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I Finally Did a Sahara Desert Camel Ride and Here's What I Packed
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items Planning a Merzouga Erg Chebbi camel trek and drowning in conflicting packing lists? I showed up my first time with a rolling suitcase and white sneakers. Learned fast. This is everything I actually used, wore, and was glad I had during three days in...
Sections
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Desert-Ready Clothing That Won't Roast You
Gear That Survived the Sand and Heat
Skin and Sun Protection for Brutal UV
Merzouga Experiences Worth Booking
Snacks and Comfort Items You'll Thank Yourself For
Desert-Ready Clothing That Won't Roast You
I wore a cotton t-shirt my first hour on the camel and felt like a rotisserie chicken. Swapped to these and the difference was instant. Breathable, light, and nothing that chafes when you're bouncing on a saddle for four hours.
Grab these if you're the type who sweats through jeans by 9am. Zip-off legs saved me when mornings were cold but afternoons hit 105F. Dried in about twenty minutes after I dumped water on myself.
Men's Silver Ridge Convertible Pants
Wrap this around your face when the sand kicks up. I went without one the first ride and spent dinner picking grit out of my teeth. Fits under a turban too, which your guide will wrap for you.
BUFF® CoolNet UV® Multifunctional Neckwear
Desert nights dropped to near freezing and I was NOT ready. Toss this on under your jacket after sunset. Packs down to nothing and doesn't stink after three days without a shower, which you will go three days without.
Women's Classic Thermal Merino Base Layer Crew
Use this instead of a regular baseball cap. The back flap kept my neck from turning into beef jerky. For anyone who burns easily, this one paid for itself by hour two on the camel.
Outdoor Research Sun Runner Cap | REI Co-op
Pair these with boots and forget about blisters. Sand got into everything except my socks somehow. Wore the same pair two days straight and they still didn't smell, which impressed even me.
Men's Hiker Micro Crew Midweight Hiking Socks
Keep this clipped to your daypack. When the wind picked up on the dunes at sunset it went from postcard-perfect to sandblasting-your-face in seconds. Weighs basically nothing so there's no excuse to leave it behind.
Men's Canopy Green Houdini® Jacket
Gear That Survived the Sand and Heat
Sand destroys electronics. I watched someone's phone screen get scratched beyond repair just sitting in a pocket. These are the items that came home in one piece and actually made the trip better.
Get the 1L size and fill it every chance you get. My camel guide carried big jugs but between stops I was rationing sips like a castaway. Collapses flat when empty so it doesn't bang around in your bag.
LifeStraw Peak Series Collapsible Squeeze 1L
Bring this fully charged because there are zero outlets in a desert camp. I used mine for my phone and headlamp over two nights and still had juice left. The friend who forgot hers spent sunset asking to borrow mine.
Anker 313 Qi-Certified 10W Wireless Stand
Toss your phone, charger, and passport in here before you mount the camel. Sand gets into every zipper and pocket. I learned this after my first camera died on a trip to White Sands, and I wasn't making that mistake again.
Ultra-Sil Dry Bag
Use this for midnight bathroom trips in the desert. There are no lights, no paths, and scorpions are real. I stumbled around in the dark my first night and nearly face-planted into a tent rope.
Petzl Tikkina Headlamp Review
Bring these for stargazing after dinner. The Sahara sky is absurd. No light pollution for hundreds of miles. I saw the Milky Way so clearly I thought something was wrong with my eyes at first.
Nocs Provisions Standard Issue 8x25 Binoculars
Switch to this from your big bag for the camel ride. You only need water, sunscreen, and layers. Your main luggage goes on a separate camel anyway. Lightweight enough that your back won't be a swamp after four hours.
Daylite
Skin and Sun Protection for Brutal UV
The UV at Erg Chebbi is no joke. I got sunburned THROUGH a shirt once in southern Morocco. These kept my skin from peeling off in sheets, which is not the souvenir you want to bring home.
Slather this on every two hours, not kidding. I reapplied once in the morning and by lunch my nose looked like a tomato. The formula doesn't feel greasy even when you're sweating, which you absolutely will be.
Sun Bum Original SPF 50 Moisturizing Lotion
Dab this on your lips and nostrils before bed. Desert air sucked all the moisture out of my face overnight. Woke up the first morning with cracked lips that bled when I smiled. Never again.
Aquaphor® Healing Ointment 14oz | Multi-Purpose
Wear polarized lenses or regret it. The sand reflects sunlight straight into your eyeballs from every direction. These stayed on during the camel ride without bouncing off, and they're cheap enough that losing them won't ruin your day.
Roam The Desert
Keep a small tube in your pocket for cracked knuckles. Between the dry air and gripping camel reins for hours, my hands looked like I'd been doing construction. Applied this at night and woke up with normal human hands again.
O'Keeffe's Working Hands Cream (Jar)
Use the travel size tub after washing your face at camp. Even if you never moisturize at home, the desert will humble you. My forehead was flaking by day two until I started using this every night.
Moisturizing Cream
Try this under your headwear for your face. It goes on clear so you won't look ghostly in photos. For anyone who hates the white-cast sunscreen look, this one disappears completely.
Unseen Sunscreen Body SPF 40
Merzouga Experiences Worth Booking
Not all desert tours are the same. Some dump you at a crowded camp with 50 tourists and a DJ. I tried a few different setups before finding the ones that actually felt like being in the Sahara, not a theme park.
Book this if you want a smaller camp without the party vibe. Maybe twelve tents max. I could hear actual silence for the first time in my life. They served tagine by candlelight and the bread was baked in sand.
Hôtel Chez Le Pacha – Desert Hotel Mhamid
Wake up at 4am for this, it's worth every lost minute of sleep. Watched the sun come up from the top of Erg Chebbi with nobody else around. The light on orange dunes is something photos genuinely cannot capture.
Pure Morocco Trips
Stay here the night before your camel ride. Clean rooms, good food, and the staff helped me arrange everything for the trek. Way better than scrambling to find a guide at the last minute in Merzouga town.
Riad Mama
Drive twenty minutes from Merzouga to this village. Local musicians play traditional Gnaoua music in a small room and it hits differently than any concert I've been to. Bring cash for a tip, they deserve it.
Musica de gnawa, Khamlia
Try this if you've ever snowboarded or surfed. It's slower and sandier but genuinely fun. I wiped out face-first and had sand in my ears for two days. Still worth it. Most camps can arrange a board.
Dunes d'Erg Chebbi
Stop here on the drive to Merzouga. The area is full of ancient marine fossils just sitting in the rocks. I found a trilobite the size of my palm within ten minutes. For anyone who was a dinosaur kid, this is your moment.
Fossiles d'Erfoud
Snacks and Comfort Items You'll Thank Yourself For
Camp food was fine but between meals I was starving and there's no corner store in the Sahara. These small things made the difference between enjoying the experience and just surviving it.
Toss four or five of these in your daypack. Between the camel ride and hiking dunes, you burn more energy than you'd expect. I was shaky and cranky by 3pm until I started packing real snacks instead of hoping for lunch.
Shop All Protein Bars
Bring a few packets and dump one in your water bottle each morning. I drank plenty of water but still got a headache from the heat. Added this on day two and felt immediately better. For anyone who gets dehydrated fast, don't skip it.
Explore Liquid IV Side Effects
Pack a whole travel pack. No running water at most camps means these are your shower, hand wash, and general cleanup tool. I went through half a pack in one day and wished I'd brought two.
Wet Ones Be Fresh Antibacterial Wipes 80 Pack
Stuff one in your bag as backup. Camp blankets were fine but one night the temperature dropped more than expected and I was layering everything I had. These weigh nothing and could save a miserable night.
Blankets - Emergency Sleeping Bags
Use this to keep your phone and documents sand-free inside your pack. Double protection with the dry bag. I'm paranoid after watching sand destroy a friend's camera lens, so redundancy is the move here.
Stasher
Swap your narrow-mouth bottle for this. Filling from a jug in the desert with shaky hands and a tiny opening is a recipe for spilling half your water. Wide mouth also lets you drop in electrolyte packets without a funnel.
32oz Wide Mouth Bottle