Camels at sunset
The ride out to camp is short by design — usually around 15 to 40 minutes depending on timing and conditions — and timed so you are on the dunes as the light turns.
Erg Chebbi · Merzouga · Morocco
A Luxury Desert Camp at the
Edge of Erg Chebbi
Ten private ensuite tents in the dunes near Merzouga, with a sunset camel ride, sandboarding, dinner under the stars and a fire that stays lit as long as people are still talking around it.
From 900 MAD per night — dinner, breakfast, sunset camel trek, sandboarding, campfire music and stargazing included.
Scroll
- 10 private ensuite tents
- Dinner & breakfast included
- Camel ride & sandboarding
- Hosted by a local team
The camp
Not just a bed in
the desert
Plenty of places will sell you a night in the Sahara. What people remember afterwards is rarely the tent itself — it is the hour on the dunes before dinner, the walk back in the dark, the drumming that starts without announcement, and the silence at four in the morning when you step outside because you cannot quite believe how many stars there are.
Arabian Nights Desert Camp is built around that whole evening rather than around a room key. There are ten tents, which is small for Erg Chebbi, and that scale is deliberate: it means the team knows who is arriving, what you need, and whether you would rather sit with everyone at the fire or take your tea to the top of the nearest dune alone.
Every tent has its own ensuite bathroom with a hot shower and flush toilet, a proper bed, and a glazed window facing the dunes so the first thing you see is sand. In winter there is a gas heater and extra blankets. Dinner and breakfast are included, and everything is cooked and served at camp.
See the camp and tents or read how an evening actually unfolds.
Step by step
Your desert evening,
step by step
Most questions we get before arrival are logistical. Here is the shape of it, from the moment you park your car in Merzouga.
- 01
Meet in Merzouga
We meet guests in Merzouga near the Shell service station. Cars stay in secure parking while you are with us. - 02
Into the dunes
You continue toward camp with our team, normally with the sunset camel ride — usually somewhere around 15 to 40 minutes depending on timing and conditions. - 03
Sandboarding and sunset
Boards come with us. The light on Erg Chebbi in the last hour is the reason most people came. - 04
Dinner, fire, stars
Settle into your tent, then dinner, campfire music and drumming when conditions allow, and as much stargazing as you can stay awake for.
Erg Chebbi rises straight out of flat desert — the dunes behind camp are the tallest in this part of Morocco.
Where you sleep
Deluxe and family tents
Ten tents in total. Four are Family Luxury Tents sleeping up to six, laid out with several proper beds, rugs and space for luggage — genuinely useful if you are travelling with children or as two couples. The remaining tents are Deluxe Tents, designed around the same standard of comfort at a more intimate scale.
Every tent, without exception, has a private ensuite bathroom with a hot shower and flush toilet, a dune-facing glazed window, a winter gas heater and extra blankets. No shared bathroom blocks, no walking across the sand at night in a dressing gown.
Deluxe tents
Deluxe tents, the same standard at a smaller scale
The tents that are not family suites are Deluxe Tents: a proper bed made up with linen, rugs underfoot, warm lighting and space to actually unpack for the night.
They are built to the same specification as the family tents — private ensuite bathroom, dune-facing glazed window, gas heater in winter and extra blankets — simply at a more intimate scale.
Private ensuite
A hot shower, in the middle of the Sahara
This is the detail that changes how a desert night feels. You come back from the dunes with sand in everything, and instead of queuing for a shared block you close your own door, run a hot shower, and come out to dinner properly clean.
Bathrooms are built into each tent with a stone basin, mirror and flush toilet, and are lit warmly rather than harshly — it still feels like the desert, just a civilised version of it.
How long to stay
One night, two nights, or longer
One night introduces you to the desert. Two nights lets you experience it. Longer stays can be arranged by request.
One night
The classic Sahara evening
Arrive in the afternoon, ride out at sunset, sandboard, settle into your tent, eat well, sit by the fire, sleep under the stars and leave after breakfast. It works beautifully if Merzouga is one stop on a wider Morocco route.
- · Sunset camel ride and sandboarding
- · Dinner, music when conditions allow, stargazing
- · Breakfast and onward departure
Two nights
The desert, with time in it
The second day opens up a 4x4 exploration of the wider region: tea with a nomad family, the Gnawa musical tradition at Khamlia, fossil areas, and lunch — often medfouna — with a local Amazigh family. Then back to camp for a quieter second evening.
- · Everything in the one-night stay
- · A full 4x4 day beyond the dunes
- · A second evening with nothing to rush for
Dinner, cooked at camp
Moroccan cooking served in the dining tent: soup, salads, a main tagine or similar, fruit. Tell us about dietary needs when you enquire and we will do what we can.
- Dunes
Sandboarding
Boards are available at camp and on the ride out. No experience required; the falls are soft. - Evening
Fire & drumming
Music and drumming around the campfire when conditions allow — informal, and often the best part of the night. - Night
Stargazing
Almost no light pollution. Step out of your tent at any hour and the sky is completely open. - Beyond
4x4 exploration
On two-night stays, a day out into the wider desert with nomad tea, fossil areas and Khamlia.
The fire is lit every evening. How late it runs depends entirely on the people around it.
The people behind it
Oualid and Ali
The camp exists because two people who had spent years arranging journeys through Morocco kept hearing the same thing from travellers: the desert night was the part they talked about afterwards, and it was also the part most often done badly.
Oualid came to it through guiding and designing private journeys. Ali grew up with direct connections to this desert and has long organised private travel through Morocco, particularly for Spanish-speaking guests. Between them they had a clear picture of what actually matters: a beautiful setting, a genuine welcome, a comfortable bed, private facilities, good food and enough flexibility that guests can shape their own evening.
Ali's brother Mohamed lives locally and manages the camp day to day, so there is always someone here who knows the dunes properly.
Getting here
Journeys and private transfers
Merzouga is a long way from most places you might be arriving from, and the drive is a genuine part of the experience rather than dead time — Atlas passes, kasbahs, palm valleys and desert towns.
Direct private transfers and multi-day journeys can be arranged from Marrakech, Fes, Ouarzazate, Errachidia and elsewhere in Morocco, handled with our associated team at Morocco Shiny Days.
What our guests say
Read it in their
own words
We would rather point you to the platforms than quote ourselves. Everything published there is written by people who actually stayed with us.
Google
Short impressions written by guests in the days after their stay, published on Google.
Read our Google reviewsTripAdvisor
Longer write-ups from travellers who combined the camp with a wider Morocco route.
Read our TripAdvisor reviews
Enquire
Check availability
Give us the basics and we will come back to you personally with what is possible for your dates.
Journal
Planning notes from the dunes
Luxury Desert Camp in Merzouga: What to Expect
Private ensuite tents, the ride out at sunset, dinner in the dining tent and a fire that runs late — an honest account of a night at Erg Chebbi.
One Night or Two Nights in the Merzouga Desert?
The most common question we get. Here is what the second day genuinely adds, and when one night is the right call.
How to Get to Merzouga from Marrakech, Fes and Errachidia
Routes, road character and arrival timing for the drive into Erg Chebbi — plus why the journey is worth planning properly.
- Where do we meet?
- In Merzouga, near the Shell service station. You leave your car in secure parking and continue with our team.
- How long is the camel ride?
- Usually around 15 to 40 minutes, depending on timing and conditions. Alternative arrangements can be discussed.
- Do the tents have private bathrooms?
- Yes — every tent has its own ensuite with a hot shower and flush toilet.
- Is it suitable for children?
- Yes. Four family tents sleep up to six, and children generally love the dunes and the fire.
Check availability
Spend a night at Arabian Nights Desert Camp
Send us your dates, how many of you there are and how you plan to arrive. We will reply personally with what we can offer.