Overall, this trip is a MUST if you're in Morocco. It's a wonderful experience and I'm glad I got to go.
Some of the exciting stuff:
- You're in legit desert. Yes, you're still close to relative civilization, but that's probably a plus for most. It's an incredible experience to be out on the dunes, both on camel and on foot.
- The camel ride is fairly long - about 30 minutes. I've done those little 5-min rides in Cairo and they don't compare. You get to really enjoy the experience without dreading it coming to an end so soon. And the views from camel-back are spectacular.
- The culture: the staff is entirely local Berbers who are proud of their culture and are happy to share it with you. It also means they treat their surrounding - and the animals - with care. We were not harassed for money at any point on this trip, which is really nice.
- The stars are wonderful at night, especially if you walk away from the camp enough to block out the lights coming from it. There's still light pollution from Merzouga, so you won't see the Milky Way in all its glory, but it's enough to spend an hour or so gazing up at the night sky while sprawled out on the sand.
- We got the luxury tent and it comfortable enough given the location: hot water, western toilet and functional shower all included.
- The location is crazy photogenic - if you like taking pictures, you'll have tons that you'll love.
- You'll have plenty of time to chat with other travelers on your ride there and back!
So overall, a trip that you absolutely should do if you have a few days in Morocco.
However, there were definitely a few cons in this trip. Some of them were:
- You leave at 7:30am and return around 5pm the next day. That's roughly 34 hours, out of which you spend about 20 hours traveling to and back from Fes. Add in 5-6 hours for sleep (all you're gonna get), and you've got just about 8 hours of actually enjoying the desert out of a 34 hour commitment. If you can, I highly suggest doing the 3-day tour instead - that gives you a LOT more stuff to enjoy and makes the trip less crazy.
- The ride there and back was quite uncomfortable. The promised A/C was barely functional and the ride is long - we got really hot, especially on the way there. In fact, in mid-April, the desert was far cooler than the van we rode in. Add to that the packed car (1 driver + 8 passengers made for a cramped ride) and the crazy driving to get us there on time for the camel ride. Remember: riding in that van is the vast majority of the time you spend on this tour.
- We were confused about what's going on the ENTIRE tour. It started with the pickup: the driver got our address wrong (even after I sent the location on google maps the day before). But there's no driver phone number. There's just the number of the business - and they took their sweet time picking up the phone (±20 mins).
Once we arrived at the desert, the driver simply said "bye" and left. What were we supposed to do or where to go? Not his problem - we had to wait for some other folks come and direct us where to go.
Once the camel ride was over, same thing: what do we do now? Camel driver told us we could go see the sunset - what he didn't tell us was that it was either that or sandboarding - not both. After sunset, where should we go? Nobody told us - just figure it out.
At check in, we weren't asked for our names or confirmation number - just the name of the company we booked with. "Trip Morocco" was not one of them. They asked for our driver's name - but he didn't introduce himself so we had no idea. We basically got the room based on trust. (keep in mind that I didn't have internet and their wifi wasn't working, so I couldn't try to dig up the company name online)
This literally continued the entire trip. Where is our luggage dropped off? When was dinner? Where? When was the music performance? What do we do in the morning? Which group do we ride camels with on the way back? Where do we go to get picked up for the ride back to Fes? All of these were mysteries that we had to unravel on our own.
- I've read reviews about great drivers who shared a lot about the locations passed on the way - ours was very quiet. He had some conversations with folks in the seats at the front - but we couldn't hear anything at the back. We had the same driver there and back, so the ride was uninteresting (albeit picturesque)
- The music performance ends around 10:30-11. If you want to go see the stars, you'll need to stay up a bit later - or skip the music. You have to be at breakfast by 5am to make it to the camels in time to see the sunrise. Needless to say, you won't be getting a whole lot of sleep. Once again, not a whole lot you can do about this since it's a 2-day trip.
- Minor complaint, but: there were standard USB plugs in the tent - and that's it. No electrical outlets. I had to go over to the main tent to charge my phone. Also, while there was a wi-fi network in the camp, it didn't have internet access. I could only get internet reception ±100m from the camp. Not that I was going there to be on my phone, but still.
+ a few other minor issues
d0nage0rgianab
09 Apr 2023
El viaje es una pasada.recomiendo comprar el paquete luxury ya que te brincan más comodidades y mejores condiciones en el hamam.nos recogieron en el hotel .hasta el desierto tuvimos la oportunidad de sentarnos delante desde donde se puede disfrutar más del camino.paramos en varios sitios para hacer fotos,comer y tomar el té.el el desierto el paseo en dromedario es bonito por la experiencia pero por un precio adicional puedes alquilar un quad que eso sí que es una experiencia única.nuestro guía,Omar,fue súper simpático y estuvo pendiente de nosotros en cada momento,hasta para regatear las compras que hicimos por el camino???? .en el campamento pudimos disfrutar de la cena y un poco de música local.recomiendo este viaje y espero que pronto podamos volver
U6725ZQmariam
09 Apr 2023
El viaje es una pasada. Cogimos el viaje de 2 días desde Fez al desierto y vuelta en un hamam de lujo y la verdad que cubre todas las condiciones. Nos recogieron a lado del hotel y el guía,Omar estuvo super simpático y atento en todo momento. En las paradas y en el campamento nos acompaño y estuvo pendiente de nosotros. Desde luego que lo recomiendo y espero que podamos repetir