Small enough to move to the evening if the wind gets up.
The High Atlas from the Agdal basin, Marrakech Photo: Belbaraka, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
A dune ridge at dusk, Erg Chebbi Photo: Mike Prince, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
An elopement in Morocco is a small symbolic ceremony or a private celebration, usually just the two of you and perhaps a photographer, with the legal marriage done at home before or after. The settings that suit it are a High Atlas terrace, a Sahara camp, a riad roof terrace in Marrakech or the coast at Essaouira. We plan the trip around the day: driver-guide, stays, the dinner, and a photographer if you want one.
You leave the city early.
The mountains are still white at the top.
The High Atlas from the Agdal basin, Marrakech Photo: Belbaraka, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
Terraced fields, a village going about its morning.
Nobody here knows who you are.
Imlil and its terraces, High Atlas Photo: Mounir Neddi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
Then the dunes, going on and on.
Long shadows on the sand, and the camp somewhere behind you.
Caravan shadows on the Erg Chebbi dunes Photo: Johannes K Becker, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
A bed under canvas, lanterns lit, the flap tied open.
The dunes going blue outside.
No guest list. No seating plan.
Just you two.
Sunset over the Erg Chebbi dunes Photo: Thomas Fuhrmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
The High Atlas from the Agdal basin, Marrakech Photo: Belbaraka, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
High Atlas
An easy drive from Marrakech, the Atlas valleys are green in spring and the light is clear in the morning. Kasbah-style lodges sit above terraced villages. Bring a warm layer: mornings up there are cool even when the city is hot.
The Sahara
Two nights give you two sunsets and a whole free day in the dunes between them. On our ten-day honeymoon we reserve the whole camp at Erg Chigaga, so nobody else is there.
The edge of the dunes
Some couples prefer walls and a pool to a tent: a kasbah hotel where the dunes start, with the desert framed in the arches. A good base for the day before or after.
Essaouira
On the coast an elopement can be as simple as a walk on the ramparts and lunch at the port. Milder in summer than anywhere inland.
Two of you, and nobody to perform for.
Most couples who elope here have married legally at home, or will. The day in Morocco is the part you do for yourselves.
A camel caravan crossing the dunes at sunset
In writing, before you book
From first message to the day
Send a few lines from the enquiry form: an elopement, roughly when, how many of you, and the kind of setting you picture. A rough idea is enough.
A real person writes back with questions and a first outline: route, stays and where the moment could happen. No obligation and no deposit to get a quote.
We adjust the route, the stays and the timing until it fits. For the event itself, such as flowers, music or a celebrant, your planner books local specialists and sets each one out in your written quote.
Every stay, transfer and arrangement is confirmed in writing, with the price, before any deposit.
Your driver-guide is with you on the day, and our concierge answers WhatsApp Monday to Saturday, 09:00 to 18:00 GMT.
Starting points
Each is private and changes freely; tell us which is closest and we build the occasion into it.
Straight answers
We do not arrange legal marriages. Most international couples marry legally at home, at a registry office or civil ceremony, and hold the celebration or a symbolic ceremony in Morocco. A legally binding marriage of foreign nationals in Morocco has its own requirements, which vary by nationality and change over time, so check them with the Moroccan authorities and your own embassy or consulate before you plan.
For the Sahara, four days at least from Marrakech: our private desert camp journey is four days. For the High Atlas or Essaouira, two or three days is enough. Many couples add the elopement to a longer honeymoon.
We cannot provide a legal officiant. For a symbolic ceremony, tell us the kind of celebrant you would like and we find who is available and add them to your written quote. Many eloping couples simply read their vows to each other.
Yes. As on our honeymoon journeys, we can arrange a photographer for a portrait session in the dunes or the medina. Tell us what you want covered and we confirm what is possible, and the cost, in writing before you book.
Whatever you like in a private setting. On the way through the medina and villages, covered shoulders and knees are respectful. Bring a warm layer for desert and mountain evenings.
Read before you plan
Questions couples ask
Morocco Honeymoons, private trips for two
Send your dates and the setting you picture. A real person on our team writes back by email.
Other occasions
HoneymoonPalace riads, the Rose Valley, a desert camp and the Atlantic.
Destination weddingA riad courtyard, a desert camp, a mountain terrace or the Atlantic.Vow renewalSame words or new ones, in a place that is yours for the evening.
ProposalOr a dune as the sun goes down. Your partner only needs to know they are on holiday.
Anniversary tripTwo nights almost everywhere, and the date itself marked properly.Photographs: our own trip photos, except A dune ridge at dusk, Erg Chebbi by Mike Prince (CC BY 2.0); The High Atlas from the Agdal basin, Marrakech by Belbaraka (CC BY-SA 3.0); Imlil and its terraces, High Atlas by Mounir Neddi (CC BY-SA 4.0); Caravan shadows on the Erg Chebbi dunes by Johannes K Becker (CC BY-SA 3.0); Sunset over the Erg Chebbi dunes by Thomas Fuhrmann (CC BY-SA 4.0); Blue fishing boats in Essaouira harbour by Goldfinchshuffle (CC BY-SA 4.0); The front courtyard of the Bahia Palace, Marrakech by Lionel Leo (CC BY-SA 3.0); Sunset from a rooftop over Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakech by Herokk (CC BY-SA 4.0); Le Jardin Secret, Marrakech by muffinn (CC BY 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons, resized.