Merzouga Desert Camel Trek and Overnight Camp
No mountain pass, no eleven-hundred-kilometre drive. You meet in Merzouga village in the afternoon, leave the car, and ride out over the dunes to a camp that is yours alone. Sunset from a high crest, dinner, drumming round the fire, and the ride back at first light.
Your night inside Erg Chebbi
The trek is private
Only your booking goes out. The group is whoever you arrived with and nobody else, which on this road is unusual at this price.
Four hours in the dunes on arrival
The itinerary gives the afternoon and evening at the erg, then three more hours around sunrise the next morning.
Berber drumming and a fire
Stated in the inclusions rather than implied: music at the camp after dinner, and the sky once the generator goes off.
Both meals, and only drinks excluded
Dinner, breakfast and the camp are all in the fare. Drinks are the single stated exclusion on the whole listing.
Sandboarding if you want it
Offered as an option at the camp rather than sold as part of the package.
What an overnight actually looks like
You arrive at Merzouga under your own steam — driving, by bus, or already staying nearby — and park at the meeting point in the middle of the village. The camels are at the edge of the sand a few minutes away. The ride out takes somewhere between forty-five minutes and an hour and a half depending on which camp you are booked into.
Sunset is watched from a crest above the tents. Dinner is in the big tent, then the drums come out and the fire is lit. When the camp power goes off the sky does the rest. In the morning the camels leave before dawn so you are up on a dune when the sun clears the horizon.
Why the short trip is the right one for some people
Every three-day trip out of Marrakech buys you exactly one night in the sand and roughly eleven hundred kilometres of driving to reach it. If you are already in the south — on a road trip, off the overnight bus, or staying in Erfoud or Rissani — you can have the identical night for a fraction of the fare and none of the road.
That is the whole argument. The camp, the camel, the sunset and the sunrise are the same experience the long trips are selling; what they add is the journey, and for some travellers the journey is the reason and for others it is the price. Getting there sets out how to reach Merzouga without buying a tour to do it.
The night inside Erg Chebbi, step by step
- Meet in Merzouga village
- Camel trek over the Erg Chebbi dunes
- Sunset from the high dunes
- Tea and dinner at the camp
- Berber drumming round the fire
- Sunrise over the erg
- Camel ride back to Merzouga
Who this suits, and who should book something else
This one is for you if: Independent travellers who have already got themselves south, and anyone who wants the desert night without the driving days. Because the trek is private it also suits couples who would rather not share a camel string with a minibus-load, and photographers who want to choose their own hour on a crest rather than follow a group.
Book something else if: Anyone starting in Marrakech or Fes with no plan for getting to Merzouga, because this fare covers nothing north of the village. It also asks for two travellers as a minimum, so a solo booking will not go through on its own. If you are coming from Marrakech, the three-day round trip carries you the whole way and includes this same night at the end of it.
What’s included
In the fare
- Breakfast
- Dinner
- Experience camel trek through the Erg Chebbi dunes
- Beautiful sunset over the sand dunes of the Sahara
- Sandboarding activity (Optional)
- Overnight stay at Merzouga desert camp
- Listen to Berber drumming music
- Enjoy watching the starry sky
- Wonderful sunrise in Desert
- Taste the delicious & traditional Moroccan food
Not in the fare
- drinks
Where you are collected
Merzouga. Marrakech to Merzouga desert tour lists every departure with its own meeting point, and the map page explains how to read a listing that names Hassilabied or Khamlia rather than Merzouga itself.
Know before you go
- You need to get to Merzouga yourself. The fare starts and ends at the village. Overnight coaches run from Marrakech through Ouarzazate and Errachidia, and the N13 is sealed the whole way if you are driving.
- Two travellers minimum. The listing sets a minimum of two bookings. Solo travellers need to join a shared departure instead.
- Leave the car in the village. Parking is at the meeting point and the car stays there overnight. No road goes into the erg.
- Take one small bag. Whatever goes on the camel with you is what you have at the camp. Everything else stays in the vehicle.
- Not for every traveller. This trek is not recommended for anyone with back problems, a heart condition or a pregnancy. A 4x4 transfer avoids the saddle entirely if you ask when booking.
- Drinks are the only exclusion. Everything else — the camel, both meals, the camp, the music — is inside the price.
Photographs from the camp
What travellers said about this night
Riding camels and sleeping in the desert was the thing we came for and it delivered. It was well organised from the first message onwards. The camp was better than we expected for the price.
Charlotte M. · May 2026
We left by camel for the camp and slept in a luxury Berber tent with its own shower and toilet. Youssef made us welcome from the moment we arrived. It was clearly the high point of our time in Morocco.
Magaly L. · October 2025
Youssef helped us both up onto the camels and the ride out was easier than it looked. We stayed in the standard camp, which is a private tent with a shared washblock. It was perfectly comfortable and the evening was the best of the trip.
Veronica M. · October 2024
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to ride a camel?
Can I book this on my own?
Where do I leave the car?
What is the tent like?
Is there anything to do besides the camel ride?
How cold does it get at night?
The other departures worth comparing
- 3 Days Desert Tour From Marrakech To Merzouga Dunes & Camel Trek
- Fes: Best Fez to Marrakech via Merzouga Desert Dunes, 3 Days Tour
Merzouga Desert Tours has all of them in one grid, with prices and group caps.