The Reptiles & Amphibians of Morocco

Tour Code: MAR09

An 8-day holiday to encounter and photograph the exciting reptile- and amphibian-life of southern Morocco's diverse habitats, with the guidance of an expert herpetologist.

8 days from
£1,995 (Inc flights)

Land only price from
£1,795

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Highlights

Summary

Southern Morocco is a wonderful destination for a holiday focusing on reptiles and amphibians. Humid tropical specialities including Mediterranean Chameleon, Puff Adder and Egyptian Cobra live an hour’s drive from desert specialists such as the Desert Horned Viper, Moroccan Spiny-tailed Lizard and Desert Monitor. We will go in search of diurnal species during the day and venture out after dark to look for the region's exciting nocturnal species. Likely birds include Northern Bald Ibis, Lanner Falcon, the stunning Moussier's Redstart and many others. Mammals we are likely to encounter include Greater Egyptian Jerboa, North African Elephant Shrew and Rüppell's Fox, with a chance for numerous other species. With few tourists making it south of Agadir, we will also get a true taste of authentic southern Morocco, staying in comfortable and traditional accommodation throughout.

An optional 3-day extension offers the chance to enjoy the High Atlas region of Oukaïmeden, home to such specialities as Mountain Viper, Atlas Day Gecko, North African Eyed Lizard and Moroccan Painted Frog.

The wonderful food, hospitable people and incredible scenery will certainly make this a most memorable wildlife holiday. This exciting tour is part of our portfolio of herpetology holidays.

A chance to encounter Mediterranean Chameleon, Puff Adder and Egyptian Cobra.
Stunning but little-known species include Northern Elegant Gecko, Desert Monitor and Sahara Sand Viper.
Search for the incredible, rare and sought-after North African Cat Snake.
Special amphibians may include Stripeless Tree Frog and Moroccan Toad.
Exciting birds and mammals likely to include Lanner Falcon, Greater Hoopoe Lark, African Golden Wolf and North African Elephant Shrew.

Grading

On a typical day on our herpetology tours we’ll begin searching in the field after breakfast, when the sun has warmed the substrates and landscapes, often getting into the vehicles at 9am and, after stopping for approximately one hour for lunch (which is often a continental-style picnic eaten in situ), we’ll continue into early-evening when we will stop for a rest and dinner. Most evenings it will be possible to do excursions in search of nocturnal species, which will on average be for three hours after dinner. With an equal percentage of the target reptile and amphibian species likely to be nocturnal, these night searches are an important part of the tour but are optional, with some participants preferring to rest on some of the days. On average, 5-8 miles are walked per day.

We’ll focus our time in the field on building an enviable list of reptile and amphibian species seen. Whilst searching, there is no doubt we’ll come across a huge variety of amazing fauna and flora, which we’ll also take time to enjoy, but reptiles and amphibians will strongly remain our focus. Sensitively checking under stones, logs and other refugia is an effective way of finding many species. Some of the target reptile or amphibian species may require longer field hours to locate and therefore this tour is suitable, and most enjoyable, for experienced herpetologists or naturalists who, aside from wishing to see the region’s rarely-seen reptiles and amphibians, relish being in the field searching for and identifying the vast array of birds, mammals, butterflies, invertebrates, and other wildlife which can be found sharing the wonderful habitats that we’ll explore on the tour.

In summary, Naturetrek herpetology holidays are suitable, and offer tremendous value, for those who spend most of their holiday time in wildlife habitats and for whom seeing some of the world’s superb reptiles and amphibians is the focus of their time away.

On this holiday we will of course often be walking on sandy or rocky terrain with some occasional small ascents required.

Itinerary

Outline Itinerary

Day 1

Fly Agadir, drive south to Sidi Ifni

Day 2

Sidi Ifni

Day 3/4

Guelmim & Assa

Day 5

Tantan

Day 6

Khenifiss National Park

Day 7

Mirleft

Day 8

Depart Agadir, inbound flights

Download Full Itinerary

Reviews

Our trip leader (Daniel Kane) is a consummate professional of the highest calibre. His knowledge of the region, the animals, and the people, made the trip even more fantastic than we could have imagined. His attention to detail is a rare attribute and his personal demeanour was extremely pleasant. There were so many 'highlights' in this tour it would be difficult to pinpoint one, however, finding the endemic viper (Vipera monticola monticola) in the High Atlas Mountains was certainly a fantastic thrill (once again, due to our tour leader's skill and knowledge).
P.F, USA, May '24
Wonderful accommodation with hosts who really cared about our stay and making sure we had an authentic experience. Couldn’t fault the leaders, both clearly passionate about the animals and making sure we had everything we need at all times and we learnt a lot from them. One of my highlights was finding a Sahara Sand Viper in the sand dunes after searching all evening and following the tracks to find it waiting under the sand.
K.F, Hampshire, May '23
Excellent assortment of wildlife, varied scenery, and with great food and accommodation.
P.H. Dorset, Sep '22

Dates & Prices

2025

Departures Availability Cost

Thu 1st May – Thu 8th May FULL £1,995

Flights:

Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.

Flights are included in the tour cost

Land only cost:

The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.

£1,795

Single Room Supplement:

Single Room Supplement.

£295

Thu 11th Sep – Thu 18th Sep FULL £1,995

Flights:

Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.

Flights are included in the tour cost

Land only cost:

The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.

£1,795

Single Room Supplement:

Single Room Supplement.

£295

2026

Departures Availability Cost

Thu 30th Apr – Thu 7th May 5 £1,995

Book Tour Show Details

Flights:

Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.

Flights are included in the tour cost

Land only cost:

The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.

£1,795

Single Room Supplement:

Single Room Supplement.

£295

Thu 10th Sep – Thu 17th Sep 5 £1,995

Book Tour Show Details

Flights:

Most Naturetrek tours include flight costs ex-UK. If flights are not included, we indicate that here.

Flights are included in the tour cost

Land only cost:

The "Land Only" cost is the tour price you will pay if you choose to arrange your own flights/transport.

£1,795

Single Room Supplement:

Single Room Supplement.

£295

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With in-house herpetology expertise connecting with passionate, expert, field herpetologists – and drawing on knowledge built up from operating bird, mammal, botany, butterfly and other wildlife tours since 1986 – we have crafted a selection of the world’s finest reptile and amphibian holidays in our herping tour portfolio. 
Destinations for our herpetology holidays include: Albania, Borneo, Britain, Colombia, Ecuador, Greece, Japan, Morocco, Namibia, Panama, South Africa, Sri Lanka.
Naturetrek Reptile and Amphibian Tours

Naturetrek have been crafting expertly-guided group tours to all seven continents for more than 36 years.
All of our herping tours are led by an expert herpetologist guide.
Our herpetology tours provide fantastic opportunity to find, study and photograph reptiles and amphibians.
As with all of our tours, our reptile and amphibian tours use well-located and well-appointed accommodation.
In addition to arranging group flights, we are delighted to help with arrangements to join our holidays from any location worldwide.

If you are interested in taking a herping holiday to a destination which is not listed in our current portfolio, please do get in touch using the quick enquiry form and we'll be very pleased to discuss options with you.

Our specialist recommends...



“Our ‘Reptiles & Amphibians of Ecuador' 17-day holiday through the spectacularly diverse habitats of Ecuador, which features an exciting exploration of the Naturetrek Reserve! On this tour we'll search for such exquisite jewels as Pinocchio Lizard, Two-striped Forest-pitviper, Mata-mata Turtle, Diablito Poison Frog, Upper Amazon Glass Frog, Linda's Treefrog and many other simply wonderful species.”
Dan Lay – Operations Manager and tour leader
 

 
All Reptile & Amphibian Tours
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Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?

For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.

Enquire

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Why Naturetrek?

At Naturetrek we craft expertly-guided group and tailor-made wildlife holidays and cruises to all seven continents. On one of our holidays, you can be assured that our passionate team will enable you to experience and enjoy the best of the world's wildlife and natural spectacles in as comfortable and rewarding a manner as possible, caring as best we can for the environment in the process. We are proud to provide:

The widest choice of wildlife holidays worldwide
Tours managed and led by naturalists, for naturalists
Outstanding value and exceptional customer service

Furthermore, as a Naturetrek client, our office team are always to on hand to help you – so if you have any queries about your holiday, whether before or after you have booked, we will be delighted to answer them on the phone. Please just give our team a call!