The Sahara Desert: In Photos


Sahara desert sand dunes

Visiting the Sahara Desert was the best thing I’ve ever done – no question.

It is somewhere I’d been dying to go for years and finally getting there, and experiencing its beauty first-hand, was truly amazing.

So, so, so amazing!

Before I write about my desert experience, I first wanted to share with you some of my favourite photos from the three day trip. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, which will have all of my adventures detailed in full!

Day One

The first day of the tour was all about experiencing traditional Berber life. We spent the entire day driving from Berber village to Berber village, traipsing endlessly down near-identical alleyways, taking photos of near-identical houses.  The first village we visited was fascinating, and absolutely gorgeous too – but when you’re taken to 40 of them (and they’re all basically the same) it starts to get a little dull…  I just wanted to get to the desert!

berber village in the sahara desert morocco
berber village in the sahara desert morocco
berber village in the sahara desert morocco
berber village in the sahara desert morocco

Day Two

And finally, we reached our destination.

The Sahara Desert.

The next 12 hours were spent riding camels silently through the sand dunes, racing each other to the top of a dune to watch the sunset, having a fantastic dinner around a campfire before listening to some traditional Berber music, dragging our mattresses out of our tents to sleep under the stars, falling asleep while being able to see the Milky Way and dozens of shooting stars in the sky above, and waking up super early to watch the sun rise over the desert.

So. Amazing.

Have I said amazing too much?

riding a camel sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco
the sahara desert morocco sunset
the sahara desert morocco sunset
the sahara desert morocco sunset
the sahara desert morocco sunrise
the sahara desert morocco sunrise

I wish I could have spent longer in the Sahara Desert – it was one of those places where I just wanted to stay for years and years. It was truly mind-blowing and I can’t wait to tell you about it in more detail!

Related Articles About Morocco

🐪 An Incredible Experience in the Sahara Desert
💰 How Much Does it Cost to Travel in Morocco?
🧕🏼 The Complete Guide to Travelling to Morocco as a Solo Woman
🇲🇦 28 Incredible Things to Do in Marrakech, Morocco
🔹 Is Chefchaouen the Prettiest City in the World?
🏖 Every Post I’ve Written About Morocco

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

We are sorry that this post was not useful for you!

Let us improve this post!

Tell us how we can improve this post?

About the author

Lauren Juliff

Lauren Juliff is a published author and travel expert who founded Never Ending Footsteps in 2011. She has spent over 12 years travelling the world, sharing in-depth advice from more than 100 countries across six continents.

Lauren's travel advice has been featured in publications like the BBC, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Cosmopolitan, and her work is read by 200,000 readers each month. Her travel memoir can be found in bookstores across the planet.

90 Comments

  1. August 26, 2012
    Reply

    Very nice pictures Lauren, I hope to see these sand dunes one day also. Great work on the pics.

    • August 28, 2012
      Reply

      Thanks, Normand! I hope you get to see them some day soon :)

  2. Ykani
    August 26, 2012
    Reply

    Wow what amazing photos

  3. Gina
    August 26, 2012
    Reply

    AMAZING!!! WOW!

  4. Lindsey
    August 26, 2012
    Reply

    One can never use the word amazing too many times ;) love the photos!

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      I agree! It really was amazing!

  5. August 27, 2012
    Reply

    Amazing! ten more times! Pics are great!

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      Hahaha! Thank you so much! :-)

  6. Jessica Wray
    August 27, 2012
    Reply

    Wow,these are amazing. You’ve convinced me…if I ever get the chance I’m going! Great post!

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      You should definitely make the effort to get there, Jessica! :-)

  7. Jody-Lea
    August 27, 2012
    Reply

    This looks incredible! Really really beautiful pictures. I’m currently staying in Gibraltar and so only a ferry trip across to Morocco, and was looking for some trip ideas as it would be a shame not to go when I’m so close, and this would be amazing! Looking forward to hearing more about the trip in detail, it sounds like you had a brilliant time. It would be great to hear about how you found out about this tour and booked it too.

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      You should definitely make the trip across to Morocco. It’s well worth it :-)

  8. Tom @ Waegook Tom
    August 27, 2012
    Reply

    Gorgeous photos! The sand looks so incredibly soft I just want to roll about on top of it. Never really considered going there before and now you’re making me think about it…

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      You should go, Tom! The sand was perfect and I stole some in the bottom of my shoe when I left ;-)

  9. Dani
    August 27, 2012
    Reply

    Great photos – I love the one of you laying in the sand! Looking forward to reading more about your desert adventure, Jess and I are dying to see the Sahara desert!

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      Ah, I know you’d both love it so much! Hope you get to see it one day :-)

  10. August 27, 2012
    Reply

    That shadow photo of everyone on thier camels, kicks. ass.

    Can’t wait to hear more about it

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      Thanks, Shaun! :-) It’s one of my favourites.

  11. Jodie Louise
    August 27, 2012
    Reply

    AMAZING PHOTOS :)

  12. Amanda
    August 27, 2012
    Reply

    Those dune photos are amazing!

    (And, for the record, I’m not sure you can ever use that word too much when it comes to a place like this!)

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      It’s true. I love how everybody in the comments is calling it amazing too! :-)

  13. August 28, 2012
    Reply

    Gorgeous! What an amazing experience, can’t wait to hear more about it!

  14. CeCe
    August 28, 2012
    Reply

    Your photos are absolutely amazing.

  15. Kurt W
    August 28, 2012
    Reply

    Unreal captures. I just recently moved to Morocco and am loving it so far. The Sahara is a beautiful area.

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      The Sahara was definitely my favourite part of Morocco :-)

  16. Juliann
    August 28, 2012
    Reply

    These pictures are absolutely stunning. I don’t think I would have ever thought about traveling to the Sahara Desert, but now that I’ve seen your photos, I want to go right now! I’ve added it to my bucket list and can’t wait to read more about your trip there.

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      I hope you get to visit, Juliann! :-)

  17. Anna
    August 28, 2012
    Reply

    Wow! Amazing photos, maybe I’ll add it to my list of places to go!

  18. eGichomo
    August 29, 2012
    Reply

    WOW!!!
    Your pics…. WOW!!!!! LOVE ‘EM
    Visit Kenya Lauren…

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      Thank you! I’d love to visit Kenya one day :-)

  19. TammyOnTheMove
    August 29, 2012
    Reply

    I love the photo of the camel shadows. Really gorgeous! I have been to the Moroccan Sahara two years ago and seeing this makes me want to go back. But 12 hrs on a camel. Were you not sore? :-)

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      Yeah… camels are kind of uncomfortable, aren’t they?! I was very, very sore afterwards :-)

  20. Kieu
    August 29, 2012
    Reply

    That golden color on the dunes are amazing! I’ve never had a huge desire to go to Morocco or the Sahara, but the photos are changing my mind. Beautiful place.

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      It one of my favourites :-)

  21. August 30, 2012
    Reply

    Your photos are fantastic. We recently did a 3 day trip from Marrakech to Merzouga which included an overnight in the desert. It was a life time wish of mine and I am so happy we did it. I can tell you loved the desert too by your photos.

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      Thank you, Jan! I’m happy you got to explore it too :-)

  22. August 30, 2012
    Reply

    Gorgeous photos! Seeing the Sahara Desert is on my list too!

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      You have no excuse now you’re living in Europe! :-)

  23. Jade - OurOyster.com
    September 1, 2012
    Reply

    Great photos! Did you go do some stargazing while you were out there? The skys are so so clear…

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      I did. I couldn’t believe the amount of stars you could see! I studied astrophysics as part of my degree so it was great to be able to see all the stars you couldn’t in Central London!

  24. September 2, 2012
    Reply

    Wow, amazing photos! Looks like such a magical place. I’d love to go there some day :)

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      Thanks, Lizzie! I hope you get to visit :-)

  25. Stephanie - The Travel Chica
    September 3, 2012
    Reply

    The color of the sand is unbelievable.

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      I wasn’t expecting it to be so orange.

  26. Diana Edelman
    September 5, 2012
    Reply

    GORGEOUS! I just want to roll down one of the dunes!

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      Haha, I was too scared to roll down them… they were pretty high up!

  27. Sacha
    September 5, 2012
    Reply

    Great photos Lauren, making me want to go back there now!

  28. Jaime
    September 9, 2012
    Reply

    Ahh the memories… this portion of Morocco was one of the highlights of my entire trip. Love the photos!!! So glad you loved it.

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      The main reason for me making the trip to the desert was your posts about it :-)

  29. September 18, 2012
    Reply

    These are some seriously magnificent photos!

  30. Cam @ Traveling Canucks
    September 19, 2012
    Reply

    Fantastic! Love the red sand dunes

  31. Seattle Dredge
    September 23, 2012
    Reply

    Soooo pretty! I’ll be here in a couple weeks and these made me even more excited :D

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! :-)

  32. Sam
    November 5, 2012
    Reply

    It really is such an amazing red/orange colour.

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      It was unlike any other sand I’d seen anywhere else in the world.

  33. Amazing pictures, I’m off to Morocco tomorrow, and after seeing this post I’m looking forward to it even more!

    • November 21, 2013
      Reply

      I hope you have an amazing time, Marysia! :-)

  34. Great pictures Lauren! Reminds me my crazy adventures in Morocco! Have you spend the night at the desert as well?

    • January 21, 2014
      Reply

      Yes, I spent the night in the desert and loved it. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done! :-)

  35. Ross
    January 10, 2014
    Reply

    Great photos. I was there once upon a time and the sunset/sunrise were amazing

  36. February 17, 2014
    Reply

    AMAZING pictures! I was confused between choosing Istanbul or Marrakech – you definitely helped me solve it. I was wondering, what tour agency did you use? Read your other post and you said it was $60. All I can find is about 150 euros per person. Thanks!

    • February 20, 2014
      Reply

      I booked the tour through my hostel. It’s far, far cheaper to just turn up and ask around than book anything online. There are hundreds of tour operators that offer super-cheap prices, and your hotel/hostel/riad should be able to book something for you at a decent price :-)

  37. Ernedt Brown
    May 18, 2014
    Reply

    What a fantastic destination. I’d love to go there sometime. I also admire your photography if it was me taking those pictures, I would mess it up. Any cool tips on how to capture the desert?

    • July 30, 2014
      Reply

      I’m in a no way a photography expert and shoot in auto most of the time!

  38. Jin
    July 9, 2014
    Reply

    Hi Lauren, after see this post I decided to follow u and…WANNA GO TO MORROCO so baaad!
    Can u tell me which city u arrived and stayed pls? Thank you!=)

    • July 12, 2014
      Reply

      I took the tour from Marrakech. The Sahara Desert is enormous so there’s lots of close cities :-)

  39. Jin
    July 9, 2014
    Reply

    sorry…I mean, which city is the closest one to Sahara? Thanks:P

    • November 26, 2015
      Reply

      Oh, there are so many! Marrakech is where most people take trips from. But it’s not in any way the closest!

  40. Stunning photos! I want to go there straight away :)

  41. October 19, 2015
    Reply

    Truly amazing pictures Lauren. It’s on my bucket list to must visit places and glad you did and it really inspired me to do more. Thanks for the great story.

    • October 22, 2015
      Reply

      You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed the read!

  42. Leanne H
    December 20, 2015
    Reply

    Hello! What tour group did you book with? It sounds like the exact type I’d like to go on. I’m going to Marrakesh in three weeks! :) Thanks for any help.

    • December 20, 2015
      Reply

      Hi Leanne! I booked my tour through my hostel. I recommend just turning up in Marrakech and asking your accommodation to book you on one — it works out at about a third of the price of tours you can book online that way.

  43. lisa
    October 17, 2016
    Reply

    I appreciate your blog and this post! Couple questions:

    How does your suitcase get there, i’m bringing a small wheeled carry on and am worried maybe its a little ridiculous for this?

    Can I expect tours to start everyday? I realize this is not a question you can totally answer as you won’t know all tours, but I’m planning to just book something with my hostel, however i’d like it to be the day after i arrive and i’m not sure if i should plan more time into my schedule. :)

    • October 17, 2016
      Reply

      You put your bags/suitcases in lockers before you head out into the desert, so you’ll be fine bringing it with you.

      Yep, tours leave everyday, for sure. You see dozens of them leaving every morning.

      • lisa
        October 17, 2016
        Reply

        Thank you for your reply! Your blog has inspired my trip to spend most of my time in chefchaouen, so thank you for that!

        • October 19, 2016
          Reply

          Yay! I hope you love it there as much as I did :-)

  44. Keila
    January 13, 2017
    Reply

    Did you go back to Marrakesh on day two? Can I ask what time you arrived back to your hotel?

    • January 14, 2017
      Reply

      On day three. You spend the first night in a hotel close to the desert, the second sleeping in the desert, and then return on the 3rd. I *think* we would have got back at around 5 p.m., but I took this trip in 2012, so I’m half guessing.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *