If you are going to Morocco, visiting the Sahara Desert tours should be at the top of your bucket list. The total tranquility and infinite beauty of the rose gold dunes is like nothing else on earth. Being there as the sun rises on the day or sinks into the horizon is one of life’s great privileges. Find out all you need to know about visiting Morocco’s desert here.
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Visiting the Sahara Desert in Morocco
The two largest erg (dune field) in Morocco are Erg Chebbi and Erg Chigaga. Both are near to the closed border with Algeria and sit amidst the surrounding hammada (flat, stony desert) that has its’ own beauty and fascination. Nevertheless, it is the huge golden sand dunes that people come east for when the Moroccan desert calls.
Erg Chebbi is the most accessible, with a paved road into Merzouga, the small town that sits at it’s foot. Erg Chebbi rises to 160m at its’ ever changing highest point and is 110km square. That’s a lot of sand!
Erg Chigaga takes a little more effort to cover the unpaved 56km from M’Hamid. Erg Chigaga though is less untouched and more spectacular, standing 300m tall and spreading an awe-inspiring 600km square.
Ideally, book trips and tours in advance where possible. You will probably have no issue if you’re heading to the desert in the winter months but spring and autumn can get busy and the best guides will get booked early.
Faux guides are rife across Morocco and the Erg’s are no different. Remember though that many have a wealth of knowledge and can often speak lots of different languages picked up over the years. Don’t dismiss faux guides out of hand, especially if they are recommended or suggested by your hotel. Follow our Morocco travel tips to have the best trip.
Expect to pay cash if you’re organising tours and guides yourself; there are ATM’s in Merzouga and M’Hamid.
When to Visit Morocco’s Sahara Desert
The best time to for visiting the Sahara Desert in Morocco is between October and May. Daytime temperatures are mild and it will generally be dry with humidity as low as 10%, with sandstorms more frequent from January.
During the Moroccan winter, especially between December and early February, night temperatures drop, sometimes below freezing.
The summer months of June to September can be unbearably hot with July and August daytime highs often crossing 50°c.
Many campsites close and activities do not take place during these months.
How to Visit Erg Chebbi
If the mystery and stark beauty of the desert is calling when you’re in Morocco, then the Erg Chebbi dunes are your easiest option for a Sahara Desert tour. Believe it or not, it is possible to fly from Marrakech to the Sahara Desert!
If you are road tripping in Morocco, it would be a missed opportunity not to visit Erg Chebbi. Head for Merzouga and stay at one of the many hotels, campsites and Berber camps lining the erg.
We recommend Kasbah Kanz Erremal for stylish and spotlessly clean rooms with a fabulous pool overlooking the dunes. The hotel can also arrange desert excursions for you. Otherwise, check best prices and special offers for Merzouga hotels and places to stay with our partners, Booking.com.
Atlantic to Sahara – A Morocco Sahara Desert Tours Itinerary
Book your hotel before heading to town, or you will be pounced on when you arrive and literally herded by the first hotelier to get to you. Accommodation is big business here and most hotels have look-outs strategically placed on the road into town!
From Marrakech it will take you around nine hours of solid driving, across the notorious High Atlas mountains Tizi n’ Tickha pass (a road that has been under construction since the French left Morocco in 1956. Whether it’s actually been finished and is now being upgraded is anyone’s guess, but the chances of you finding roadworks and un-sealed piste is highly likely) and through the lush oasis littered valleys of southern Morocco. Read about driving in Morocco before you embark on a long trip.
Many, if not all of the hotels in Merzouga can organise desert tours and desert safaris. Whether you want to spend a few hours or a day in the desert in a 4WD or a couple of hours camel trekking (technically dromedary trekking!), followed by a tajine, traditional music and stargazing deep in the desert before sleeping under a Berber rug, your perfect trip can easily be tailored by the entrepreneurial guides of Erg Chebbi.
You can also hunt for fossils, take lunch with a Berber family and try your hand at sand-boarding in the Sahara…who knew?
When you arrive, if you haven’t already booked a tour, your hotel reception will alert their favoured guide, who will undoubtedly pay you a visit! Be clear about what you are looking for and haggle on the price.
Some guides will pick you up from the hotel and take you around in circles on a camel ride for an hour in the Erg Chebbi sand dunes (which all look the same!)
before depositing you at a Berber ‘desert’ camp 100m from the back gate of your lodgings! If truly getting away from it is important, then stress this and insist on a camp deep in the desert.
Take an Organised Tour
If you’re flying in to Morocco and want a desert trip from your base, Marrakech or Fes are the only viable places to do this from. There are no day trips or day tours to the Erg’s; you’ll need at least a few days spare, due to the large distances involved.
Accept that you will have little control over who’s in your group (unless you take a private tour) and where you’ll be taken outside of the key visits; carpet shops and Argan oil co-operatives will feature somewhere even if you’re clear that you’re not looking to buy. The Berber sales skills are such that they ignore protestations, in absolute confidence that you will make a purchase!
There are lots of other options depending on your location, budget and timeframe, we have chosen a selection of our favourite Moroccan Sahara Desert tours below
Visiting Erg Chigaga
More spectacular, more remote and more breathtaking than Erg Chebbi, Erg Chigaga (sometimes spelt Chegega) is the largest sand sea in Morocco.
If you’re not travelling in a 4WD or overland vehicle, Erg Chigaga will remain unreachable unless you hire a specialist vehicle or hop on a camel…for five days! Get yourself to the frontier town of M’Hamid (where you’ll find lots of smaller dunes) and plan your Morocco desert tour to the big boys, some 56km west of town.
If you do decide to organise the long trek by dromedary to Erg Chigaga, make sure of the following;
- Do you like and trust your guide? This can make or break such a trip.
- How long do you want to spend on a camel? If you’re not used to riding one, you’ll get seriously sore after just a few hours.
- Don’t plan to spend too long in the desert, once you’ve done the soul-searching meditation thing, it can get a little boring!
- Make sure the arrangements are clear and you understand what you’re getting for your money before you hand over any cash.
Your hotel may well be able to organise all of this for you, but you will pay a premium for their services.
Morocco Sahara Desert Tours
If you can’t get there yourself, then an organised tour can get you there and provide all the activities and attractions you want in an easy to organise bundle. These are only available from Marrakech and the choice is limited. The programming is similar to the tours at Erg Chebbi; you will spend longer getting there but it will undoubtedly be more tranquil.
