Are you thinking about a trip from Marrakesh to the Sahara Desert but don’t know where to start with your packing? If so, this article aims to help you figure out what to pack (and what not to) so you can have the best experience in the Sahara Desert. While you might be thinking packing should be easy, there are a few things that I found were really great ideas or were things that I really wish I would have had on my own trip.
About a Sahara Desert Tour
There are loads of companies that offer excursions to the Sahara Desert from Marrakesh. Though, if you want to make sure to reach the actual Sahara Desert, you’ll want to look into one of the three day, two night tours to Merzouga. The Sahara Desert is just too far from Marrakesh to make it a day trip. While day trips to the desert are offered in Marrakesh, it won’t be to the Sahara Desert.
I booked my tour with Intrepid Travel and had a great experience. If you want to learn more about my tour, I wrote a whole detailed post about it. But here’s the summary. On day 1, we drove as far as the Todra Gorge. On day 2, we took a stroll in the morning before continuing on to the desert where we rode camels and enjoyed the panoramic views. Finally on day 3, we drove back to Marrakesh on one very long drive.
What to Pack for the Sahara Desert
While in general, I think packing for any trip is pretty straightforward, there are a handful that I think are extremely important to pack for your trip to the Sahara Desert.
Layers, Layers, Layers
In my opinion, layers of clothing are the single most important item to pack for your Sahara trip. Most people have this idea that the Sahara Desert is hot all of the time. It’s an easy assumption to make and until you really stop to think about your own trip there, you probably won’t think otherwise.
The general rule of thumb is that days are hot and nights can be cold, so you’ll need clothes for both ends of the spectrum. Sure pack your shorts for the day time, but don’t forget long pants and long sleeve shirts for the night time.
Now, let’s take that one step further. You’ll want to look at when you’re traveling. I visited the Sahara Desert in early March. It was still winter and I wore long pants the entire time. I also almost always had some kind of warmer layer on top (whether that be a fleece sweatshirt or a rain jacket). Nearly everyone in my tour group dressed the same way, though one guy did wear shorts one day and spent half of the day regretting that decision.
Before your trip, look ahead on weather apps and plan your packing accordingly. Rather than searching for the weather of the Sahara Desert, look for weather in the town of Merzouga. This is close to where you’ll be staying and can give a good idea of what to expect. For me, I saw that temperatures would be in the mid 60s (18 degrees Celsius) during my trip. That meant that I left all of my shorts at home, but I made sure to pack extra clothes that I could layer, particularly for sleeping at night.
Power Bank
You should be prepared to go without some luxuries on your Sahara Desert trip and that includes electricity. Yes, my desert camp did have electricity so we could charge our phones, but I wouldn’t count on it. This was just what happened at my desert camp and it should not be taken as the standard for all camps.
Instead of relying on a place to charge your phone at camp, bring your own backup battery bank. That way, no matter what your camp looks like, you’ll have a way to charge your phone to get those fantastic photos.
As a bonus, set your phone to airplane mode for the journey and only turn on service when you need it. You’ll be driving through some remote areas and while I could usually get a signal, it definitely helped to conserve my battery by switching to airplane mode.
Dirhams in Small Denominations
Morocco is a cash based economy. Some places may accept cards, especially when it’s large amounts (such as carpets), but you’ll still need to use cash for most of your purchases. Yes, many of the costs should be taken care of by your tour, but you’ll still need cash on your tour. You’ll need cash for tips, bottled water, snacks, and any souvenirs. In my case, I also had to pay for two meals.
It’s easy to get cash when you’re in Marrakesh by just going to an ATM. The problem is that ATMs tend to give out large denominations and you want to have as much smaller bills as possible. Trust me when I say that if you have smaller denominations, everyone on the tour will want to be your friend. On my tour, we were always looking for small denominations and rarely found them. Honestly, it was a giant pain and I wish I would have done something before my tour to ensure I was leaving with small bills.
Do yourself a favor and try to get small denominations beforehand. Whether you exchange them or break them by making other purchases, do your best bring a variety of smaller denominations. In my experience, you’ll need nothing bigger than a 100 dirham note, but try to get down to 20 and 50 dirham notes and even carry some coins.
Sunscreen
This should come as no surprise, but sunscreen is important. You’ll be in the Sahara Desert and the sun is strong. Protect your skin and pack some sunscreen. Yes, you could just wait until you’re here to buy some, but it might not be as easy as you think.
On my tour, there was one person in my group who took this approach. We stopped at a grocery store on our way out to the desert to pick up bottled water and snacks and she decided to also look for some sunscreen. While we found skin lightening cream, we didn’t find sunscreen and she ended up borrowing some from other people on the tour. Save yourself the headache and bring your own.
Bottled Water
In general, you can’t drink the water in Morocco, so you’ll want to stick to bottled water. The good news is that bottled water is cheap and it’s generally available everywhere. Still, you want to bring your own because water is limited in the desert. Either bring some with you when you leave Marrakesh or make sure to pick some up along the way. Odds are good that most people on your tour will need bottled water at some point, so you’ll likely make a stop somewhere on your first day, so be proactive and pick up what you need for the whole three days.
My recommendation is to bring a refillable bottle from home. Then purchase a larger one or two gallon jug of water (or larger if you’re sharing with more people). It’s more effective and uses less plastic.
Snacks for the Journey
The drive from Marrakesh to Merzouga is long and you’ll want to make sure you have snacks for the journey. I had a few things packed from home, but we did stop at a grocery store along the way. While it was more of a stop for bottled water, I’m pretty sure everyone in our group of 14 picked out some kind of snack to bring along. There’s no guarantee that you’ll stop along the way for snacks, so make sure you have a few things on you, just in case.
Bonus: bring something to share. Pretzels, chocolates, and a few other treats were definitely passed around our bus.
Ziploc Bag
This one might sound strange but hear me out before you judge me.
You’re going to the Sahara Desert and you’ll be walking on sand dunes. No matter what you do, you will end up with sand in your shoes and socks. You can shake it out the best you can, but you will not get all of the sand out of your socks. By having a Ziploc bag, you can avoid getting sand all over the rest of your luggage. Once you leave the desert and you’re done walking through sand, shake your socks out as best as you can, put them in the Ziploc bag and don’t worry about it until you get home and do laundry.
This is not the first place I’ve done this. Great Sand Dunes National Park, White Sands National Park, and Indiana Dunes National Park all had me separating my hiking socks from the rest of my laundry. The Ziploc bag had sand, but the rest of my luggage didn’t.
What About a Sleeping Bag?
On the packing list provided by my tour company, we were told to consider bringing our own sleeping bag. Blankets were provided for us in the desert camp and we were told that it would likely be enough for most people, but those traveling in winter may want to bring an additional sleeping bag.
I traveled during the first week of March, so it was still winter. I did not find a sleeping bag necessary. The blankets provided were warm and heavy. Plus, there were additional blankets in each tent (so each person had access to two blankets). While I did sleep in extra layers (leggings and sweatpants on for pajama bottoms and a long sleep shirt and puffy coat on top), I was perfectly fine with one blanket and I am a notoriously cold sleeper.
That said, I did bring a sleeping bag liner and I am grateful for that. I didn’t get the feeling that the sheets were washed as frequently as most hotels would (they’re in the remote desert so that makes sense), so it was nice to have one layer between me and the sheets and blankets.
Final Thoughts
Walking through the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert (or even taking a camel ride) is a bucket list experience. While it’s easy to focus on the activities you’ll do while out in the desert, don’t forget to be smart with your packing. Having the right items can make the difference between a good trip and a great trip.
Continue Your Adventure
Morocco: Learn more about my experience in the Sahara Desert and determine if the trip is right for you. Plus get all my top travel tips for traveling in Morocco.
Spain: While technically a different continent, Spain is just a short flight from Morocco. Take in the architecture of Barcelona, the Alhambra of Granada, the relaxed vibe of Sevilla, or one of the great day trips from Madrid.