Marathon des Sables 2027: Sahara Stage Race and Desert Trips

The Marathon des Sables is a multi-stage race across the Moroccan Sahara. Every competitor carries their own food, sleeping gear and survival kit for the whole event. The 2027 edition is scheduled for 2 to 12 April 2027, but its entry list is closed: the organiser’s page shows every offer as fully booked, with a waiting list. If you are reading this to plan a trip, the useful questions have changed. Can you follow the race from a distance? How do you reach Ouarzazate, where the organiser’s transfers and return buses run? And what is there to do in the desert before or after the finish?

This guide keeps apart three kinds of information: what the organiser’s pages state, what can be counted from its day-by-day programme, and what only secondary sources report. Dates counted from the programme are marked as counted. Nothing here assumes a route map, a bivouac location or a spectator plan, because none had been published for 2027 when this guide was checked on 26 October 2026. Where a secondary source disagrees with the organiser’s page, the organiser’s page wins.

What the 2027 race is

The organiser’s 2027 page describes a course of about 250 km, divided into six stages and covered either on foot or running. The race is self-sufficient. Competitors carry their food and equipment, and the regulations set a floor of 12,000 kcal of food, which the organiser puts at about 2,000 kcal a day. Water points are about every 10 km. The tents are numbered and sleep eight people, grouped by country of residence.

Two entry levels were on sale. The Classic entry, at 3,990 euros per person, includes two nights in a standard hotel in Ouarzazate. The Superior entry, at 4,390 euros, includes two nights at the Berbère Palace. Both include the bib, the medal and the finisher’s gift, the eight bivouac nights and the assistance listed on the organiser’s page. Flights and any nights in Ouarzazate before the start are at your own expense. These inclusions come from the organiser’s page on the date of checking and should be re-read before any booking.

The 2026 edition gives a reference point, though not a template. According to iRunFar, it covered about 270 km over seven days, with six stages, one of them 100 km long, and drew more than 1,500 runners from 68 countries. The 2027 figure of about 250 km is the organiser’s approximate figure. The route itself has not been published, so the distance and the stage order should be read as a plan, not a promise.

The dates, and why stage 1 is counted rather than printed

The organiser’s page prints a day-by-day programme of 11 days. It states that day 1 falls on 2 April, that the buses home leave Ouarzazate on 12 April at 6 a.m., and that the meal listing for day 9 is dated 10 April. The other stage dates are not printed. Counting the programme days gives the calendar below. The rows marked as counted are a deduction from the programme outline, not an announcement.

Two points keep this calendar provisional. The regulations describe the programme as indicative, so the organiser can change the order and length of the stages. The meal listing gives 2 April for day 1, 3 to 9 April for days 2 to 8, and 10 April for day 9, which fixes days 1 and 9 but not the stage dates. Some secondary listings show other dates, including 3 April 2027 on one site. They conflict with the organiser’s own page and are not used.

Can you watch it in person?

On the evidence available, not in a way you can plan around. No official page says that spectators can reach the bivouac, walk alongside the course or approach the finish line. The 2027 bivouac location is not published, so there is no site to walk to. The places the organiser names as open to the public are in Ouarzazate: the hotels, a free day, the prize-giving and the gala. Whether visitors can attend the gala is not stated.

Following the race from a distance is also not confirmed for 2027. Each competitor carries a GPS tracker with an emergency button, which lets the organisation locate them at any time, and its first purpose is safety. Older editions have had sponsor trackers and finish-line coverage in some years, according to reports that were not re-checked for this guide. Treat any public live tracking as unconfirmed until the organiser announces it. The regulations also say the organiser controls editorial and audiovisual projects that use the event’s images and distinctive signs, so the organiser’s images and logos are not reused here.

What you can plan around is Ouarzazate. The town hosts the organiser’s hotels, the free day and the closing events, and it is the base for the day trips listed later in this guide.

Getting to Ouarzazate

The organiser runs transfers from Marrakech to Ouarzazate on 31 March and 1 April 2027. They leave in the morning, the page says until noon, and the journey takes five to six hours. You can arrive earlier, but not later than 1 April. The pick-up points include central Marrakech and Marrakech airport. The organiser’s wording is that transfers are organised for participants. Whether a companion can ride along is not stated, so ask the organiser before you assume it.

If you fly in, Marrakech has many more flights than Ouarzazate. The organiser notes that fewer flights serve Ouarzazate, but those that do arrive directly, which saves the road. Between the airport and your hotel you arrange the transfer yourself. Nights in Ouarzazate before the start are not included in the entry fee, so budget for them if you arrive early.

The return is fixed. Buses leave Ouarzazate at 6 a.m. on 12 April, and the page tells you to book a Marrakech flight departing after 2 p.m. that day. The page recommends buying flight tickets with cancellation and modification insurance, because the programme is indicative and schedule changes are possible. The page publishes no arrival time in Marrakech for the return bus, which matters if you plan a day trip straight after the race.

Entering Morocco

For a French passport holder, the French foreign ministry’s Morocco entry page, updated on 15 September 2026, asks for a passport that is valid for the whole planned stay. A national identity card alone is no longer enough for admission. The page also asks for a return ticket and proof of sufficient means for the length of the stay. Group travel does not change these rules.

The race sets its own passport rule for competitors: the passport must not expire before one month after the event. That rule applies to entrants, but it is a sensible margin for anyone travelling on the same dates.

Visa requirements are a separate question. The same French ministry page mentions a 90-day limit before a stay has to be regularised, but it does not say whether a visa is needed for your nationality. Secondary sources describe an electronic travel authorisation that may later extend to all visa-exempt countries, without a date, and this guide does not rely on it. Confirm the rules for your nationality with the Moroccan embassy or consulate that serves you before you buy tickets.

Weather in April

Two places in the region give useful April figures. They are averages, not forecasts, and they come from secondary weather sites.

Those averages hide the variation. Ian Corless, writing before the 2026 race, warned against assuming heat: in 2025 the race met rain, strong winds and sandstorms. Nights in the desert are cold, even in spring. The organiser’s kit list for competitors includes a sleeping bag and a mat, and a visitor on a camp trip should bring warm layers as well.

April is a good month for the region, but a good month is not a guarantee. Keep a spare day in your plan for a delayed flight or a change in the weather.

Staying safe and healthy

France Diplomatie describes Morocco as a country that remains safe under the control of its authorities, while noting its exposure to the terrorist threat. Its security page asks for reinforced vigilance in the areas south of the Algerian border and in Western Sahara. For the rest of the country, it advises staying alert in public places and avoiding isolated places, especially when alone. Any route off the paved coastal road also needs prior approval from the royal gendarmerie or the armed forces, which applies to desert outings.

Stray dog packs are a recurring hazard for pedestrians, particularly in the south of the country, according to the same page. The page advises against running or walking alone on wasteland where dogs may gather. A desert trip is the easier of the two, because you travel with an operator, but the same caution applies to the walk into town.

For health, the French ministry asks travellers to check that their routine vaccinations are up to date, for adults and children alike. Anyone considering the race also needs medical paperwork. The organiser requires an original paper medical certificate, and a resting ECG with its trace. Both must be done on or after 2 March 2027, and the regulations accept no digital copy. Keep this in mind if you are deciding between watching the race and entering it, because the paperwork cannot be completed in a hurry.

After the finish: desert camps, day trips and treks

The race ends on 12 April, and most of the trip that follows is in the desert. The products below are guided tours and desert camps sold on Viator. Prices and availability were checked on 26 October 2026, for dates between 12 and 26 April 2027, which is the window after the finish. The prices are for two adults, on the cheapest option, with the per-person figure in brackets. Options and prices change with the number of travellers and the tent category, so read the product page before you book.

Camp nights near Merzouga and Erg Chebbi

The Erg Chebbi dunes lie near Merzouga, and the camps there are the simplest way to spend a night on sand after the race. The meeting point is in the centre of Merzouga village, so you need your own way to get there.

Day trips from Ouarzazate

Two private day trips leave from Ouarzazate itself. They do not require a detour through Marrakech, which makes them the natural choice for a companion who stays in town during the race, or for a rest day in the week after it.

Walking after the race: the High Atlas

Before the race: the road from Marrakech

What the trip costs around the race

The organiser’s page prices only the entry fee. Transfers, flights and the nights before the start are not priced there, so the table below covers the Viator products, plus the entry fee for context.

Budget for the transfers and the nights in Ouarzazate separately, because the organiser’s page does not price them. The per-person price falls as the number of travellers rises, and the private options cost more, so read the option before you compare prices.

If you want to walk the desert yourself: MDS Trek Morocco 2027

The organiser also runs MDS Trek Morocco. Its fourth edition is listed for 10 to 19 October 2027. The official page describes four timed stages covering 70 to 120 km, with a night under the stars during the long stage and bivouacs throughout. Compared with about 250 km in the Legendary, it is a shorter route for walkers who want the same kind of desert.

Registration status is unclear. The page announces that registration opens on 28 October 2026 at 12:00 (UTC+2), yet the event menu also shows the edition as closed. Until the page is consistent, treat both statements as unconfirmed. Check the official page on or after 28 October before you plan around it.

A sample week around the race

This plan is one way to structure a trip around the race. It assumes you are a visitor, not a competitor, and it depends on dates the organiser has not yet confirmed.

Mistakes to avoid

• Booking a flight to see the start or the finish, without any confirmed public access.
• Planning a departure from Marrakech on 13 April without confirming when the return bus arrives.
• Relying on a 3 April date from a secondary listing instead of the organiser's programme.
• Entering Morocco on a national identity card alone.
• Assuming a visa-free stay without checking with the embassy or consulate.
• Packing a single layer for the desert nights, which can be cold even in April.

The race has a fixed outline and a provisional calendar. The points you can plan with confidence are the passport rule, the transfer times from Marrakech and the return bus from Ouarzazate. Everything else, from the stage dates to any spectator arrangements, can still change. Check the organiser’s page again before you commit money to a trip.