# Desert

In Dubai, the dunes of the desert conservation reserve start 45 minutes from the city, with two resorts to stay in; in Oman, the Wahiba dunes begin just over 2 hours from Muscat; in Egypt, the Western Desert is travelled from oasis to oasis, from the White Desert to Siwa, with a permit and a guide; in Morocco, the dunes of Erg Chebbi and Erg Chigaga wait at the end of the kasbah road, and the stone desert of Agafay an hour from Marrakesh. Sabaro selects resorts, ecolodges, camps and kasbahs for one to three nights. In Tunisia, you sleep at the gateway to the Sahara, in Douz, Tozeur or Nefta, from October to April.

Source : https://sabaro-travel.com/en/themes/desert/

The desert does not present itself in the same way in the five destinations. In Dubai, it lies at the city's gates: a protected reserve of dunes, for an evening, a dawn balloon flight or two nights in a resort. In Oman, it is a stop on a tour: one or two nights in a Wahiba camp, between the mountains and the sea. In Egypt, it is an immense plateau dotted with oases, where you drive for hours between two springs and camp among the chalk rocks of the White Desert. In Morocco, the desert begins where the road ends: you reach the foot of great dunes through the Dades or Draa valley, and spend a night or two there, in a camp or a kasbah. In Tunisia, you sleep at the gateway to the Sahara, in Douz or around Tozeur and Nefta, facing the Chott el Djerid.

## Egypt: the Western Desert, from oasis to oasis

**The White Desert** is reached in two or three days from Cairo. You leave from the Bahariya oasis, 370 km south-west of the capital, by 4x4: the Black Desert, Crystal Mountain, then the chalk formations carved by the wind, where you arrive for sunset. The night is spent under canvas, at one of the protected area's designated camping sites. It can also be approached from the south, from the Farafra oasis.

**Siwa**, an Amazigh oasis near the Libyan border, is reached via the Mediterranean coast, about 300 km south-west of Marsa Matruh, or by plane from Cairo. Springs, salt lakes, the temple of the Oracle of Amun and the dunes of the Great Sand Sea call for at least three nights. Two ecolodges in the selection take the logic of the desert all the way: Adrère Amellal, 40 rooms of earth and salt at the foot of the "white mountain", without electricity, lit by candles, full board with two excursions a day; and Taziry Ecolodge, 16 km to the west, at the foot of the Red Mountain, with its Arabian horses. Neither has a socket to charge a phone in the rooms.

Sabaro's trip idea "The Western Desert, from the White Desert to Siwa, 9 days" links the two via Giza and Alexandria, since the direct road between Bahariya and Siwa is closed by the army.

**The rules.** The Egyptian desert is open to tourism under conditions. A permit requested in advance and an official guide are compulsory for Bahariya, Farafra and the White and Black Deserts. It is best to go with a recognised agency or guide, and never to leave roads and marked tracks, because of the risk of mines. Foreign ministries do not all give the same advice for these deserts: the [Bahariya and the White Desert](/en/egypt/bahariya-and-white-desert/) page gives your country's advice. South of Siwa, an area has been closed to civilians since 2014. Sabaro therefore books every trip with a licensed operator, who obtains the permit and provides the guide, and travels by day.

## Morocco: dunes at the end of the road

| | Agafay | Erg Chebbi (Merzouga) | Erg Chigaga (M'Hamid) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape | Stone desert | Dunes up to 150 m, 22 km long | The most isolated of the great dune fields |
| Access | About 45 minutes from Marrakesh | About 2 h from Errachidia airport; two days' drive from Marrakesh | About 5 h by road from Ouarzazate to M'Hamid, then about 50 km by 4x4 |
| Places to stay in the selection | Inara Camp, Scarabeo Camp | Merzouga Luxury Desert Camps, Riad Madu, Kasbah Hotel Tombouctou | Dar Azawad and its camps |

**Agafay** suits those who have only an evening or a night: leave Marrakesh in the afternoon, dine under canvas, return the next day. Inara Camp has two pools, one of them heated; Scarabeo Camp, lit by candles, offers polished simplicity.

**Erg Chebbi** is the desert of the great circuits: you arrive over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, through Ouarzazate and the Dades gorges, as in Sabaro's trip idea "Marrakech, Dades Valley and Merzouga in 8 days". Sabaro recommends two nights: one in a camp in the dunes, one in a kasbah at the foot of the erg, with a pool. Riad Madu, in Hassilabied, lets you do both with the same family, who also run their own bivouac.

**Erg Chigaga** is the desert for those who want isolation, at the end of the Draa valley. Dar Azawad, in M'Hamid, combines a hotel with pool and hammam and several camps in the dunes. Dar Ahlam, in the Skoura palm grove, has its own camp near Iriki. The trip idea "Morocco's Deep South, Ouarzazate, the Draa Valley and Erg Chigaga, 9 days" takes time over the journey south.

To compare the camps in detail, Sabaro's guide "Choosing a desert camp: Erg Chebbi, Erg Chigaga or Agafay" covers access, comfort and seasons. Off-road driving is best avoided, as rescue is slower in remote areas, especially for quad biking: Sabaro organises 4x4 outings with a driver.

## Dubai: the dunes 45 minutes from the city

The [Dubai desert](/en/dubai/desert/) is 30 to 45 minutes by road from Downtown. It is organised into two reserves. The DDCR (Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve), created in 2003 over 225 km², is the Emirates' first national park: you can only drive in its dunes with one of the licensed safari operators, on fixed routes. Its best-known animal is the Arabian oryx, the great white antelope of the desert, of which the reserve has about 400. The larger Al Marmoom reserve is partly open to all, with the Al Qudra lakes and their flamingos.

**An evening, a dawn or two nights.** The evening 4x4 safari, with dinner in a camp, takes about 7 hours, from about €60 per person. The balloon takes off before sunrise over the DDCR, from about €245. To sleep in the dunes, Sabaro selects two resorts. [Al Maha](/en/hotels/al-maha/), the only hotel inside the DDCR, has 42 villas with heated private pools; full board and two activities per person per night are included, wildlife safari, camel trek or falconry, from about €1,900 a night for two. [Bab Al Shams](/en/hotels/bab-al-shams/), near the Al Qudra lakes, 45 minutes from the centre, also welcomes families, with a free kids' club for ages 5 to 12, from about €625 a night for two. Any nightly tourism tax is extra.

**The rules.** Serious accidents are frequent on buggies and quads: it is better to choose a 4x4, never go alone and check the agency's insurance. Sabaro books outings with an operator licensed by the reserve. Photographing or sharing images of strikes, debris or the security situation is a criminal offence in the Emirates; the guide [Dubai and the regional situation](/en/guides/situation-regionale-dubai/) sums up European governments' advice. The desert combines with the mountains of [Hatta](/en/dubai/hatta/), 1 h 30 away by road, and with a Dubai beach.

## Oman: the Wahiba Sands, between mountains and sea

The [Wahiba Sands](/en/oman/wahiba-sands/), now officially called Sharqiya Sands, cover some 10,000 km² of dunes running north to south and rising to around a hundred metres. It is the sand desert closest to Muscat: the first dunes start at Al Wasil and Bidiyah, 185 km from the airport, about 2 h 10 by road. You spend one or two nights there in the middle of a tour, before heading on to the coast at [Sur and Ras al Jinz](/en/oman/sur-and-ras-al-jinz/), 1 h 20 away, and its turtles.

**Three camps, three styles.** The [Desert Nights Camp](/en/hotels/desert-nights-camp/), 11 km down a sand track, has air-conditioned tented suites with bathrooms and a pool; it appears to have been renamed Desert Nights Resort, and Sabaro confirms its terms before every booking. The [Thousand Nights Camp](/en/hotels/thousand-nights-camp/), deeper in the dunes, ranges from Bedouin tents to air-conditioned sand houses for families, from about €150 a night for two. [Canvas Club](/en/hotels/canvas-club/) sets up a private camp for a single group, some thirty kilometres into the dunes, with no electricity and a cook working over a wood fire; price on request. The guide [A night in the Wahiba Sands](/en/guides/nuit-desert-oman/) helps you choose.

**In the dunes.** Dune driving with a camp driver, a camel ride at sunset and a sky free of light pollution are offered everywhere. A dawn balloon flight, from age 12, costs about €310 per person.

**The rules.** Enter the Wahiba in a convoy of at least two vehicles, with experienced people, and never camp alone: Sabaro has the tracks driven by the camp or a driver.

In the south of the country, the Omani part of the [Empty Quarter](/en/oman/empty-quarter/), the largest continuous sand desert in the world, begins about 170 km north of Salalah; some foreign ministries advise against travel to all or part of the area, and the page, which gives your country's advice, presents it without a trip idea.

## Tunisia: at the gateway to the Sahara, from Tozeur to Douz

In Tunisia, a night in the desert is spent on the edge of the dunes and of the Chott el Djerid, the great salt lake of the south, in hotels you reach by road. The season runs from October to April; in summer the south is scorching.

**Tozeur and Nefta.** [Tozeur](/en/tunisia/tozeur-nefta/) airport has seasonal international flights from October to June; the town is a few hours' flight from Europe's main cities, direct or with one stop. [The Mora Sahara Tozeur](/en/hotels/the-mora-sahara-tozeur/), the former Anantara, renamed on 1 November 2025, has 93 suites and villas, many with a private pool, facing the chott, 6.5 km from the airport. In Nefta, [Dar HI Life](/en/hotels/dar-hi-life-nefta/) is an 18-room eco-lodge on the edge of the Corbeille, with a hammam and a geothermal hot-water bath.

**Douz.** In [Douz](/en/tunisia/douz-sahara/), on the edge of the Grand Erg Oriental, 125 km from Tozeur airport, [The Residence Douz](/en/hotels/the-residence-douz/) opened in October 2023: 50 villas in a 14-hectare palm grove, with roof terraces for watching the dunes and the starry sky.

**Travel advice.** Some European foreign ministries advise against the desert south of Douz, Ksar Ghilane included; Sabaro offers no excursions south of the town. The guide [A night at the gateway to the Tunisian Sahara](/en/guides/nuit-dans-le-desert-tunisie/) helps you choose, and the guide [Safety in Tunisia](/en/guides/securite-tunisie/) sets out your country's advice.

## Desert seasons

The desert is best from October to April in all five destinations, with one nuance: in Morocco, spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November) are the mildest seasons in Merzouga. Summer is harsh everywhere: the average high approaches 39 °C in Siwa from June to August and reaches 39.5 °C in July in Errachidia. In winter, days are mild and nights very cold: they drop to about 5 °C in Siwa. In Dubai, the Al Ain station, the nearest to the desert, records highs of 25 to 28 °C from December to February and an average January low of 12.8 °C; from April the high reaches 37 °C, nearly 45 °C in July, and outings are limited to sunrise and evening. On the edge of the Wahiba, the Bidiyah station records highs of 28 to 30 °C in January and February, and 43 °C in June and July.

Everywhere, the day is lived at both ends: dunes at sunrise, shade or the pool in the middle of the day, a camel ride in the late afternoon. Pack long sleeves, closed shoes, a hat and a warm jacket for the night, even in summer.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I sleep in the desert in Dubai?

Yes, at Al Maha, in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, in a villa with a private pool on full board, or at Bab Al Shams, a desert resort that welcomes families. Safaris with a night under canvas also start from about €125 per person.

### Where can I sleep in the desert in Oman?

In the Wahiba Sands, just over 2 hours from Muscat: at the Desert Nights Camp for comfort, the Thousand Nights Camp for a gentler price, or Canvas Club for a private camp with no neighbours.

### Do I need a guide in the Egyptian desert?

Yes: a permit requested in advance and an official guide are compulsory for Bahariya, Farafra and the White and Black Deserts. Sabaro uses a licensed operator who handles the permit.

### How long for the White Desert?

Two days from Cairo, with a night under canvas; three days to add a night in Bahariya and its hot springs.

### Where to stay in Siwa?

At Adrère Amellal, a mud-brick ecolodge without electricity, on full board, or at Taziry Ecolodge, 16 km west of the town, on bed and breakfast.

### Which desert to choose in Morocco?

Agafay for one night from Marrakesh; Erg Chebbi for the great dunes at the end of a tarmac road; Erg Chigaga for isolation, with the last stretch by 4x4. For a week from Marrakesh, Sabaro recommends choosing one of the two ergs.

### Camp or kasbah?

The two complement each other: the camp for sunset over the dunes and the starry sky, the kasbah for the pool and a room with solid walls. For a family, Sabaro recommends one night of each.

### Where can you sleep in the desert in Tunisia?

In Tozeur, at The Mora Sahara, facing the Chott el Djerid; in Nefta, at Dar HI Life; in Douz, at The Residence Douz, on the edge of the Grand Erg Oriental. The season runs from October to April.