When most people think about traveling through Morocco, their minds go straight to the Sahara Desert. They picture the endless red sand dunes, the camels resting under the sun, and steaming cups of Moroccan mint tea surrounded by silence and stars. It’s one of the most photographed and romanticized experiences in the country, and for many travelers, it feels like the ultimate Moroccan adventure.
But that image only represents a small part of what Morocco really is. The country stretches from the Mediterranean in the north to the rugged Atlas Mountains and the vast desert in the south. Each region has its own culture, scenery, and rhythm of life. Still, the desert tours remain one of the most popular and promoted experiences for people visiting Morocco.
After spending a few months in the country, I decided to join one myself. I’m not usually the type to book group tours or guided activities, but when it came to visiting the desert, everyone I spoke to told me it was the best way to go. I was in Fes and planning to end up in Marrakech, so I chose the well-known three-day tour from Fes to Marrakech. It included one night in the desert, one night in another city, and several stops along the way. The itinerary sounded amazing, and I was honestly really excited.
But in the end, it became one of my least favorite experiences in Morocco, and one of the biggest tourist traps I’ve ever fallen into.
That doesn’t mean every desert tour is bad. I’m sure there are smaller and more authentic ones out there. But from my own experience, and from speaking to other travelers who did the same route, most of these tours are nearly identical. They often feel rushed, commercialized, and far from the magical desert escape they promise.
In the next part, I’ll explain what the tour actually included, and why it didn’t live up to the expectations.
The tour I booked was three days and two nights. It included transportation, two nights of accommodation, and two breakfasts and dinners. Altogether, it cost around 220 US dollars.
What it didn’t include, though, was water, which honestly really put me off. If you’re doing a three-day desert tour with long hours in the hot sun and meals already included, you’d think at least one bottle of water per day would be part of it. But it wasn’t. We had to buy our own every time we stopped, and the prices were often higher since we were in the middle of nowhere.
Lunches and any other drinks weren’t included either, so we ended up spending more than expected throughout the trip. There were also extra fees for optional activities in the desert, like riding ATVs or going back out on the camels for sunrise.
The tour I did was three days and two nights. We left Fes early in the morning and immediately stopped in a small town for breakfast. The only café there was extremely overpriced and only served pastries and coffee, which cost more than five euros each. There was also just one small shop to buy snacks from.
Throughout the day, we made a few stops, including the “monkey forest,” which turned out to be full of people asking for money to feed the monkeys. It felt like a total trap, and it was strange seeing monkeys hanging around on the side of the highway. We stopped at a few lookout points, but most of the day was spent driving.
We eventually stopped for lunch in the middle of nowhere at a single restaurant that only offered a buffet for 150 dirhams, which is over 15 US dollars. The food was some of the worst I’ve ever had, but since there were no other options, everyone just ate there. After a long day of driving, we reached the desert right before sunset. Out of nowhere, another traveler and I were moved into a completely different group, and our bags were thrown into the back of a random car. About thirty of us were driven toward the desert together.
It took the guides forever to organize everyone and get the camels ready, so we ended up missing the sunset. We rode the camels just barely past the town and into the edge of the sand dunes, but by the time we got there, the sun had already set and the light was almost gone.
At least the camp itself was nice. We stayed in luxury tents with bathrooms, showers, and a comfortable common area to relax in. Dinner was buffet style again, and the food was average. Once more, water wasn’t included, and we had to pay for bottled water or any other drink. After dinner, they held a music and dance show around a bonfire, but I decided to skip it. Instead, I walked about twenty minutes away from camp to a darker area where I could see the stars properly. That was one of the few moments that actually felt peaceful and real, and I remember wishing the entire experience had been more like that.
The next morning, we had the option to pay another 700 dirhams to ride ATVs into the sand dunes for sunrise. I told them several times that I wanted to walk instead, but they said I wouldn’t have time because sunrise was at 7:45 and breakfast was at 8. In the end, we only got to see the sunrise from far outside the dunes for about five minutes before heading to breakfast, which was one of the most mediocre meals I’ve ever had.
After breakfast, we were loaded back into a massive bus, and to fit everyone’s luggage, some of us were even told to sit on the roof. We were then divided again into smaller buses, mixed with completely new groups of people.
That day, we continued driving through the desert and stopped at a small village for a short guided tour of a local market. It was nice but lasted only about forty minutes. After that, we spent several more hours driving, stopping briefly for photos or coffee before lunch. Once again, there was only one restaurant option, filled entirely with tourists, serving a fixed overpriced menu. The food was bland, and what made it worse was that we had no other choice. We would drive past towns with plenty of cafés and restaurants, only to stop somewhere isolated with one place that clearly worked with the tour companies. I respect the hustle, but it was frustrating to have no freedom to choose where or what to eat, especially when we were paying for it.
Later that afternoon, we visited the Todra Gorge, which was stunning. We had about fifteen minutes to walk around and take photos before continuing on our way. We drove through the sunset until we reached Ouarzazate, where we checked into a hotel for the night.
The hotel itself was actually really nice, but the organization was a mess. Because the guides kept moving me and another traveler between random groups, the hotel staff couldn’t figure out our reservation. They tried to put me and a guy I had just met in the same room, assuming we were a married couple. Both of us were traveling solo and definitely not comfortable sharing a bed. It took a while for them to sort it out, and when they finally did, we were given separate rooms that were pretty run down. At least the dinner and breakfast at this hotel were much better, with more variety, but once again, we had to pay for water and drinks separately. Thankfully, there was a supermarket nearby, so we stocked up on snacks to avoid overpriced lunches the next day.
The following morning, we visited Ait Ben Haddou, a famous filming location for many movies. We were also offered an optional visit to the film studio nearby, but it came with an extra cost, and no one in our group wanted to pay for it. We had about an hour to explore the village and filming sites, which was genuinely interesting. After that, we got back in the car for another long day of driving to Marrakech. We only stopped a couple of times at lookout points or cafés before finally arriving in Marrakech around 5 p.m., where we were dropped off near our hotels and hostels.
Let’s talk about why this tour ended up being so disappointing and, honestly, why it left me feeling like I had been trapped for three days. Nothing about the experience felt authentic. I felt like I was just being tossed from bus to bus, from one hotel to another, without any care for what the experience was actually like for the travelers. It felt as if once they had our money, that was all that mattered.
One of the most frustrating parts was how fixed the lunches were. I assumed that since lunch wasn’t included in the price, we would at least be able to choose where and what we wanted to eat. But instead, it felt completely controlled. We would drive right past towns filled with cafés and restaurants for twenty minutes straight, only to stop at one isolated spot with a single overpriced restaurant where we had no other choice. It felt very intentional and honestly quite manipulative.
The lack of water was another huge issue for me. It still blows my mind that we paid for a three-day tour that included meals but not a single bottle of water. Sitting down for a buffet breakfast or dinner and realizing that even a glass of water wasn’t included just felt ridiculous.
The stops during the day were also incredibly short. Sometimes we would pull over for less than five minutes, snap a quick photo, and then be rushed back into the bus. Some days we had a guide, and some days we didn’t, but even when we did, they barely said anything about the places we were visiting. The only times I actually learned something were during the tour of Ait Ben Haddou and later that night in the desert, when I went stargazing and met a local man who told me about life in the region. Those moments were meaningful, but everything else felt surface-level and disconnected.
The scenery itself was stunning. The landscapes across Morocco are absolutely beautiful, but the way this tour was structured made it feel fake and rigid. It didn’t allow time to appreciate or connect with any of it. I expected long car rides, but I didn’t realize they would take up almost the entire day, with bathroom breaks lasting longer than the stops at the actual viewpoints.
If I could go back, I would never do this tour again. I would find my own way into the desert, rent a tent, and create my own experience. I’d take my time exploring the small towns along the way, the ones we only got to see for a few minutes before being rushed back into the bus. I understand that traveling these long distances can be tricky and time-consuming, but I would still choose independence over another tightly controlled and overpriced tour like this, whether it was a one-day trip from Marrakech, a one-day trip from Fes, or another three-day route between the two.
I think the reason these tours have become such a tourist trap is because when people come to Morocco for a short trip, whether it’s a weekend or a week, the Sahara Desert is always at the top of their list. Most people aren’t going to rent a car, drive hours into the desert, and figure out where to stay on their own. It’s understandable, but it’s also what has created this massive industry of rushed, commercialized desert experiences.
Morocco attracts a lot of European visitors and North Americans studying abroad in Europe, and many of them are more interested in getting the photos than in having a meaningful experience. The locals have definitely adapted to that demand. When we finally arrived at the dunes for sunset, I was already disappointed that we were late and didn’t have time to climb into the sand dunes. Instead of giving us a moment to enjoy it, the guide kept insisting on taking photos of me, even though I didn’t want any at that point. It was so clear that they were used to people coming for the Instagram shots, not for the actual moment.
I’ve done other tours before that were definitely touristy, but this one really surprised me. Online, I always see people describing the Sahara Desert as a magical, once-in-a-lifetime experience. For me, it turned out to be one of the worst things I did in Morocco. It left me with a bad feeling about how tourism has shaped parts of the country and about how much of the experience now caters to convenience and comfort instead of connection and culture.
I truly love Morocco. I’ve spent months here and have had so many amazing experiences, but this tour made me see another side of tourism in the country. It showed me how quickly things can change when a place adapts to what short-term visitors expect, rather than what it naturally offers.
If you’re someone who values comfort, quick photo stops, and organized schedules, then this tour might be perfect for you. But if you crave authenticity and want to truly experience a place beyond what you can see from a car window, I’d recommend finding another way to see the Sahara. The people who enjoy slow travel, adventure, and genuine connection would probably feel just as trapped and restricted as I did during those three days.
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