Luxury Desert Camps
So you want to go to Morocco. You want to experience the magic of the ancient souks, the exotic street foods, the quaint riads, the richly poetic Berber culture. But you also want a good night’s sleep? You want King-sized beds, sumptuous linens, cozy furnishings, showers, toilets, glorious evening meals and fine wines? The good news is: you can have it all. Luxury camping is no longer reserved for the pampered elite only. Morocco is home to an ever-growing number of private tented camps that will spoil you with opulence while allowing you to experience the captivating sights and sounds of the desert. Here’s how it all began.
Some of the top desert camps in Morocco were originally luxury tented camps put together by exclusive travel companies for visiting royalty, the famous, the rich and the famous – and only for a night or two. Then Berber tent camps weren’t only rented but reinvented as chic desert resorts. Local friends of mine managed to rent and redecorate these luxury camps and so began the business of luxury tenting in the Merzouga sand dunes. They expanded, built up their tents, and slowly moved away from Berber traditions and towards western culture. They moved away from the Berber people in Merzouga and moved higher into the desert. They made new deals with other Berber families to open luxury tent camps further in the dunes. Today, this is where you will find the luxury desert camps of Morocco. Over the years, they have become so specialized and offer such quality services that at least one of these camps now tells me they are hired for months at a time.
Experience the Magic: Morocco’s Best Luxury Desert Camps
What could possibly be more magical than falling asleep in a cozy, luxurious desert camp in Morocco under a blanket of stars? How about waking up in the morning to the sun rising over a sea of dunes? The following luxury desert camps have been handpicked for their outstanding location, elegant accommodations, warm hospitality, gourmet cuisine, and exciting range of desert activities. Let the adventure begin!
Luxury Desert Camping in Merzouga, Erg Chebbi Dunes Merzouga is to Morocco what Mars and Jupiter are to the night sky, where stargazers gaze up at a sky full of stars and futuristic landscapes of dazzling dunes that sweep across the arid desert. Luxurious desert camping in the stunning Sahara Desert dunes of Erg Chebbi offers a luxury oasis of deluxe desert tents and safe, well-appointed campgrounds for your stay. Erg Chebbi is not only easily accessible but also offers the widest range of desert activities to choose from. Camp A is an oasis decorated with traditional Berber tents and tastefully equipped with all the comforts of home. Decorated with traditional Berber motifs throughout, the tent features a comfortable bed, equipped with bed linens, pillows, and blankets, installed next to heater sets in winter. Each tent has an antechamber with a mini lounge, decorated with traditional Berber carpets, a coffee table, and cushions. In the evening, as fireworks explode in the sky, star guides will welcome you with mint tea and will entertain you with the largest range of traditional Berber instruments handmade from natural materials. In the evening, a feast made with delicious traditional Berber cooking recipes will be served. There’s no question that glamping in the desert is the ultimate luxury experience in Morocco!
Glamping in the Sahara: Your Guide to Morocco’s Luxury Desert Stays
In the last decade or so, Morocco has become a popular destination for luxury camping in the Sahara. There are a number of high-end camping options, allowing travelers to spend a night under the stars in the sand dunes without sacrificing any comforts. Glamping is all the rage in the Sahara, and rustic looking clusters of tents, decked out in vintage Moroccan decor, dot the landscape. For most visitors, this means a stay in one of the desert camps nestled among the dunes of Erg Chebbi, which is located at the eastern edge of Morocco near the border with Algeria.
The Dunes of Erg Chegaga tempt adventurers into the desert’s heart, but the circuses of flashpackers often take comfort in the luxury of the handsome tented camps at these more accessible dunes. Gone are the days when a night in the desert meant tossing and turning in a flimsy two-man tent, the howls of the wind disturbing your sleep, only to awaken to a gritty tongue and sand-filled hair. These days it’s less about survivalism and more about indulgence; luxury desert camping is a part of a decadent Moroccan experience. Night after night of cozy comfort, innovative menus, and starry-eyed wonder are whipped up for visitors in these. These opulent affairs are as bougie as they get, but they beat a luxury hotel any day. Spectacularizing you for a night, only to send you on your way, blissful and grateful.
Luxury Under the Stars: Desert Camp Experiences in Morocco
Imagine being in the middle of the Sahara, gazing at the pitch-black sky sprinkled with diamonds of light. It’s easy to create such visions about a desert camping experience. However, the reality may differ from the experience, so investing in a luxury camp is the way to go if you are seeking comfort during your nights under the Moroccan stars. Luxury desert camping in Morocco varies from cozy well-furnished tents with comfortable beds, bathrooms, and showers offering modern amenities, including Wi-Fi Internet and gourmet food to exclusive intimate experiences. Some luxury desert camps are built in remote areas away from the beaten path, with a limited number of luxury tents, offering private butler service and traditional Berber music upon request. Luxury camps experience consists of on-site rooms made using the highest quality materials and full bedding. Those Moroccan Berber-style tents are decorated with rugs, wooden furniture, and all the cozy luxuries to fit your expectations. These tents may offer glazed surface terraces around the tents and, sometimes, air-conditioned suites on the way to the toilets and showers. Meanwhile, the restroom and hot shower facilities offer hot water on demand through the camp staff. For your relaxation, experienced Berber camp leaders welcome you with their music and friendly talks. You can take advantage of your luxury experience, enjoy delicious food served by the local team, and indulge in aromatic mint teas while enjoying your nomadic Berber music session.
From Camel Rides to Fine Dining: Inside a Moroccan Luxury Desert Camp
Luxury desert camping is not just about a glamorous tent set-up. You can enjoy all the comforts from home in a luxury camp while simultaneously being in the middle of the desert surrounded by the stunning Saharan sand dunes. If you decide to desert camp in Morocco, here is what you can expect to experience.
Camel rides & sandboarding Camel rides are a must-do in Morocco, as they are the traditional means of transport in the desert area. A sunset or sunrise camel ride is the perfect time, as the desert heat is bearable and your camel ride will end up being one of the most beautiful photo opportunities of your life! A sunrise camel trek will take about 30 minutes while a sunset camel trek will take about 90 minutes. You can also choose to do a 90-minute sunset trek, sharing the stunning desert views with only the two of you. A camel trek in Merzouga will end in front of the giant wind generators, which aren’t as magical as a sand dune sunset but definitely worth visiting as well!
Fine dining, chefs, and waking up in a hotel At our luxury desert camp, we had a chef who created food masterpieces for us. Amazing soup, Tajin unlike anything I ever had, delicious chicken skewers for lunch, edible flowers, and even a complete gluten-free breakfast for me. Everything was simply divine, and these colourful plates were only topped by the dessert: coconut mousse with flowers. Just picture yourself sitting in the middle of the desert, the sun setting behind the dunes, while enjoying fine dining at an extravagant table setup with a delicious dinner which is served by your camp butler.
How to Choose the Perfect Luxury Desert Camp in Morocco
With seemingly hundreds of Morocco luxury desert camp options to choose from, selecting a camp can be a challenging process. The vast majority of desert trips involve a multi-day camel trekking experience, so before we explore the types of camps available in Morocco, it’s essential to consider the trek itself.
The first question concerns the time of year you’re visiting. If you are planning to visit during the summer, you’d be best to stick to the high dunes in Erg Chebbi. Camel trekking during the daytime, in the extreme heat would be too intense for either your health or the wellbeing of the camel. The trek to Erg Chebbi generally starts earlier in the day, or in the evening after the sun has set, which means you’re journeying during the cooler parts of the day.
During the summer months in desert regions, the migration of the Toureg People’s herds is almost always to the north, as they are seeking cooler climes. As such the nomads set up temporary camps along the banks of the Ziz River, soaking up the richness of the palm tree oasis along the banks of the river in the small villages of Erfoud and Rissani, just outside Merzouga. Overnighting in the desert is not an option.
The second consideration is the type of luxury camp you’re seeking. There are beautiful fully-equipped and professionally-staffed luxury camps that offer gourmet meals, elegant tents, and are frequently packed with all sorts of amenities. The only difference is that you’re not in a hotel lobby decorating your next post, you’re literally in the middle of the Sahara with a million-star view!
Escape to Silence: VIP Sahara Desert Camps in Morocco
But it’s not just any ordinary camping. It’s camping in dark-tented VIP camps. What else? You will grasp easily why Camping in Sahara Desert is labeled so!
Nowhere else will you be able to behold this stunning spectacle of sand glistening under the moonlight, should you have the patience to wait for the nighttime chill to grace you in the dunes, as your thoughts race back to calmness, bathing in the serenity, or unable to grab the night shying away the skyline like a flower disappearing for a nightmare…
What we have is unlike the shared camping experience that so many other travel companies claim to offer. Let me first explain the camping services: Covering all categories, from basic to sumptuous, we carve out for you the best decorated luxurious Moroccan suites you will see throughout your travels! I mean, elegant, gorgeous, colorful, delicate: the best furniture, the best cookware, the best everything will adorn your base camp, together with needed, necessary amenities – which may include an electronic type of equipment and relaxation materials, when reserved.
The tents cover all connoisseurs’ tastes, be they simple families passing by the area or those requiring only the best Morocco offers in terms of hospitality. On request, we provide exploration guides and expert mobile specialized cooks in Moroccan traditional gourmet. They’ll unleash your gustatory artistic senses from your tents nearby the dunes, while you feast all day long on delicious desserts and Eastern tea. You’ll be pampered as never upon twiding a mountain of figs before the delicate scent of tea drift throughout your tent, as you gaze the sun setting on the orange dunes lying against the vivid landscape!
Morocco’s Hidden Gems: Boutique Desert Camps in Erg Chebbi & Erg Chigaga
The Sahara desert has attracted the curious for a long time. Today it is easier than ever to discover the magic of this arid oasis, with travel companies offering excursions to different areas of the desert. Some of the more accessible dunes are in the Erg Chebbi area of Southern Morocco. The majestic dunes draw visitors to the tiny town of Merzouga, where one can take a short camel trek or drive in a 4×4 to experience the beauty of the desert waves. If there are more days in a travel itinerary, the Erg Chigaga dunes offer a more off-the-beaten-path option located close to M’hamid El Ghizlane. To do a trek in the desert is an experience that remains stuck in the memory. The cool mornings and evenings, the starry nights, the beautiful sunsets and sunrises, this is the impression that most travelers keep from the Moroccan dunes.
Desert camps may clearly make the Sahara area one of the most sought-after and luxurious adventure resorts. For years now, desert camps have been appearing and disappearing throughout the Sahara. Some are very basic, many are equally luxurious with spa services, private pool, gourmet food, butlers, because they always claim to offer unique services. Anyone dreaming about a life-changing experience needs look no further, due to the abundance of luxury camps dotted throughout the desert area. But these camps are not for everybody, since the use of extreme luxury in such an isolated location where the echo of nomad people still resonates seems, to many of us, an act of modern consumption totally out of place.
Luxury in the Sands: What to Expect from a High-End Sahara Experience
Though the nomadic Berbers first inhabited the Sahara, it was only in the last couple of centuries that it became the exclusive domain of fur traders and explorers. Even today, there are still nomadic tribes who have abandoned the traditional way of life to work as guides or in tourism. Today, adventure tourists can look forward to charming high-end desert camps with well-heeled tents, some even furnished with rugs, plush bedding, and en suite bathrooms, replete with hot showers and toilets. These luxurious tented camps all come with electricity while many use solar energy to heat water or power lighting in the in-tent and public bathrooms. Some desert tours blend Berber hospitality with Western comforts by offering home-cooked meals, delectable deserts, or candlelight dinners featuring music or a bonfire added for effect. Several such elegant camps dot the eastern Sahara region around Erg Chebbi in Morocco, making this the perfect location for indulging in some lavish cocooning in the Sahara sands.
Luxury desert excursions often cater to the whims of foodies. While different camps may offer different levels of culinary experience, you can expect the tented camp staff to prepare authentic Moroccan meals, as well as European buffet breakfasts, barbeques, and meals staged in the dunes. For camping novices, these camp accommodations with well-furnished tents or rooms, mattress beds, and pillows, not to mention hot showers and rooms with toilets, are definitely a step above basic camping facilities usually found in the Sahara. Such luxuries can be unexpectedly comforting during winter months when inside temperatures can drop at night and many are ill-equipped for the drop in temperature but not at the inside temperature in the tent. A stupendous night sky should cap the Sahara experience – a holiday from the chaos of everyday life.
Romantic Nights in the Sahara: A Luxury Desert Camp Guide
The nights in the Sahara are magical, full of stillness and a million shining stars. If you are tired of the energetic European lifestyle, the Sahara can offer you far from the madding crowd and give you the experience of a desert night. So many tent camps have swamped the desert, that it is hard to choose. Most of these camps can be reached on 4WDs in half an hour – so they aren’t too remote, but the camp managers do their best to give you some privacy. Remote camp fortunes are better located, not depending on dunes for their appeal. The big desert dunes are quite a drive away from most of the tent encampments, with Merzouga being the nearest town. Mhamid is more remote and scheduled to be the next hot desert town after Merzouga. Both have access to overnight jaunts that will allow you to visit the bigger dunes. Mhamid, though, is double the distance, so plan your time accordingly.
Luxury is thankfully seeping into travel experiences and the Sahara is discovering its opulence options. So, you can indulge in a desert night with great comfort thanks to services offered by various camps near Mhamid and Merzouga. You can also sleep in hotels in N’Kob, where you can dream in style before or after your desert jaunt. If raiding menu choices are paramount, opt for certain hotels, as both have gastronomes devoted to your dining pleasures. The core of the Sahara region is dotted with tribal settlements that can be reached for a handicraft shopping spree. Some groups still lead their traditional nomadic lives, and you may gain insights if you make a pit stop to mingle a little.
Desert Dreams: Stay in Style at a Luxury Camp in Morocco
As the sun sets in the Sahara at Erg Chebbi near Merzouga, the stars fill the quiet night’s sky like a million sparkling disks of light – and you can sleep in style in one of the area’s stunning luxury desert camps. These small, glamping-type luxury camps cater to couples, families, or a small group of friends, offering the chance to experience the vast desert in relative comfort while avoiding the larger tour groups at traditional desert camps. Go for a camel trek, or take a 4×4 tour of the dunes. Enjoy sunset over the massive ripples of golden sand. And then spend the night gazing up into the night sky.
Most luxury desert camps near Merzouga are permanent installations, while the luxury desert camps set up at Erg Chigaga are semi-permanent; they are erected in May by skilled craftsmen and dismantled by the same crew in October. All offer en-suite bathroom facilities – which you may have to share with another tent. Those at Erg Chebbi provide real beds and unique Berber-inspired, spacious tents of the highest quality; those at Erg Chigaga are more akin to Berber-style tents. All offer the amenities of a luxury hotel in the heart of tourist-free nature.
There are many advantages to staying at a luxury desert camp. You’ll get to see the incredible evening show put on by the lower horizontal sun as it disappears on the horizon next to the rippling dunes, reflected in what were once small pools of water scattered throughout Erg Chebbi. You’ll be able to walk the golden sand dunes and play in their soft warm sand anytime you want – without having to rush back to your hotel before sunset. You’ll have the pristine desert all to yourself. And you’ll also be able to appreciate the brilliant show of stars overhead without the glow of city lights.
Where Luxury Meets the Desert: The Ultimate Moroccan Escape
On your vacation, you want to be pampered. You want to relax. You want your itinerary to offer a break from the hectic pace of your daily life and to be full of activities that regenerate you, that rejuvenate you. When you are on vacation, you want luxury. One of the most popular tourist destinations in Africa is Morocco. Nestled above the Sahara desert, it offers visitors a chance to escape into the dunes. Lush cities with quaint shops and picturesque streets are found amid winding alleyways that feature fragrant food and exotic textiles. Amid all this, there is a surprising amount of luxury. Luxury Morocco is an experience waiting to be enjoyed. With a strong emphasis on hospitality, tired travelers are met with spices in the air and warm drinks during their stay in luxury riads and hotels.
Luxury desert camping in Morocco is a reminder of your childhood camping expeditions, only without the bugs and dirty bathrooms. Slumbering outdoors with only the stars to keep you company is an experience stretched into delight as you lounge on elegant pillows and eat a delicious candlelit supper before finally settling down on sumptuous silk sheets. Awaken in the morning to breakfast in bed, then step out into the cold morning air and take a fresh look at the desert from the top of the ridge just outside your tent. The harsh landscape will lift off your shoulders as you take a breath in and out. This moment is why you came to Morocco – to leave the stress of daily life behind, even if only for a little while. Luxury service will transport you to and from the area as you are taken into the local culture. Hire a camel caravan, or take in the sights on horseback. Whatever you decide to do, letting your body relax and your spirit breathe easy is what luxury desert camping in Morocco is all about – the ultimate in luxurious simplicity.
Sleep Beneath the Stars in Morocco’s Most Luxurious Desert Camps
Morocco is home to some of the world’s most luxurious desert camps. Ali and I stayed in camp Lemli, in a clearing at the base of the Dunes D’Hagar in Chegaga. Mornings were cool and breezy, the sand squeaky to our feet. The nights were like black velvet painted with diamonds, the constant howler wind through the desert breaking the silence. After supper, our watches went away, cigarettes and wine appeared, Ayman’s smile was drunk in, and stories were shared beneath the stars.
At Lemli, we wished for nothing but time to enjoy the companionship of each other and of those we loved. Lemli’s crew became like family. Our Masala Chai and Moroccan flatbread breaks became ritual. Dinner was a sumptuous affair, often showcasing someone’s specialty. With those crew nights behind us, Ali and I went to sleep beneath the stars, each night a different place in the camp. The sand was cool down to maybe one foot, where warmth began to seep up. It amazed us to be within nature’s lap, a mere few feet from sleep without any barrier separating nature from us. I felt grateful for having curated such a powerful experience for us.
5-Star Nomadic Living: Discover Morocco’s Finest Desert Retreats
Morocco’s vast desert regions are home to an entirely different community of more colorful nomads, who invariably have a soft spot for their roots and for beautiful places. It is no accident that the owners of the country’s finest luxury desert retreats are often enthusiastic travelers themselves and have arrived in these extreme yet exquisite lands flush with previously incredible journeys, inspired to create a little piece of heaven to share with future generations of adventurers. Earthy, beloved items evocative of travel treasures from exotic lands fill their Kasbahs and luxury camp tents, where gracious hospitality reigns and every little detail matters. Suppose, in that amazing time-traveling leap from today’s bustling medinas to ancient Berber villages, we simply bypass the rough, dirt-street aged stone. In that case, we could indulge in a glistening contemporary reflection of old garden courtyards and sensual archways, palatial salons with far verdant vistas, fragrant bedrooms decorated and inspired by their nomadic roots, and sumptuous en-suite bathrooms with desert views. If they lived on in this century, the original caravanners would recreate wandering hotel ideas, inviting distant wanderers to rest awhile so they could share tales of travel and family. These inspiring desert destinations are a glorious mix of cultural mixing, intense emotion, and tangible synergy, the result of exploratory souls who decided to move away from more apparent areas of popular luxury European design. Many are conveniently located for an easy transfer directly from the city, offering an entirely alternative experience of desert exploration both for relaxing couples and adventuresome families.
From Dunes to Deluxe: The Rise of Luxury Camping in Morocco
To some the idea of luxury camping is an oxymoron. They believe that real camping has to be uncomfortable, rugged and tough, a close communion with nature that does not involve hot showers, good food and the chance to sleep in a properly made bed. And while this might be true, the same could be said of real rock climbing, real white-water rafting, even real travel where you opt to go in your rugged old Land Rover for the most grueling of journeys across the most inhospitable of landscapes. But the fact is that this may just be the new travel paradigm: rather than giving you a weekend of discomfort, why not treat you to a proper experience where you unwind in comfort only two hours away from your city – the experience of a lifetime, without sacrificing your humanity.
Once called a Bivouac, which in reality means a temporary camp, from the Latin, bivium, where two roads meet, luxury camping is transforming the Sahara where it was once called a berber tent to a canvas palace with your private butler attending to your every need. A little indulgence to the senses, pampered and eased into comfort and lots of inquisitive sightseeing during the day, blending into nature to observe the exotic African wildlife at dusk. The options for getting there have become endless, by rigged-up 4X4, camel with a caravan which immerses you in centuries of history and tradition or on horseback, where you will feel the thrill of the legendary Berber horsemen whose horsemanship is renowned.
Beyond the Ordinary: Exclusive Desert Experiences in Morocco
Offering unparalleled access to the world’s most exquisite landscapes, luxury camping has evolved from a trend towards an art, one devoted to pampering guests and showcasing the surrounding wilderness. Discreet campsites are expertly set up and luxuriously decorated for the ultimate in comfort and style, allowing visitors to indulge in the world’s most awe-inspiring settings, all without sacrificing creature comforts. Nature’s grandeur is the focus, yet visitors can delight in sumptuous gourmet meals paired with vintage wines, seductive candlelit desert nights spent lounging on plush cushions, spa treatments to melt away the miles traveled, star-gazing through powerful telescopes, and even vintage Land Rover tours to hidden alcoves adorned with ancient rock carvings. In Morocco, the luxury camping industry has expanded rapidly and options abound in the High Atlas mountains, coastal beaches, and desert. In the Saharan desert, several incomparable companies have set up chic, five-star campsites in the dunes surrounding Merzouga. At Erg Chebbi, near idyllic Merzouga, the contrast of impossibly white dunes against the brilliant blue sky dazzling visitors. The golden dunes shift and change with the season, highlighting the intricate designs left by the wind. Visitors arrive at the private campsite via vehicle or camel caravan, and are soon lost in the spectral beauty of the dunes of Erg Chebbi. Enjoying the desert’s beauty with no crowds has never been easier, as these exclusive operations go out of their way to set up their camps in the most remote locations.
Culinary Delights: Dining Experiences in Luxury Desert Camps
Luxury desert camps in Morocco offer more than just stunning landscapes, exotic experiences, and exceptional service. They also provide visitors with a culinary voyage enriched by Moroccan and Berber traditions. Most luxury desert camps provide a choice of either all-inclusive stays or just night accommodations. While the latter option typically includes only dinner and breakfast, the former option incorporates a delicious lunch to your experiences and is the most common services offered to visitors. A stay at these camps also allow couples and groups to celebrate special events together with the chance to have their dinner in a special set up on a terrace under a starry sky silently surrounded by mesmerizing nature. Authentic Moroccan food is rich in color, flavor, and texture, with a generous and fragrant use of spices, and nearly all luxury desert camps serve a sumptuous dinner that typically consists of three courses. The meal normally starts with a series of small appetizers seasoned with spicy sauces accompanied by mint tea, the traditional drink that is served in a small glass and poured from an elaborately etched pot as a sign of hospitality. Then comes the main dish, which usually consists of a tagine – a traditional Berber dish simmered to perfection in a richly spiced clay pot. Tagines are mostly made with chicken, lamb, or beef and large quantities of vegetables. The dinner ends with either fresh seasonal fruits or Moroccan cakes, which are pastries of Arabic origin filled with almonds, pistachio, or honey. Breakfast typically consists of traditional Moroccan pancakes served with honey, butter, and jam, as well as fresh seasonal fruits, tea, and coffee.
Sustainable Practices in Luxury Desert Camping
We now examine the specific sustainable practices carried out in the luxury desert camps in the Moroccan Erg. The first is specialized staff training and manual. The desert camp staff have been trained to ensure that guests should follow the principles linked to the desert environment (abide by fire restrictions, animal protection, water conservation, waste minimization, be discreet and respectful towards nomadic tribes and their culture, etc.) Sustainable tourism planning and the training delivered allows safer exchanges between desert users and the local population, and helps minimize cultural contact and conflict. Doing tourism sustainably also generates funds for residents who collaborate in the tourism industry. The camp guides are generally local nomadic individuals who possess natural knowledge of the region’s climatic and geographical characteristics (knowledge of stars, weather forecasts, and emergency desert maneuvers). They also benefit from an informal training that would allow the safeguarding of tangible and intangible heritage in the region, and solidarity-based practices. These guides ensure the guests’ safety and the security of the region as well.
Waste management is also applied as a second specific practice: burning, recycling, and composting are generally used to deal with organic waste. Fire waste is buried 1 meter deep and in areas away from transit areas, since fire can alter the light cycle of desert flora for up to 3 years. Smoke odors can also be a nuisance for nearby animal fauna. Plastic waste is taken to the local refuse station by specific desert trips. Some tracks use small holes that are dug or buried to collect plastic in bulk and then carry these deposits to remove product marketing. Organic waste is buried and dispersed in an area without plants, thus allowing its composting over time.
Cultural Immersion: Engaging with Local Communities
When traveling, cultural celebration enriches and adds depth to experiences and what better way to do it than by engaging with local communities. Morocco is renowned for its colorful and vibrant culture and orienting our travels to discover these people provides intimate and authentic experiences. At luxury desert camp resorts, there are options for engaging Muslims, Jews, and Berbers, and often an awareness or guidance from a broker or some form of community engagement will enrich this experience. Besides being an opportunity to talk and learn about aspects of people’s lives, learning together also becomes a way to share and express gratitude and acknowledge differences and similarities by partaking in playful activities such as cooking couscous, spending a day as a shepherd, or playing games with children. Our traditional desert camps are passive and allow for privacy; but our Berber-style, proprietary lodges have been designed and deliberately established close to Berber villages so sharing and discovering each other’s cultures can be together. Animating our lodges with Berbers allows our guests to engage them in their artistic work and experience traditional and delicious Berber cuisine. Our Lodges also allow for intimate community engagement by offering fewer guests a chance to collaborate in communities in making and preserving souvenirs, playing with and making kids laugh and experience the purest joy, and learning about sustainable shepherding and farming while they exchange some of their own knowledge and laughter. Spending time together with sharing experiences allows us to understand, appreciate, and acknowledge our multicultural differences while harmoniously coexistent.
Adventure Activities: Exploring the Sahara
Adventure activities are one of the highest ranking tourist attractions in the Moroccan Sahara. The huge sand dunes and dry desert plains are perfect to discover by foot or on camel or to do extreme sports like sand boarding or dune buggy rides. You can also spend a night in a desert camp and take part in stargazing opportunities that would be impossible elsewhere. Here are some of our must-do desert activities. Some of our favorites include camel trekking, desert hikes, sleeping in desert camps and sand boarding. Additional choices are skidoo tours or tx-truck tours to the dunes in the Moroccan Sahara. Close to Merzouga are two villages from where you can go 4×4 driving in the dunes or spend a day in a desert camp deep down in the desert itself. For kitesurf enthusiasts, flying in the dunes might be an option in Spring. Near the dunes of Erg Chegaga are several places where you can go sandboarding either from the small sand dunes or from the surrounding hills or mountains. Other adventure activities available in the desert are paragliding in the desert with the help from either a skidoo or a truck, mountain biking or quad riding close to the dunes, hot-air balloons or light aircraft sightseeing flights. Flying in a hot-air balloon might be the most unforgettable unique experience ever. It has not been made mainstream, since it is highly dependent on weather conditions, but we enjoyed a hot-air balloon ride in the Merzouga region. It is such an amazing experience, flying through the clouds in 20 minutes and beholding the Moroccan Sahara and the small Saharan towns far below.
The Role of Luxury in Eco-Tourism
As our world becomes increasingly aware of the limited conservation resources available to protect endangered areas, we are observing the responsibility of protecting those areas pass to private entities who capitalize on their unique surroundings, utilizing the profits to preserve them. Oftentimes, these entities offer luxury to compensate for the high expense of travel, or tourism fees are exorbitant to help repair the negative impacts of the scene. This type of travel, called luxury eco-tourism, is often found in remote areas where locals cannot provide adequate facilities for tourists, but who also have no means to create those services without the help of tourism. On a scale of one to ten in travel luxury associated with more expensive eco-tourism venues, the end would be a ten, using exotic means of lodging, with a hike up mountains and through rivers for access, eat what you catch for dinner meals, and have local people as the guides and hosts. The eco-tourism aspects of this travel trip would be that they would be taking only one or two small groups of tourists out for short periods of time, causing the least impact to the area on any one journey. Or, it may be a luxurious lodge in an exotic area where the guests have an immersed appreciation for the surroundings as well as the services of that establishment, yet the hosting company’s priority is the needy area. Often, their main focus is to sustain the service provided, by financially aiding the area and people, while allowing for, or encouraging all who stay, to experience the natural wonders so close by. With some modifications, this type of travel may be the reason that rare areas survive.
Planning Your Luxury Desert Getaway
Dramatic sunrises, spectacular sunsets, endless golden dunes, an incredible sense of space, hospitality of the local nomadic Berber people, unique world-class camps – all of this, of course, pertains to an exotic vacation in the desert. In Morocco, the Sahara desert offers this wonder of experience for visitors coming from every corner of the Earth in search of authenticity. Many travelers, after spending days in bustling cities like Marrakech or Fez, long to spend a relaxed couple of days in a quiet and calm place surrounded only by breathtaking beauty – in the desert.
We live in the modern times, so changing times also integrate into ancient customs, bringing improvement and convenience into the magic. Luxury camping in the desert, also known as glamping, offers comfortable and chic housing, sophisticated setup and style while still enabling contact with nature. You can spend your day exploring the sand dunes walking, camel trekking or by dune bashing, and when evening falls, you’ll be treated with a gourmet dinner set with style on a beautifully decorated table followed by possibly the most lavish camping you have ever experienced. A Moroccan desert experience includes the traditional elements you would expect from camping in the desert, such as a campfire and light local music, but you’ll also be presented with innovative, modern creations involving exquisite food, unique arrangements and warm welcome.
Choosing the right desert camp and location may seem a bit more stressful than finding a hotel in the city. Most visitors can supply their preference for comfort, experience and budget, and someone will have the expertise to suggest the right camp for them. In this chapter, we examine various desert camps, including locations, prices and amenities available at the different luxury desert camps.
Testimonials and Experiences from Guests
Since we began welcoming guests, countless friends have come through our doors. As they say in Morocco, you arrive as a guest, but you leave as family. Some have shared with us their memories of their time as our guests. Please read through and see what a few of our former guests had to say about their experiences in the luxury desert camp.
“Nothing but positives to say about this incredible experience! It felt like something straight out of Aladdin. The tents were stunning, the views were unbeatable, and the staff was unbelievably accommodating and friendly! The camp is perfect, and my friends and I will never forget this adventure. Thank you for such a memorable day and night!” – Hailey
“This camp is unbelievably beautiful! The tents are lavish and the bathroom really is amazing (with hot showers)! The dunes nearby are perfect for exploring and for sunset/sunrise. The food is Moroccan and really good. And the Moroccan mint tea is some of the best ever. Stunning! Lovely, lovely camp. Very hospitable and friendly staff. They help make your stay really comfortable. Highly recommend.” – Eliza
“All communication was great from the start. The whole experience was fantastic from booking to check out! The camp and its facilities are simply stunning and totally different from anything I’ve ever seen before! Location is amazing, with stunning views of the dunes! The tents are beautifully decorated with lots of luxury touches and the bathrooms are very impressive. One of the highlights of our whole trip around Morocco was the night we spent at this wonderful luxury desert camp! Everything was catered for and food was traditional which was a great experience for us. There are a few other camps in the vicinity but nothing can compare to this one!” – Junior
“This was absolutely a highlight of our trip to Morocco. The tent was luxurious, the food was delicious, and the setting was breathtaking. We really enjoyed our night in the camp, chatting with locals and fellow travelers over dinner and tea while also enjoying the quiet and calm beauty of the desert. Our family will always have these memories from this unforgettable place. Thank you to our wonderful hosts!” – Kaylie
Future Trends in Luxury Desert Camping
There are several interesting indicators and trends in the luxury desert camping market both in Morocco and globally. Guided by the principles of sustainable luxury, we are seeing a continued desire for richer and, often more meaningful but not extravagant experiences such as bespoke luxury desert camping curated to guests’ tastes or combined with experiences throughout Morocco. The use of local artisans for authentic experiences, such as traditional Berber tea ceremonies or cooking classes using locally sourced and organic ingredients, will be increasingly popular. Guests will also want to extend their stay in the desert to include a more in-depth exploration of local culture and customs, as well as varied day excursions such as assisted walking explorations, wildlife spotting, or a gentle ascent to nearby dunes to watch the sun rise and/or set. In addition, the travel industry is likely to see interest in genuine but sophisticated desert experiences available from iconic luxury properties as travel patterns return for high-end brand loyalists.
Ecotourism is widely popular and its popularity is on the rise. Luxury travelers demand a service that is both cushy and environmentally sound. Luxury desert camping in the Saharan or pre-Saharan regions of Morocco is predicted to offer ecotourism opportunities that provide environmental interventions for local communities while simultaneously enhancing tourists’ experiences. Luxury desert camp operators are expected to address the needs of luxury travelers in consideration of Morocco’s local communities and cultural life, and in service to the local environment.
Comparative Analysis: Luxury Camps vs. Traditional Camping
Morocco’s luxury camps invite the traveler to enjoy the wonders of wandering nomads while enjoying the comforts afforded by technological advancements. Traditional nomadic camps offer little more than warmth from campfires and shelter from winds and nighttime temperatures. Luxury camps provide opulent silk beds and kitchen, bathroom, and dining facilities, allowing the traveler to wander during the day and indulge in an enhanced version of the nomadic lifestyle during the night. Traditional nomadic camps are very much flimsier, formed of a handful of tents made of goat or camel hair. Punishing sunlight filtered through the tents, meager diets of dried dates and barley, and lack of water renders this lifestyle possible only for a few days. They are a handy way to experience the geography of a country without the additional complication of arranging to pack and unpack on a daily basis. Luxury camps avoid most of these difficulties with additional comforts. The tent fabric protects against light while the beds and bathrooms provide the comfort and luxury. For all their similarities, luxury camps can never be substitutes for the original nomadic experience. The original camps are usually occupied in far-flung corners of Morocco during the textures of summer. They are shrines to the art of living lightly on the land, practiced with simplicity, style, and grace. The people living in these camps, using what the earth provides, are masters at experiencing the rhythms of the earth and sky: the height and intensity of the sun; the passing of day into night and of summer to winter; the trailing tracks of animals, indicating their moods; and the colors of scenery aflame with all shades of the spectrum. Their homes and way of obtaining food are a testimony to organic living.
Safety and Comfort in the Desert
Morocco has never been considered a dangerous country for tourists. If you follow the rules that you usually follow in your country or in any other place in the world, and do not venture down dark alleys without knowing where you are going, you should not have any problems. In large cities, such as Marrakech, it is best to avoid going out alone and at night. In the desert, unlike in the cities, there are not so many risks.
In the desert you also have to take precautions. For example, because of the extreme heat in summer, it is advisable to avoid going out between three and five in the afternoon, as well as hydrating constantly, even if you don’t feel like it. During the winter, on the other hand, nights can be very cold. But if you decide to spend the night in some of the desert camps, everything is prepared to make you feel warm and comfortable.
Once in the desert, there are basic safety rules that must be followed. First of all, forget about wandering off into the dunes. Although it seems that everything is flat, you may be surprised to see how easy it is to get lost. If you travel with someone, avoid venturing too far and without telling the rest of the group. The only witness will be some sand viper, which you will surely meet. In the event that you have made plans for a night in the desert, keep in mind that getting up early and watching the sunset is the best thing to do in the dunes. The colors and shadows are breathtaking.
Conclusion
“Luxury Desert Camping in Morocco” explores the fascinating activity of camping amid the dunes of the Sahara desert. Remarkably, luxury camping is a relatively new addition to tourist experiences of this remote region of Morocco. In contrast to the more rustic camping experiences and overnight excursions organized in the past, luxury camping arrangements are designed to provide visitors with the best in comfort and style set against a dramatic and remote desert background. By guiding readers through the important stages of this unusual safari, the chapter serves as a practical resource for tourists looking to arrange a desert adventure of relative ease and comfort.
Ever since the arrival of European tourists to the Sahara, this harsh but beautiful desert region has been home to a wide variety of tourist activities. However, squad camping and severely rustic accommodation were the only options available until the relatively recent tourism phenomenon of luxury camping was introduced to the desert. Luxury desert camping began to enter the minds of adventurers visiting the Sahara after accounts of the luxury camping experience of Berber Saharan nomades were shared. It was only a matter of time thereafter that Sahara desert luxury camping became the talk of the international tourist community. Today, the engagement of the Sahara in “glamping” is an unconventional attraction to tourists exploring Morocco. What may have initially seemed an odd idea of spending the night in a tent, albeit in a luxury tent, in such a place known for its difficulties has evolved into one of Morocco’s must-do experiences.
