|| Glamping at a luxury desert camp 30 minutes away from Marrakech ||
Scarabeo camp, a romantic, serene place that will teach you the value of silence in the middle of a stone desert right next to Marrakech. Imagine this: waking up in the middle of Agafay desert, a hidden place in between sandy hills, near by Marrakech that's decorated with typical Morrocan furniture. You can hear it in the silence that your body, mind and soul will receive nothing but rest. You will wake up whitnessing white tents and an impressive view of the Atlas Mountains.
Should I not forget to mention: Watching the stars with your loved one(s)
an experience to never forget and here's why!
Written by: Stephanie Gabriella
When you are dating with someone you are probably asking: 'What are the things that you really want to do in life?' For us 'glamping in the middle of a desert and watching the stars together' was definitely one of them. We decided to book a trip to Morocco and looked into the possibilities of glamping. Our trip was only 6 days, so you can imagine the tight schedule. If you'e like us and don't have tons of time to book a 2 night stay at the Sahara desert, this will be a perfect option to still have an experience in a (stone) desert.
A day at Scarabeo Camp Agafay
The beginning
Sleeping at Scarabeo camp in the Agafay desert was the first stay we had planned for our six day trip. We arrived at Marrakech airport around 9 AM and it was easy to find a taxi that drove us to Agafay desert. Tip: If you don't want to spend time on negotiating with taxi chauffeurs, we recommend to arrange a transfer when you book your stay at Scarabeo Camp.
When we arrived at Scarabeo Camp we immediately felt the peaceful atmosphere and forgot about our 3 hours of sleep. We were welcomed with a pot of hot fresh Moroccan tea and delicious sweets.
The moment we checked into our room we looked forward to spend the night here. The atmosphere of the luxurious tent was so calm. It's filled with Moroccan lanterns, Berber carpets and beautiful African hidden details. The great fragrance of the Scarabeo reed diffusers have a great smell to remember and it definitely adds to the experience. Every tent has a private patio in front, this is the place where you can relax and get some time for yourself. Also, every tent includes a bathroom, for us that's a huge plus.
The afternoon
After exploring the surroundings of Scarabeo camp for a few minutes, we went back to our tent, took a warm shower and we felt as good as new ready to enjoy our lunch. The lunch was so refreshing, the breads are freshly baked out of a mud stone oven. Come on, there's nothing better than warm bread out of a stone oven right?
They served the bread together with six plates of salads and vegetables. We are normally not a fan of cauliflower, but this tasted so good. We finished (almost) every plate of the salad. They had so much flavour and were perfect for two persons. We actually thought that was our complete lunch, but within five minutes they also served delicious chicken skewers with various vegetables in between. For the second time, we thought this was our complete lunch. However, they also brought a very tasteful Tajine. After this, they gave us a delicious oatmeal and crumbled apple with cream as a desert for lunch. Can you imagine eating so much for lunch? It was unreal, couldn't finish everything unfortunately, but we were content and fulfilled with all we needed.
After our lunch we decided to create content and checked out all the beautiful views around us and at 5:30 PM we booked a sunset camel tour. It was really beautiful to watch the sunset in Agafay desert, you will see that the sky slowly fades into soft colors such as pink and orange.
On the move
Did you know that Scarabeo Camp is located just 30 minutes away from Marrakech? However, the exact location can vary from season to season. There are two different sides where the camp can be located. The place of their location truly depends on which season it is. During the winter, the tents are located in the centre of Agafay desert, but during summer the temperatures are way too high. That's why the camp moves a few kilometres further. It goes more into the shade of a eucalyptus grove.
We stayed at the beginning of May at Scarabeo Camp and it was 26 - 33 degrees and it was pretty bearable (for us). Sometimes we also felt a very soft breeze during the day. If you still think this is too hot for me, than we recommend to either pay a visit during winter time or from March - April as the temperatures will be more likely to be 20 - 25 degrees.
If you're feeling too hot, did you know that you can jump in the pool of Scarabeo? Lay at their beautiful sunbeds and enjoy the sun or refresh yourself and look around to admire the beautiful Atlas Mountains from out of the pool.
The evening
After our camel tour we prepared ourselves for dinner, but first we were surprised with the lovely offer of enjoying drinks before our dinner. There was a bonfire and they served all type of drinks. They had arranged spots for groups, four and two persons. The way they divided the open space was great. We could easily join others or get a moment to ourselves and enjoy the sunset, serene views and the live music on the background.
Around 8PM the dinner was ready to be served. Until this day we still don't know how many vegetables they had used in our starter, but the soup we got served was excellent! Together with bread and vegetables/cheese rolls we enjoyed our first course. Shortly after this, we got two Tajines: one with lamb, peaches and plums and the other with chicken and olives. We both preferred the chicken with olives!
You don't need your phone or any other device truly, because this dinner will stay in your memories forever. The guitar player sang songs for us in at least three different languages. His voice, the food, the romantic candle lights and its location gives you the feeling of being on a romantic date night in the movie Aladdin. The dinner and drinks before were definitely one of our favorite moments to always remember.
Activities at Scarabeo Camp Agafay
Spending a night in the desert comes with many possibilities of entering activities that lift up the memory of your experience. Scarabeo Camp offers many activities to do while you stay here, so I guess it's save to say that you will never have to worry to be bored in the middle of Agafay desert. As they offer you a unique stay with numerous options.
Here's a list of activities in short:
ACTIVE . ADVENTURE . ENERGY .
- QUAD - Hop onto a quad yourself or with another person and bike through the desert: Feel the adrenaline rushing through you, while you are admiring the beautiful surroundings. You can book this for one or two hours.
- BUGGY - Experience a buggy drive through the desert: Together with your guide you will see Agafay desert at its finest. It offers a new dimension to the off-road Agafay desert. You can book this for one or two hours.
- MTB - Enjoy an active Mountain Bike Ride with a guide: Together with your guide you will bike through the Agafay desert and you can do this up to 3 persons or more. Bike a long for 2 hours.
- NORDIC WALK - Go on a sporty walking with poles and a guide. You can book this for 1 to 4 persons and the duration will be 2 hours.
REST . CALM . BREATHING .
- YOGA - Experience yoga in a different setting than the gym or your home: In case you want to experience a yoga class in the desert, this could be an opportunity to try it out. Take a deep breath and awaken your soul.
- MASSAGE - Time for a massage: If you truly want to turn on the vacation mode treat yourself with a 1 hour massage included organic essential oils and leave all the tension and stress behind.
ANIMALS . RIDE . EXPERIENCE .
- DROMEDARY - Book a small camel ride: You can book a small camel ride for 1 or a group of people and multiple camels. Or you can book a camel ride with a handler. You can book a ride for 30 minutes or 1 hours.
- HORSE RIDING - Go horse riding through the Agafay desert: Together with a guide you can book a horse riding trip through the Agafay desert. You can book a tour for 1 to 3 persons and enjoy an hour of horse riding.
STARS . DISCOVER . SKY
- ASTRONOMY - Discover the stars and the moon with an astronomer: Look through all the equipment of an astronomer and watch all the stars you want to see. A unique experience to remember for a lifetime. You can book this for 1 to 6 persons and watch the stars for 1 hour.
- HOT-AIR BALLOON - Take off with a hot air balloon: In the morning you'll take-off from Scarabeo camp. This can be booked for a minimum of 4 people grouped together. However it's also possible to book a trip for just 2 persons.
Additional options:
Did you know that you can also spend just an afternoon at Scarabeo Camp? It's possible to contact the camp and let them know that your are interested in the activities they offer and would like to have lunch and book (some) activities. However, we loved immersing into the full experience and included one night of sleeping here.
Curious to see more photos of Scarabeo Camp? Take a look at our Scarabeo photography
For more information, rates and services you can visit:
And, are you planning to pay a visit to the magical Scarabeo Camp after reading about our incredible memories? We hope you do, because we have 0 regret of booking our stay.
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