The short version
Best: March–April and October–November — warm days, cool nights, clear skies. Good: February, May, September, December. Hard: June–August (heat) and, for the cold-averse, January nights. The desert works all year with the right expectations.
Month by month (Merzouga / Erg Chebbi; day high / night low in camp)
| Month | Day / night | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| January | 18° / 3° | Cold nights, bright days, empty dunes. Bring the hat. |
| February | 20° / 5° | Quiet, clear; almond blossom in the valleys. |
| March | 24° / 8° | Ideal. Some wind. Easter fills camps. |
| April | 28° / 12° | Ideal. Roses at Kelaat M'Gouna late in the month. |
| May | 32° / 16° | Warm, workable; mornings are the time. |
| June | 37° / 20° | Hot; early starts, luxury camp advised. |
| July | 41° / 24° | Very hot; we run tours and tell you it is hard. |
| August | 40° / 24° | Same; busy with Moroccan visitors on the coast, not the dunes. |
| September | 35° / 20° | Warm, calming down; late month is good. |
| October | 29° / 14° | Ideal. The season begins; book ahead. |
| November | 23° / 8° | Ideal. Cool nights, perfect days. |
| December | 18° / 4° | Cold nights, Christmas and New Year fill the camps. |
The moon
No light for 50 km around the camp, so the sky is what the moon lets it be. New moon: the Milky Way overhead — the best stars. Full moon: dunes lit silver, few stars, a different kind of beautiful (our Elite Sahara by Moonlight is built on it). Check the phase when choosing dates if either matters.
Holidays and crowds
Christmas–New Year, Easter and the Moroccan holidays (Eid, and the summer) fill camps and riads weeks ahead. Book early for those dates; shared tours still run daily, but the luxury option may be gone.
Wind and sand
Sandstorms are possible any month and most likely in spring (March–May). They last hours, not days; dinner moves inside the tent, the camel trek is occasionally replaced by the 4x4. Nobody has cancelled a tour for one in years.
Summer, honestly
We run desert tours in July and August because people come in July and August. It is 40 °C in the afternoon and the camp is hot until late. It works with a luxury camp, early starts, a siesta and a lot of water — and the sunrise is as good as ever. If you can choose, don't; if you can't, know what you are choosing.
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