Best Morocco Sahara Desert Camping Tour 2023

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Greetings Internet Stranger and welcome to a Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour! You might be looking at this blog post and thinking that spending 24 hours on a Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour is a bit of a tall order.

Why would someone spend 24 hours in a desert? Don’t you need water to live? Well, technically we’re not going to spend all 24 hours on a Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour. We’ll just spend the night in the Sahara.

Then we’ll get up in the morning and go ride some camels. We’ll stare at the sun rise over the greatest desert in the world. Finally we’ll spend the afternoon in Todra Gorge, one of the most beautiful spots in Morocco. Does that make more sense as a 24 hour travel itinerary? Good!

Want to cut right to the chase, Internet Stranger? The best activity in the Sahara desert is this fabulous guided tour right here with tons of five-star reviews!

Or if you want to explore all tours in the Sahara, check this search engine right here to find the best deals!

Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour

Where to Stay?

On most of my itineraries, I suggest hotels and the like, so you can book your trip yourself. But, especially if you are a solo female traveler like I am, for this Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour, you don’t need to do that. Instead, just book this multi-day tour with G Adventures, and they’ll take care of arranging accommodations for you!

That way you’ll have everything taken care of for you! You and the camels will sleep like little camel babies.

However, if you are booking your own hotel for the Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour, I suggest Desert Berber Camp Fire. The staff is super friendly, and they’ll help you organize all the camel rides, meals, and anything else you might need.

If you want a great deal on this hotel, click here. And if you want to explore great deals on other hotels in the area, just click here. This search engine will help you find the perfect place to stay during your plans for your Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour. With plenty of options to choose from, I’m sure you’ll find something for your schedule and budget.

Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour

Morning: Sahara Desert

Spending 24 hours on a Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour was the number one reason I wanted to go to Morocco. How can I call myself a world traveler if I had never seen this most majestic of sand oceans? As with most of my trip to Morocco, this part of the journey was through my tour with G Adventures. 

G Adventures arranged the camel riding excursion into and out of the desert, tents to sleep in, dinner, and breakfast and shower the next morning. All we had to bring was our tushies so we could keep them firmly planted on our camels. You can book this amazing tour for yourself by clicking here.

However, if you are not traveling through Morocco on a group tour, you’ll need to book your trip into the Sahara with a different company. I recommend this one right here if you’re looking for an independent Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour

Every part of this journey was an experience of a lifetime! But for now, I’ll just stick to telling you about…

Approximately top 5: Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour

1) Night time camel ride

I must break with Around the World in 24 Hours tradition here and begin my itinerary the night before instead of the morning of. I mean, technically I could start this with waking up in the desert camp and going on the sunrise camel ride, but that would be confusing.

You would just be sitting there wondering how I got in the desert in the first place. Well, I’ll tell you how I got into the Sahara, Internet Stranger! I did it the old fashioned way, on the back of a camel.

I instantly decided that my camel was a girl (not sure if that’s true or not and DEFINITELY didn’t feel like checking). So I named her Camille. Camille the Camel is an excellent name for a cartoon camel.

For those of you who are concerned about animal safety, just keep in mind that camel riding in Morocco is just like horseback riding in European countries or the United States.

I was told many times that most Moroccans have been on a camel at some point in their lives. So if you don’t have a problem with riding horses, there shouldn’t be any problem with riding camels.

24 hour treasure: moroccan scarf

You have to wear a helmet on your head for safety while Camille takes you on your Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour. It’s also traditional to tie one of these scarves on your head over your helmet as you go.

I always have wished I knew how to tie a scarf glamorously like a French woman, but no matter how many Wikihow articles I read on the subject, success seems to elude me.

It takes a little over an hour to reach camp on Camille’s back. Aside from some bounce on your booty, it’s a pretty smooth ride. Everyone in the group was snapping a grillion shots of the Sahara as we bounced along, none of us had been on a camel before, and no one fell off.

2) Camping out

After about 90 minutes of picturesque bouncing, you’ll reach base camp. The tents are comfortable and well-lit, but there’s no heat in them. Since I visited Morocco in December, this meant that I was, to use a technical term, freezing my cazungies off.

Fortunately, the camp provides giant wool blankets and cotton sheets in which to wrap yourself. (I am desperately allergic to wool, but the layers of cotton between me and the wool blankets were enough to prevent my skin from breaking out in flames.)

These blankets should definitely be warm enough to give you a good night’s sleep.

The evening’s activities were pretty low-key, since the setting was the star of the show. We were served a warm beef tagine with nuts and olives for snacks. (We had stopped to pick up some Moroccan wine at a shop along the way, so that helped warm us up.) Then we gathered around the fire while the crew played cymbal music and danced for us.

All in all, I was extremely impressed with the sophisticated set-up of this desert camp. There were even toilets that flushed! I imagine if I’d tried to spend 24 hours in the Sahara Desert 200 years ago, I would have just frozen to death at night. Plus we wouldn’t have had any wine!

3) Sunrise Camel Ride

No matter how entertaining the cymbal performance by the desert fire is, I suggest getting to bed ASAP You have an excruciatingly early morning up ahead of you. Even before the sun rises, you’ll need to jump out of bed, pull your clothes on, attempt to run a cranky brush through your greasy hair, try to apply a minimal amount of makeup in the dark, and get plopped back down on Camille.

We’re off to watch the sun rise in the Sahara. It’s a once in a lifetime experience! Your sleep-deprived lazy butt is going to enjoy it! Put that grin on your face and get ready for your sun salutation!

I have to say, there’s nothing like watching the sunrise in the middle of the desert with no buildings around. You can absolutely see everything as the sun comes up bit by bit.

The wonders of nature! I am now at a loss for words and have to resort to weird noises.

Glurb!

Fnorb! And even gemurk!

4) Shower

Now it’s time to do your very best Debra-Winger-on-a-Camel pose and say adieu to Camille. By now the sun and temperature are rising, and you’ll be in serious need of a shower. Fortunately the Hotel Yasmina has both breakfast and a hot shower waiting for you.

My advice is to make sure you are the first one in the shower. The hot water doesn’t last forever and the last thing you want after a cold night out in the desert is to have to wash your hair with freezing water. Shove an old lady out of the way if you have to! I promise it will be worth it. She lived through the Depression, so a little cold water won’t bother her too much.

24 Hour Tip

Those are all the secrets of the Sahara Desert that I can share for now. You’ll have to go ahead and book a tour by going right here to find out the rest.

5) Restaurante Genial Merzouga-ouarzazate

This is one of the stranger restaurant names I have ever come across because it literally translates to “Nice Restaurant between Merzourga and Ouarzazate“. That’s setting the bar pretty low there, restaurant! Can’t we at least aim for Good Restaurant instead of Nice Restaurant? But after a long night in the desert, you’ll want to stop for lunch in between the Sahara and our next destination, Todra Gorge.

The best thing about the Restaurant Genial is that it has a three-course lunch menu, so you can fill up your tummy before our hike this afternoon. I started with a nice lentil soup.

The main course was some nice beef brochettes with vegetables and rice.

And to finish, there was a little plate of nice Moroccan cookies. Many Moroccan cookies seem to have almonds in them, making them taste vaguely like marzipan. I adore almonds, but those with nut allergies should be careful.

Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour

Afternoon: Todra Gorge

You might be thinking that we’ve had enough of Morocco’s natural beauty for one day. Boy are you wrong!

In the afternoon, we’re going to move from a chilly and windy desert to a hike through a chilly and windy gorge! (Again, this is probably only chilly if you insist on visiting Morocco in December, like I did.)

This area is famous for its limestone canyons, Berber villages, and fields of date trees. What’s not to love? Absolutely nothing! Join me and I’ll be honored to share with you…

Three nice facts about todra gorge

1) why is todra gorges?

The Todra Gorge was made, much like the Grand Canyon of the United States, by a river cutting repeatedly through rock until a perfect path was made for a scenic stroll. Rivers are very patient that way. I would never want to get into a fight with a river. They can wait forever for revenge. Have you ever heard the expression, “Revenge is a dish best served cold and wet”? A river came up with that saying.

The rock in question here is orange limestone. The limestone’s color gives the whole surrounding area a kind of glow, which makes this a most enchanting place to go for a hike, even in December. The increased popularity of hiking in the gorge has dramatically increased tourism in this area. In one sense this is great for the surrounding community because this is not a wealthy area.

But on the other hand, it’s important for the tourism to stay sustainable. No one wants the environment surrounding the gorge to be devastated by tourists.

2) is there agriculture here?

Speaking of sustainability, this area is a popular spot for local farming. The main crops grown around here are dates, palm trees, and bamboo. I was a bit shocked about that last one. Who knew there was bamboo in Morocco? Are there also panda bears in Morocco? Do they put the pandas in little fez hats? That would be extremely cute.

To maintain the farms, the villagers have to use a carefully orchestrated system of water sharing and irrigation. Well played, Morocco! Maybe they should share these tips with us Americans so California wouldn’t be having a drought all the time.

3) what about shopping!!!!!!??

Of course it wouldn’t be a perfect 24 hours in Morocco without a little shopping, even in this remote area. We stopped at a Berber rug collective to look at their wares. (Remember Berbers are some of the indigenous inhabitants of North Africa.) Our guide told us that the rug collective works together to make sure that the women who make the rugs are paid a fair price for their work.

There was no pressure to buy anything, which was a nice change for Morocco. I assume we got a soft sale because we were there on a group tour. We were simply gathered together with a warm glass of that omnipresent “Moroccan whiskey”, mint tea. Here at the rug collective they called it Berber whiskey, but the basic joke is the same.

Then it seemed like every rug that had ever been made in the history of Morocco was shown to us. The manager of the store explained that there were three types of thread used to make the rugs: camel, sheep, and agave silk.

The manager also said that the Berber women are proficient enough at making rugs that they don’t need a set pattern. They use their experience to create these beauties. But there are some patterns that appear more than others, like the symbol for warding off the evil eye. I couldn’t resist buying a little purple rug to put in my front hallway. (Don’t forget to haggle over price with the merchant a bit. He will expect it!)

Most of the people from my group bought a little something to take home with them as well. It’s always nice to know you’re buying a souvenir that is handmade and crafted by people who are treated decently. Plus it will make your home look so fancy and special!

Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour

Evening: Dinner at Kasbah Restaurant Amazir

As you can probably imagine, the nightlife in the Todra Gorge area isn’t exactly hopping. You’ll probably want to just have dinner at your hotel. We were staying at the Kasbah Restaurant Amazir, which was probably the best reviewed hotel we stayed at on the entire trip. You have to order dinner earlier in the day, but it’s worth it to have a specially made to order fantastic dinner.

I opted for a classic chicken tagine with prunes and almonds. Sadly I forgot to bring my camera to dinner, so there’s no record of this delicious meal. You’ll just have to trust me that it was moist, spicy, and flavorful. Well, you would have had to just trust me anyway, since you can tell if food is moist, spicy, or flavorful by looking at a picture.

My one regret from this trip is that on this night our guide played some traditional Moroccan music on his drum and most of the people on our tour started to dance. Only I stayed out. I hate dancing!

Usually I’m such a positive person willing to try anything but dancing is the final frontier for me. I do not enjoy it under any circumstances whatsoever. But I’m always telling other people to try new things, so I need to follow my own advice. Next time I have the opportunity, I promise to be Lord of the Dance!

Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour

What to Pack?

• A cell charger so you can keep your cell phone charged for a full Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour
• The best travel adapter so you will be able to use American/Australian/British devices in Moroccan electrical outlets.
• My favorite travel guide to Morocco.
• The most reliable travel umbrella that is small enough to fit in my purse, but strong enough to stand up to powerful winds.
• These great TSA approved clear toiletries bags, so I can always keep spare toothpaste and travel sized toiletries in any carry-on.
• My book Get Lost, that I wrote myself with all my best travel tips. This book will show you how travel can take you on a journey of self-discovery.

Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour

How to Get There

Now, I wish I knew where you lived, Internet Stranger, because I could send you all the sand your heart could desire. But sadly, I do not, and so I can’t tell you exactly how to get from your home to finding exactly what to do on a Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour

But I can tell you that you can use a lovely airplane to get from most major cities to Casablanca, where you will meet this tour to take you to the Sahara Desert and I recommend Expedia for the best way to find the cheapest flight to Casablanca at the best time of day. I couldn’t find a direct flight from NYC to Casablanca, but it is easy to get a flight that only has one stop in a city like Lisbon, Frankfurt, or London.

You can even use Expedia to rent a car so you’ll be all set when you arrive at your destination. (I can’t drive, but if you can, this must be helpful.)

Just click here to start looking for the best possible deals on your flight, so you can head out to your Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour

That’s 24 Hours on a Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour

What would you do with 24 hours on a Morocco Sahara Desert camping tour? Is there a better name for a camel than Camille? And will I someday be the world’s reigning ballroom dance champion? Please email me at stellajane@aroundtheworldin24hours.com and let me know!

Note: If you want to know how I put my travel itineraries together, just click here. Just because this itinerary is for 24 hours in the Sahara Desert area, it doesn’t mean you should only spend 24 hours on a Sahara Desert tour. If you’d like to add 24 hours in Fez, try this itinerary. And if you’re looking for 24 hours in Ait Benhaddou, I’ve got you covered here.