You don’t want to be pressured into a tour, but if you don’t book ahead, know you’re going to have vultures swooping down on you. Don’t forget a tripod and intervalometer if you’re going to try some night photography. If I were to do this trip all over again, I’d stay for two nights!
They then took us in groups in 4×4 SUVs, and driven around the desert. It wasn’t well-communicated beforehand exactly what we were doing, but we morocco desert camping were happy for the excursion. However, getting to the highest dunes, the most interesting attraction, usually takes 30 minutes on the camel.



This makes this piece of the desert more adventurous, less touristy, and more authentic, but also more expensive to visit. The downside is that the dunes are a bit lower in the beginning, so a trip with dromedaries is less impressive here. The ultra-luxurious White Camel is more of a resort than a camp. Its name is fitting because, as Moroccan owner Abdelkhalek Benalila explains, the white camel was once a coveted rarity in M’Hamid El Ghizlane, the desert village in the Sahara from which he hails. Guests at The White Camel have access to air-conditioned suites and a spa that offers a wide range of services, including massages and manicures. Arguably the most unique of the glamping destinations in the Agafay Desert, La Pause was also the first to be established in the expanse back in 2003.
During Ramadan most food places will be closed until late afternoon, however, you can still find some places where you can eat, the restaurant at the hotels, and Riads are always open. If you arrive in Morocco on Eid al-Adha, where they slaughter and sacrifice helps. Shops restaurants will be closed for at least 4 to 6 days and banks will be close for at least 2 days. Overall, guys can dress however they like, but women need to dress more conservatively.

Merzouga is a village on the edge of the Moroccan Sahara that serves as a great jumping-off point for greater adventures into the Sahara Desert. Many people take 3-day desert tours from Marrakech that include one-night camping at a Berber desert camp in Erg Chebbi nearby to Merzouga. A night in the Sahara will give you phenomenal stargazing as well as a small look into the lifestyle of the nomadic Berber people. If you visit Morocco without spending a night in the Sahara desert, it’s like visiting Rome without seeing the Colosseum, or traveling to South Africa and not going on a safari.
I couldn’t stay balanced without holding on firmly with two hands anytime we were moving. Merzouga is not super close to the other major cities in Morocco —7.5 hours driving from Fes and 9 hours from Marrakech. So unless you plan to rent a car, you’ll likely want to book a tour. I know the whole experience is a tour, but it just felt so weird to sit there around campfire and watch three guys dressed up in garb playing the drums.
For the most magical of stays, keep in mind that Saturday is “Astro Night” at Terre des Étoiles. Supervised by local astronomer Mohamed Ali Hafili, guests can learn all about the constellations they’re sleeping under and use a telescope to examine them up close. Young happy couple enjoying traditional moroccan mint tea in... Two Moroccan men prepare together, the traditional tea for tourists under a tent with carpets and tables in the middle of the desert in the summer of the Sahara. You will experience the bustling old cities of Marrakech, Fes and Casablanca and Essaouira, the distinct nature of the mountains, and the bliss of the Sahara desert, and many more.

This hotel is located very close to the sand dunes and organizes camel and 4×4 tours in the desert. Merzouga is a village that offers a wide range of guesthouses, beautiful Kasbah hotels that are decorated with Berber artifacts, and luxurious desert camps. Depending on your needs you will find a place to stay that will match your budget. Merzouga is a town right on the edge of Erg Chebbi, and most Sahara desert luxury camp experiences starts from this town.
The reception in the desert is sketchy, so don’t expect to have full internet access. I was very okay with this because it gave us time to disconnect and just enjoy being in the Sahara Desert with kids. By the time we got to our campsite, our luggage had already been delivered to our tent. Dinner and spend the night in a tent in the middle of the dunes.

You can try sand boarding, Berber drumming, and some traditional food sipping on mint tea for dinner. You can pretend you’re a nomad transporting goods by camel across the desert. Five tents, beautifully decorated, in a spectacular setting in the middle of the Sahara. Rode into camp by camel at sunset, then drinks by the fire outside followed by traditional Moroccan dinner in lovely dining tent.
It really offers so much more, and it’s less than $30 more than the budget one. I also feel like it’s probably a bit safer since you have your own room and can lock the door. The luxury glamping experience is 700 MAD (~$72 USD)/person and the budget one is 450 MAD (~$46 USD). We got ours through our guesthouse in Merzouga, who had their own camels and whatnot. A local Morocco tour operator and travel guide specializing in tours and excursions around Morocco since 2008. You can get to Merzouga desert by your own car, the road is good so you can come to Merzouga even by normal car or public bus .
Every private tent is furnished with Berber decorative details, modern quality bedding, and toiletries. The tents are covered with the traditional Berber goat-hair pattern on the outside. This desert camp offers trekking by foot, on camel, by quad or 4×4.