1-hour buggy drive in Agafay, Marrakech

This is the shorter of the two buggy drives that Quad Marrakech runs in the Agafay desert, and the one to take if you have never driven a buggy or have half a morning rather than a whole one: one hour at the wheel, ninety minutes at the base in all. For more distance, the 2-hour buggy drive heads further out towards the valleys and adds a second stop. The page Buggy in Marrakech compares both, and the 1-hour quad ride is the option that asks for no licence.

Who runs the drive, and where does it start?

Quad Marrakech runs the drive itself, with its own guides, and you book directly with us, with no reseller in between. The meeting point is Laarissa El Mokhtar, Agafay Desert, 45 minutes by road south-west of central Marrakech. Most visitors drive or take a taxi; the meeting point is mapped on this page and repeated in your confirmation email.

One hour at the wheel, ninety minutes at the base

The hour in the title is driving time. Welcome and paperwork take about fifteen minutes, the briefing and the practice loop another fifteen, and the equipment is handed back at the end: ninety minutes at the base in total. Plan around the second figure, not the first.

The hour itself is a real drive rather than a lap: the tracks around the base and the first ridge behind it, with one stop. The ridge is far enough out that the base drops from view, and the stop is where most people take their photographs. The run into the valleys is the 2-hour route.

The vehicle, the briefing and the practice loop

The standard buggy has two seats, side by side, inside a roll cage, with a harness at each of them. Helmets are handed out and adjusted at the base before the first start. You sit in a buggy rather than on it, which is the difference most people notice first coming from a quad. The briefing covers the controls, braking and spacing on the track, in English, French or Spanish, and a practice loop on flat ground comes before the drive. No previous experience is expected.

Who can drive: ages and licence

The driver must be 18 or over, and a driving licence is required for the buggy — unlike the quad, which asks for none. The passenger needs no licence but must be at least 6 years old, and each booking includes at least one adult. The driver and the passenger can swap at the stop: say so to the guide before you set off rather than once you are out there.

A child under 6 cannot ride in the buggy; the 1-hour camel ride is open from age 3. A group where nobody holds a licence can choose the quad: drivers from 16, no licence needed.

Option: 4-seat buggy (Can-Am 1000 cc)

For a family or a small group, the 1-hour drive can be taken in a 4-seat buggy, a Can-Am of 1000 cc: one driver and up to three passengers in the same vehicle, with no minimum number of people. It is an option of the booking, chosen in the calendar before you confirm. The booking page has two counters, one for 2-seat buggies and one for the 4-seat buggy, and you say how many of your buggies are 4-seaters: six people, for example, take one 4-seater and one 2-seater.

The rules are those of the two-seat buggy: the driver is 18 or over with a driving licence, each passenger is at least 6 years old, and each booking includes at least one adult. The option costs 50% more than the two-seat buggy, per vehicle and not per person; the exact price shows in the calendar before you book. Quad Marrakech has four 4-seat buggies per departure, shared by all bookings and by the 1-hour and 2-hour drives, so the counter stops at what is left on the departure you pick. The 2-hour buggy drive offers the same option, and Buggy in Marrakech helps you choose between two seats and four.

What the price covers, and the hotel transfer

The price on this page is for the buggy, not for a seat: it covers one two-seat buggy, with helmets, the briefing and practice loop, the guide with the group, and third-party liability cover. Two people pay it once between them; four of you take two 2-seat buggies, or one 4-seat buggy with the option above, and travel together.

Not included: the 4-seat option, meals and drinks, tips, photographs and video taken on site, personal accident cover, and the transfer from Marrakech. The hotel transfer is an optional extra and is never included in the price. It is a separate line on your booking, for the return trip, and the pickup is one hour before the start; its fee is given on the page Buggy in Marrakech.

Times, and what to wear

Departures are fixed: 10 am, noon and 4 pm, with the afternoon one at 5 pm from 1 April to 20 September. Moroccan time is GMT all year, and Ramadan does not change the times. Closed shoes and sunglasses: the tracks are dusty, and a buggy throws up more dust than a quad. A warm layer if you drive late in the day.

Booking, paying and cancelling

You book directly with Quad Marrakech. You can book without paying anything online and pay at the base, in cash (dirhams or foreign currency), before the start, or pay online with PayPal: a 30% deposit or the full amount. Cards are not accepted at the base. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before the start, and anything you paid online is refunded. Inside that, the 30% deposit is kept and anything paid on top of it is refunded; write to us and we will look at another departure first.

A group that wants quads alongside the buggy can have both, to order only: it is not offered in the online booking, so contact the team beforehand.