather cancellation terms.
On the golf side, the natural pairing is the balloon at dawn, back by late morning, then 9 holes in the afternoon close to town: The Montgomerie (400 MAD for 9 holes, the operator’s visitor rate) or Atlas Golf.
A balloon ride, a desert camp or a hammam between rounds? We build the trip to measure: courses, tee times, accommodation and transfers.
The Ourika valley: golf on the way
The Ourika valley is the one big excursion with a course on the route. Palm Golf Ourika sits at km 13 on the Ourika road, according to the club: a desert-style par 72 designed by Neil Haworth and Stéphane Talbot. Its online rate card was still the 2025-26 one, which expired on 30 September 2026, so ask for the current season’s green fee.
The Moroccan National Tourist Office describes a fertile valley carved by water from the High Atlas, planted with fruit and nut trees, with traditional villages on the hillsides. The village of Setti Fatma is a short distance from seven waterfalls.
There are two ways to do it. With a morning round at Palm Golf Ourika and lunch at its Le Petit Béret restaurant, the afternoon is free for the lower valley: Tnine Ourika is 49 minutes from the medina according to OSRM, with the course in between. To go up to Setti Fatma and the waterfalls (1 hr 22 from the medina without traffic), take a full day and leave the clubs behind.
Imlil and Ouirgane: a proper mountain day
Imlil and Ouirgane are in the Asni district of Al Haouz province. OSRM gives 1 hr 14 (Ouirgane) and 1 hr 20 (Imlil) from the medina without traffic. Out and back, that is 2 hr 30 to 2 hr 40 in the car without traffic: do not plan golf that day.
Mountain days depend on the weather; in winter, check road conditions the evening before.
In town: Majorelle, the YSL museum, a hammam
The Jardin Majorelle is open every day from 8am to 5.30pm, last entry 5pm. The Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts on site closes at 5pm (last entry 4.30pm), and the Musée Yves Saint Laurent Marrakech opens from 10am to 6pm, closed on Wednesdays (last entry 5.30pm). Tickets are sold only online, through the garden’s official ticket website. The garden is 10 minutes’ drive from The Montgomerie according to OSRM, so 18 holes in the morning and Majorelle at 3pm is comfortable.
Jemaa el-Fna square has been on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2008 (first proclaimed in 2001). UNESCO describes it as busy all day and well into the night, with storytellers, Berber musicians and Gnaoua dancers, which makes it the obvious outing after a day’s golf.
For a hammam, Atlas Golf and Fairmont Royal Palm both publish one on site. Atlas Golf’s spa offers a 45-minute hammam with black soap scrub (250 MAD as a private session) and passes that pair it with golf, including the 1,400 MAD Day pass (18 holes, lunch, and a 90-minute hammam with scrub and massage, according to the club’s rate card). At Fairmont Royal Palm, the spa runs the “Hammam Dada” ritual; spa access is for over-18s only, and the hotel’s 4- and 7-night golf packages include 15% off spa treatments.
A sample week: five courses and a day in the mountains
This plan alternates golf and outings and keeps each day in one part of town. Green fees are the clubs’ published 18-hole rates, checked on 19 October 2026; caddie extra.
| Day | Morning | Afternoon / evening | Published green fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrival, settle in | Jemaa el-Fna in the evening | – |
| 2 | Assoufid, 18 holes | Agafay desert camp, sunset | 1,300 MAD |
| 3 | Samanah, 18 holes | Hammam | 1,100 MAD |
| 4 | Hot-air balloon (4 hr 30 to 5 hr depending on the operator) | The Montgomerie, 9 holes | 400 MAD (9 holes) |
| 5 | Mountain day: Imlil or Ouirgane | Back in the early evening | – |
| 6 | Royal Golf Marrakech, 18 holes | Jardin Majorelle (YSL museum closed on Wednesdays) | 1,200 MAD |
| 7 | Palm Golf Ourika | Lower Ourika valley | 2026-27 rate not published |
Since a Royal Moroccan Golf Federation circular of 29 May 2025, a caddie is compulsory on every course in Morocco. At Royal Golf Marrakech the caddie is paid in cash, 200 to 300 MAD for 18 holes depending on the number of players. For other trip outlines, see our Marrakech golf break itineraries; if one of you does not play, our guide to a golf holiday in Marrakech with a non-golfing partner covers what each club offers.
Running the non-golf days from a private villa
These outings come down to logistics: a driver waiting at the 18th green, a return from Agafay after dark, a pick-up before dawn for the balloon. Our golf holidays in Marrakech combine a private villa for 3 to 21 people, a dedicated chef, private transfers between the airport, the villa and the courses, and rounds chosen with you, from €1,150 per golfer (about £970). The quote form lets you tick excursions, quad bike / hot-air balloon, spa and hammam, or cultural visits. Flights are not included: you book them yourself. To enter Morocco, a British passport must be valid for at least three months after your arrival date.
Want the desert and the Atlas fitted around your tee times? We build the trip to measure: courses, tee times, accommodation and transfers.
Frequently asked questions
Can you play golf and visit the Agafay desert on the same day?
Yes. From Assoufid, the centre of the Agafay commune is 15.7 km away, about 21 minutes without traffic according to an OSRM route calculation. Eighteen holes in the morning and a late afternoon at an Agafay camp fit into the same day.
What time do hot-air balloons go up in Marrakech?
Early in the morning. Ciel d’Afrique says its balloons only fly in the morning (about 4 hr 30 in total, including 40 to 60 minutes in the air); Marrakech By Air lists flights every morning between 6am and 11am (an excursion of about 5 hours). Golf therefore goes in the afternoon or on another day.
How much is a hot-air balloon ride in Marrakech?
Ciel d’Afrique publishes 2,400 MAD per person for its classic option, 3,900 MAD for VIP and 5,800 MAD for Top VIP (both minimum two people), and 6,800 MAD for its royal option. Marrakech By Air lists its classic flight at 2,050 MAD or €200 per person.
Can you combine golf with the Ourika valley?
Yes for the lower valley: Palm Golf Ourika is at km 13 on the Ourika road, on the way. Setti Fatma is 1 hr 22 from the medina without traffic according to OSRM, so going up to the waterfalls needs a day without golf.
Do you need to book the Jardin Majorelle in advance?
Yes, tickets are sold only online through the garden’s official ticket website. The garden opens every day from 8am to 5.30pm, last entry 5pm; the Yves Saint Laurent museum is closed on Wednesdays.
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