Two Nights in the Sahara

Overview

One night shows you the desert. Two nights let you live in it for a while. After the first sunset ride and night at camp, you have a whole day with nowhere to be: walk into the dunes with your guide, visit a nomad family for tea, try sandboarding, nap in the shade during the heat of the day.

The second evening is quieter. Most guests have gone, the camp feels like your own, and you have time to learn a few drum rhythms or a few words of Tamazight. You leave on the third morning, after sunrise.

Highlights

• Two nights in our camp in Erg Chebbi
• A full day in the dunes with your guide
• Tea with a nomad family
• Sandboarding
• Three sunsets and sunrises' worth of light

Day by day

1. Day 1: Sunset trek to camp

   Meet us in Merzouga in the afternoon, ride to camp at sunset, dinner and music by the fire.

2. Day 2: A day in the dunes

   Sunrise, breakfast, then a morning walk to a nomad family's tent for tea and bread. Rest through the midday heat, try sandboarding in the late afternoon, and watch sunset from a new dune. Dinner and stars.

3. Day 3: Sunrise and return

   Last sunrise, breakfast, and camel ride back to Merzouga.

Why stay a second night

One night in the desert is magical, but it goes by fast. You arrive at dusk, eat, listen to the drums, sleep and leave after breakfast. The second night changes the rhythm completely. You wake up with nowhere to go. You watch the light move across the dunes all day, see the desert at noon and in the long golden afternoon, and by the second evening the camp feels like home.

Guests who stay two nights often tell us the middle day was the best part of their trip: the quiet, the space, the chance to walk out alone onto the sand and sit without hearing anything at all. It is also the best way to see the stars, because you have two chances at a clear, dark sky.

The middle day, hour by hour

There's no fixed programme, and that's the point, but most guests spend the day something like this.

• Sunrise from a dune near camp, then a slow breakfast in the main tent
• A walk of about an hour with your guide to a nomad family's tent, for tea, fresh bread baked in the sand and a look at how they live
• Back at camp before the heat: lunch, a nap in the tent or a book in the shade
• Late afternoon: sandboarding on a big dune, a camel ride to a viewpoint, or a long walk along the crests
• Sunset from the highest dune near camp, dinner, the fire and the stars

In the cooler months you can walk much further, and in summer we keep the middle of the day for resting. Tell your guide what you feel like doing and he'll adapt the day to you.

Meeting a nomad family

Around the edges of Erg Chebbi some families still live a semi-nomadic life, moving their tents and their goats and camels with the seasons and the grazing. Our guides know them well, and the visit is a simple, respectful one: you are invited into the tent for tea, you may watch bread being baked in the hot sand, and you can ask questions through your guide.

Please dress modestly, ask before taking photos of people, and remember this is someone's home, not a show. Families appreciate small practical gifts more than money: tea, sugar, or school supplies for the children. Your guide will tell you what is welcome.

Photography and stars

With two nights and a full day, this is the trip we recommend to photographers who don't want the full private photography tour. You get two sunrises, two sunsets and two nights for star photos, plus the harsh midday light that shows the dunes' patterns. Bring a tripod for the night sky and spare batteries; you can charge them in the main tent, or in your own tent if you book a luxury tent.

For the best Milky Way, choose dates around the new moon. Between roughly March and October the bright core of the Milky Way rises in the evening and is visible above the dunes; in winter the sky is just as dark but the core is lower or below the horizon at night.

Standard, luxury, or one of each

You can stay both nights in a standard Berber tent, both in a luxury tent with a private bathroom, or one of each, for example a standard tent the first night and a luxury tent for the second. Your luggage stays at our guesthouse in Merzouga, or goes to camp by 4x4 if you choose luxury.

All meals are included from dinner on the first day to breakfast on the last: two dinners, two breakfasts and lunch on the middle day, plus tea and water whenever you want them. Tell us about any dietary needs when you book.

Is a whole day in the desert boring?

It's the question everyone asks, and the honest answer is: only if you need to be busy every minute. There is no Wi-Fi, little phone signal and nothing to buy. What there is, is space, light that changes every hour, a sky full of stars and time to talk, read, sleep, walk and think.

If you'd like more action, we can add a camel ride to a far viewpoint, a longer trek through the dunes, or a short 4x4 trip to the village of Khamlia for Gnawa music. If you'd like less, your tent and the shade of the main tent are always there.

Before and after your two nights

Most guests start this trip in Merzouga, arriving by car, by the overnight bus or at the end of one of our multi-day tours. If you're coming from Marrakech or Fes, we can combine the two nights with the drive across the Atlas: ask us for a 4 or 5-day tour with two nights in the dunes.

On the last morning you're back in Merzouga by mid-morning, with time for a shower and a late breakfast before you set off. If you're catching the evening bus or driving on to the gorges, the timing works well.

Life at camp between the two nights

Our camp is small and run by the same team that leads the camels and cooks the food. During the middle day you'll see the camp's own rhythm: the camels resting in the shade, the cooks preparing bread and vegetables, the water truck arriving from the village, the tea always on the go. Guests often end up chatting with the team, learning a few words of Tamazight or a rhythm on the drums.

There is no schedule to follow. Breakfast is late if you like, lunch is when you're hungry, and the evening starts when the sun gets low. That freedom is what most guests remember.

What to pack for two nights

• A small backpack or soft bag: the camels carry it
• Two sets of light clothes and one warm layer for the evenings
• A scarf (chech) for sun and wind, a hat and sunglasses
• Sunscreen, lip balm and a small first-aid kit
• A head torch, a power bank and a book
• Sandals or shoes you can slip off easily for the sand

Leave everything else locked at our guesthouse in Merzouga.

Where you'll sleep in the desert

Your night in the dunes is at our own family camp in Erg Chebbi, about an hour by camel from Merzouga. Every group has its own tent.

Best time to go

Any month works in Merzouga. Spring (March to May) and autumn (October and November) are the most comfortable. In summer we start camel rides late in the afternoon and quad rides early in the morning, and in winter the evenings are cold, so bring a warm layer. Use the month guide and live weather on our home page to see what to expect.

Photos

Questions about this tour