It's always been on my bucket list to visit the greatest desert in the world, the Sahara Desert. It's also been one of my biggest fears to sleep out in the open, especially in the dark, where you're away from human civilization. I'm proud to say it's been overcome and accomplished!
It takes a while to get to the desert whether you're coming from Fes or Marrakech, but most tours make it fun and you visit the coolest places, valleys and mountains on the way. If you're interested in the tour along the way, check out the first part of this post here. The Sahara Desert is definitely worth it and one hell of a lifetime experience.
When: Spring or Fall is the best time to visit the desert or else it gets scorching hot even when it's almost sunset
Cost: most tours offer 3 days 2 nights, which is the one we did to get the farthest into Sahara for about 200€ aka $230 per person. The tours range anywhere from 200€ to 400€
Who: there's a ton of tours available, but we did ours through Go Sahara Tours which allowed us to have our own private tour throughout all 3 days. Also, we were the only ones immediately after the desert stay that were allowed to shower at the hotel thanks to our tour group connections!
Duration: 3 days and 2 nights. There are tours that go 2 days and 1 nights, but you don't really get to experience the true Sahara and the larger dunes. If you have time definitely try to do the 4 days and 3 nights to get deep into the Sahara!
Tips: Pack light and bring cool and breezy outfits for the day it can get pretty hot and the drivers like to drive with the windows down even though they have A/C. Bring a jacket or a cover up for the nights in the desert, it can get pretty chilly and windy. Baby wipes are also awesome to have in the desert for some quick clean up since there's no bathrooms. Also take advantage of the stops at the gas stations - they sell the water bottles for the cheapest (which you will need throughout)
My experience: I was probably most excited for this excursion on our Morocco trip. Hashim and our driver were the chillest people yet. Hashim did a good job of answering all our questions, he spoke fairly decent English. They let us stop whenever we requested especially for pictures, which was very well appreciated! (To read more about the stops and trekking on the way to Marzouga, you can follow up through Part 1 post). We finally reached Merzouga just before sundown and waited for another smaller group so the Bedouins can escort us to the tent. We got on our camels for about a two hour trek to our tent. Most of the camels have one hump also known as dromedaries, and are very gentle. I adored them! Feel free to pet them as much as you want. In fact one of the camels rubbed up on my husband randomly through the trekking it was so cute (he was caught off guard of course, which was hilarious). The Bedouin guides are extremely nice and caring, they walk your camel the whole way through. One dude on in our group wasn't feeling too well with the rocky camel ride and our guide waited patiently for him to do his thang in the outskirts. Once we got to the tent, we were provided some sweet Moroccan mint tea and freshly barbecued tangines. After dinner the Bedouins placed out some comfy mats outside the tent for a little musical entertainment with tablas (drums), singing and dancing. It was a lot of fun just dancing in the desert with a bunch of strangers and your partner. Finally we were pooped and they told us it's best to grab your sleeping mats and go sleep outside because it was too hot inside the tent. So we did it. I wrapped up the wool blankets (made out of sheep/camel skin so it was really warm) really tight around me so that nothing could creep inside. So here's the best part: when you look up at the night sky, wow you are left in a daze. It feels like you've been dropped into outer space with the 360 view of the brightest sky full of stars you've ever seen. You are literally sleeping in a sea of stars. Especially when the moon drops (I had no idea the moon disappears at night - just learned that on the trip) you're left in darkness and faint light provided by the stars. It was amazing. I would sleep under that magical night sky all over again. Truly a magnificent moment to witness and that no camera can capture. The Bedouins woke us up about 4:30 am to get us ready to go back on the camels and watch the sunrise on our trek back to the land. It was hilarious trying to maneuver through the dark to get on your camel and ride through the desert, but beyond gorgeous once the sun began to rise. The Bedouin guides were very sweet and took a couple of pictures of you on the camel once it was pretty light out and then we pet the camels goodbye and that was it. Short and sweet, it captured my heart (I know cheesy, but I'm telling you honestly how I felt).
As for African and Desert insects and animals, you don't have to worry. The Bedouins are extremely familiar with the area they're taking you to and they don't leave your side. They will be there to approve or warn you of any danger, which they assure rarely happens. Yeah of course there's spiders and weird insects, but they're usually not poisonous (yea surprisingly). I would just say bring clothes to fully cover yourself so you don't give them a chance to crawl up on your skin.
The Bedouins are hard working and very caring. No one steals your stuff, no one tries to mug you midway in the desert. I would say you're in pretty safe and experienced hands, so relax and enjoy these special moments in peace.
