Sahara Desert Morocco: My Honest Review of Two Nights in Merzouga
I'm going to be honest with you, this was the one thing on our Morocco trip I nearly talked myself out of booking.
Everything I read made it sound like a very long drive with a camel at the end of it, and I had this idea in my head that it would be one of those experiences that looks incredible on Instagram and feels like a coach tour in real life. Two nights, three days, ten hours of driving on the first day alone. I kept looking at it and thinking, is the Sahara desert really worth all of that?
So I want to answer that properly, because I got it completely wrong, and because there is one thing about this trip that nobody warned me about and I really wish somebody had!
Is the Sahara Desert Tour Worth It? My Quick Answer
Yes, and it is not even close. My rating is 10 out of 10, and after 14 months of full time travel this is still sitting in our top few experiences anywhere in the world.
Going to Morocco and skipping the Sahara should genuinely be a crime!
Marrakech to Merzouga, 3 day desert adventure
Everything in this article came from this tour. A$214.97 each for two nights and three days, and that covered all of our transport, a private hotel room on the first night, the desert camp on the second, every breakfast and dinner, and the camel ride in and out. We chose it on reviews alone and got very lucky with our guide, and I would book the exact same one again tomorrow.
If you want the full route and every stop along the way, that is all in our Marrakech to Merzouga guide. This one is about the desert itself.
Riding Camels Into the Sahara Desert at Sunset
You reach the edge of the dunes by road in the late afternoon, and that is where you swap the van for a camel. You can take a quad bike instead if you would rather, or honestly do both, and plenty of people in our group did exactly that. We went with the camels because it felt like the version we would still be talking about in ten years.
Two things surprised me here.
The first is how small the dune field actually is compared to the Sahara as a whole. You drive for hours and hours through flat, rocky, scrubby desert that looks like nothing at all, and then the sand simply starts, and I promise you it is startling when it appears through the car window!
The second is that riding a camel is peaceful and a little bit painful at the same time. About an hour in, my back and everything else was very much letting me know about it. Worth every second, but do not picture a gentle glide.
You stop on the dunes for sunset before you get to camp, and there is proper time to climb, sandboard, take photos and just sit for a while. Climbing a dune is so much harder than it looks, because the sand takes half of every step back off you, and running down one is humbling in a way that is very funny to watch and considerably less funny to do.
The sky went pink and blue at the same time. It genuinely did not feel real!
What the Merzouga Desert Camp Is Actually Like
This is the part most guides go vague on, so here is the specific version.
We were in tent B18, and it had a proper bed that was actually comfortable, power to charge our cameras and phones, and enough floor space to put our bags down without climbing over them. It is not luxury and it is not pretending to be, and that is completely fine! It is a solid, cosy place to sleep in the middle of the Sahara, which when you say it out loud is a completely mad sentence!
The bathrooms at the standard camp are shared. That is the one detail I would want to know before booking, and nobody seems to mention it. If you upgrade to the luxury option you stay at a completely different camp and those tents have private bathrooms. We did not upgrade and I did not regret it once, but if shared facilities would bother you then pay the difference and sleep easy.
One properly practical thing. Your suitcase stays in the van overnight, because you are arriving on a camel and there is nowhere to put it, so pack a small backpack with just what you need. I took toiletries, skincare, underwear, socks, something warm to sleep in, my cameras, chargers and flip flops for the showers, and that was plenty.
Dinner at the camp was a buffet and it was so much better than it had any right to be. Lentils, chicken, rice, couscous, bread, piles of vegetables and fruit afterwards. I went in with genuinely low expectations for food in the middle of a desert and the flavour was excellent at every single meal on this tour!
Afterwards there was traditional music and dancing around the fire, and it is the kind of thing that could feel staged and really did not. Everybody ended up in it.
Then you walk away from the fire, look up, and there is absolutely nothing between you and the sky. No towns, no headlights, no light pollution at all!
How Cold Does the Sahara Desert Get at Night?
If you take one single thing from this article, please make it this one.
We went in the first week of December. It was 2 degrees when we got up for sunrise, and 6 degrees the morning before that. We had been travelling through warm countries for over a year and had packed accordingly, which meant I had exactly one jumper, no thermals and no coat. I slept in my jeans. I would have handed over actual money for a pair of hand warmers!
Daniel wore Birkenstocks on the second day and was the only person in the entire group in sandals, and yes, he has been reminded about it since!
During the day it is genuinely lovely, cool and clear and comfortable for walking around, and so much easier than Morocco in the summer heat. But the moment that sun drops it changes completely, and it stays cold until well after sunrise the next morning.
If you are going any time between about November and February, pack thermals, a proper jacket, gloves or hand warmers, and closed shoes. You can buy a scarf during the tour, and you absolutely should, but a scarf is not a coat.
What I Loved About the Sahara Desert Tour
- The sunrise. Worth the entire trip on its own, and I will come back to it below.
- The food. Buffet after buffet and not one bad meal in three days.
- Our guide Ayoub. He grew up in the Todra area, speaks four languages, and he included every single person in the group rather than just the loudest ones. He made the whole thing.
- The group itself. We nearly booked a private tour and I am so glad we did not, because by the second night everyone was around the fire together.
- How organised it was. Nothing ran late, nothing felt chaotic, and in three days of driving that is not nothing.
- The stops on the way. I expected filler and got a mountain pass, a UNESCO village and a Berber family's carpet loom.
What I Didn't Love
- The cold, because I was not ready for it. Entirely my own fault, but it did take the edge off the sunrise.
- The shared bathrooms at the standard camp. Fine, clean, and still worth knowing in advance.
- The camel ride is sore after about an hour. Nobody tells you that either.
- It is a lot of driving. Around ten hours on the first day. Broken up well, but it is still a long time in a van.
That is the entire list, which tells you something!
Sunrise Over the Merzouga Dunes
There is a 5am wake up call and breakfast at 5:30, which is eggs and tea in the pitch dark, and you are back on the camels by about 6:30 riding out to watch the sun come up over the dunes.
Here is the bit nobody mentions. The sun does not actually appear until close to 8am, so there is a long stretch where you are just sitting in the cold waiting for it, feet completely numb, quietly questioning several of your life decisions. And then it comes up over the edge of the dunes and every single person out there stops talking at exactly the same time!
It is the best thing we did in Morocco, and honestly it is not particularly close.
What the Sahara Desert Tour Cost Me
We paid A$214.97 each for the whole thing, and that included all of our transport, both nights of accommodation, every breakfast and dinner, the camels and the camp.
On top of that we spent 1,055 dirham as a couple, which is about A$172, across the three days. That covered three lunches at roughly 110 to 150 dirham each, drinks, snacks and water at the stops, a 20 dirham entry fee at one of the sights, and tipping. Quad biking and the luxury camp upgrade are extra again on top of that if you want them.
So realistically you are looking at about A$301 each all in, which for two nights, three days and a camel is astonishing value!
Take cash. A lot of places on this route do not take card at all, and the ones that say they do will often fail on you.
For the complete stop by stop breakdown, see Marrakech to Merzouga: every stop and what it cost.
What to Pack for the Sahara Desert in Winter
Straight from what I actually took, plus what I wish I had taken:
- Toiletries and skincare
- Underwear and a spare pair of socks
- Linen pants and a tank top for the daytime
- Jeans and leggings to layer underneath
- A jumper, and something warm to sleep in
- Thermals and gloves or hand warmers, which I did not have and badly needed
- Closed shoes, not sandals
- A head scarf, which you can buy during the tour
- Cameras, chargers and a portable charger
- Flip flops for the showers
Remember that your suitcase stays in the van, so all of this needs to fit in a small backpack.
How Many Nights Should You Spend in the Sahara Desert?
Two nights and three days, which is what we did and exactly what I would do again.
There is a one night, two day version and I would honestly avoid it. It is the same amount of driving compressed into less time, and you lose the hotel night that breaks the journey up, so you would arrive at the dunes completely wrecked for the bit you actually came for.
Three nights only makes sense if you specifically want more desert rather than more of Morocco. For almost everyone, two is the number.
Watch Our Sahara Desert Vlog
The numbers tell you what it cost, but the vlog shows you what it actually felt like out there: the camels going in at golden hour, the tent, the drumming after dinner, and me wearing every layer I owned at two degrees waiting for that sun. If you are trying to decide whether to book this, watch it first.
Watch the Sahara desert vlog on YouTube and subscribe to Ell's Passport for the rest of Morocco, including Marrakech and the surf coast at Taghazout.
If you like a desert, here is our 13 things we actually did in Morocco and best time to visit.
FAQs About the Sahara Desert Tour in Morocco
Is the Sahara desert tour from Marrakech worth it?
Yes. We paid A$214.97 each for two nights and three days and it was the single best thing we did in Morocco, and still one of our top experiences after 14 months of travel. You are getting transport, accommodation, most of your meals, camels and the desert camp for roughly the price of a nice dinner out at home.
How cold does the Sahara desert get at night?
Far colder than most people expect. In early December it was 2 degrees when we rode out for sunrise and 6 degrees the previous morning. The days are lovely and the nights are genuinely freezing, so pack thermals, a jacket and closed shoes if you are going between November and February.
Are the desert camp bathrooms shared?
At the standard camp, yes. The tents have real beds, power and space for your bags, but the bathrooms are shared. If you upgrade to the luxury option you stay at a different camp where the tents have their own private bathrooms.
Can you ride quad bikes instead of camels?
Yes. You can ride camels in, take quad bikes, or do both, and quad biking is an extra cost on top of the tour price. We chose the camels because it felt like the version we would remember, and the ride in takes about an hour.
What should I pack for a night in the Sahara desert?
A small backpack, because your suitcase stays in the van. Toiletries, skincare, a change of underwear and socks, something warm to sleep in, a jumper or jacket, chargers, a camera and flip flops for the showers. Add thermals and gloves in winter. Buy your scarf during the tour rather than before you go.
Is there power at the desert camp?
Yes. Our tent had power points and we charged our cameras and phones overnight without any trouble at all.
How much extra money should I bring for the tour?
We spent 1,055 dirham as a couple, roughly A$172, over the three days. That covered three lunches, drinks, snacks, one 20 dirham entry fee and tipping. Bring it in cash, because card is often not accepted and frequently does not work when it is.
Final Thoughts: Is the Sahara Desert Worth It?
I nearly did not book this, and it ended up being the best thing we did in an entire month in Morocco.
If you are going to Morocco at all, go to the desert. Pay the A$215, take the long drive, accept that your legs will hurt after the camel and that you will be colder than you expect, and go and watch that sun come up over the dunes.
Just pack the thermals. Learn from me!
And if you want the exact one we did, here is the tour again: Marrakech to Merzouga, 3 day desert adventure. Same route, same camp, same sunrise.
