Choosing a desert camp: Erg Chebbi, Erg Chigaga or Agafay

The three deserts at a glance

Choosing according to your trip

The choice depends first on how much time you have.

• A stay in Marrakech, with no tour. Agafay is the only reasonable option: an evening or a night, an hour's drive away. You get silence and stars, without sand dunes.
• A week from Marrakech. Merzouga or Erg Chigaga, over the High Atlas and through Ouarzazate: Merzouga takes two days along the road of the kasbahs, Erg Chigaga one long day to M'Hamid, then the track. Sabaro advises choosing one of the two for a week, and allowing about ten days for both.
• A tour from Fes. Merzouga is the nearest desert, about 7 hours' drive; Sabaro advises breaking the journey with a night on the way.
• With children. Merzouga, where the paved road reaches the foot of the sand and you can combine a night in a camp with a night in a kasbah with a pool. In Agafay, Scarabeo Camp does not recommend its camps for babies.

How many nights. A single night means arriving late and leaving early, after several hours on the road either side. Sabaro recommends two nights in the great deserts: at Merzouga, one night in the dunes and one at the foot of the erg; towards Erg Chigaga, one night in the M'Hamid palm grove and one in the dunes.

Agafay, near Marrakech

Scarabeo Camp (a camp in the Sabaro selection):

• about 45 minutes from Marrakech airport, 1 hour from the medina, 1 h 15 from the Palmeraie;
• open all year, Ramadan included;
• in winter, wood stoves, duvets and wool blankets; in summer, fans;
• unheated pool, pleasant from April to October;
• limited solar power: phones can be charged, hairdryers cannot; Wi-Fi near the reception tent;
• not recommended for babies.

Inara Camp (a camp in the Sabaro selection, formerly Agafay Camp):

• 19 tents and suites on a 21-hectare site, about an hour from Marrakech;
• tents with king-size bed, separate bathroom, hot shower and toilet;
• two pools, one heated;
• activities: camel ride (30 minutes), quad bike (2 hours), e-bike, pottery workshop.

The two camps have two styles: Scarabeo goes for simplicity, by candlelight and on solar power; Inara offers hotel comfort, including continuous electricity.

Erg Chebbi, at Merzouga

Erg Chebbi is one of Morocco's two large Saharan dune fields. What sets it apart: the paved road reaches the foot of the sand, and camps are reached by camel or by 4x4 with the operator. Around the dunes, Rissani and its souk, the Gnawa village of Khamlia and the Dayet Srji lake fill a day; the Merzouga and Erg Chebbi page covers them in detail.

Merzouga Luxury Desert Camps (a camp in the Sabaro selection): 35 m² khaima tents (Berber tents) for up to 3 people, king-size bed or twin beds, private bathroom, dinner and breakfast included, dune views.

Season. The best periods are March to May and September to November: summers are very hot and winter nights very cold.

Erg Chigaga, from M'Hamid

M'Hamid El Ghizlane is the last village in the Draa valley, at the end of the paved N9 road, accessible to any car. The Erg Chigaga dunes lie about 50 km to the west.

• Erg Chigaga camps are reachable only by 4x4.
• Erg Lihoudi, closer (8 km north-east of M'Hamid), is reached by 4x4 (20 minutes from M'Hamid, 1 h 30 from Zagora) or by camel.
• Temperatures reach 45 °C in summer and range from 10 to 18 °C in winter; nights are very cold.
• Sandstorms possible; flies troublesome in autumn, at date harvest time.

Dar Azawad (a hotel in the Sabaro selection), in M'Hamid, runs both a 15-room hotel with a pool and several camps in the dunes: the nearest on the Erg Lihoudi side, others in Erg Chigaga, from a camp of traditional Berber tents to the best-equipped camp, with a bathroom in each tent. The stay works in two stages, one night at the hotel and one at the camp.

What to check before booking

• Heating in winter and cooling in summer: stove, blankets, air conditioning or fan, depending on the camp and the season.
• Bathroom: private in the tent, or shared.
• Electricity: continuous, or solar and limited.
• Access: car to the camp, camel or 4x4, and where luggage is left.
• What is included: dinner, breakfast, transfers and activities.

Off the roads. Tracks are poorly maintained and off-road driving is best avoided. In the south-east of Guelmim province, some areas are still mined; travellers by 4x4 or motorbike must report to the gendarmerie or the caïd (local government representative). The Driving in Morocco guide covers these rules.