New Year's Eve in Morocco: Celebrating in the Desert

1. How Morocco marks the New Year

Morocco follows the Islamic calendar for religious festivals, so 31 December passes quietly for most families. Shops and restaurants stay open, and 1 January is a public holiday.

In tourist centres the evening is livelier. Hotels and riads organise gala dinners, and restaurants in Marrakech, Casablanca and Agadir offer set menus with live music. Expect to book well ahead, and expect prices to be higher than usual.

2. Why spend New Year's Eve in the desert

A New Year in the Sahara is the opposite of a crowded city square. You ride into the dunes by camel in the afternoon, watch the last sunset of the year from a high crest and arrive at camp as the lanterns are lit.

Camps prepare a special dinner for the occasion, followed by Berber and Gnawa music around a large fire. At midnight there is no countdown on a screen, only the fire, the drums and the Milky Way. The first sunrise of the year, seen from the top of a dune, is the moment most guests remember.

Local tip: Step away from the fire for a few minutes around midnight. The silence of the dunes is a celebration of its own.

3. A New Year desert trip, day by day

This is how a typical three-day trip from Marrakech fits around the 31st.

• 30 December: Cross the High Atlas, visit Aït Benhaddou and continue through Ouarzazate and Skoura to the Dades Valley.
• 31 December: Drive by the Todra Gorge to Merzouga. Ride into the dunes for the last sunset of the year, then dinner, music and midnight at camp.
• 1 January: Watch the first sunrise from the dunes, then return to Marrakech or continue north to Fes.

Local tip: With four days you can arrive in Merzouga on the 30th and spend the whole of the 31st exploring the desert by 4x4 before the celebration.

4. What the weather is like

Late December is winter in Morocco. In Merzouga the days are bright and pleasant, usually between 15 and 20°C, but the temperature drops sharply after dark and can approach freezing in the early hours.

The High Atlas often has snow, which makes the crossing from Marrakech very beautiful. Occasionally the Tizi n'Tichka pass closes for a few hours after heavy snowfall, so keep some flexibility in your schedule.

• Pack a warm jacket, hat and gloves for the evening.
• Choose a camp with heating in the tents.
• Thermal layers are useful for the sunrise.

5. Travelling over the holidays: what to know

This is peak season. Flights, riads and camps cost more than at other times of the winter, and the best ones are reserved months ahead. Popular camps are full on the night of the 31st, so if you want quiet, ask for a small camp set deep in the dunes.

Days are short. In late December the sun sets around half past five in Merzouga, so driving days start early to reach each stop in daylight. Build in a spare day before your flight home in case snow slows the mountain crossing.

6. New Year in Marrakech

If you prefer a city, Marrakech is the natural choice. Jemaa el-Fna is as lively as ever, rooftop restaurants around the square fill early and many riads host their own dinners. A common plan is to spend the 30th and 31st in the desert and return to Marrakech for a few relaxed days afterwards, or the other way round.

Elsewhere, Agadir offers a mild evening by the beach, Essaouira a quiet seafood dinner behind the ramparts, and Fes a candlelit meal in a riad courtyard. A kasbah guesthouse in the Dades Valley or the Atlas, with a log fire and snow on the peaks, is another memorable choice.

7. Yennayer, the Amazigh New Year

Morocco has a second New Year. Yennayer marks the start of the Amazigh agricultural calendar and falls in mid-January. In 2023 it was declared a national public holiday, celebrated officially for the first time on 14 January 2024.

Families gather for a shared meal, often couscous with seven vegetables or a thick porridge called tagoula, and wish each other 'Aseggas Ameggaz', a happy new year. If your trip runs into mid-January, you may find yourself invited to join in.

8. How to plan a New Year desert trip

The week between Christmas and the first days of January is the busiest of the whole year in the Sahara. A little organisation makes the difference.

• Book early: The best camps are full by November.
• Allow enough days: Three days from Marrakech or Fes is the minimum; four is more comfortable in winter daylight.
• Confirm the dinner: Ask what the New Year's Eve meal and music include.
• Ask about supplements: Many camps charge extra for the night of the 31st.

9. With children

New Year in the desert works very well for families. Children can stay up by the fire, play drums with the camp staff and slide down the dunes the next morning. Pack proper winter clothes for them, ask for a family tent or neighbouring tents, and choose the 4x4 transfer if the camel ride would mean arriving in the cold after dark.

Frequently Asked Questions