Merzouga Tour: What does a Sahara tour really look like?
Sand dunes, dry heat, camels, bright stars, the sound of the drums around the bonfire … Sounds like something out of a dream, doesn’t it? You’ll certainly find that one of the Morocco desert tours… well, sort of. Before you get to the actual desert, let me prepare you for what your journey will probably look like so you’re not as surprised as I was. While I am sure that certain companies deviate from this standard tour, by anecdotal evidence of 3+ hostel strangers, I can attest that the route described below will be the trip you will be taking.
Merzouga is a small village in the Sahara Desert that serves as a base for most Moroccan Sahara tours. It’s located 9 hours away from Marrakesh and 7 hours from Fes. A popular Marrakech to Fes desert tour includes a drive through the Moroccan mountains, a camel ride into the Sahara with an overnight stay, and a drop-off in Fes. The opposite also includes 3 days tour from Fes.
The guide below describes the route you’ll be taking on an organized tour in 3 days from Marrakech to Merzouga. It’s my personal honest opinion preparing you for what to expect if you choose to see the Sahara desert in this way. I went blindly into this experience and I wish I was a little more prepared. My goal is to prevent you from feeling lost or confused or better yet scammed into this tour.
Marrakech desert tours 3 days – A Merzouga standard experience
Staying in Marrakech, you will have a lot of options for organized tours into the Sahara desert. It is quite a long trip and normally done over the course of two to three days. A standard 3 days tour from Marrakech to Merzouga includes the following: an early morning pick up at your hotel, a drive through the mountains, reaching the desert on the afternoon of day 2, sleeping in a tent there and then continuing the trip to Fes or returning to Marrakech on the morning of day 3. Your starting point can vary, but this is by far the most popular route. If you’re paying around $80-$100 per person for 3 days, all the companies are pretty much comparable. If you’re looking for a more “luxurious” experience, you will get a smaller group and better sleep accommodations.
Day 1
Morning start: Atlas Mountains & Ksar Ait Ben-Haddou
The tour will start with a pick-up at your hotel or close by very early in the morning. Usually, your hostel/hotel will arrange this and you won’t have to worry too much about the pickup location. Ideally, it will be in a small passenger van with 6-10 others because anything above that will not be a pleasant experience.
A couple of hours in, right outside Marrakesh, the first stop will be at a small cafe/gift shop somewhere in the Atlas Mountains. The road is stunning and you do get to take some pictures at this stop. If you’re sensitive to the altitude, you will briefly feel how high up you are. What sucks though is that, you will not get any free time to explore the mountains alone.
The next stop will be Ksar of Ait Ben-Haddou, a traditional old town/village and the iconic location of many Hollywood films like Gladiator. You will have a good amount of time to explore it. Although it’s pretty impressive, at this point, some random guide will hop on your bus and tour you around the site. You will be asked for some optional entrance fee/donation here but although they say it’s optional you will be pressured to pay it.
I say get used to it because this is the start of an endless sales pitch you will experience on this trip. When your stop is over, the guide will ask for a tip. Then again, you will get a new guide at each stop expecting you to tip over and over. Although you pay for the trip, there are many additional fees that you can’t escape. I want to prepare you for this right off the start because I remember feeling confused and pressured to constantly tip each person. Little by little, it started taking the “magic” away from the Sahara tour.
Afternoon: Ouarzazate
The next stop will be Ouarzazate which is known for the big movie studios and stunning Oasis in the middle of the dusty mountains. You’ll have lunch here which you will have to pay for and some new guide will join you here.
I would have liked to explore this area a little more but if you’re taking the pre-planned trip, you will not have time to explore. I would recommend getting a pashmina shawl here if you didn’t get one earlier. It will cost you $2 dollars compared to the $20 they will try to charge you further down. You will need it for the camel ride.
Evening: Dades Gorge
For your evening itinerary, you will be staying at Dades Gorge. You’ll take the windy roads along a natural carved gorge by the river. The color contrast between the vibrant green vegetation and dry copper rocks makes it a one-of-a-kind place. Again, you mostly just pass through it, there is one short stop here that allows for some great shots.
We got dropped off at some random hotel in a “hotel” area. Our hosts were very nice, they prepared an amazing traditional dinner. Although the accommodations were basic and comparable to a hostel setting, you had everything you need for the night. We actually got to explore the surroundings here and walk around small paths with super cool blue-ish rocks. After dinner, we had tea on the rooftop with our hosts as they played drums and sang for us. It was really nice and after a long day of traveling, it was the perfect way to relax. We got to bond and dance with other travelers listening to awesome Moroccan music.
Day 2
Morning: Berber Village & Todra Gorge
Your day will start early with breakfast at the hotel and then you’ll head over to Tinghir. A new guide will show you the local farm and small town. This is a long history lesson. You will be taken to a shop where the locals will try to sell you “handmade” berber rugs. Remember, every bus tour stops here and a wife and a husband duo will do their pitch. I almost forgot the amazing prior experience of walking through the farm and the town after this rug scam. I wanted to get out of there quick but they force you to sit through a demonstration. Any slight interest in the rug will make you a target so politely decline and save your shopping for the souks.
After the first stop, you’ll head to the Todra Gorge. We got about 30 minutes to explore it. It is impressive, the small river flowing down between the two giant mountains is beautiful. This stop has beggars and pickpockets as it is a prime tourist spot but it is certainly worth the pause. There was a lunch stop after and then, at last, we headed toward the desert, a long drive ahead.
Afternoon: THE PART YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE THE START OF THIS POST
Driving away from the towns, you start to feel the heat like never before. Everything gets drier at each stop and if you (foolishly) visit in July as I did, it is hard to breathe at certain times. The scenery changes drastically. At first, it’s flat, rocky, and dry, it gets windy and dusty, and then you reach a small little camp on the edge of the desert. This is where the camels will get you from.
Now, this was sort of a sad reality check. The camels are visibly overworked, tired, and thirsty. I always wanted to experience riding a camel in the middle of the desert. After seeing the reality of it, I was disappointed and felt almost guilty for feeding into it. I think everyone should be aware that it’s not all peaches and cream as you might’ve imagined (including myself).
The journey into the desert
So you finally get on your camel with the nice headscarf that will protect you from the sand. For about an hour, you single-file ride it to the camp with your fellow travelers. You don’t go that far into the desert though, don’t expect a lengthy ride. The camp is composed of tents with rugs and a simple mattress for sleeping accommodations. If you’re single, you’ll be sleeping in a same-sex tent. If you’re a couple, they will put you with the other couples. This is done for religious reasons as single men cannot stay in the same rooms as single women.
The camp is surreal. You explore the endless sand dunes or you can rent some additional equipment like a sandboard or quad. After dinner with everyone, you end the night with a bonfire and singing together. Then it hits that your bare feet are standing on the Sahara sand.
This is the part that makes everything else worth it. It is truly, truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It does look like in the movies and if you want, you can even sleep under the stars. I woke up early to watch the sunrise on the dunes. It was great but not the regular sunrise that you’re used to. It’s more monochrome and more “dim.” Still worth waking up at 5 am or in some cases, even earlier.
After breakfast, you’ll hit the road either back to Marrakech, or to another city that you prearranged your transfer for. I continued onto Fes. It was a brutal 6 hours commute in a small jeep with 5 other people. It got me from point A to point B without having to worry about myself.
Organized Sahara 3-day Tour Summary
My actual favorite part of this excursion was meeting fellow travelers and experiencing this once-in-a-lifetime moment with them. Although we probably won’t see each other again, we shared that moment together and that was special. There is nothing like a Moroccan bonfire, with strangers who bond with your soul in the middle of the desert.
Pros of taking an organized trip:
- You don’t have to worry about renting a car, planning the route, parking safety, and stays which are all a challenge within themselves in Morocco. They pick you up from the hotel and drop you off, saving you from some potential logistical hiccups.
- If you’re continuing your journey through Morocco, this is basically a 3 days tour from Marrakech to Fes.
- Meeting new people that you will bond with, especially if you’re traveling solo. If you’re in the middle of the Sahara desert, chances are you have similar mindsets.
- Decent explanations by the guides, multiple languages are covered too. It was impressive how fluent these guides were in at least 4 languages.
- No negotiating for prices at stops. Morocco is the land of haggling and getting ripped off with every purchase being with a group, gave me peace of mind.
- Not getting lost in the desert. That thing is huge and it all looks the same.
Cons of taking an organized trip: :
- There are very few moments without a sales pitch. Every stop is orchestrated around buying something. It’s certainly ok to purchase if you’re interested. However, if you’re a backpacker on a tight budget like me, you shouldn’t have to feel bad 7 times a day turning down yet another product.
- Constant guide tipping. You get a new guide at each stop and each guide expects a tip. They don’t necessarily stress this when you purchase an “all-inclusive desert excursion.” There were people in my group that were close to running out of money because of all the unexpected spending. Even though they say it’s optional when you’re in a small group and the guide walks up to you, you almost have no choice but to tip. And although at the end of the day $5 isn’t a large sum of money for a traveler that can afford these kinds of trips, it really ends up adding up in the end. I also want to stress that I’m all for tourism that helps the local community, especially if it’s the only source of income for them. However, there is a thin line between helping the area and constantly feeling taken advantage of because you’re a tourist. To compare, see my similar Bolivia excursion post, where not once did I feel like I’m being milked for my money (not that I have that much, to begin with). Bolivia showed me that it is possible to run a highly repetitive and organized trip without all the selling that made me want to vomit at the end of my Sahara experience.
- Almost no flexibility. As previously mentioned, each stop is mostly curated for you to buy something, not necessarily to enjoy the surroundings. There is very little free time to explore or to enjoy anything outside the itinerary. This could be a pro to some who don’t like putting thought into the planning part but to my gypsy soul, it was a little too restrictive.
Wish I’d known this list:
- You can’t bring your full backpack to the desert tent (it will stay on your transport bus), only a select few items. I recommend grabbing a small bag/backpack to transfer a couple of essentials with you: loose clothing: tank top, linen pants, t-shirt, headscarf, phone/camera, sunnies, portable toothbrush, hairbrush, wet wipes, hand sanitizer. Less is more and everyone is wearing the same clothes for the day that you’re away. You’ll be glad you didn’t drag the extras since you’re sharing the space with 6 others.
- There is almost no alcohol on this trip. You might be able to get a small beer at a lunch stop. If you’re looking to have some wine under the stars, you won’t be able to purchase it along the way.
- The camel ride is not as ethical as it should be. There is also no morning camel ride as advertised, only sunset, probably better for the camels too. The camels are tired to the point that it’s sad at certain moments.
- Children guide your camels into the desert. Growing up on a farm, I helped out my family too numerous times, also at a very young age. I could understand both sides of this argument. However, this gig does not seem like a family-run business. Is there a solution to what appears as a harmless job of walking a camel? Not sure. Then you have to ask yourself, is anyone even asking me to solve doesn’t appear to be a problem there?
Despite its difficulties, this excursion was amazing. Once you reach the Sahara, you forget all the bad stuff for a little. I wish I had read a little more about what to expect on the trip. I hope I prepared you well for what’s ahead.
If you have additional questions/comments, feel free to comment below.
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