Sahara Desert Our Sahara Desert holidays & tours
From sand cats with their heat-proof feet, to fennec foxes with their cooling ears, and camels with their drought-proof humps, the animals of the Sahara Desert are specialists – and inhabit a special place indeed. The world’s largest hot desert spreads from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, blanketing nine countries and touching two more. Within it, there are shifting sand seas and apparent empires of emptiness – but look closer. Our Sahara desert holidays connect you with the nature and communities that have adapted to life in the desert. Through them, you can go deeper into the dunes. Try our trips in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria to experience it in full – with the help of members of Amazigh and Sahrawi communities, among others, who will welcome you in from the heat with tea and hospitality.
Our top Sahara Desert holidays
Morocco holiday, Marrakech to the Sahara
From
£1195 to £1275
7 days
ex flights
Marrakech and Sahara - stay in a Riad, sleep under the stars
Tailor made
Morocco and western Sahara tour
From
£3199 to £3249
12 days
ex flights
Amazing scenery and nomadic tribes in Morocco's deep south.
Small group2025: 27 Dec, 2026: 22 Jan, 26 Mar, 22 Oct, 27 Dec
Algeria tour, Algerian Odyssey
From
£3225 to £3299
15 days
ex flights
Incredible archaeological sites and the allure of the Sahara
Small group2026: 18 Apr, 2 May, 12 Sep, 2027: 24 Apr, 18 Sep
The Gerewol Festival and Ennedi Mountains tour, Chad
From
£7149 to £7349
23 days
ex flights
Sandstone mountains, multi-hued lakes and the Wodaabe tribe
Small group2026: 10 Oct, 2027: 9 Oct
Sahara Desert and Anti Atlas mountain tour
From
€1200
8 days
ex flights
Desert & mountain adventure from Marrakech
Tailor made
Algeria Sahara Desert small group holiday
From
£1825 to £1945
9 days
ex flights
Off the beaten track in Algeria's Sahara Desert
Small group2026: 4 Apr, 11 Apr, 3 Oct, 10 Oct, 24 Oct, 31 Oct, 21 Nov, 26 Dec, 2027: 30 Jan, 20 Mar, 27 Mar, 3 Apr, 10 Apr, 9 Oct, 23 Oct, 30 Oct, 6 Nov, 20 Nov, 25 Dec
Algeria holidays, desert and history
From
£2670 to £3895
15 days
ex flights
Explore the history and culture of Algeria
Small group2026: 11 Apr, 26 Sep, 2027: 25 Apr, 3 Oct
Algeria tours, Algerian Sahara Desert
From
£3199 to £3399
13 days
ex flights
An expedition through Algeria's wild Sahara desert
Small group2026: 6 Apr, 26 Sep, 2027: 1 Mar, 2 Oct
Western Sahara overland tour, Marrakech to Bissau
From
£9799 to £10299
4 weeks
ex flights
Travel from North Africa through the Sahara to the tropics
Small group2026: 30 Mar, 9 Nov, 2027: 29 Mar, 8 Nov
See all our Sahara Desert holidaysContact Us
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Sahara map & highlights
The Sahara is one cheap map to make, as there are very few landmarks plotted on its surface. The Sahara’s ‘highlights’ are all on its edges: little towns are like drawing pins, stretching out a blank canvas of deserted desert between them. These ‘last towns before the desert’ feature sand-drowned stone houses, squat, square mosques and ancient ksars (fortified old towns). In the desert itself you’ll find some surprising features. Rolling sand seas (ergs) make up 25 percent of the Sahara, low-lying oases provide brief areas of habitable land , whilst huge elevations, like Chad’s Ennedi Plateau and Tibesti mountains, add dramatic topography.
1.
Chinguetti, Mauritania
2. Erg Chebbi, Morocco
3. Erg Chegaga, Morocco
4. Ennedi Plateau, Chad
5. Tamegroute, Morocco
6. South-Central Algeria
2. Erg Chebbi, Morocco
3. Erg Chegaga, Morocco
4. Ennedi Plateau, Chad
5. Tamegroute, Morocco
6. South-Central Algeria
Chinguetti, Mauritania
1. Chinguetti, Mauritania
Chinguetti means a lot to Mauritania; its mosque is one of the symbols of the country. Yet this remote town is in danger of being swallowed by sand. Encroaching dunes loom all around, threatening to turn its long history into distant memory. Its ancient ksar (fortified old town) is on the UNESCO list. Its five libraries contain precious Quranic manuscripts left by pilgrims en-route to Mecca.
Erg Chebbi, Morocco
2. Erg Chebbi, Morocco
Morocco’s most famous dunes reach over 100 metres above the plain, dwarfing the town of Merzouga beneath. The dunes’ famous colour – a delicious apricot – ripens beautifully at sunset. Erg Chebbi is a popular spot, and the ergs come criss-crossed with the tracks of 4WDs. You might see tourists buried up to their necks in sand – don’t panic, they’re trying out an ancient rheumatism cure.
Erg Chegaga, Morocco
3. Erg Chegaga, Morocco
Erg Chegaga is at the end of the road. This rolling dune-scape is harder to reach than the more famous Erg Chebbi, and you’ll be rewarded for your efforts with far fewer visitors. The nearest town, M’Hamid, is often considered the gateway to the Sahara. Camel caravans used to stop here before their epic 52-day desert trek to Timbuktu in Mali. It’s two hours from M’Hamid to the foot of Erg Chegaga by 4x4, and a day’s drive from Marrakech.
Ennedi Plateau, Chad
4. Ennedi Plateau, Chad
Chad’s extraordinary Ennedi plateau is one of the highest points in the Sahara. A brutishly big massif the size of Switzerland, its sandstone rock formations form a natural sculpture park and Toubou camel herders corral their charges from guelta (billabong) to guelta in its folds. Guelta d’Archei is a firm highlight here. Rare Saharan crocodiles and herds of camels converge in the black water under its vast, sandstone bulwarks.
Tamegroute, Morocco
5. Tamegroute, Morocco
On the edge of the Moroccan Sahara is one of the area’s oldest villages. This inconspicuous cluster of buildings is home to a prestigious Islamic school, the Zawiya Nassiriyya, which holds a library of exquisite illuminated manuscripts. Tamegroute ceramics are less precise in their beauty. Made out of clay dug from the Draa River, and hand dipped in a vivid green glaze, each one is unique.
South-Central Algeria
6. South-Central Algeria
Skirt round the fringes of the Sahara on bumpy roads in south-central Algeria and you’ll come across the towns of Taghit, Beni Abbes and Timimoun in slow succession. These outposts offer travellers respite as they come down from the windswept Grand Erg Oriental. Beni Abbes is known as the pearl of the Sahara. They say that it takes a single grain of sand to start a pearl: surrounded by soft dunes, Beni Abbes has more than enough.
Our Sahara Desert holidays reviews
4.4
42Sahara Desert holidays reviews
Stephanie Grant17 Oct 2025
Incredible. The ever changing landscapes. 5 starsread more
Siobhan Hanrahan08 Oct 2025
10 out of 10. Fabulousread more
Charles Baldock18 Mar 2025
The Sahara desert was magical.read more
Janet ffrench11 Jan 2025
The Riad in Marrakech was so different from any where we’d previously stayed; camel riding was great; views in the Atlas Mountains were superb; learning to cook a Tagine, and eating it was great too!read more
