The Sahara is the largest dry desert on earth and impresses with gigantic dunes, soft sand, and endless expanse. Traveling in Morocco is worth it and desert tours are known as highlights. Our Morocco expert guide gives you helpful tips about the best places in Morocco for desert trips.
My most fascinating experience in Morocco was my tour into the Sahara with an overnight stay in a traditional Bedouin tent. In my opinion, a Sahara tour on a Moroccan trip should not be missed.
But from where can you start to reach the desert? Which of the two well-known dune areas in Morocco is better – the Erg Chebbi or the Erg Chegaga? And what should you pay attention to when preparing and booking?
In this article, I have put together all the important information about the large sand dune areas in Morocco, many practical tips, and a few recommendations for tours, hotels, and camps.
Where is the best place to do a desert tour in Morocco?
Sahara tours, which are developed for tourism: The Erg Chebbi near Merzouga and the Erg Chegaga between M’hamid and Zagora.
Both have gigantic dunes with fine soft sand in an almost endless expanse. I can’t say which one is more beautiful, but I’ll tell you the differences here. I also present an alternative for those who have little time.
Erg Chebbi:
The Erg Chebbi is the most popular desert area in Morocco for tourists. Here, there is sand as far as the eye can see and the highest dunes in the country with up to 200 meters high.
Starting points for tours are the oasis towns of Erfoud and Rissani as well as the smaller desert oasis of Merzouga, which lies directly behind the sand dunes. The choice of tours and offers is simply overwhelming.
It goes on the back of camels, on a quad bike, in an off-road vehicle, or on foot into the desert. Sometimes for sunrise, sometimes for sunset, sometimes with an overnight stay in a traditional Berber tent or in a luxury camp. You can ride through the dunes for just one hour or walk for a whole week.
In Merzouga, there are numerous accommodations directly at the edge of the dunes. There is something for every budget. But more exciting of course is a night in the desert in a nomad tent.
A typical tour into the Erg Chebbi, which I can recommend, looks like this from Merzouga:
Desert tour to the Erg Chebbi with overnight:
In the afternoon, you will saddle up on the camels at the base camp, which is usually an accommodation in Merzouga on the edge of the dunes. It is quite a shaky affair when the 2-meter high dromedary swings from its knees to a standing position.
After a few minutes, the whole caravan is gone, one camel rides nicely behind the other, even in the middle of the desert. All around you, you see nothing but sand.
1 to 2 hours later – just when you are slowly rubbing your bottom because such a camel is anything but comfortable. You reach the camp!.
A Bedouin camp consists of several traditional Berber tents with many carpets, which are grouped around a central campsite. In a central tent, there are comfortable mattress camps for lounging around and sometimes a few tables for eating.
Everything is kept very simple, but that’s how it should be in the middle of the desert. Under the open sky, you eat a Moroccan dinner. Often there is tajine, which is the traditional Moroccan dish cooked in clay pots on the fire.
Before or after the meal, you climb a dune to watch the sunset. Slowly the sea of sand turns golden yellow and red until it becomes pitch dark. And in addition, an unbelievable silence spreads.
In the evening everyone gathers around the campfire. While the Berbers tell you stories about the nomadic life and Bedouin wisdom or play traditional music, the sky sparkles above you with thousands of stars.
Fascinatingly the wide beam of the Milky Way shines, constellations are everywhere, and shooting stars scurry across the sky. It is simply fantastic!
If you like, you can sleep on mattresses and blankets directly under the starry sky. Otherwise, there are dormitories or sometimes real beds in the Bedouin tents.
In the morning you have to get up early not to miss the sunrise from the next dune. In the desert, this is almost more magical than the sunset.
Depending on the tour, you will have a typical Moroccan breakfast at the camp before you return or you will have breakfast at the base camp after returning from the desert. Here you can usually take a shower because in the desert camps there are, if at all, only simple (dry) toilets and sometimes a sink.
Advantages of a desert tour in the Erg Chebbi:
- There are countless desert hotels and infrastructure in Merzouga.
- You can walk from Merzouga into the desert.
- You can reach Merzouga on a good tarred road.
- The dunes are even higher than in Erg Chegaga.
- There are differently organized tours, check our tours from Fes, or Marrakech.
Disadvantages of a desert tour in the Erg Chebbi:
- Many visitors and the engine noise of the Quads reduce the desert feeling in the main season.
- In Merzouga, it is very touristy.
- The drive from Marrakech is long and from there not recommended as a 2-day tour.
- Partly the prices for tours and supplies in Merzouga are overpriced.
My tip: If you are on a round trip in Morocco with a rental car, the Erg Chebbi is perfect, because it can be very well integrated into a round route. Even if you would like to make an organized desert tour from Marrakech, you can book great 3 to 4-day tours, where you will get to know some highlights of the surroundings.
Directions to Merzouga:
By bus from Supratours there are daily connections between Merzouga and Marrakech (about 13 hours travel time) via Tinehir and Ouarzazate and to Fès (2 days travel time) via Erfoud and Midelt.
Erg Chegaga:
The dune area of the Erg Chegaga, located a little further south, extends between the towns of Zagora, M’hamid, and from Zguid in the border area to Algeria. These desert villages are also the starting point for the tours into the sand dunes.
Zagora is the center for camel tours. From the 1 hour ride to the 1-week camel tour, everything is possible.
From M’Hamid and Foum Zguid, the tours into the central sand dune area are often combined with an off-road vehicle ride, because the large sand dunes are about 50 kilometers away and can only be reached by a track through the scree desert.
The Erg Chegaga is less visited by tourists due to its remoteness and the region is almost deserted. The desert experience is therefore even more intense and original.
A typical desert tour to the Erg Chegaga:
Also, the typical tours into the Erg Chegaga take 2 days with a night in a nomad tent in the wide sand landscape. Accordingly, you can also experience wonderful sunrises and sunsets and the incredible silence under the starry sky of the desert.
In the base camp, you will be picked up by an off-road vehicle. At first, you will drive through the barren scree desert. This journey alone is worth it.
The landscape with its endless scree fields and wadis is both bizarre and impressive. Almost like a Fata Morgana nomads with their camel herds pass by in the distance.
I was lucky enough that during my drive through the completely dried out Lac Iriki after a rain in spring, countless tiny plants and flowers just started to sprout from the barren ground. A wonderful sight!
Slowly, the sand becomes more and the plants less until you reach the camp in the sand dunes. Often you leave here in the afternoon with the camels for the sunset. You will enjoy the sunrise from the nearest dune of the camp before you go back after breakfast in the jeep.
[box type=”shadow” align=”” class=”” width=””]Attention: The offered 2-day tours from Marrakech and short camel trips from Zagora lead to the Erg Chegaga, but not to the central area with the high sand dunes. But you can also get a desert feeling, a camel ride, and an overnight stay in a Berber tent.[/box]
Advantages of a Sahara tour in the Erg Chegaga:
- The desert feeling is even more intense in the remote location.
- The drive across the scree desert is fascinating.
- The journey from Marrakech to Zagora is not so long.
- Usually, you drive to the camp by jeep and can take your complete luggage with you.
Disadvantages of a desert tour to the Erg Chegaga:
- The central sand dune area can only be reached via a dirt road.
- Many camps are located on the edge of the sand dunes and not in the middle of them.
- The 2-day tours from Marrakech rarely lead to the central sand dune area.
My tip: For an individual experience with an intensive desert feeling including the bizarre scree desert you are right in the Erg Chegaga. Even if your time budget is very limited, you can book a 2-day short trip from Marrakech with an overnight stay in a Berber tent, but without the impressive sand dunes.
Directions to the Erg Chegaga:
The desert towns of Zagora, M’Hamid, and Foum Zguid can be reached via tarred roads. The central desert area can only be reached by off-road vehicles.
Orientation is more than difficult in the maze of tracks on the wide stone landscape with sand drifts. Even if you are traveling with an off-road vehicle, it is better to use a guide who knows the area or book an organized tour from the surrounding desert towns.
There are public transportation connections to Zagora with the bus company CTM. The buses go via Agdz to Marrakech. You can also take the night bus to Agadir (about 11 hours driving time) and via Ouarzazate to Casablanca (about 12 hours driving time).
Trips to the Agafay Desert:
You are in Marrakech and don’t have time for a desert tour of several days, but you want to experience the Sahara feeling? Then there is still this alternative for the very tight time budget:
About 30 kilometers before Marrakech lies the relatively unknown desert Agafay. There are no gigantic sand dunes here, but you will get an impression of the endless expanse of the desert.
An excursion is possible as a day trip from Marrakech. You can either ride a camel through the sand landscape or ride a quad bike through the sand.
There are also camps in the Agafay desert, so you can spend a night in the desert and save the long drive to the Erg Chebbi or Erg Chegaga.
My tip: If you really don’t have time, you can breathe some desert air here.
What should you pay attention to when booking?
For a great desert experience and in the sense of fair tourism, not only the price should be the deciding factor when choosing a tour. The competition is enormous and dumping prices are often at the expense of drivers, guides, and camel guides or are associated with restrictions on the overall experience.
If you want to book spontaneously on site or ask a hotel, please pay attention to the following details:
- How big is the group?
- Are the meals freshly prepared?
- Is water included?
- Is there a base camp for luggage and a shower after the tour?
- The camp individual or a group camp with many other tours?
- Does the guide speak English or good French?
With these specific questions, you can also separate the wheat from the chaff in a quick booking on-site or in the souks of Marrakech.
How much time do you have to plan for a tour to the Sahara?
First of all, there is the question of whether you book the tour from Marrakech or whether you are already on-site in the oasis cities and set off into the desert from there.
Time for a tour from Marrakech:
If you have little time and are in Marrakech, you can book a short desert trip with an overnight stay in a Bedouin tent for 2 days, but this is only recommended for the Erg Chegaga. And also for the shorter trip to Zagora, you will sit most of the time in the car or minibus.
It starts early in the morning in Marrakech. On the way, you usually visit the Ksar Ait Benhaddou and in the evening you reach the desert. After a short night, we will return to Marrakech.
So it is worth to plan more time, then you can not only stay longer in the desert, but it is also much more relaxed. There are also other highlights on the way, which are integrated into the tours.
Already on a 3 to 4-day tour, the impressive Todra Gorge, the beautiful Dade Valley, or the visit of a Kasbah, the historical clay fortresses, are often on the program.
Time in the desert:
The time in the desert reaches with the offered tours from a 1-hour camel ride over a tour with one overnight stay up to the desert trekking of 1 week.
My recommendation is at least one overnight stay. For the Erg Chegaga, it is almost a must because of the journey over the scree desert to the sand dunes.
This way you can experience both sunset and sunrise over the desert and a night under the thousands of twinkling stars in absolute darkness.
For me personally, this is enough. The conditions in the camp are very simple and are aware that riding a camel is anything but comfortable. For a 1-week tour, you need a lot of stamina.
If you want to have an even more desert feeling, you can also combine a camel tour with a ride in an off-road vehicle or with trekking on the second day to another camp.
How expensive is a desert tour?
Besides the duration of the tour and the included services, the prices for desert tours often depend on the number of participants.
For as little as 150 to 200 Dirham (Dh), which is less than 20 Euros, you can ride a camel into the sand dunes at sunset. A day trip with the camel caravan costs between 350 and 500 Dh (approx. from 30 Euro).
For a tour from the afternoon to the next morning with an overnight stay in a Berber tent as well as dinner and breakfast, you pay about 700 Dh (about 65 Euro). A 3-day organized tour from Marrakesh costs a little over 100 Euro.
In addition, you should include a tip for the camel guide and driver. The tours from Marrakech usually do not include the food on the way.
When is the best time for a desert tour?
Our favorite travel gadgets:
A tour in the desert is possible in Morocco all year round, but not necessarily recommended from June to August due to the high temperatures. Especially longer desert trekkings on camels or on foot are very exhausting.
In summer there are also more sandstorms. These are not only unpleasant but also reduce the view of the beautiful dune landscape.
From December to February it gets very cold at night in the desert. The temperature often falls to 4 degrees Celsius, so in the unheated tents or under the clear starry sky you should wear a hat, gloves and long underwear and a sleeping bag are worth its weight in gold.
The best time for a desert tour is in autumn and spring when the temperatures are relatively balanced.
What do you need to take with you into the desert?
You can leave your main luggage at the base camp at the edge of the desert so that a small backpack is sufficient for your Sahara trip. For the camel ride and for walking in the sand you should wear long trousers and a shirt and sturdy shoes.
You should definitely pack that:
- Sandals for the camp
- Warm clothes for the evening and the night: sweater or jacket, socks, in winter also long underpants, hat and gloves
- Scarf or shawl, also to tie it around the head as a turban
- Sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, lip balm
- Toothbrush and the most necessary personal hygiene products
- Small towel and/or wet wipes
- Toilet paper and/or handkerchiefs
- Small lamp or headlamp
- Camera, make sure to pack it sandproof!
- Sufficient water or bottle to refill (depending on whether included in the tour)
- Plastic bag for the waste
That is the most important thing. Depending on what kind of tour you are doing, the following tips are still useful.
[highlight color=”yellow”]You might be interested to read also: What to see in Morocco.[/highlight]
