Marrakesh & Morocco Desert Safari
 

Hello all,

so one of my travel dreams is to ride a camel in the desert and well for that Morocco comes to mind.

I was wondering if anyone here has done such a trip and can recommend a reputable local company. I think 3 days would likely be enough as I'm thinking I would likely have to add a day before and after the trip in Marrakesh.

The reason I say local company is so that the locals benefit from tourism dollars as opposed to a foreign company that mistreats the workers as is often the case.

In any case any tips/suggestions are greatly appreciated.
In terms of price I would think/hope that $400-500 should be enough but again, maybe I'm out to lunch with this budget?

Thanks again!

On their last trip to Morocco in the spring, my Mom and Aunt used authentic-morocco.com to plan the Sahara portion of their trip, and had wonderful things to say about the company. My recollection is that their 3 or 4 day excursion cost about $600 per person, but I could be wrong.

I don't know if the company is locally owned, but I know that they use local guides, drivers, etc. Frankly, my attitude is that all companies -- regardless of the country in which they're based -- can exploit workers. (Just look at Chinese-owned factories if you don't believe me. In many cases, it's the foreign clients that insist on better working conditions.)

Thanks but I've realized that Morocco would need at least 5 days and even that would give me almost no time in Marrakesh and the souks.
I'm still trying to figure out a way to make it work though but it's not looking likely since my trip itself will only be 9 days in total...

I just reread your original post. Were you envisioning a day trip to the Sahara from Marrakech? I guess it's technically possible, but you'll really be cheating yourself out of a wonderful experience.

It's a little confusing whether you're talking about a 3-day, 5-day or 9-day trip to Morocco. There are several of us here who have spent time in Morocco...if you'd like to share your complete itinerary, we might be able to help with it.

For a first time trip to Morocco, I took this tour, which had an optional afternoon side trip to the Sahara with camel rides there for those interested. Very professionally run, and saw a lot of the country.

Cheers!

http://www.cosmos.com/Product.aspx?trip=46780

I meant the 3 day camel trek/tour, but my time in the country would have to be at least 5 days me thinks, which with only 9 days travel means little to no time in Portugal which is where I'm arriving/departing from Europe.

I haven't looked at schedules recently, but about a year ago my Mom was trying to carve out a Morocco trip while renting a house in Portugal. She had a heck of a time scheduling it because of flight logistics, and realized she would effectively lose 3-4 days to travel back and forth to Morocco from Portugal. So you may encounter similar problems.

Morocco is a fantastic country, but I think it easily deserves ~2 weeks if you want to see most of the major cities. If you're thinking about just a 3-5 day trip, I'd suggest you do one city or two, max, and skip the Sahara this time around.

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I don't think I've ever spent 2 weeks in one country lol.

I'd be content with a week in Morocco but im thinking that maybe I'll just do Tangier day trip depending on if I end up in southern Spain. At least get a mini preview.

You can certainly make this trip happen. The best sand dunes are in an area clear across the country, almost near the border of Algeria at Erg Chebbi. There are lots of companies in Marrakech that will arrange transportation, over night stays, and a camel trek out to a Berber tent for a night of traditional music and food - in the middle of the Sahara.

My wife and I recently did this a month ago through a company called Morocco Excursions.

Its one of the few companies in the area owned and operated by local Berber and Nomads. We couldn't recommend it more and we were on time restrictions (I agree, to really enjoy its splendors, you'd need more time).

We did a three day, two night trip with Morocco Excursions. The first day was over the Atlas Mountains and into the Dades Valley Gorge for a night. The next morning we drove up to the Sahara, took the camels out at Erg Chebbi, slept in the Berber tent and then woke up the next morning for our drive back.

Quick trip? Yes. Doable. Definitely.

You can read my wife's blog for more details of our full Morocco trip (Morocco Excursion part starts about mid-way through). Hope it helps: http://www.jaimefotheringham.com/min...wn-in-morocco/

Thanks for the info, but sadly with the exception of a day trip to Tangier, I think Morocco will have to wait. :(
Still I'm hopeful!

Marrakesh Desert Safari
 

Hello all,
I did a search for a thread about this but didn't see anything, hence me asking and hoping that someone can point me in the right direction.

Next month, I'm going to Marrakech with the main intention of doing a desert trek into Erg Chebbi/Mergouza (sorry if I mispelt them)
Now my days are fixed (Feb 16-18) so I was hoping to do the standard tour with the main highlight being the night in the desert and a camel ride during sunrise and sunset.

The few tour companies I've contacted based on ratings on tripadvisor either only run private tours or don't take solo travellers ie. have to book as a group, which sucks since I'm a solo traveller.

I have found a few that do take solo travellers but when everyone else's going rate is €150 and theirs is €80, the old saying "if it's too good to be true, it likely is" plays in my head. I have no issue paying a bit more, but I'm on a budget and there's a big difference between going up to €200-ish vs €500.

I'm not expecting anything luxurious by any means and am ok with roughing it, but would prefer NOT to have bedbugs, roaches or rats as roomies.

Anyways, just wondering if anyone can maybe make a recommendation or 2.

Worst case, i stay in Marrakech and do day trips, but I really have my heart set on the desert and want to make it happen.

Thanks again!

You started this thread a few months ago and got several recommendations. None of them panned out?

Also, your lack of search result may be due to your search terminology. Safari typically denotes watching game, which isn't typically of Moroccan Sahara jaunts. And while Marrakech is one of the main gateways to the Sahara, it isn't in the Sahara. Morocco + sahara or Morocco + desert might turn up better results.

As we do not permit cross-posting and bumping up the original thread should serve the purpose, we've merged.

JDiver
Senior Moderator

Never thought of that way.
I'll try doing new search parameters.
Sorry!
I couldn't find the original one or I would have bumped that old one.

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Anyone?
I'm starting to get a lil ansy since this is all that's left of my trip left to finalize...
I know I've read that one can simply show up but im starting to get a bit worried...