One of the most unique experiences you can have in Morocco is to spend a night (or more) camping in the dunes here. Whether it’s absolute luxury you want, or an authentic, back to nature experience, there are possibilities for all tastes and budgets. We spent 2 nights deep in the dunes of Erg Chebbi and discovered many things we wished we knew before booking! This is our guide for the 10 things we wished we knew first before embarking on our tour of the Sahara Desert in Morocco.
Where is Erg Chebbi?
Erg Chebbi are a set of wind blown sand dunes, on the far western edge of the Sahara desert. These dunes are famous for their bright orange colour and their majestic height, some as tall as 300 metres. Easily accessed from the towns of Merzouga and Hassilabied, close to the Morrocan border with Algeria, this area is a hot spot for desert tourism.
How to book a desert tour in Morocco
There are a number of options for booking these tours in Morocco. You can even book organised tours from most of the major cities in Morocco that will transport you to and from the desert by minivan.
Booking.com, GetYourGuide and a number of online outlets will allow you to book these tours online before you arrive, and you can view reviews and pictures from fellow travellers that have used the services before. One option is also to book in person either at a tour office in a Moroccan major city, or in the town of Merzouga or Hassilabied when you arrive in the region, but from experience and speaking to other travellers, you might end up with less luxury than you expected! That takes us to our first thing we wished we knew first.
10 things we wished we knew first!
Disclaimer: Although it may seem like we have a lot of complaints about our time in the desert, we actually had an incredible experience. We wholeheartedly recommend everyone experience a night in the dunes of Erg Chebbi, as it is truly a beautiful and unique place. We witnessed one of the most starry skies of our lives during our stay! What you will read below is what we learnt during the process of booking our tour, so you can be fully prepared for what to expect.
1. Book online in advance, and not in person
Whilst you may think you’ve scored a bargain of a deal when booking your tour in person in Merzouga, you may be left out in the cold. Tour offices will sell you the dream of a luxury tent in the dunes with electricity and working toilet and shower, but when you arrive you may find little more than a tent with blankets on the floor. If a deal sounds too good to be true, then it probably is! Luxury tents go for upwards of 100 euros a night, so anything less than this price is likely to be basic.
2. Always check the reviews and pictures before booking
Sometimes the listings online will say the tents have facilities such as wifi or toilets, but in actual fact they don’t. Always read through the reviews given by other travellers before booking, regardless of the overall score of the accommodation. Our listing boasted a private bathroom and wifi but in actuality only had one light on the ceiling and not much else other than the bed.
3. The map location of the listing is probably not the real location
It can be easy to assume that the location of the camp on the map in booking.com is the actual location of the camp you will be staying, but this is usually not the case. Most of the camps will show as being in either Merzouga or Hassilabied but after confirming booking you will likely be contacted by the person running the camp and given specific instructions on where to meet them to start the trek into the desert. Our camp for example was shown as being in Merzouga, but after booking we were told to meet at a hotel in Hassilabied.
Note: Most, if not all, of the luxurious campsites, with bathrooms, proper beds and entertainment during the evenings, will be on the edge of the desert. In recent years there have been changes to what is allowed inside the desert camps, and the luxury ones are no longer able to operate within the dunes themselves. For less luxury but a more authentic experience, make sure with the owner that you are in the middle of the desert!
4. Go for an option with meals included
We chose an option with breakfast and dinner included. You will see some just include breakfast, and others all 3 meals. Once you get into the desert your options are completely limited, and if you are on a budget you can be caught out paying much, much more for additional meals. On the flip side if you choose a basic camp you may have no option for extra food at all! That takes us onto the next point.
5. Bring extra supplies of water and food
If you are on a budget or staying in one of the more remote, authentic camps without the mod-cons, you should bring enough water, snacks and drinks into the desert with you for the entirety of your stay. We had no option to purchase extra food or drinks in our camp, so brought enough water for the entire stay, as well as enough food for lunch and snacks (which weren’t included). Prepare for the worst or you might end up going to bed hungry, or broke!
6. Expect to be off-grid for the duration of your stay
Whilst there is some phone reception at the top of some of the larger dunes, for the most part you will be unable to reach the outside world. This is made even more probable by the lack of electricity in most of the camps. If you have a power bank, bring it with you fully charged. You can hike up the larger dunes if you desperately need to contact someone using your phone but we actually enjoyed the relaxation and some time away from phones and screens.
Note: If you need phone signal you can hike to the top of the nearest dune and see if you get any. Our Berber guide would leave his phone on the top of the nearest dune, on full volume, so he could receive and hear calls coming in.
7. If you want to do extra activities, make sure you confirm them before leaving for the camp
In the desert you can enjoy different activities, such as sandboarding, camel rides, quad biking or boarding on a 4×4 to experience dune bashing. Whether you have these activities included in your package, or you have paid extra for these activities, confirm them with the owner before you leave for the desert. One girl at our camp had sandboarding included in her package, but had not confirmed the activity with the owner. When she arrived in the camp there was no sandboarding to be seen!
We settled for watching the sunset, and hiking amongst the dunes barefoot to save money, and it was an incredible experience none the less!
8. Bring warm clothes (even in summer)
It would seem like a desert is always a hot place right? However, there is a considerable range in daily temperature! If, like us, you are in Morocco during the winter, expect cold temperatures close to zero or below at night, while during the day the weather is warm and pleasant, around 15 to 20 degrees. Especially if you sleep in a basic tent, better make sure you have warm sweaters, jackets and a hat with you for the evening.
During the mid-season, daily temperatures rise around 30 to 25 degrees, while during the evening they drop around 18 to 8 degrees. Summer is the only season where temperatures remain high at night, between 20 and 22 degrees, but with extremely high temperatures during the day, which can reach 40 degrees.
Note: During our stay in the desert, we were provided with heavy blankets, but brought our own fleeces and woolly hats / socks, and despite this, we were still very cold at night!
9. If you don’t want to ride camels, you can expect to pay more for the privilege
When we booked our campsite on Booking, it was not specified how to get to the campsite. After booking, the owner told us that the only option available was to go by camel. We personally wanted to avoid this option, for ethical reasons (there was no way of knowing how the camels were treated) and personal reasons (we found the camel walk very uncomfortable and not particularly exciting). Unfortunately all other options would have cost us double! Be sure to haggle in advance for an alternative option to reach the campsite if, like us, you prefer not to go by camel!
Note: Even if you choose to ride the camels, this will likely be an extra cost on top of that from the booking you made. The only really free way to get to the camp is to walk!
10. You will probably have to pay in cash
Even if you book online and enter your card details, you can expect to have to pay in cash when you arrive. This part of Morocco is less developed than others and ATMs are few and far between. Make sure you arrive with enough cash to pay for the full stay, plus any extra activities you might want to arrange (and snacks!).
Our desert camp recommendations
Worried about booking the right place at the right price after reading our tips? We’ve researched, checked and found the best camps and where to book them for all budgets and tastes. Here are our top recommendations for camps in the Moroccan Sahara desert!
Budget
- Erg Chebbi Starlight Camp – This was the camp that we stayed in, and whilst the listing on Booking.com is slightly misleading, it was very good value for money and included both breakfast and dinner in the desert! Just 25 euros per person per night.
- Fabulous Desert Camp – This camp is slightly more luxurious than ours, but slightly more expensive at 35 euros per person per night. The tents have proper beds, heating in winter and a buffet breakfast is included.
- Desert Berber Fire Camp – This camp costs around 30 euros per person per night, and offers a host of other activities you can undertake during your stay. Breakfast is included but they offer a kitchen in camp where you can order additional meals of your choice.
Luxury
- Sunrise Sahara Camp – This camp offers luxury “pod” style tents, with private bathrooms and many activities included. Prices start at 120 euros per 2 people sharing per night.
- Bahba Luxury Camp – Luxury tents with all meals included, and even a restaurant tent! This one is a true slice of luxury. Prices start at 100 euros per 2 people sharing per night.
- Tuareg Luxury Camp – This camp is slightly cheaper than the 2 above but still very luxurious. Breakfast and dinner are included, as well as a fire pit and traditional music in the evenings. Prices start at 50 euros per 2 people sharing per night.
Getting to Merzouga / Hassilabied
Getting to Merzouga and Hassilabied can be a long process, especially if you rely on the local bus services in Morocco. Journey times are often long and prices can be quite expensive. In our opinion the easiest way to visit is with your own car or a rental. You can check car rental prices in Morocco here.
Note: Travel insurance is a must for any travel abroad, especially when renting a car. Although problems rarely occur, it is better to be covered in case they do. We use SafetyWing and recommend it to anyone travelling the world.
If you don’t have your own car, or can’t rent one, we recommend booking an organised tour. There are many tour operators in cities around Morocco offering all inclusive tour packages to visit Merzouga and camp in the Sahara desert there. Booking a tour takes all the stress out of using the slow and often unreliable public transport options. You can book these in advance online before you arrive. See below for some tour recommendations from different parts of Morocco.
From Marrakech
We recommend: This 3 day tour to Merzouga from Marrakech including overnight in the Erg Chebbi dunes and a stop in the atlas mountains!
By bus: Despite the numerous tour options from Marrakech that will take you directly to Merzouga, there are no direct bus routes and you will have to change at Meknes, almost doubling the time to get to Merzouga than that with a tour bus. Total journey time is around 15 hours and costs 400-550 MAD.
From Rabat
We recommend: This 4 days 3 nights tour of the Sahara desert including overnight stay in the dunes in a luxury Berber camp!
By bus: Changing at Meknes onto a second bus is the route for Rabat to Merzouga. Total journey time is around 12 hours and costs 250-400 MAD.
From Tangier
We recommend: This 5 day Sahara desert tour to Fez, Merzouga and Erg Chebbi!
By bus: There are no direct bus routes from Tangier to Merzouga, and you will have to change in Fes onto a second bus. The total journey time for this route is around 18 hours and costs between 350-500 MAD.
From Casablanca
We recommend: This 5 day tour to the Sahara including stops at Marrakech, Dades Gorges, Merzouga, and Fes!
By bus: The only option from Casablanca is to take a bus first to Meknes then change for a bus to Merzouga. Total journey time is around 13 hours and costs between 300-450 MAD.
From Fes
We recommend: This 2 day tour from Fes with an overnight stay in the dunes of Erg Chebbi in a traditional Berber camp!
By bus: Buses leave once per day and take around 9 hours total to reach Merzouga. Prices cost between 200-250 MAD.
Where to go after Merzouga?
You can head north to the imperial city of Fes to discover its endless souks! Read the best things to do in Fes in our article here.
If you are making your way towards Marrakech, you can stop at the famous Dades and Todgha Gorges to do some hiking. Read about visiting Dades and Todgha Gorge in our article here.
If you have any suggestions or comments, don’t hesitate to let us know by leaving a comment!
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