An adventure in Morocco: Glamping in the Sahara Desert

We can say we traveled a lot already, but spending a night in the desert was one of the most beautiful and unusual experiences we had.

The Sahara Desert is one of the main attractions in Morocco and it was a place we really wanted to be at; the immensity of the sands, the dromedary ride to the lodge… and what is it like to sleep in a tent in the desert? Find out everything in this article!

We started this adventure of walking through the desert in Merzouga, at the “gates” of the Sahara Desert on the Moroccan side. The heat was still sweltering because, despite the end of the day, the thermometers marked 42 degrees. This temperature prevented us from making the one-way dromedary, as the sand was too hot for our Rafa to be able to go on a leash to the lodge (No, we did not risk putting our dog on a dromedary, it would have been challenging! Eheh). However, there were some 4×4 jeeps available to make most of the route faster. The return, in the morning, was then made on top of our dromedary friends.

A tea (and a dog) in the desert

When we arrived at the Saharian Luxury Camp, the glamping camp we were staying overnight, it was impossible not to be amazed. Although we had seen many photographs on the internet before, this place exceeded our expectations. Who could imagine a little piece of luxury like that in the middle of the desert? It was comfortable, cosy, well decorated and the staff was very kind… who could even imagine a tent with a complete bathroom, there, in the middle of “nowhere”?

We were welcomed with traditional Moroccan mint tea and delicious cookies. The movie of sunset in the desert was about to start, right in front of us! Without a doubt, it’s one of the most beautiful sunsets we know! Even Rafa was delighted, but we suspect it was for another reason – the dromedaries. 🙂

A camp just for us

We felt like the Arabian kings for a night and honestly, we did not dislike the idea at all. 🙂

From that camp of ten tents, only ours was occupied, which made the calm invade even more that place when it was time to lift the head and have a glance at the starry night that was! The only tent occupied was, in fact, the restaurant, where we were entitled to a small live Moroccan music show.

Dinner was served in our tent. As a starter, a basket with typical Moroccan bread to soak in flavoured oil. A delight! Then, a carrot and ginger soup and, for the main course, roast lamb, potatoes and rice with icing sugar. Yes, it may sound strange but it was pretty good!

Curiosity: that night, it rained a little and the temperature was 28 degrees “only”, oh yeah! Even St. Peter was our friend on this stay in the desert!

A perfect farewell to the desert

The next day, we woke up early (around 6 am) to watch another beautiful show – the sunrise – and we stayed there, waiting until he decided to meet the skyline. While we were waiting, guess what our dog decided to do to spend time. Holes in the sand! 🙂

We took plenty of pictures and, after having breakfast, we took the trip back to our car by dromedary. Since it had rained at dawn, the temperature was also slightly lower in the morning, which made the trip more pleasant to take.

Rafa was sad not to ride any dromedary, but he was entitled to a private and typically Moroccan dog walker! Mohamed, a friendly hotel employee, delighted our little dog by walking with him on the leash by the dunes, while he was playing in the sand and we were enjoying the view from above. 🙂

As planet Earth is pretty small, we met a group of Portuguese tourists, also taking the dromedary ride during our journey.

Great way to say goodbye to the desert, isn’t it? 🙂

Click here to watch our video about this adventure in the Sahara Desert and know more about how it is to sleep in a glamping tent in this far away place!

Kisses, hugs and licks

Sara, Pedro and RAFITA 🐶