A Night in a Sahara Desert Camp: What to Expect

A night in the Sahara is the part of a Morocco trip most people remember longest, and it's a more comfortable experience than the word "camping" suggests.

Getting there

Most desert camps are reached by camel from Merzouga, near the Erg Chebbi dunes, or from Zagora further south near Erg Chigaga. Either way, you'll ride in as the light turns gold in the late afternoon — a slow, quiet way to arrive that a 4×4 just can't match.

The camp itself

Camps range from simple traditional Berber tents to more comfortable setups with real beds, warm blankets and basic bathroom facilities. Whichever you choose, the tents are pitched among the dunes themselves, not on the edge of them.

The evening

Dinner is usually tagine, couscous or grilled meat cooked over the fire, followed by mint tea and an evening of Berber drumming and singing round the fire — and, once the fire dies down, a sky with almost no light pollution at all. On a clear night the Milky Way is genuinely visible to the naked eye.

Morning

Most people climb a dune before sunrise, watch the light come up over the sand, then ride back to the vehicles for breakfast — cool while you're moving, warm again within the hour.

When to go

October to April gives the most comfortable temperatures for the camel trek and the evening round the fire; days are hot year-round, but summer nights stay warm too, while winter ones can be properly cold — pack a warm layer no matter when you travel.

Every one of our multi-day tours that reaches the Sahara includes a night exactly like this — see our 3-day desert tour from Marrakech for the shortest way to fit one in, or ask us about timing it around the rest of your trip.