After visiting 196 countries, we find ourselves returning to the ones that we love the most and going for a deeper dive. Northern Africa has always been one of our favorite areas to visit, especially spending many a starry night in the Sahara Desert across the African continent.
Our week camping in the Sahara desert in Algeria was one of our favorite trips and so we wanted to repeat the experience in a luxury Morocco Sahara desert camp. Rob did a ton of research and decided to use booking.com as there are quite a few scam warnings about luxury camping in the Morocco desert.
Keep in mind that for desert camping in Morocco there are over 200 camps to choose from near Merzouga – some labeled luxury and others regular. That is a lot of options to choose from! In general the only difference between luxury and regular camping in the Sahara desert (in Morocco) is that the luxury tent has it’s own toilet and shower.
In this post we discuss the realities of luxury desert camping in Morocco. The good, the bad and the ugly! There are also 5 lessons that we learned through this Morocco desert camp experience and we share all of them along with some tips. So if you still chose to experience a night in the Sahara Desert in Morocco you can get a much better price!
The Promise of Luxury Desert Camping in Morocco
To start there are dozens of options to choose from for a luxury night in the Sahara desert in Morocco in booking.com. They are all rated very well on the platform (the one we chose was rated 9.9 out of 111 people) and prices range from an outrageously low 9 euros a night to about 70 euros (this includes a breakfast and dinner for 2).
We decided to pick a middle of the road price with the best ratings on booking called Overnight Luxury Camp. However, we could not find such a name on google maps and kept on asking questions on the Whats App number provided. Answers were very vague.
The Real Price of our Night in the Sahara Desert
Once we booked, we received a message from Overnight Luxury Camp that gave us the options of transport to the camp. 60 euros per person on either a 4X4 or a camel. The 4X4 trip was going to be 30 minutes (in reality about 15 minutes) and the camel ride 1.5 hours each way. Disgruntledly we chose the 4X4.
What was outrageous is that they can get away with charging us 120 euros to be transported for 30 minutes (there and back) cramped with other people in a communal SUV. This charge is not stated on booking.com.
However, if you book a night in the Maldives through the same platform the “shuttle” – a boat or plane transfer would be clearly stated in the price. Ok, we thought, let’s just have a good time.
The Reality of our Luxury Morocco Sahara Desert Camp
After going through a few small dunes we arrived at our Morocco Sahara desert camp. Let’s just say that the place was very well worn. Our tent was hot with little light inside making it difficult to see much.
There was a small adjacent area with a toilet and a shower. Even our uber budget tent in the Masa Mara had a similar attached bathroom but it had zippable windows and doors, which this “luxury” version did not. The wifi was almost non-existent and the seating outside the tent was musty and in a state of overall disrepair.
We decided to go for a walk around the dunes to catch the Golden Hour and had a lovely time climbing up various dunes and watching camels coming into their designated camps for their night in the Sahara desert. Keep in mind that most of the camps are closely clustered together.
Beware if you Have Dietary Restrictions
Throughout our communications with Overnight Luxury Camps we stressed that I am vegan. We get it, some folks don’t understand or just don’t have the ability to make separate food for me. Therefore I usually carry some with me.
However they insisted that they understood the dietary restriction and would provide vegan food. Great, I thought. On the contrary, I had to explain everything again to the waiter who assured me that I will be getting vegan food.
He brought out a platter of roasted vegetables with 2 samosas, citing that the only dish that I could not have was the spinach that included cheese. Fabulous, I thought, digging into the samosa. A few minutes later the waiter came out with a smirk on his face, “I just have to tell you, the samosa has chicken in it,”
I won’t bore you with the many conversations that Rob had with management as I was throwing up in the background. The main thread was that vegans can eat chicken, that we booked not through them and they were not informed, that it was not their fault but someone else’s, etc,
They said that if we wanted our money back we would have to leave immediately and cancel our reservation on booking.com We were driven back to the parking lot after 10 pm. Thankfully we were able to book a guesthouse in Merzouga that late in the day. Otherwise we would have been left sick and stranded for the night.
5 Lessons Learned During our Night in the Sahara Desert
Being nomads for the last 8 years, we have booked a lot of accommodations on different platforms all over the world. For the most part our experiences have been quite good because we pride ourselves on doing the research in advance and making sound choices.
However, this crazy experience has taught us so much more. Below are the key takeaways from our disaster of a night in the Sahara Desert that we hope will be helpful to you:
- Making a reservation through booking.com, does not guarantee that you will be dealing with that platform – you may be redirected to a third party organization without knowing it. Sometimes they state Managed by Third Party – but in this case they did NOT!
- Name of the advertised property on booking.com could be a totally different property in reality through google maps.
- Price per night varies drastically and does not include the hefty shuttle price for the Morocco Sahara desert camp.
- Dietary restrictions are not taken seriously in these parts, even after clear explanations. Therefore if you have a serious allergy (e.g. celiacs disease) we would recommend being very careful about what you consume at the camp.
- There are luxury hotels right beside the dunes before you reach Merzouga. They are pricier, but end up being about the same amount as you do not have to pay for transport. And they are right beside the dunes with real luxuries and connectivity. For instance Desert Villa: boutique Hotel Merzouga, is right by the dunes where the 2 brother owners will take great care of you!
PRO TIP to save money on your Sahara Desert Camp
If you are still interested in having a night in the Sahara Desert in Morocco and want to save some cash, our suggestion would be to book your experience with a bonafide tour company in one of the larger cities.
For instance in Marrakesh a 3 day tour with full transport to the Sahara Desert typically includes a camel trek, a night in a desert camp, and visits to scenic locations like Ait Benhaddou and the High Atlas Mountains. The costs start at about 80 euros per person. This is the price that we paid just for our 1 night in the Sahara Desert!
Wrap up – Night in the Sahara Desert
We were looking for a real Sahara Desert camp experience in Morocco and honestly did not find it. This part of the Sahara is much more of a “Desert Disneyland” than a genuine Amazigh cultural experience.
During our stay at the modest guesthouse (after we were kicked out of the Luxury Sahara Desert Camp) we learned quite a bit about the Amazigh people and their culture from the host. This was a much more genuine experience than the camp.
So if you are looking for a camel ride, plastic tents and a “show” at night (and don’t have dietary restrictions), then you may enjoy the Morocco Sahara Desert camp experience. However, we will not return here. For us, the best memories of camping in the Sahara Desert will remain in Algeria and Libya.
Have you spent time camping in the Sahara Desert in Morocco? What did you think? Did you have a good time? And what could we have done differently? We would love to hear back from you in the comments as we are always striving to learn.
