2 Day Sahara Desert Tour From Marrakech

"We left Marrakech at seven and the light over the Atlas by mid-morning was worth the early start on its own. Our 2 day sahara desert tour from marrakech ended with a camel ride into the Zagora dunes just as the heat broke, maybe forty minutes in the saddle, and my legs felt it the next day. Bring a scarf for the wind because the sand does find everything."

"The Tizi n'Tichka pass is a long stretch of switchbacks and I would not recommend the back row if you get carsick. Ait Ben Haddou in the afternoon was hotter than expected but the mud-brick walls glowed a deep orange. At camp the Berber drumming went on past midnight and nobody wanted it to stop."

"Our guide Youssef spoke four languages and switched between them without missing a beat. The tent had a proper mattress and thick wool blankets, which mattered because the desert dropped cold after two in the morning. I have never seen the Milky Way that clearly."

"Be realistic about the mileage on this Marrakech desert tour, you are in the van for a good chunk of both days and the seats are basic. That said the Draa Valley palmeraie stretching green between bare hills was a landscape I had never pictured Morocco having. The mint tea stops broke it up well."

"Nous avions réservé un circuit désert Zagora depuis Marrakech un peu au hasard et c'était une belle surprise. The camel trek out to camp took us over low dunes with the last sun on the hamada, and the silence once the engines stopped was total. Our driver stopped whenever anyone wanted a photo."

"Dinner was a vegetable and chicken tagine served in the big communal tent and there was plenty of it. Booking 2 day sahara desert tour from marrakech tickets a week ahead got us a smaller group, only twelve people, which made the whole thing feel less like a conveyor belt. Sunrise over the dunes at six was quiet and nobody rushed us."

"December meant cool days and genuinely cold nights, so the extra fleece was not optional. Ait Ben Haddou had barely any crowds and we walked up to the granary at the top with the whole ridge to ourselves. The kasbah's chevron patterns on the walls photograph beautifully in low winter sun."

"We compared several 2 day sahara desert tour from marrakech tours before choosing this one and the pickup was punctual at our riad door. Riding a dromedary is stranger than it looks, the lurch when it stands up caught everyone off guard. The Draa Valley date palms went on for kilometres and our guide explained the irrigation channels."

"August heat in the Zagora Desert is serious and the middle of the day was spent mostly in the air-conditioned van, which was fine by me. The camp had bucket showers rather than plumbing so set expectations accordingly. Watching the sand shift colour from gold to rust at sunset made up for the dust."

"Our small group Sahara excursion felt personal, the crew learned everyone's name by the first tea stop. The Atlas villages clinging to the terraced slopes on the way up were as memorable as the desert itself. Anyone taking a 2 day sahara desert tour from marrakech tour should pack a headtorch, the camp lighting goes off early."