Our Sahara Desert experience included a ride on a camel through the sand dunes to watch the sunset, and spending the night in a Berber tent, with food and drink served along with some musical entertainment. I greatly enjoyed it, except for the sandstorm we encountered while sitting atop a dune, but it isn’t something I feel a need to do again!

Finally it was time to take our ride out to the sand dunes. The camel handler picked out two camels (based on what, I’m not sure, but Tim’s was much nicer than mine) and helped us get on and then way, way up above the ground -- these are really tall animals. For those who have never ridden a camel, it might look effortless, but it isn’t – when they get up, you suddenly get thrown forward and then backward, and when walking up and down sand dunes (particularly down), you absolutely must hold on to the saddle with at least one hand or run the risk of falling off. That made taking pictures with my big D810 and lens quite a challenge, to say the least. Still, I enjoyed it immensely and can now say that I've ridden a camel -- in the Sahara Desert, no less!

Another person's take on riding a camel, which I thought was quite entertaining and right on http://www.seeknewtravel.com/what-its-like-to-ride-a-camel/