The camel looked at me the way a bored hotel receptionist looks at someone who's asked where the lift is for the third time. Completely unbothered. Mildly unimpressed. I climbed on anyway — and the moment it stood up, back legs first, I grabbed the saddle with both hands and made a sound that I'm glad nobody filmed.
A camel ride in Morocco is one of those things that's on
almost every traveller's list before they arrive. And honestly, it should be.
But there's a gap between what people imagine it'll be like and what it
actually is — and I think that gap is worth closing before you go.
It's not a quick lap around a tourist car park. Not here,
anyway.
The camel ride we offer as part of our Agafay desert tour
happens at golden hour, in a wide open rocky landscape 45 minutes outside
Marrakech, with the Atlas Mountains sitting in front of you and the desert
going quiet all around. It's slow. It's calm. And it's one of those moments
that feels genuinely separate from the rest of your trip in a way that's hard
to explain until you're up there.
Here's exactly what to expect — from the moment you leave
Marrakech to the moment you climb back down and wonder why your legs feel
slightly strange.
Getting There — The Drive Out to Agafay
We pick guests up directly from their hotels in central
Marrakech, usually in the mid-afternoon. The drive to the Agafay desert takes
around 45 minutes and it's easy — comfortable minibus, good conversation if you
want it, silence if you don't.
The journey does something useful that I've noticed with
almost every group we take out. It decompresses people. The city noise fades.
The buildings thin out. The road gets quieter. And by the time the landscape
opens up into that wide rocky desert plain, most people have already started to
let the day go.
When the camp appears on the horizon — small fires lit,
the Atlas Mountains behind it — something shifts in the minibus. People sit up
a bit straighter. Phones come out. Someone always says something quietly to the
person next to them.
The camels are usually waiting near the edge of the camp,
sitting down, looking ancient and completely indifferent to your arrival. Up
close they're bigger than most people expect. That's the first surprise.
What Your First Camel Ride in Morocco Actually Feels Like
The guide helps you into the saddle — it's higher than it
looks and slightly wider than is immediately comfortable, but you settle into
it quickly. Then, before you feel quite ready, the camel decides it's time to
stand.
It does this in two stages. Back legs first, so you lurch
forward. Then front legs, so you go back. The whole thing takes about three
seconds and there's really nothing elegant about it from the rider's
perspective. Just hold on and go with it. It's over quickly and then you're up,
and everything changes.
The height is the first thing. You're looking at the
Agafay desert from maybe two and a half metres up and it looks completely
different — wider, quieter, more cinematic somehow. The Atlas Mountains are
right there in front of you. The camp is behind you. The sky, if you've timed
it right, is starting to turn.
The walk is slow and rhythmic. Your hips move with it
after a minute or two and it starts to feel natural in a way you don't expect.
Our guides walk alongside the camels the whole time, which is reassuring on
your first camel ride in Morocco and also means there's someone right there if
you have questions — or if you just want to quietly ask whether falling off is
a realistic possibility.
It isn't, for the record. Not if you relax and hold on
loosely.
The ride lasts around 30 to 45 minutes and it happens
right at sunset, which is not accidental. The light on the desert at that hour
is something else. The rocks go golden. The shadows stretch long. I've watched
guests go completely silent up on those camels and I know exactly why — there's
nothing to say. You just look.
After the Ride — What the Rest of the Evening Looks Like
The camel ride is part of the full Agafay desert tour,
which also includes quad biking, a Berber dinner Morocco-style at the desert
camp, and a fire show once the stars come out. The whole experience runs around
six hours and starts from €29 per person.
The dinner comes after the ride, which is perfect timing.
You're calm, the desert is dark, the candles are lit, and the food arrives in
stages — salads, tagine, couscous, fruit. Eaten on cushions at low tables while
live Gnawa music plays nearby.
And then the fire show. Honestly, I'd put this up against
any evening entertainment I've seen anywhere. A skilled performer, complete
darkness, a sky full of stars. The whole camp goes quiet watching it.
If you want to extend the experience, our overnight
desert retreat starts from €65 per person — you sleep in a Berber tent, wake up
to sunrise, have breakfast, and return to Marrakech before midday feeling like
a completely different person.
A Few Practical Things Before You Go
Wear trousers rather than shorts — the saddle is more
comfortable and the desert gets cold after sunset faster than Marrakech
prepares you for.
Don't grip too tightly once the camel is moving. Relax
your hips, let the rhythm happen, and it'll feel natural within a minute.
Charge your phone. The camel ride at sunset produces
photographs that your camera roll genuinely doesn't deserve yet.
Book in advance between October and April — the Marrakech
desert experience is popular and the evening slots fill up quickly.
A camel ride in Morocco was the moment my trip stopped being a holiday and started being a memory. If you'd like to experience it properly — with the sunset, the desert, the dinner, and someone taking care of every detail — visit marrakechunveiled.com and see what we have planned for you. 🌅
