Your kids know Santa by heart. This January, they'll meet the Kings.

Why the desert

The one story you can point to on a map

Your children speak English at home, at school and with their friends. They carve pumpkins in October and write to Santa in December. And somewhere along the way, Los Reyes became something that only happens at abuela's house.

That's not their fault and it isn't yours either. It's what happens to a tradition when it's raised in another language, an ocean away from where it started. But the Three Kings have something Santa doesn't: a real address. They come from the East. To reach Spain, they cross a desert. And that desert isn't a story — it has actual sand, actual camels, more stars than your kids have ever seen, and coordinates you can type into a phone. Erg Chebbi, southeastern Morocco.

So the next time somebody at school says the Kings aren't a real thing, your children will have an answer that no one else in their class has. They were there. They saw them leave.

You're not going to see the Three Kings. You're going to intercept them.

Season 2026 · 2027

Two departures. Two different nights.

Both fly nonstop from Madrid into the Sahara. Both include the encounter in the desert. What changes is the date, the price and who operates it. Prices are per family, not per person.

The classic

January 2 – 6, 2027 · Catai

In search of the Three Kings

Five days between Erfoud and Erg Chebbi following the trail: 360-million-year-old fossils, the Rissani souk, the wells of Jorf and the Dakar Rally tracks. On the fourth day you ride into the desert on camelback and you find them. It is the night of January 5th.

Families

2 adults + 1 child	€5,490
2 adults + 2 children	€7,230

Single-parent families

1 adult + 1 child	€3,750
1 adult + 2 children	€5,490

Total price for the whole family, air taxes included. A 5% early-booking discount applies. Prices are in euros.

See what's included Full details at Viaja con tu Familia →

Dec 30, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027 · Icarion

New Year's Eve in the dunes

Here everything happens on the same day. On December 31st you ride into the erg at sunset, find their camp among the dunes and hand over the letters before anyone back home knows they've set off. And that same night you count down to midnight in a Berber tent camp, in the middle of the Sahara. The first sunrise of the year is watched from the top of a dune.

Families

2 adults + 1 child	€6,290
2 adults + 2 children	€8,250

Single-parent families

1 adult + 1 child	€4,230
1 adult + 2 children	€6,290

Total price per family, air taxes included, with a 20 kg checked bag and 5 kg carry-on. It's the pricier one, and the first to sell out.

I want New Year's Eve Full details at Viaja con tu Familia →

January 5th · Three Kings' Night

The night they'll still be telling at thirty

In the afternoon you set off on camelback from the edge of the erg. Forty minutes of dune, no engines, no signal, the sun dropping behind you. By the time you reach the camp it's dark, and there isn't a single artificial light for thirty miles: you can see the stars all the way down, to where the sand cuts them off.

And then you hear a bell. One at first. Then the dull sound of camels coming down the face of the dune, and three figures against the sky. Melchor, Gaspar and Balthazar, camp pitched in the middle of the Sahara, stopped to rest before carrying on toward Spain.

Your child walks up with the letter. Folded, creased, written back in November. And hands it over. No mailbox, no line, no glass in between.

Here's what nobody else can offer: this happens on the night of January 5th. Not a rehearsal, not an early visit. You are watching them exactly as they head for your home.

Meeting the Three Kings in the Sahara desert

Filmed there. No actors, no set, no line.

Fourteen seconds, shot at the desert camp.

Arriving in the Sahara

Welcome at the Xaluca

The whole trip

Across the desert

The Three Kings' camp lit by hundreds of candles on the dune — The camp, with the dune lit by hundreds of candles.

Royal pages waiting on the dune with a torch — The pages wait on the dune

Their Majesties in their tent — Their Majesties, in their tent

Camel caravan over the Merzouga dunes at sunset — The erg at sunset, when you ride in

Sunrise over the Erg Chebbi dunes — Sunrise on the 6th, from the top of a dune

Entrance to the tented camp with rugs and lanterns — The way into the camp

The first three are from the real encounter on one of our departures. The others are from the same desert and the same camp.

January 2 – 6, 2027

Five days, no filler

Nonstop charter flight from Madrid to Errachidia — one hour and forty-five minutes — three nights at a Xaluca hotel in Erfoud and one in the tented camp of the Great Erg Chebbi. All transfers in Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4s, local guides and a Spanish-speaking entertainment team throughout.

Day 1Madrid → Errachidia → Erfoud+

Nonstop flight out of Madrid at 09:00. Berber musicians meet you on the tarmac — yes, on the tarmac — and you head to Erfoud by 4x4 through the palm groves of the Ziz valley, stopping at a lookout point along the way. Arrival at the Xaluca hotel, dinner and first night. By now the kids have worked out that this is not a normal vacation.

Day 2360-million-year-old fossils and the Rissani souk+

Morning at the fossil quarries: every child leaves with their own, 360 million years old, in their pocket. Then the traditional market at Rissani — the largest in the region, open three days a week — and lunch at a local pizzeria. In the afternoon, activities for the kids with the entertainment team, and hammam, jacuzzi or pool for whoever wants them.

Day 3The Celestial Staircase, the wells of Jorf and Jebel Lamdawar+

A 16-metre triangular monument in the middle of nowhere with a 56-step staircase inside. The wells of Jorf, an underground irrigation system more than 3,000 years old that looks like a lunar landscape. And Jebel Lamdawar, where The Mummy, Babel and Spectre were filmed — the largest explosion in film history happened right there. Buffet dinner with Berber folk music at night.

Day 4January 5th. Camels, dunes and the encounterThree Kings' Night+

Morning of 4x4 driving on Dakar Rally tracks, a visit to nomad families and a picnic lunch at the Tisserdmine oasis. In the afternoon you enter the erg: the 4x4s are swapped for camels and you ride into the heart of the desert at sunset. Berber dinner at the camp and, after dark, the encounter with Their Majesties: letters handed over in person and a small preview of the gifts. You sleep in an authentic but modern tent, with a private bathroom, under the Sahara sky. If you want more space, there are premium tents with heating and A/C at a separate camp — only ten of them.

Day 5January 6th. Sunrise over the dunes and home+

Sunrise on Three Kings' Day from the top of a dune is the last postcard. Breakfast, a quiet morning, and the flight back at 16:00 — landing in Madrid at 17:45. Your children are among the very few in the world who can say they watched the Kings set off.

Itinerary of Catai's Imagina: En busca de SS.MM. los Reyes Magos programme. The order of the excursions may vary with local logistics or weather; the content does not.

Flying in from the Americas

How a family from Miami, Bogotá or Mexico City actually does this

This is the part every family from across the Atlantic asks about first, so let's get it out of the way. The charter leaves Madrid at 09:00 on January 2nd, which means you need to be in Madrid the night before. That's it — that's the whole complication. Miami, Bogotá, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and São Paulo all have nonstop overnight flights into Madrid.

The realistic plan

Dec 31 or Jan 1	Overnight nonstop into Madrid from Miami, Bogotá, Mexico City or Buenos Aires. You land in the morning.
Jan 1	One night in Madrid. Sleep off the jet lag, and catch the Three Kings parade through the city on the evening of the 5th if you extend — or just rest.
Jan 2	Madrid airport, 09:00. From here everything is ours.
Jan 6	Back in Madrid at 17:45.
Jan 7	Fly home. Total time away: about a week.
Time zones	Madrid is 6 hours ahead of Miami and Bogotá, 7 ahead of Mexico City, 4 ahead of Buenos Aires.

What we handle and what you handle

Your transatlantic flights and your night in Madrid are on you — you'll almost always get a better fare booking those from your side, and you may want to use miles. Everything from Madrid onward is ours: charter flight, hotel, camp, 4x4s, guides, meals and the encounter.

Tell us in the form where you're flying from and we'll send you the connection laid out clearly, plus hotel suggestions in Madrid near the airport. We've done this before.

Paperwork, in plain English

Passport	Valid 6+ months past your return
Visa for Morocco (US and EU citizens, short tourist stay)	Not required
Mandatory vaccinations	None
Entry into Spain — check whether ETIAS applies on your travel date	We'll confirm
Time in Morocco	1 hour behind Spain in winter

Other nationalities may have different requirements — tell us which passports your family travels on and we'll check it before you pay anything.

Where you sleep

Three nights in a kasbah and one under the stars

The question we get most on the phone and the one catalogues answer least. Here it is, with names and no varnish.

First three nights · Xaluca Hotel, Erfoud

A kasbah on the edge of the desert, owned by the same group that runs the camp. Half board: buffet breakfasts and dinners, with lunches spread through the itinerary — an oasis, local restaurants and the pizzeria in Erfoud.

Heated pool, jacuzzi and hammam	Included
Tennis, padel and mini golf	Included
Massages	Payable on site
Wi-Fi at the hotel	Free
Maximum room occupancy	2 adults + 2 children
Senior Suite — living area, king size bed, full bathroom, A/C, satellite TV and minibar	+€275/pers.

The pool-and-hammam afternoon on day two, while the entertainment team takes the kids, is scheduled there on purpose.

Fourth night · Great Erg Chebbi camp

You get there by camel, at sunset, and there is no road. The tents are modern, with a private bathroom and shower: Berber tent on the outside, bedroom on the inside. Dinner is around the fire, and above it there isn't a streetlight for thirty miles.

Standard tent with private bathroom and shower	Included
Berber dinner and night at the camp	Included
Premium tent — suite style, with a sitting area and heating/AC, at a separate camp half a mile away	+€175/pers.
Premium tents available	Only 10
Wi-Fi at the camp	Don't count on it

This is where the encounter with Their Majesties happens, on the night of January 5th. On the New Year departure the camp is La Belle Étoile and the premium tent is €155.

One warning so nobody is caught out: this is not a resort. It's a kasbah on the edge of the Sahara and a tented camp in the middle of a dune. The heating works, the water runs hot and the beds are real beds — but in January, before dawn, the desert drops below freezing. Bring down jackets.

No fine print

The full price, no "from"

It's an expensive trip. We know, and we're not going to dress it up with a "from" price that doesn't exist. We'd rather you do the math now than after three emails.

Most common

2 adults + 1 child

€5,490

Total price for the family
air taxes included

2 adults + 2 children

€7,230

Total price for the family
air taxes included

Single-parent families

1 adult + 1 child	€3,750
1 adult + 2 children	€5,490

Published, not "on request".
Air taxes included

Included

Nonstop charter flight Madrid–Errachidia–Madrid, checked baggage and air taxes included
3 nights at a Xaluca hotel in Erfoud, half board, plus 1 night in a tent with private bathroom at the Great Erg Chebbi
All meals except lunch on the final day: buffet breakfasts and dinners, and lunches at the Ziz valley, the Tisserdmine oasis, Lamdaouar and Les Dunes in Erfoud
Chilled bottled water in the 4x4s throughout
All transfers and excursions in 4x4 with a local driver
Spanish-speaking entertainment team for the whole trip
The encounter with Their Majesties and the handing over of letters
Camel ride and night at the desert camp
Local Spanish-speaking guides
Travel insurance, online documentation and gifts for the children
Welcome email and a WhatsApp group for the trip before you leave

Not included

Your flights to Madrid and your night there
Drinks with lunch and dinner (water in the 4x4s is included)
Lunch on the final day
Tips and personal expenses
Optional room, tent or 4x4 upgrades
Optional cancellation insurance (worth it — you're booking months ahead)
Anything not on the list to the left. If it isn't there, it isn't included.

Charter flight times

Jan 2 · Madrid 09:00 → Errachidia 10:45	1 h 45 m
Jan 6 · Errachidia 16:00 → Madrid 17:45	1 h 45 m

Nonstop, no connections. Times are provisional until airport slots are confirmed.

If you have to cancel

From the moment you book	€65
Aug 25 – Sep 27	15%
Sep 28 – Oct 28	35%
Oct 29 – 22 days before	50%
Final 21 days	100%

We publish this because nobody does. These are the booking fee plus the tour operator's 2026-27 cancellation terms, and we'll confirm them in writing before you pay anything.

Prices per family for Catai's January 2, 2027 departure, in euros, subject to availability at the time of booking. "Children" means ages 2 to 11; ask us about other ages or groups with three or more children. Payment can be split in instalments up to the departure date.

The comparison

The desert or the shopping mall

We have nothing against the parade or the guy in the red suit at the mall. We've stood in that line too. But if you're still reading, it's because you suspect there's a difference between seeing the Kings and finding them.

The usual

Forty minutes in line in a hallway with canned music.
Ninety seconds on someone's knee.
A photo with a flash and a candy cane.
Your kid tells it on Monday. Forgets it by Tuesday.

What happens at Erg Chebbi

Four days of tracks, fossils, oases and kasbahs following the trail.
You climb onto a camel at sunset and ride into the actual desert.
Night falls. They appear. With their camels. Between the dunes.
Your child hands over the letter. And will still be telling it at thirty.

Before you fill anything in

There are families we say no to

We've been selling family travel since 2008 and we've learned that saying no in time is worth more than a sale. Read both lists before writing to us.

It's for you if…

Your children are 4 to 10. The sweet spot is 5 to 8.
A dusty 4x4, a long road and an early start don't scare you.
You want a night in a tent in the middle of the desert, not a suite with an ocean view.
You're comfortable travelling alongside Spanish-speaking families doing exactly the same thing.
Grandparents are coming. They do brilliantly on this trip.

It isn't for you if…

Your child is 12 or 13 and has been asking awkward questions for a while. Be honest with yourselves.
You want a quiet pool-and-lounger holiday. Here you get up early and cover miles by 4x4.
Money is tight. It's €5,490 for a family of three plus taxes, and there is no cheap version of this. What we can do is spread the payments.
Someone in the family handles cold badly. In January the Sahara drops below freezing before dawn.
Nobody in your family understands any Spanish. The guides and the entertainment team work in Spanish. Tell us and we'll be straight with you about whether it'll work.

Who's talking to you

We work with the people who live there

Xaluca isn't a supplier we found in a search engine: the hotel in Erfoud and the tented camp in the Erg Chebbi are theirs, they've been in that patch of desert for decades, and the driver taking your kids around was born half an hour away.

We're the other half: a travel agency specialised in one single kind of client — families travelling with children. We pick the departure with you, build the booking and pick up the phone if anything goes sideways. This trip is, for us, the most important one of the year.

2008

Organising family travel. Same phone number, same people answering it.

< 24 h

A person replies, on business days, with a closed price.

Catai
Icarion

Two of Spain's most established tour operators, one departure each.

Xaluca

Local operator in Erfoud. The hotel and the desert camp are theirs.

The real questions

What parents actually ask us

My kids barely speak Spanish. Is that a problem?

Straight answer: the guides and the entertainment team work in Spanish, and most families on board are Spanish. Kids sort themselves out faster than adults do — they play, and language stops mattering by day two. But we're not going to pretend it's an English-language trip, because it isn't. We speak English and we'll be with you the whole way: your documentation, your briefing and your point of contact are in English. If nobody in your family follows any Spanish at all, tell us and we'll give you an honest read on whether it'll work for you.

What if my child is already starting to doubt?

It's the number one question and we always answer it the same way: this trip works better just before the doubt than just after. Between 5 and 8 it's devastating. At 9 or 10 it still works very well. Beyond that it depends on the child, and you know better than we do. Tell us their age and we'll give you our honest opinion, even if it's "maybe not this year".

Is it cold? Is the tent rough?

Yes, and take it seriously: the temperature swing in the desert in January is brutal. It can be 68°F at midday and below freezing before dawn. The tent is not survival camping — modern tents, real beds, private bathroom and shower. That said, only the premium tents have heating and A/C, and those are an upgrade. Bring cotton and light colours for the day, fleece and a good down jacket for the night. And a scarf for your head — you'll thank us.

How much time do we spend in the car?

A fair amount. This is southern Morocco and the distances are what they are. The difference is that it's done in 4x4s carrying four passengers max plus the driver, with frequent stops and an entertainment team whose entire job is keeping the kids from getting bored. Still — if your children are miserable in cars, factor it in.

What about the morning of the 6th? Do my kids miss their gifts at home?

They get it twice, in fact. In the desert Their Majesties hand them a small preview on the night of the 5th, and the gifts at home stay exactly where they should be. If you're flying back to the US on the 7th, leave a key with someone you trust and have them set everything up while you're in the air. It works better than it sounds, and to the children it adds up perfectly: they watched the Kings leave the Sahara, so of course they got there first.

Do we need to change money? Is there Wi-Fi?

You don't need to fight with currency: on arrival at the hotel in Erfoud you're offered a book of tickets, bought in euros, valid for drinks and purchases at the Xaluca hotels, the camp and the pizzeria. Cards are accepted if you'd rather. There's free Wi-Fi at the hotel; at the desert camp, don't count on it. Honestly, that's half the point.

Can we pay in instalments?

Yes. You book with a deposit and the balance is split up to the departure date. Since the trip is booked months ahead, that's how most families do it. We'll lay out the payment schedule in your proposal.

Who actually runs this?

The January 2 departure is operated by Catai and the New Year one by Icarion, two of the most established tour operators in Spain. Both work with Xaluca as the local operator in Erfoud — they own the hotel and the camp and have been there for decades. We're the family-travel specialists who look after you before, during and after.

Limited seats · Departures 2026 · 2027

Tell us their ages and we'll tell you if this is the year

One minute of form. A person replies within 24 business hours with real availability, a final price and a payment schedule. And if we think your children's ages make this the wrong year, we'll say so even though it costs us the sale.

Rather talk first? Call us on +34 912 18 38 06, message us on WhatsApp at +34 680 31 85 72 — the easiest option from the US — or email viajes@enbuscadelosreyesmagos.com. We're on Central European Time — six hours ahead of Miami and Bogotá, seven ahead of Mexico City.