Morocco desert tour suggestions and tips

In this article, our Morocco expert gives helpful tips for a successful Morocco desert tours through the Sahara.The Sahara is the largest dry desert on earth and impresses with gigantic dunes, soft sand, and endless expanse.

My most fascinating experience in Morocco was my overnight camel trekking in Merzouga at a traditional Berber tent. I believe a Sahara tour should not be missing on a trip to Morocco.

But from where can you start in the desert? Which of Morocco’s two famous dune areas is better – the Erg Chebbi or the Erg Chegaga? And what should you pay attention to when preparing and booking?

In this article, we have put together all the important information about the large sand dune areas in Morocco, lots of practical tips, and a few recommendations for tours, hotels, and camps.

Where is the best Morocco desert tours places?

As I said, there are two famous areas for Sahara tours in Morocco that have been developed for tourism: The Erg Chebbi near Merzouga and the Erg Chigaga near Mhamid and Zagora.

Both have gigantic dunes with fine soft sand in an almost infinite expanse. I can’t say which one is prettier, but I’ll show you the differences here. I also present an alternative for those who only have a little time.

To give you an overview of where the areas are in Morocco, you can find them on the following map:

ERG CHEBBI DUNES:

The Erg Chebbi is the desert area most popular with tourists in Morocco. Here there is sand as far as the eye can see and the highest dunes in the country with a height of up to 200 meters. The 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 selection of tours and offers is simply overwhelming.

It goes on the back of camels, by quad, 4×4, or on foot in the desert. Sometimes at sunrise, sometimes at sunset, sometimes with an overnight stay in a traditional Berber tent or in a luxurious camp. You can ride through the dunes for just an hour or walk for a week.

In Merzouga there are numerous accommodations right on the edge of the dunes – there is something for every budget. But more exciting is of course a night in the desert in a nomad tent. A typical tour to the Erg Chebbi, which I can recommend, looks like this from Merzouga:

Desert tour to the Erg Chebbi with overnight stay:

In the afternoon you saddle up on the camels at the base camp, which is usually an accommodation in Merzouga on the edge of the dunes. It’s a pretty shaky affair when the 2-meter-high dromedary rocks from its knees to a standing position.

After a few minutes, the whole caravan is there, one camel rides nicely behind the other, even in the middle of the desert. All you see around you is sand.

1 to 2 hours later – just when you are slowly rubbing your bum because such a camel is anything but comfortable – you reach the camp.

The desert camp tents:

A Berber camp consists of several traditional Berber tents with lots of rugs, grouped around a central campsite. In a central tent, there are comfortable dormitories for lounging 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. Enjoy a Moroccan dinner in the open air. There is often a tajine, which is a traditional Moroccan dish cooked in clay pots over the fire.

Before or after your meal, climb a dune to watch the sunset. The sea of sand slowly turns golden yellow and red until it becomes pitch black. And there is an unbelievable silence.

In the evening everyone gathers around the campfire. While the Berbers tell you stories from nomadic life and Berber wisdom or play traditional music, the sky above you sparkles with thousands of stars.

The wide beam of the Milky Way shines fascinatingly, constellations are visible everywhere, and shooting stars scurry across. It’s just fantastic!

If you want, you can sleep on mattresses and blankets directly under the starry sky. Otherwise, sleeping camps or sometimes real beds are available in the Berber tents.

In the morning you have to get up early so as not to miss the sunrise from the next dune. In the desert, this is almost more magical than the sunset.

Depending on the tour, there will be a typical Moroccan breakfast at the camp before you return, or you can have breakfast at the base camp after returning from the desert. You can usually also take a shower here, because the desert camps only have simple (dry) toilets, if any, and sometimes a washbasin.

Benefits of a Morocco desert tour to the Erg Chebbi

• There are countless hotels and infrastructure close to the desert in Merzouga.
• You can walk into the desert from Merzouga.
• You reach Merzouga via a good road.
• The dunes are even higher than in Erg Chegaga.
• There are different organized tours, also from Marrakech and Fes.

Disadvantages of a desert tour in the Erg Chebbi

• Many visitors and engine noise from the quads reduce the desert feeling in the high season.
• Merzouga is very touristic.
• The drive from Marrakech is long and not recommended as a 2-day tour from there.

MY TIP:

If you are on a round trip in Morocco with a rental car, the Erg Chebbi is perfect because it can be easily integrated into a round trip. Even if you want to do the organized Morocco desert tours from Marrakech, you can book great 3 to 4 day tours where you get to know a few highlights of the area.

Tour recommendations in the Erg Chebbi:

• Camel ride in Merzouga and night in the desert
• Merzouga 4×4 desert excursion
• Quad biking in Merzouga
• Morocco desert trekking in Erg-Chebbi
• 2 Nights in the Merzouga desert

My tips for hotels in Merzouga and camps in Erg Chebbi

• Cheap: Traditional Berber house
• Mid-Range: Riad Nezha
• Upper class: Riad Madu
• Luxury camp in the desert: Mouhou desert camp
• Berber traditional camp: Berber Lifetyle camp

Arrival to Merzouga:

There are daily connections by Supratours bus between Merzouga and Marrakech (travel time approx. 13 hours) via Tinehir and Ouarzazate and to Fez (travel time 2 days) via Erfoud and Midelt.