Camel Ride and Night in a Camp

Have you ever imagined how it is like to ride a camel (known as the original boats of the Sahara) on the fascinating sand dunes of the Moroccan Sahara desert? Imagine this iconic image of undulating sand, as high as 160 meters, as far as the endless horizon, reflecting your shadow as the sun sets behind you. This, and more, is what a magical Moroccan moment is made of.

With Rough Tours and its network of guides, drivers and camel men, there is no boundaries to the realization of some of the most incredible and amazing desert experiences. Imagine no more.

The desert communities off Merzouga (Erg Chebbi) and the remote oasis village of Ramlia, are the most accessible base for camel rides and the start of your mesmerizing encounters with the awe inspiring Sahara desert.

To reach Merzouga for the Erg Chebbi desert, from all Moroccan cities:

From Fez

With Your Car:

From Fez it is an 8-hour drive by car to Merzouga where you will be met by a Rough Tours guide. You can ride the camel when you arrive in late afternoon or spend the night in the hotel and ride the camel early in early morning or in the afternoon of the next day to spend the night in equipped berber tents in the middle of the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi, Merzouga. Your luggage will be left in a guesthouse and ride the camels by 3 or 4 pm, to spend the night in a camp where the dinner is included. The camel ride will take one hour and 20 minutes in before the sunset. The next day after sunrise, you will have the chance to ride the camels back to the same guesthouse enjoying the landscape over the sand dunes with a different colors which changes depends on the light on the sun.

Public Transportation:

If you do not have your own car, you can use the public transport bus operated by Supratours which is an overnight bus, starting from Fez and arrives in Merzouga early morning ( 6 am).  We will meet you in Merzouga bus station and drive you to a guest house where you can have a room to relax after a long night bus. Breakfast will be served as well.

You can have breakfast at the same place which is right on the side of the sand dunes, a place where you can enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful landscape over the sand dunes till late afternoon at 3 or 4 pm, and ride the camels for one hour and 20 minute before the sunset, On the next day after the sunrise, you will have the chance to ride the camel’s back to the same guest house enjoying the landscape over the sand dunes with a different colors which changes depends on the light on the sun. You will have breakfast and shower then take the public transportation to Fes at night or Marakech the same morning. Keep in mind that the bus to Marrakech leaves at 8:00 am in the morning and the bus from Merzouga to Fes leaves at 7:00 pm.

From Marrakech

Marrakech to Merzouga is about 10 hours’ drive by your car and there is Supratours bus every day from Marrakech to Merzouga which takes about 12 hours’ drive ( 8 am to 8 pm). In this case, we will meet you at night in Merzouga Bus station and drive to guesthouse near the sand dunes where you can spend the night, on the next day, you will ride the camels to have lunch with some nomads in the area then spend the night in a camp. On the next day after the sunrise, you will have the chance to ride the camels back to the same guest house enjoying the landscape over the sand dunes with different colors which changes depends on the light on the sun. You will have breakfast and shower then take the public transportation to Fes at night or Marakech the same morning. Keep in mind that the bus to Marrakech leaves at 8:00 am in the morning and the bus from Merzouga to Fes leaves at 7:00 pm.

Alternatively, there are grand taxies available for hire, which links the Moroccan cities and towns with Merzouga passing through Rissani.

Special destination

Erg Remlia is located 70 kms West of Merzouga. The off road from Taouz to Remlia is known as the Standard piste of Paris Dakar racing. Our clients who book the full tour package with us have the chance to ride the camels in either Erg  Chebbi or Remlia. The latter is a remote oasis area accessible only by four wheel drive cars, motorcycles or camels. A full service guesthouse is located outside the village.

As part of an ongoing effort to assist and improve the livelihood of the Nomads in this area, Rough Tours company is engaged in a project to raise awareness and funds for the education of Nomad children.