Plan Your Group
EN FR ES DE BR IT
Seen from above, a guide in a blue turban leads two saddled dromedaries on foot across the dunes

How many nights in the desert?

Two is the shortest answer, three is the one nobody regrets

Ask about your dates

Start with the journey

The road is a day. Count it before you count the nights.

Erg Chegaga is 60 km beyond the last paved road at M'Hamid El Ghizlane. From Marrakech that is about 8 hours 45 by road, of which the final 60 km is 1 hour 30 of piste, or 1 hour 40 by helicopter from Marrakech Menara, with five or six seats per rotation.

Two nights therefore leave one full day. Three nights leave two. That single difference is why almost every group that came for two nights writes afterwards that they should have stayed three.

Last reviewed 2026-09-24.

What each night adds

Two, three, five or a week

The camp takes bookings from two nights, one group at a time.

Two nights
The shortest stay the camp takes. You arrive in the late afternoon, you have one full day, and you leave the morning after. It works for a couple adding the desert to a Marrakech trip: a camel at sunset, one walk up the big dune, one dinner outside and one night under a Bortle 1 sky.
Three nights
Two full days, and the most common choice for families and groups. One day goes to the dunes and the camp, the other to a 4x4 excursion, the nomad families crossing the erg or the sandboard. Nobody is rushed, and the group stops checking the time on the second evening.
Four or five nights
The stay where a day gets left empty on purpose, and that is the day people talk about afterwards. There is room for a walking section with the caravan, a night out in the dunes away from the camp, a second telescope session, bread baked in the sand and a long lunch that nobody planned.
A week
For a private buyout that travels: the erg on foot or by 4x4, Lake Iriki, the road towards Foum Zguid, the oasis and the nomad families, with the camp as the fixed point. This is the format companies and large families take when the point is the journey, not the stop.

A day at the camp

Two activities, and a middle of the day that belongs to nobody

Morning

Breakfast is served when people appear, not at a set hour. The early risers walk up the big dune for sunrise, which is also the only place with a phone signal, about ten minutes up. The rest of the morning is a camel trek, a 4x4 excursion, a walk with one of the team, or nothing at all.

Afternoon

The hottest hours belong to the shade: the lounge tent, a book, a nap, tea. Later the dunes cool down and the sandboard, the dune driving, the buggy raid on the piste or a yoga session on the wooden deck fill the light before sunset.

Evening

Dinner is cooked slowly and served outside under the lanterns, often with bread baked in the sand. Afterwards the fire, the music of the team, and the telescope. The sky here is Bortle Class 1, the darkest class there is, and the Milky Way casts a faint shadow on a clear night.

What is never fixed

Everything above is offered, nothing is imposed. A group of twelve always contains someone who wants the dune at dawn and someone who wants to read until lunch. The programme works as a menu, which is the only way both of them meet at the table in the evening.

The full list of what can fill a day is on the activities page, from guided dune driving to the telescope. For a stay that moves across the erg, see the walking itineraries.

Send the dates and how many of you.

We come back within 24 hours with the nights that are free, a written figure for the whole camp and a day by day programme you can show the group before anyone commits.

Ask about your dates

See also: a family buyout, a group trip, getting there, including by helicopter.

Frequently asked questions

How many nights do most guests stay in the desert?
Three nights. Two is the shortest stay the camp takes, and it leaves a single full day once the journey is counted. Three nights give two full days, which is where a stay stops feeling like a stop on a route. Families and groups often go to four or five.
Is one night in the Sahara enough?
The camp does not take single nights. The journey from Marrakech is about 8 hours 45 by road, of which 1 hour 30 is piste on the last 60 km, or 1 hour 40 by helicopter. One night would mean arriving in the dark and leaving after breakfast, which is not worth the road.
What is there to do on the second and third day?
Camel treks, walking sections with the nomad families who cross the erg, 4x4 excursions towards Lake Iriki and the oasis, guided dune driving and buggy raids on the piste, sandboarding, Berber cooking, bread baked in the sand, music around the fire and telescope stargazing. Days are built from these, not from a timetable.
Can we fit several activities into one day?
Yes, and most groups do two: one in the morning and one in the late afternoon, with the hot middle of the day spent in the shade. The team is yours for the whole stay, so the order changes as the group changes its mind.
Does a longer stay work with children?
It works better than a short one. Children settle on the second day, and that is when the camp stops being a visit and starts being a place. The eight tents each have their own bathroom, and children sleep with their parents or in a tent of their own.
How many guests can take the camp for several nights?
The camp is private from 2 to 18 guests, and up to 20 with extra beds. One group at a time, for as many nights as you book. It is quoted as one global rate for the whole camp, set case by case for each request, never per person.
When is the best time for a longer stay?
October to April, when days run from about 18 to 28 degrees and the nights are clear. The camp is open from September to June and closed in July and August.
Can we arrive one day and leave by helicopter another?
Yes. Groups often come by road, which is a day of landscape, and leave by helicopter, which is 1 hour 40 to Marrakech Menara with five or six seats per rotation. It buys back a full day at the end of the stay.

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.

Prefer WhatsApp?

We reply by email within 24 hours. Your details are only used to answer you.

  • 2019

    Open since

  • 4.8★

    TripAdvisor

  • 8 tents

    One group at a time

  • 24h

    A written proposal, no commitment

For groups

Other ways to take the whole camp

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