Budget camel safari in Morocco
| country: | Morocco |
| location: | Sahara Desert |
| departures: | This trip can be tailor made all year round to suit you (not recommended for children under 16 during the very hot summer months of June, July & August) |
| price: | From £234 (8 days) excluding flights |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Have the experience of a life-time living and travelling with us in the Moroccan Sahara. Camel trek into the towering sands of the Erg Chebi and journey through the stark, flat and rocky Black Desert. Experience a nomadic lifestyle on a 5 day camel trek to a very remote green and tranquil oasis. Sleep under the stars or visit overnight real nomads.
Find out how to cook traditional North African bread in the sand and weave Berber sleeping mats, learn how to keep water cool in the hot desert sun and hunt for the unusual rock formations known as ‘sand roses’.
We are a small family business and can only accommodate 2 groups at a time. However, your group will experience this adventure independently of other guests. Groups trek seperately so this will be unique experience for you and your friends. This no-frills excursion will add a unique and authentic dimension to your holiday. An experience only for the truly adventurous!
Find out how to cook traditional North African bread in the sand and weave Berber sleeping mats, learn how to keep water cool in the hot desert sun and hunt for the unusual rock formations known as ‘sand roses’.
We are a small family business and can only accommodate 2 groups at a time. However, your group will experience this adventure independently of other guests. Groups trek seperately so this will be unique experience for you and your friends. This no-frills excursion will add a unique and authentic dimension to your holiday. An experience only for the truly adventurous!
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | We will meet you in our local town before travelling together to our home in the village of Ras-el-Erg on the edge of the magnificent Erg Chebi dunes. We will need to guide you – there is no direct road to our home! On arrival at our home you will be greeted by the family, shown to your room where you can relax and settle in. |
| Day 2: | We will leave early in the morning and travel by camel trek through the arid rocky planes of the Black Desert. The first day of the trek will include about 5 hours of camel riding, stopping for lunch before finding a nomadic family with whom to spend the night. |
| Day 3-4: | Another 5 hours on the camels on day 3, broken by lunch under the shade of a palm tree before continuing on to a stunning and remote oasis – a green vision not visited by many tourists. Here you can find out how to cook ‘Berber Pizza’ in the sand! You will spend the night under the trees at the oasis and enjoy the morning of day 4 in the cool shade before leaving to spend the night with another nomadic family. Search for the ‘Rose de Sable’ – the unusual rock formations that are found in this region and sold throughout Morocco. You might also be lucky enough to see some local wildlife shading under a cool rock. |
| Day 5: | A leisurely 3-4 hours on the camels, stopping for lunch and to top up water supplies from the well before relaxing under some trees. After another night with some nomads you will surely feel that you too are nomad as the dramatic black rocky desert starts to turn into the familiar orange sand of the Erg Chebi. |
| Day 6: | Enter the magnificent towering sand dunes of the Erg Chebi (about 5 hours riding). Lunch will be with a local Berber family before you ride to our tent in the heart of the dunes. Surrounded by massive sand dunes, the fittest of you will be challenged to climb to the top – just to see if you can make it! For the less energetic there are smaller dunes, which enable you to access views that are just as good. Fresh tagine will be cooked and served in the dunes. If you are lucky enough to be in the dunes on a night with a bright moon, you absolutely must stand on top of a dune to see the seemingly endless desert bathed in a mysterious blue light. |
| Day 7: | In the morning you will return by camel to the our home to spend the day with the family relaxing, finding out about our life or learning traditional Berber skills. |
| Day 8: | We will be sorry to say our goodbyes in the early morning. |
travelling with a local operator
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.how this holiday makes a difference
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All your money goes straight to the family generating income directly for the local community. You pay them directly at the beginning of your visit. There are no hotel managers or pushy guides to pay. This holiday is fairly priced, permitting the family to improve their standard of living and quality of life, while providing you with a very reasonably priced holiday. We ask guests not to haggle with the family; it seems only fair that all prices are fixed and agreed at the time of booking.
If additional camels are needed to accommodate your group they are rented locally, providing extra income for other local families. On longer camel treks you may stay overnight with nomadic Berber families who are again paid fairly for their hospitality. We also ask that you respect the family’s culture and home by dressing modestly and by smoking only in your room or away from the home and family. If you bring alcohol please do not drink excessively and not in front of the family. We thank you for your kind consideration with regards to this and hope that it will allow you a closer insight into the Morroccan nomadic lifestyle. We strongly encourage the drinking of boiled well water (provided free of charge). The purchase of bottled water is possible in the local village shop; however the disposal of plastic bottles is problematic. We ask guests to bring a refillable water bottle so that you can carry a small supply of personal drinking water at all times. Food scraps and vegetable peelings are fed to the family's animals, nothing is wasted. Cooking is powered by bottled gas to reduce the amount of vegetation removed from the local arid landscape. Electric lights in the family home are powered by a solar panel attached to the roof. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |