My first desert trip is to date one of my funniest and most cherished travel stories. I joined an overnight desert trip from Marrakesh and it was memorable. I’ll share details and tips at the end too.
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Table of contents
A funny start to my desert trip
I am standing somewhere in the remote reaches of the Sahara Desert, the sun starting to set in the still far-away sand dunes, watching my camel, only mine out of 12 camels, run away for his life. I don’t know if I should laugh or be worried for the poor camel now being chased by one visibly upset Berber guide. In the meantime, my travel companions are observing the scene, amused.
Until a minute before, we were riding slowly, our bodies still feeling awkward on the back of the camels, when we came to a halt. In front of us, there was a long but narrow ditch that caused the first camel in a row, the one right in front of mine, to hesitate for a moment. Finally, with some harsh incitement from one of the guides, the camel gathered the courage to walk across the ditch but failed to take the accurate measurement and slid with one of his back feet in the ditch, instantly freaking out and causing also my camel to freak out at the sight of such dramatic accident.
Camel on the run
My camel, terrorized by the obstacle ahead, was pulling on the cord keeping him tied together to the camel in front, refusing to cross the ditch. Any incitement from the guides was pointless. My stubborn camel had decided there was no way he was going to suffer the same fate as his mate. Striving to find a solution, one of the guides untied my camel from the rest of the line and helped me get off. As soon as he was free of my burden, the camel started running, leaving me puzzled there, wondering if I was ever going to make it to the desert.
As I’m now standing here looking at the whole scene of my camel taking off, I think that this is not the greatest welcome the desert could give me. But I keep the faith. The guide finally catches the camel and drags him by the nostrils, guiding him across the ditch. I climb back on, they get the camels tied back together and we proceed on our journey, incident-free.
Before the desert
It’s the first evening of my two-day desert trip and we’ve been traveling almost 400 kilometers all the way from Marrakech in a minivan driven dangerously fast through the twists and turns of the Atlas Mountains. Along the way, we stopped in the Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, a fortified village famous for being the set of several films like Jesus of Nazareth, The Mummy, Gladiator, Alexander, Babel, Prince of Persia, and episodes of Game of Thrones.
The village seems to rise from the ground, hundreds of earthen clay houses that appear to be built one on top of the other, forming this tiny mountain in the middle of the lowland surrounding it, with only a few small palm trees and little other vegetation growing along a small and shallow stream flowing a few meters from the fortified walls.
We make our way to the top of the village through narrow streets lined with shops that sell scarves, rugs, spices, and various souvenirs. From the top, we can see other tiny villages, houses of the same color as the ground surrounding them, and green patches of land in between. In the distance, the Atlas Mountains are partly covered in snow. The wind is warm, and the temperature is around 20 degrees although it’s mid-January.
Zagora, on the edge of the Sahara Desert
After a few more hours of the same bumpy ride, we make it safely to Zagora, at the edge of the Sahara Desert where we change our means of transportation. Our guide showed us how to tie Arabic headscarves, so we do that to protect ourselves from the sand being blown in our faces, though it’s not that windy.
I am now enjoying the sunset in this weirdly plain desert, waiting for the dunes to appear while still trying to adapt to the movement of the camel and to find a somehow comfortable position. I had only ridden a horse once in my life, but this is another level of discomfort. Camels are hard, my inner thighs are already hurting and we need to go for a couple more hours. I try to focus more on admiring the scenery than on the pain and discomfort.
Dinner in the desert
So far, the desert is not how I expected it to be: no huge sand dunes and no warm wind blowing the sand around in circles while our camels walk in a line on the top of one massive dune. But the beauty is still undeniable. The sand is reddish-brown, even more so in the sunset light, vegetation is already scarce, and the blue sky is turning yellow on the horizon. As we keep riding, tiny little dunes begin to take shape and soon we can see the camp where we are going to spend the night: just a few black tents scattered around. It’s already nighttime when we finally dismount our camels and stretch our aching legs.
We leave our luggage and our hosts show us to the dining tent. The dinner consists of couscous with vegetables and chicken tajine and after the long camel ride, it tastes amazing. Outside the tents, there’s nothing but silence and darkness, the only feeble source of light is a campfire where our hosts are already gathering around. Some of us join them while they are starting to play some sort of bongo drums and sing incomprehensible songs. They show us how to play and we take turns, passing the drums around and trying to keep up the rhythm.
Under a starry desert night
I look around and smile watching these people coming from different parts of the world, speaking different languages, and still managing to connect through music. I look up and see the clearest sky filled with stars. I’ve only seen so many stars years ago when visiting my relatives in rural Romania, where lighting is still a luxury and all you can hear at night are crickets chirping. I realize that this is what I’ve been missing in my trips so far: being in nature, away from bustling cities and light and sound pollution, finally able to breathe pure air and smile, filled with gratefulness.
It’s getting cold, the temperature reaching zero degrees. The tents don’t provide much warmth, so we sleep with three woolen blankets on top of all our clothes. The only thing left outside the blankets is my nose, frozen cold. Still, I fall asleep smiling.
A Dalí painting
We wake up before sunset and have breakfast with bread, butter, and tea while watching the sunrise from the far-away dunes. We are left to enjoy the view for a while before getting ready for the ride back. My legs are not ready for it, but I get back in the saddle, we say goodbye to our hosts, and get going. As we ride away, the rising sun creates weird shadows on the sand, of creatures with long slim legs and short, bulk bodies. It looks like a Dalí painting.
At the end of the ride, which seems shorter than the previous day, I go back to my silly camel to pet him. He lets me do it and puts out his tongue. I guess he got over the accident. And all my doubts about the desert being unwelcoming are gone too.
On the van ride back, we are all exhausted and some of us fall asleep, bumping our heads against the windows as the shaky drive begins. We stop to visit the Atlas Film Studios in Ouarzazate. We see sets from Ancient Egypt, movie props, old cameras, prisons, and torture rooms but nothing can beat the starry night in the desert.
Marrakech and the desert
If you’re up for an adventure I have a few tips for you.
Marrakech is quite safe, but do pay attention to:
- People offer to give you directions or guide you to a place. They will ask for money at the end and you won’t get rid of them until you pay.
- People dressed up in different costumes asking you to take pictures of them. Same as above.
- Buying items in the souk, everything is overpriced. Offer about a third of what they ask, you will usually end up paying half the initial price.
Tips for the desert trip:
- Bring extra money. Some of the meals and extras like the guided tour of Ait-Ben-Haddou are not included.
- Don’t get fooled by the weather. Nights can get very cold in the desert, even if during the day there are 20 degrees it can easily go below zero. Dress in layers.
- No phone connection in the desert, it’s the perfect opportunity for a digital detox.
Fast Facts
Getting there: With a little bit of research, you can find cheap flights from the main European capitals. I flew with Ryanair from Barcelona, but you can find many affordable flights from all over Europe. I use Skyscanner to find the most convenient prices and I love how flexible and easy to personalize the search experience is. Check it out.
Staying there: You can easily find cheap accommodation in Marrakech. Find a room in a Riad inside the Medina for an authentic Moroccan accommodation. Ours, Riad Dar Nabila, was around a 15-minute walk from the main square Jemaa el-Fna. You can find this one and many others on Booking.com, my go-to platform for booking accommodation.
Desert Trip: most hotels offer desert trips from Marrakech for 2 to 4 people for around 300€ all included. However, you can also find companies which usually are cheaper but with bigger groups. We traveled with Marrakech Desert Trips which offers 2-day desert trips from 69€ per person with accommodation, dinner, and breakfast included (not sponsored).
Travel Insurance: Probably the most important part of any trip. You can find countless travel insurance companies out there. I recommend SafetyWing, one of the best travel medical insurances out there in my opinion. The policy works in 185 countries and extends automatically every month. Also, they just launched Nomad Insurance 2.0 with even more cool features. Find out more about the insurance coverage and sign up here.
Travel Resources
Finally, I gathered together all my favorite apps and websites for trip planning. I use each of these resources nearly every time I travel.
| Purpose | Website/App | Description | Book Here |
| Accommodation | Booking.com | My favorite website for great accommodation for different budgets. | Find a Place |
| Flights | Skyscanner | The platform I typically use for finding the most affordable flights. | Find Flights |
| Cheap Buses | Flixbus | My favorite app for cheap bus fares around most of Europe and the US. | Bus Rides |
| Transportation | Omio | You can book everything from buses and trains to ferry rides. | Transportation |
| Train Travel | Trainline | If you travel by train, this app is great for booking rides in Europe. | Train Rides |
| Travel Insurance | SafetyWing | One of the best travel medical insurances for frequent travelers. | Get Insured |
| Activities | Manawa | A great platform to book activities and adventures with local hosts. | Find Activities |
| Experiences | GetYourGuide | Another great platform for tours and experiences with lots of options. | Experiences |
| Car Rental | DiscoverCars | My go-to platform for car rental anywhere in the world. | Rent a Car |
| eSIM | Airalo | My favorite app for buying digital SIM cards when traveling abroad. | Get an eSIM |
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