A night in the dunes is the romantic picture we have of Morocco, but I’ve read it’s a long drive from Marrakech to get out there and back. We don’t want to spend the trip in a minibus. Was the desert camp a highlight worth the journey, or would you skip it next time?
Ait Benhaddou is a place you’ll never forget. It’s a magic place, arising as if in a dream, from the desert. DEFINITELY GO!! The drive is also interesting, if you have a driver/guide who explains things and provides a history lesson. Every traveler has different interests - mine include history and great architecture.
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I haven’t been myself yet, but I’ve done a bit of Morocco research and read through a lot of tour reviews, and the Sahara camp seems like one of those things people either call the highlight of the whole trip or say they wish they’d built in more time around it.
Typically a tour can break the super long drive up with overnight stops like Ait Benhaddou, the Atlas Mountains, Todra Gorge/Dades Valley, or continues onward to Fes instead of looping straight back, it seems to make way more sense. From what I’ve seen, I probably wouldn’t skip it if it’s your first Morocco trip and the desert is part of the dream. The camel ride, sunset/sunrise over the dunes, dinner/music at camp, and waking up in that landscape seem like the kind of memory people keep talking about years later for sure!!!
So my take is that it is probably worth it if the itinerary gives it breathing room, probably exhausting if it’s squeezed in too tightly. Curious if anyone here did the one-night camp and felt like it was enough, or if you wished you had stayed two nights?
Agree with SafeTokio --a highlight of ALL our travels. Get out of Marrakech – there is so much cooler stuff to do. The sounds at night, the amazing stars, the dinner and the music, the food is great, the tent is romantic and exotic, the camels are fun to ride – surfing on the dunes, the sunset, even the market town of Erfoud. We loved it.