Merzouga DesertTours & Tickets
Merzouga Desert Tours›Summer and winter Updated 2026-09-03

The Merzouga Desert in Summer and Winter

Distances, drive times and access verified by the Merzouga Desert Tours team — last checked 2026-09-03

Short answer. July averages 43 °C by day and January 19 °C, with nights falling to about 6 °C. Both seasons run every trip on this road. Summer buys you empty camps, low fares and a sky nobody else is looking at, at the cost of the middle of every day. Winter buys you clear light and quiet dunes, at the cost of cold nights and snow on the Marrakech pass.

Most advice about when to visit the Sahara stops at “avoid summer”. That is not useful, because summer is when a lot of people can actually travel, and everything here still operates in it. What changes is the shape of the day.

The two extremes, in numbers

Summer (July–August)Winter (December–February)
Daytime average43–42 °C19–21 °C
Nightaround 29 °Caround 6 °C
Raineffectively noneoccasional, and it fills Dayet Srji
The passopensnow November to March, closures in some winters
Campsquiet, except mid-Augustquiet, except Christmas and New Year
What you want in the tentair conditioningheating, or extra blankets
The camelat the very edges of the dayat the usual times
The middle of the dayspent under canvas or in the vehiclethe best hours for walking a dune

What summer is actually like

Hot in a way that reorganises the timetable rather than cancelling it. The camel legs run at first and last light, which is where they always were. The middle of the day is spent in an air-conditioned vehicle or lying in a tent. The sand is unusable barefoot in the afternoon and holds its heat well past sunset.

Travellers who came in June describe the heat as making sleep difficult rather than the days impossible, which is a fair summary. What summer gives you in return is an empty erg, the lowest fares of the year and, in July, an average of 43 °C that almost nobody else is willing to stand in.

What winter is actually like

Pleasant days and genuinely cold nights. January averages 19 °C in the afternoon, which is comfortable walking weather, and about 6 °C after dark, which surprises anybody who packed for a desert and is solved by one warm layer.

The light is the best of the year and the skies are the clearest. This is the season for the stars, and it is also the season when the High Atlas is under snow, which is a sight in itself from the road.

Which season should you book?

If you can choose freely, neither — take March or October, which sit at 26 and 30 °C and get almost everything right. If your dates are fixed, the honest comparison is comfort against solitude. Winter is more comfortable by day and colder by night; summer is harder by day and gives you the erg to yourself.

How hot is too hot?

Nothing on this road has a temperature cut-off. Trips run in July and August at 43 and 42 °C, and the operators simply shift the outdoor parts to dawn and dusk.

The practical limit is personal rather than official. If you are travelling with small children or anyone who struggles in heat, the desert with kids is worth reading before you commit to a July departure.

Does anything close in summer?

No. There is nothing to close — no gate, no ticket office, no opening hours. The camps stay open, the camels run, and the only thing that changes is when.

What does thin out is choice. August is the busiest month for Moroccan families travelling internally, so accommodation on the road fills earlier than you would expect for a month everybody thinks of as low season.

The camel timings change, and nothing else does

This is worth stating clearly because it is the only operational difference between the seasons. In summer the trek out leaves later and the trek back leaves earlier, so you are riding in the coolest available light at both ends.

In winter the middle of the day becomes the good part, and the evening around the fire is when you want the extra layer.

What snow does to the Marrakech road

Snow closes Tizi n’Tichka in some winters. The N9 crosses the High Atlas at 2,260 m and snow falls on it November to March. Operators reroute or delay rather than cancel, and travellers who crossed in late December describe ploughs keeping the road open. Book a trip that refunds at 24 hours, and consider the Fes road, which crosses lower ground.

This is the only weather event on this road that can change your plans rather than your packing. It is also entirely manageable: the northern corridor from Fes is unaffected, and every trip here except one refunds in full at a day’s notice.

Packing for each

  • Summer. A scarf for sun and sand, loose long sleeves rather than bare arms, more water than you think, and a tent tier with air conditioning.
  • Winter. A proper warm layer, a hat for the evening, and a tent tier with heating if the camp offers it. Days are warm enough for a t-shirt.
  • Both. Closed shoes, sunblock, a head torch and cash. Travel tips has the full list.

What the wind does to a night in a tent

Canvas moves. On a windy night the tent walls flex and the guy lines hum, and it takes some people an hour to get used to it. The camps are pitched in hollows between dunes partly for that reason, which is also why you cannot see them until you are almost on top of them.

Sand gets in regardless. Keep a bag zipped and a camera bagged, and expect to shake out a towel in the morning. It is a feature of sleeping in an erg rather than a fault in the accommodation.

Prices and crowds by season

Fares on this road move less by season than accommodation does, because the vehicle and the driver cost the same in July as in March. What moves is availability. March to May and October are the two peaks and the small departures sell out first; June to September and mid-winter are the quiet months.

Spring, and the wind

March to May is the most comfortable desert of the year and the windiest. The chergui blows in from the east, and a strong one lifts enough sand to close visibility down to a few hundred metres for a few hours at a time.

It does not stop trips. What it does is move the camel crossing: operators delay it by a couple of hours or run you out to the camp by 4x4 instead. The practical response is to keep a scarf and a zipped bag for a camera within reach on the drive rather than in the boot.

Autumn, and why October is the wettest month

October averages about nine millimetres of rain, which sounds like nothing anywhere else and is the annual high here. It arrives in short bursts rather than as a wet season, and its real effect is on Dayet Srji, the seasonal lake north-west of the village, which fills after real rain and brings flamingos with it.

Otherwise October is the twin of March: 30 °C by day, nights you can sit out in, and the second of the year’s two peaks for bookings.

Stargazing, which is a season of its own

Winter wins this on clarity. Cold, dry air and long nights mean the best skies of the year run from November to February, and the camps switch their generators off two hours after dinner in every month.

Summer gives you a different thing: the galactic core is high and the nights are warm enough to lie out on the sand for an hour without a coat. Neither is better; they are different sights. What both need is a camp in the deeper band, away from the lights of the village.

The two peaks, and what they do to availability

March to May and October are when this road is busiest, and the small departures fill first — the trips capping at six, fourteen or fifteen travellers go before the ones capping at a hundred. Camps also move bookings between sites of the same tier in those weeks, which is worth knowing if a specific camp matters to you.

The quiet months are June to September and midwinter outside the Christmas fortnight. If you want a camp to yourself, those are the weeks.

The shoulder months, which most people should take

March, April, October and November. Daytime maxima between 24 and 30 °C, no snow risk to speak of at either end, and nights that are cool rather than cold. April is the busiest month on this road for a reason.

Merzouga Desert Tours lists every departure, and the month-by-month page sets out what each of the twelve does to a trip.

Frequently asked questions

Can you visit the Merzouga Desert in July?
Yes, and everything runs. July averages 43 °C by day, so the camel legs shift to first and last light and the middle of the day is spent under canvas or in the vehicle. A tent tier with air conditioning is worth paying for in that month.
How cold does it get in winter?
About 6 °C at night in January, after an afternoon of around 19 °C. Camps supply blankets rather than heating unless the tier you booked says otherwise, so a warm layer is the thing to pack.
Will snow stop my trip?
Very unlikely. Snow falls on Tizi n'Tichka from November to March and closes the N9 outright only in heavy years. Operators reroute or delay rather than cancel, and the road from Fes crosses lower ground and is far less affected.
What is the best month overall?
March or October. Both average daytime maxima in the high twenties, both give you nights you can sit out in, and neither carries a snow risk. They are also the two busiest months, so book earlier than you would for June.
Is the desert busy in August?
The erg itself is quiet, but accommodation on the road fills up, because August is the peak month for Moroccan families travelling internally. Book earlier than the temperature would lead you to expect.
Does it ever rain?
Rarely. Merzouga averages about 63 mm across a whole year, with October the wettest month at under nine millimetres. Real rain fills Dayet Srji, the seasonal lake, and brings flamingos to it for a few weeks.

Trips that suit either extreme