Sahara

Booking

When you book a trip on GetYourGuide, you get a confirmation and the question whether you want to pay immediately or if you just want to book a place and pay 48 hours before your trip (in case you want to regret it)

The day before, you will receive all the information you need via WhatsApp or the GetYourGuide app. (it's a good idea to have a local SIM card).

The tour I took you can find here.

First day

It’s along way from Marrakech to Merzouga, about 600km.

You will be picked at around 7am - 7.30am up somewhere within walking distance from your accommodation. And you can bring your bags, even if you have a big one, and store them in the bus which is of the large van/small bus size, 15-20 seats. In the vehicle it’s not a lot of space so bring only what you need inside.

It is not a very comfortable ride. The space is small and the seats are not very pleasant to sit in.

After about 2h the driver will make a stop for about 20min so you can buy a coffee and go to the toilet and after 2,5 hours more you will arrive at your first destination.

Aït Benhaddou

This ancient village, a UNESCO world heritage site, have been filming location for multiple blockbuster movies and TV-series. Ben-Hur, Indiana Jones, Gladiator and Game of Thrones are only a few of all the films that have been shot here.

You will be greeted by a guide when you arrive. The guide is an optional extra but I recommend that you go with him or her. The guide that I got, Muhammed, was very knowledgeable and he and is family is one of only eight families that still live inside the ancient village.

It is a spectacular site and very interesting to see. Taking photos was difficult because there are a lot of people everywhere and you arrive in the middle of the day in harsh daylight.

After the tour it’s time for lunch. The guide will take you to one of the many restaurants in the area. You don’t have to eat at the place he takes you to, there are other options, but I found it to be a perfect opportunity to get to know my travel companions a bit even though it was a little bit over priced, about 18€ for a three course meal with beverage.

The Journey continues

After lunch it’s time to go again because you will have 3-4h still to go before you get to your hotel. The driver will stop one or two times for 5min in the Atlas Mountains for you to go out and take pictures and a 20min stop for coffee, toilet etc.

Hotel

Around 6.30pm - 7pm you will arrive at your hotel for the first night which is included in the price and so is dinner that was served at 8pm.

The hotel I stayed in was nice. good room with a comfortable bed and shower, A big, but still cozy, dining room and a very nice terrace. The food was ok, they made Moroccan food and served it as a buffet, not bad, not excellent. After dinner you will be entertained by Berber music and you can dance if you want to. As a musician I felt that it was a bit touristy for my taste but they played their instruments quite well.

Second day

Early morning, breakfast at 7.30 and then off in the bus again.

It will be around three hours driving to your next destination and of course there will be a short, 20min, stop on the way.

Tinghir

And now we come to part of the your I liked the least, in fact I didn’t like it at all.

Here you will be greeted by a guide that will show you around the old part of the small city. It wasn’t very interesting and unfortunately the guide I got was a bit arrogant.

And then we were tricked into a trap.

He took us to a place where they make carpets, we were served mint tea and sat in a room full with beautiful, colourful, handcrafted carpets and we got information about how they were made, the difference between a handcrafted and an industrial made and also a bit about the history of handcraft and carpets in Morocco.

So far so good.

then they tried to sell us carpets, almost like they were trying to force us and used the “pity card”. It felt like an ambush.

I went out as soon as I realised what was going on.

After the 1,5h tour through the old parts of Tinghir it was time for a well deserved lunch.

Todra Gorges

The next destination is only a 15min drive from Tinghir, Todra Gorges.

A nice canyon with a river and a lot of goats were walking around but nothing out of the ordinary really. To many people asking you for money and to many tourists (saying a guy that was a tourist himself).

After about 1h we entered the bus again for the 2-3h ride to the desert.

Finally.

You will arrive in the outskirts of the big desert at around 5.30pm where you will have time to go to the toilet, have some mint tea and pack the small bag you can bring on your next means of transport.

The camel.

You will be showed to your camel and they will tell you what to do. It’s quite easy to ride a camel but be sure to hold on when they rise and maybe even more when they fall on their knees for you to get off.

Then follows a 1-2h ride on the animal depending on what tour you have booked. It is a bit bumpy but surprisingly comfortable. They will stop for 20min on the way so you can walk in the sand, take pictures or try sand boarding if you like.

Desert camp

When arriving at the camp there is going to be more tea, at this point you already know that it’s mint tea that is served and you will be given a tent.

The tents are nice, comfortable bed and electricity so you can charge your phone, camera etc.

Dinner is served about an hour after you arrive at the camp, and the food is good. At this time it’s dark outside and after the meal they will light a camp fire and perform Berber music by the fire.

When the lights are off you will also be able to see an amazing starry sky (if its not cloudy that is).

Bed time, after all the impressions and the long journey everyone, including me, are very tired.

Third day

Breakfast is served in the camp at 7am and 7.30 it’s time to climb the camel once again. 45min - 1,5h hours later you will be back to the bus.

Here you will have 20 min to freshen up and once again have some mint tea before the long journey back to Marrakech.

I will not bore you with all the details on the return trip. In short: it takes 10 hours and the driver will make three stops, two shorter breaks for coffee and toilet and one longer for lunch. You will be back in Marrakech at around 7.30pm - 8pm.

Conclusion

Is it worth it?

Yes and no but mostly yes.

I would have liked a shorter stop in Tinghir and Todra Gorges for a couple of more hours in the desert. And the bus isn’t the most comfortable even though the driver, Mohammed Bajo, was great.

Otherwise it was a good experience and I was lucky to be in a bus with very nice people

As a photographer

Now that I know what to expect there are things I would do differently the next time as a photographer.

I would probably rent a car myself and drive and spend more days going to the desert and back. I would like to see Aït Benhaddou in the sunset or sunrise, likewise with the Atlas Mountains. Perhaps two nights in the sand dunes also for finding good compositions and have more time for astro photography.