When to go to the Sahara
October to April for comfort, December and January for the sky
The short answer
October to April, and the sky decides the rest.
The camp is open from September to June and closed in July and August. Inside that season, October to April is the comfortable window: days from 18 to 28 degrees, nights that cool sharply, and air dry enough to keep the horizon sharp.
After that, the month you choose depends on what you came for. The desert is not the same place in December, when the nights are long and the Milky Way is at its brightest, as it is in April, when you can still be outside after dinner in a shirt.
Last reviewed 2026-09-28.
Month by month
What the desert does, and who comes then
The figures are the ones published across this site, not a brochure average.
- October and November
- The most comfortable weeks of the year. Days run from 18 to 28 degrees, the light is long and low, and the nights are cool rather than cold. This is when families with younger children come, and when a group can spend the whole day outside without planning around the heat.
- December and January
- The coldest nights and the best sky. Days reach 18 to 24 degrees, nights fall to between 2 and 8 degrees, and the air is so dry that the Milky Way casts a faint shadow. Bring real layers for after sunset. The last two weeks of December are the most requested of the year.
- February and March
- The walking months. Mild days, clear light and cool mornings make this the window for trekking sections across the erg and for long 4x4 days towards Lake Iriki. Photographers ask for March more often than any other month.
- April
- The last full month of the comfortable window, and the one that feels most like spring in the desert: warm days, soft evenings, and enough light after dinner to stay outside. School holidays make it busy, so dates go early.
- September, May and June
- The edges of the season. Days are hot, up to 35 to 45 degrees at the peak, and the nights are mild and starlit. Groups that come then start early, spend the middle of the day in the shade of the lounge tent and go back out at five. The camp opens in September and closes at the end of June.
- July and August
- The camp is closed. Nobody should cross that piste in high summer, and we would rather say so than take a booking that would disappoint. Requests for those weeks are answered with the nearest dates that work.
What decides more than the month
Four things that matter before the calendar
What you came for
If it is the sky, December and January are unbeatable: long nights, dry air and a Bortle Class 1 horizon. If it is walking, February and March. If it is sitting outside with a group until midnight, October or April. The month matters less than the reason.
School holidays
Half terms in October, Christmas and New Year, February holidays and Easter all fall inside the season, and they are the weeks families ask for first. The camp takes one group at a time, so those dates go eight to ten months ahead.
How far ahead to ask
Eight to ten months for the week between Christmas and New Year, and for the good weeks of October, February and April. Shorter notice is sometimes possible, because a single cancellation frees the whole camp rather than one room.
The night, not the day
Every month of the season drops sharply after sunset, in winter to around zero. Guests underestimate this more than any other fact about the desert. Layers, a hat and closed shoes for the evening matter more than anything else in the bag.
Once the month is settled, the next question is usually the length of the stay: how many nights in the desert sets out what each extra night adds. For the festive weeks, see Christmas and New Year in the Sahara.
Tell us the month. We answer with the nights that are free.
Within 24 hours you get real availability for those dates, a written figure for the whole camp and a day by day programme, whether you are two or eighteen.
Ask what is freeSee also: what to expect and what to pack, the sky at Erg Chegaga, getting there.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to visit the Sahara in Morocco?
Which month has the best sky for stargazing?
How cold does it get at night in the desert?
Can we visit the Sahara in summer?
When do families with children usually come?
Which month is best for trekking on foot?
Does the month change the price?
How many nights should we plan?
Private buyout
Ask for your dates
The whole camp for your group, from two guests to eighteen. Tell us when and how many of you: a written proposal for the whole camp comes back within 24 hours, with no commitment.
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2019
Open since
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4.8★
TripAdvisor
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8 tents
One group at a time
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24h
A written proposal, no commitment
For groups
Other ways to take the whole camp
- Private caravan and celebrations Three days or more, a chef, a butler and a night in the dunes
- Sahara training camps Clubs, gyms and teams, with 4x4 support and a kitchen for athletes
- Team building No signal, one table, real effort and nothing to escape to
- Bring your community Studios, gyms, clubs and companies selling places to their own people
- Group trips Up to twenty travelling together, with the whole camp to yourselves
- A family buyout Three generations, the whole camp, the sleeping map sent before you book
- Executive offsites A leadership team, two or three nights, no signal and one long table
- Board offsites Confidentiality, close protection and arrival by helicopter
