I did the Sahara tour in december 2022, from Marrakesh to Merzouga, and then coming back to Fez. As I wasn't finding much information about this group tour on the internet before doing it, I thought some people might like to get some advice from somebody who did it. So here the following :

• In Marrakesh, a lot of agencies offer basically the same tour. I tried to find one that would be a bit unique, with no luck.

• There are 3 main options : shared bedroom and bathroom, private bedroom with shared private, or all private (sometimes called luxury).

• While shopping around, I find the prices to be very similar : usually 90 euros, 110 euros and 130 euros per person for each option. While price would vary a little bit, even depending on who you ask in the same agencies, there was very little room for negotiation in general. But you should still shop around, as I learned some people in our group paid as low as 63 euros (700 dirham). Some people paid very different prices for the same exact services, like 85 euros (950 dirham) vs 150 euros.

• You can also ask your hotel for this tour, but they most likely resell from one of the agencies. When I asked my hotel, prices were pretty much the same, but they weren't able to inform me much about the tour in general.

• Multiple agencies said that the transfer to Fez was an additional 300 dirham. But it turned out I just exchanged places with some people doing the same tour from Fez to Marrakesh, so I'm unsure why this extra charge.

• It is possible to do this trip from Fez (and coming back to Marrakesh as an option). But it seems to be a less popular option, and you will find less agencies in Fez.

• You can also choose to stay 1 or 2 nights in the desert. Most people only seem to stay 1 night, but this is a very short time. Staying 2 nights though means you will probably pay for some activities during your extra day, as camps are quite remote.

• I didn't have an issue booking this tour the day before we left. Not sure if this is like this the whole year round as the beginning of december might not be the busiest season, but there are a lot of camps waiting for tourists in the desert. I only gave a small deposit when booking (200 dirhams).

• Pickup from Marrakesh was around 7h30 in the morning, but this might change depending on your location. A man came by walking to our Riad, and then walked me to the bus a bit further. As soon as I got in, I needed to pay him the full amount in cash. He then drove me to a street close to Place des Ferblantiers, where he showed the minibus I would make the tour with. At around 8h, we were on our way out of Marrakesh.

• In general, I find it hard to know many details about the tour when shopping for it. Make sure to ask the name of the hotels you will stop at, and look at the review online. On the first night, most of our group stopped at two hotels called "La Gazelle du Dades" and "Kasbah de la vallée", and most people weren’t very happy with those accommodations. As this was in december, the outside temperature dropped to 2 C during the night and neither hotels had heating (at least included, seems you can get it for 100 dirham extra).

• Only one couple stopped at a place called "Luxury Riad Dades", and they looked much more happy with their stay as they had heating and also better food. And they didn’t pay more than other people in the same group (150 euros).

• During the whole trip, I find the road to be pretty comfortable most of the time. As 2022, they are also upgrading large portions in the mountains, making the trip smoother and faster.

• Along the way, there will be a lot of pit stops with cafe and clean toilets. They can get busy quickly as all the mini-bus stops around the same time.

• The first long stop is at Ksar Aït Ben Haddou‌, where there will be a local guide showing you around. This tour isn’t free (I think around 30 dirhams plus tips). You actually don't have to follow the guide and you can visit the town by yourself (free if you enter by the bridge). But this means you need to make sure you join the group later, which turned out a bit complicated as my driver wasn’t the most cooperative.

• Then, this guide will bring the group to the first restaurant. There are high chances that this restaurant will be L'oasis d'or, as it is where most minibus are parked. You don't have to eat at this place, as there are better and cheaper options around. Just make sure to know where and when you are leaving (to my experience, they will not leave without someone).

• This will be true to all restaurants : you are never forced to eat anywhere, but some restaurants are far from any alternative. I personally encourage you to avoid most restaurants the tour is stopping at if you can, as they are expensive for morocco standards (menu at 100 dirhams) for mediocre quality food. The only exception for me was on the thirst day, on my way to Fez, when the driver offered us a choice and stopped at a very good bbq restaurant in a town center.

• On the first day, apart from the long stop at Ksar Aït Ben Haddou‌, the only other stop we had was at a cinema town along the way, as we needed to be at Dades canyon before 20h for dinner. Because of the season (december) days are short and I think we had less stops than people making the same tour during summer.

• In general, lunch and dinner are always quite late, like 14h-15h for lunch and 20h-21h for dinner. So don’t skip breakfast or buy something at the numerous pit stops.

• On the second day, we were on the road at 8h, before stopping at Todgha Gorge and then visiting Tinghir with a guide. This time I did the tour, as you only expect to give a tip at the end.

• During the tour in Tinghir, he will bring you to a carpet shop where you get a cup of tea and where they show you some products. After seeing a lot of carpet shops all over Morocco, I can tell they pretty much all have the same products in any city. Since I was there, I asked for some prices and got a quote over 7200 dirhams… usually in other towns, similar carpets would vary from 500 to 2000, depending on the size and style. I am not an expert, but I feel the pricing there was way inflated.

• At the end of the second day, we finally arrived at the desert. Over there, the group split into smaller groups and we went to different camps. If you look closely at Merzouga on Google Maps, you will find a lot of camps, and not everyone is going to the same. There are also a lot of hotels in the town.

• From the town, you will have a lift all the way to the sand dunes where camels are waiting for tourists. Riding the camels to the camp was pretty fun, and long as this turned out to be a 5 kilometers journey. Try to wear long pants, as camel riding is not very comfortable. Not sure how they chose groups, but we were only two with one guides, while some groups from other camps were much bigger. There will be a pause to see the sunset.

• The camp I stayed at is call Sahara sunny luxury camp, and I was very pleased with the food, accommodation and activities. There was a great show after dinner, with fire and music, and some sand boarding.

• Bring some warm clothes, as the dessert can become quite chill at night. Also, it can get cloudy, so seeing stars isn’t always possible.

• The next morning, you could come back to Merzouga with the camels, but you will need to wake up very early as the trip takes more than an hour. I decided instead to see the sunrise from the camp, then had breakfast there and took a 4x4 back (which is also a lot of fun).

• From all of my group, I was the only one going to Fez. I ended up joining a much smaller group of people who did this tour in only 2 days, Fez being about 2 hours closer than Marrakesh. For the rest of the group going back to Marrakesh, they had a pretty long drive before arriving.

As I stayed only 1 night in the Sahara, my time there was very short. This tour is a lot of driving, compared to the few places you will see. Be prepared to sit long hours in the minibus. It was very fun, and I really enjoyed the scenery. But do not underestimate the driving time before booking this. Or take the 4 days tours if you want to spend extra time in the desert.