NEW YEAR'S EVE IN AGAFAY DESERT
FROM MARRAKECH 2027

Prefer the real Sahara dunes for New Year? Discover our New Year’s Eve in the Zagora Sahara desert (2-day, overnight in golden dunes) — the Agafay night here is the quick, 40-minute option from Marrakech.

What exactly does the 220€ cover?

The figure most people want pinned down before they commit. The 220€ per person covers the evening itself and the journey both ways: the drive from your Marrakech accommodation to the Agafay and back, the welcome tea on arrival, the festive Moroccan dinner, the heated tent for the whole evening, the Gnawa musicians, the belly dancers and the fire show, and the midnight countdown. The transport included at that price is a shared minibus that collects several accommodations in turn. A private vehicle for your group alone is 100€ more for the round trip. Drinks are not included and alcohol is not available at the camp, so plan the evening around mint tea and soft drinks rather than a toast with champagne.

Why does the pick-up start at 14:00 for an 18:00 arrival?

Because the included transport is shared, and on 31 December Marrakech is at its slowest. The minibus collects guests from several riads and hotels across the medina and the newer districts, and the medina’s lanes cannot be driven: a driver often parks at the nearest gate and walks in to find you. Add the traffic of the last afternoon of the year and the four-hour window stops looking generous. The drive itself is only about forty minutes for 30 km.

If that afternoon matters to you, the 100€ private vehicle removes the problem entirely: your own car collects you alone, at an hour we agree with you, and goes straight to the camp. Couples who want a lie-in on the last day of the year, families with small children, and anyone arriving in Marrakech that same day usually find it the better of the two options.

What is the Agafay actually like on 31 December?

Cold once the sun goes, and that surprises people who pictured a desert. The Agafay is a rocky plateau rather than sand and it gives back the day’s heat quickly: the hours between sunset and midnight are the coldest part of the evening. The tent is heated and the seating is cushioned, so the dinner and the shows are comfortable — but the walk from the car, the welcome tea outside and the countdown under the stars are not indoors.

Dress for that in layers: a warm coat you can keep on outside and remove in the tent, long trousers, closed shoes rather than anything open, and a scarf. The reward for the cold is the sky. There is no city light on the plateau, the air in late December is dry and clear, and the Atlas sits on the horizon with snow on it — at the one moment of the year when everybody is already looking up.

Desert or Marrakech for New Year’s Eve?

Both work, and they are not the same evening. A rooftop or riad dinner in Marrakech keeps you five minutes from your bed and inside the city’s noise: fireworks over the medina, crowds in Jemaa el-Fnaa, and the option of going on somewhere afterwards. The desert gives you the opposite — silence, a horizon instead of walls, and a countdown with nothing between you and the sky.

The honest answer is that the desert version is the better choice if the landscape is why you came, and the weaker one if you want to be in the middle of a crowd at midnight. We would rather you knew that before booking than afterwards.

Who does this night suit, and who should skip it?

It suits couples, families and small groups who want one memorable evening rather than a party, and who do not mind an early start to the afternoon. Children are welcome and the entertainment works for all ages, though the music is loud during the shows, so very young children sometimes do better further from the stage — tell us and we seat you accordingly.

It suits you less well if you need alcohol to mark the year, since the camp neither serves nor sells it. It also suits you less well if you have very limited mobility: the camp sits on uneven rocky ground and the walk from the car park to the tent is short but not paved. Tell us and we will confirm with the camp before you pay anything.

When should you book, and what happens next?

Earlier than for any other night of our year. There is exactly one 31 December, the camps in the Agafay have a fixed number of covers, and the night sells out well before Christmas most years. Bookings for 31 December 2026 into 2027 are open now.

Send us a message on WhatsApp or write to [email protected] with the number of travellers, the name of your Marrakech accommodation and whether you want the shared minibus or the private vehicle. We reply with the exact total, confirm the pick-up window once we know where you are staying, and hold the places. There is no booking platform between us and no intermediary taking a cut, which is also why we can still move a detail two days before the night if your plans change.

Can you combine the night with the day before or after?

Often the best use of the trip. Many guests spend 31 December itself in the Agafay rather than waiting for the evening: a pool day pass from 65€ per person, a camel ride at sunset or a quad circuit fills the afternoon, and the same driver carries you from the activity straight to the dinner instead of returning to Marrakech in between. On 1 January the plateau is unusually quiet — the camps are half empty and the light is clear — which makes it one of the better mornings of the year for a slow breakfast in the desert. Tell us what you would like on either side of the night and we build the two days around the same vehicle.