Private Morocco retreat experiences
Private Morocco Retreat Experiences
Six distinct Morocco retreat experiences across extraordinary landscapes. Each private retreat begins in Marrakech and builds toward its defining landscape. Eight days, 8–14 guests. Season 2026–2027.
The eight terrains
The same four questions, asked of every destination.
Everywhere else on this site each place gets its own paragraph. Here they answer the same four questions in the same order, so you can weigh one against another instead of reading eight arguments.
| Where | The ground | When it works | Getting there | What a week there does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marrakech and the Atlas | Medina, palmeraie, and a mountain pass an hour away. | September to June. July and August are hot. | Its own airport, direct from most European cities. | The easiest first week, and the road that leads to the desert. |
| Casablanca | The working city, on the Atlantic, almost without tourism. | All year. | The only Moroccan airport with nonstop flights from New York, Washington, Miami and Sao Paulo. About seven hours from JFK. | The shortest distance between an American office and the Atlantic. |
| Rabat | Administrative capital, coastal, quiet. | All year. | Its own airport, or an hour from Casablanca by train. | The quietest option, and the one to choose when the week is genuinely a working week. |
| Tangier | The strait, with Spain visible across it. | April to October. | Its own airport. A short hop from Madrid, Paris or Milan. | Europe's doorstep, for a group that cannot afford to lose a day to travel. |
| Essaouira | A fortified medina, wind, and the Atlantic. | All year. Windiest from April to August. | Two and a half hours from Marrakech by road. A small airport of its own. | The easiest place we know to slow a group down. |
| Taghazout | Surf, long beaches, and cold water in January. | The surf season runs September to April. | Agadir, under an hour by road. | Getting a group outdoors by nine without anyone having to ask. |
| Dakhla | A lagoon between desert and ocean, in the far south. | All year. Wind strongest from April to September. | Via Casablanca. The longest journey on this list. | The most committed choice, and the one that changes people most. |
| Erg Chigaga, the Sahara | Our own camp, sixty kilometres of piste past the last tarmac, with no other group on it. | Late September to early June. The camp does not open in July or August. | 450 kilometres south of Marrakech by road, then the piste. Helicopter to the camp's own helipad. | Where a week ends, and the part everyone describes afterwards. |
Seasons are the reason our departures fall when they fall, not a preference. If a month you want does not appear beside the terrain you want, say so and we will tell you which of the two to move.
Marrakech · Aït Ben Haddou · Erg Chigaga
Circuit Sahara
8 to 9 days
Begin in Marrakech for arrival and orientation. Travel via the UNESCO-listed kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou into the Draa Valley, then on to Erg Chigaga, one of the Sahara's most remote and pristine dune systems. Eight days of movement, silence, and transformation.
- UNESCO kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou
- Erg Chigaga, one of the Sahara's most remote dune systems
- Draa Valley, ancient palm groves and river canyons
Marrakech · Taghazout · Erg Chigaga
Circuit Surf
8 days
Start in Marrakech before heading to Taghazout on Morocco's Atlantic coast, where daily surf sessions, ocean breathwork and salt air define the rhythm. The circuit ends in Erg Chigaga, where the silence of the Sahara provides the deepest possible contrast.
- Taghazout, Morocco's premier surf destination
- Ocean breathwork and cold water immersion
- Erg Chigaga, vast desert silence after the Atlantic
Marrakech · Ourika · Essaouira
Circuit Atlas
8 days
Open in Marrakech, then head into the Ourika Valley in the High Atlas, where mountain trails, Berber villages and altitude define the practice. The circuit concludes in Essaouira, a fortified coastal city of blue shutters, Atlantic wind, and extraordinary calm.
- Ourika Valley, Berber villages and High Atlas trails
- Mountain movement and altitude breathwork
- Essaouira, UNESCO-listed Atlantic fortress city
New circuits
Atlantic + Sahara · 23–30 Nov 2026 · early-bird rate on request
Salt & Stars
7 nights · Fixed departure November 2026
From Atlantic surf in Taghazout to the silence of the Sahara dunes. A seven-day circuit blending ocean mornings, Atlas crossings, and stargazing nights in the desert.
View retreat →
Marrakech · Erg Chigaga
Agrotourism & Sahara
8 days
Three nights on an organic estate near Marrakech, then four nights at a private camp in Erg Chigaga. Argan cooperatives, olive groves, saffron farms, and the vast silence of the Sahara.
View itinerary →
Marrakech · Vallée des Roses · Erg Chigaga
Vallée des Roses & Sahara
8 days
Three nights in the Vallée des Roses near Kelaat M'Gouna, then three nights in Erg Chigaga. Rose gardens, Berber villages, Dades Gorge hikes and the silence of the great southern dunes.
View itinerary →
M'hamid el Ghizlane · Erg Chigaga
Trekking with the Nomads
8 days · 3-day guided trek
Enter the desert on foot from M'hamid el Ghizlane. Three days of guided trekking with Sahrawi nomads, two bivouac nights in the open desert, then four nights at a private luxury camp in Erg Chigaga.
View itinerary →
High Atlas · Dadès Valley · Erg Chigaga
Bikes in the Atlas & Sahara
8 days
Road and gravel cycling from Marrakech over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, through the Dadès Gorge, and south to Erg Chigaga. Five cycling days, a support vehicle and mechanic throughout, and two recovery days in the deep Sahara.
View itinerary →
Souss Valley · Anti-Atlas · Tizi n'Test
Running Taroudant
8 days
An 8-day running retreat in Taroudant, the ancient walled city of the Souss valley. Dawn circuits of the 7.5km ramparts, trail runs in the Anti-Atlas foothills, and the legendary Tizi n'Test mountain roads. Hammam recovery, orange groves, and a private riad in the medina.
View itinerary →
Rabat · Agadir · Dakhla Lagoon
Pêche Atlantique
8 days
A high-end fishing retreat along Morocco's 2,900 kilometres of Atlantic coastline. Surf casting from wild rocks, deep-sea boat fishing off Agadir, and world-class corbina and sandfish in the extraordinary Dakhla lagoon. Private expert guides. The rarest fish in the rarest setting.
View itinerary →
Essaouira · Atlantic Coast
Essaouira Kitesurf & Yoga
8 days, 7 nights
The wind capital of North Africa meets yoga. IKO-certified kitesurf coaching on Diabat Beach, sunrise yoga on the rooftop, shared dinners of fresh Atlantic fish, and a hammam inside the UNESCO medina.
View itinerary →
Dakhla · Southern Morocco
Dakhla Kitesurf & Yoga
8 days, 7 nights
One of the five best kitesurf spots on earth. Flat water lagoon, 300+ wind days, unlimited IKO coaching, sunrise yoga over the water, desert excursion at dusk, and the Milky Way over a still lagoon at night.
View itinerary →
Marrakech · Essaouira · Atlas · Atlantic
Sport & Recovery
8 days, 7 nights
One programme, five disciplines. Padel, tennis, hyrox, hybrid fitness or trekking, each paired with pilates, ice bath, hammam, pottery and cooking.
View itinerary →
Marrakech · Atlas · Sahara
Photography Retreat
8 days, 7 nights
Landscape, portrait and night sky sessions across three landscapes. The medina, the Atlas villages, the golden light of the Sahara, and the Milky Way over Erg Chigaga. All formats and levels welcome.
View itinerary →
Marrakech · Erg Chigaga
Stargazing & Dune Bashing
8 days, 7 nights
4x4 dune bashing across 300-metre ridges by day. Stargazing with portable telescopes and zero light pollution by night. Camel trek, yoga and ice bath.
View itinerary →
Marrakech · Atlas · Sahara
Wellness & Meeting with the Locals
8 days, 7 nights
Yoga, walking with nomadic shepherds, a morning with a Berber family, the hammam and the long table. Morocco at human pace, with the people who actually live here.
View itinerary →
Marrakech · Palmeraie · Medina
Marrakech Retreat
5–7 days · Year-round
Private movement, hammam, and culinary immersion in the ochre city. Riad stays, Atlas day excursion, souks, and Palmeraie yoga sessions.
View itinerary →
Essaouira · Atlantic Coast
Essaouira Retreat
4–6 days · Year-round
Wind, sea, and silence on the Atlantic. Yoga, coastal running, argan oil rituals, and evenings in the UNESCO-listed medina of the windy city.
View itinerary →
Oualidia · Atlantic Lagoon
Oualidia Retreat
8 days, 7 nights · Year-round
Morocco's hidden Atlantic lagoon. Oysters straight from the water, gentle surf, flamingos at low tide, and the deepest quiet on the coast.
View itinerary →
Chefchaouen · Rif Mountains
Chefchaouen Retreat
5–7 days · Spring & Autumn
Trekking and breathwork in the blue city of the Rif. Hiking to Akchour waterfalls, local hammam, and meditation in the mountain medina.
View itinerary →
Marrakech · Chefchaouen · Fès · Essaouira
Imperial Winter
8 days · December to February
Morocco's four imperial cities in one extraordinary winter circuit. Private riad accommodation, Atlas excursion, hammam rituals, and the Atlantic coast. 8 to 14 guests.
View retreat →Other destinations available on request
We also run retreats in Chefchaouen, Essaouira, Oualidia and across the Rif Mountains. Get in touch to discuss a bespoke itinerary.
Included in every week
What the price covers, listed flatly.
Everything below is in the price of every Umnya week, on every terrain. Nothing here is an upgrade, a supplement, or something a guide will mention on the third day.
Every transfer on the ground
From the airport to the last piste and back, in our own vehicles with our own drivers. Not a shuttle shared with a hotel.
Places visited before they were offered
Riads, kasbahs, guesthouses and our own camp. If one of our team has not slept there, it does not go into a programme.
Every meal
Breakfast, lunch and dinner, seasonal and bought from the cooperatives themselves, bread baked each morning. Dietary requirements are asked about before you arrive, not at the table.
Twice-daily movement
Led sessions built for the terrain: yoga on a rooftop, mobility on sand, water, walking, altitude. The landscape is the equipment.
Recovery, built in
Cold water, hammam, bodywork and sleep are part of the programme rather than an extra sold to you once you are there.
Guides from the ground itself
Mountain guides, nomad hosts, surf coaches and drivers from the regions they work in, paid a proper day rate.
One group at a time
The camp, the riad or the house is yours for the week. No other guests, no shared table with strangers, no schedule built around anybody else.
Permits, insurance, paperwork
Desert access, protected areas, vehicle and operator cover. All of it ours, arranged before you land, and never your problem.
Someone with you throughout
An Umnya lead travels with the group from the first transfer to the last, and not a representative who meets you at a hotel desk.
A programme that moves
Written before you come and changed during the week, because a group that is tired on Wednesday needs a different Thursday.
Not included: international flights, travel insurance and visas, which stay yours; personal extras; and the optional activities named on each retreat page, such as quad, buggy or a private 4x4. Everything else on the ground in Morocco is in the price.
Groups & circles
Coming as a group?
Six of you or more, and the whole retreat can be arranged around your circle. Tell us the size and the dates, and we prepare a proposal for you.
Request a group proposal→A departure for your circle alone
A private date set aside for your group, at the pace and in the season that suit you.
One group at a time, never mixed
You are never placed among strangers. The camp, the table and the guides are yours.
Group rate and privatisation on request
For six guests or more we prepare a tailored proposal. Simply ask.
Not ready to book yet?
Get the 2027-2028 dates and prices
Leave your email and we send you the full calendar, the prices, and a first idea of the retreat that fits you. No pressure, one email.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer a private commission on your own dates? Private commissions