What every tent has — €100 to €200 per tent
The camel trek out at sunset, dinner, music around the fire, a bed in a shared-style Berber tent, and a continental breakfast in the morning before you ride back.
Camel trek includedDinnerMusicBreakfast
Our own camp · Erg Chebbi
Our bivouac camp in the dunes
Forty minutes by camel from the hotel, out where there is no road, no village and no light but the fire and the stars. Twenty-two tents, all the same standard, each with its own shower room, toilet and air conditioning. From €100 per tent, including the ride in by camel or 4x4, dinner and breakfast.
Home → Desert Camp
Two camps, one location
We run our own bivouac. That matters more than it sounds: most hotels in Merzouga sell you a night at somebody else's camp and hope it goes well. Ours is set up by our family, staffed by our family, and if something is wrong we are the people who fix it.
There are two levels, in the same place, with the same dunes outside.
What the price includes
A private, fully furnished tent of your own, a more elaborate dinner with drinks included, live folklore music, and breakfast. Same dunes, considerably more comfort and privacy.
Private tentDrinks includedFolkloreBreakfastFor comparison: luxury camps in Merzouga generally publish €146 to €207 per person per night. A double tent with us is €150 for the tent — and it is our own camp, not a resold bed.
What the evening actually looks like
You leave the hotel in the late afternoon — the exact time changes through the year, because it follows the sunset, not the clock. The camels are waiting outside. It is about forty minutes over the first ridges of Erg Chebbi, which is long enough to feel like you have properly left and short enough that nobody is sore.
At camp there is tea first, then time to climb the dune behind the tents while the light goes. Dinner is served late by European standards, around eight. Afterwards there is a fire and drums. Nobody is obliged to join in, and plenty of guests just sit at the edge of the light and look up.
Each tent has electric light after dark, run from solar panels. There are toilets at camp. What there is not, is a phone signal.
Sunrise
Most people set an alarm without being asked. The dune directly behind camp takes about ten minutes to climb in soft sand and gives you the whole erg going from grey to pink to orange. Breakfast is after that, and you are usually back at the hotel by mid-morning — in time to swim, which after a night in the sand is a very good sequence.
Practical things worth knowing
- Take a small bag only. Leave your suitcase in your room at the hotel; it will be there when you get back.
- It gets cold. Even in spring and autumn the temperature drops hard after dark. Bring a jacket. We provide heavy blankets.
- Bring a torch or use your phone. There is light at the tents, but not between them.
- Book ahead in high season. October to November and March to April fill up.
- Children are fine. Camels are led at walking pace by a guide on foot.
Guest reviews
What guests write when they get home
★★★★★
“Ibrahim, Osman and their team were very helpful and friendly, I highly recommend it. We spent 2 nights at Bivouac Dar Tafouyte and Auberge. The rooms were comfortable and the food excellent.”
Abdellah Sadik · TripAdvisor★★★★★
“There are no words to describe the wonderful time we spent at your place. Thank you so much, Atman and the team, for being such a warm person and making our time unforgettable.”
Silvia Barber · TripAdvisor★★★★★
“Relaxed atmosphere with an exceptional breakfast. The path to the camel routes is quite close. The owner was very courteous. After the camel ride we were looked after properly.”
Alexander Neumann · TripAdvisor