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Compared · Worldwide
Best sandboarding spots in the world, compared with Morocco
The best sandboarding spots in the world share steep dry sand and a way to reach it. We compare five, from Namibia to Colorado, on what the official sources say, and show where Morocco fits.
Check availabilityfrom $23 · cancellation is free
Editorial team, sandboardingmorocco.comUpdated October 26, 20266 min read49 sources
Quick answer
- 03Dubai
- Board sessions bundled into desert safaris.
- 04United States
- Great Sand Dunes, the tallest dunes in North America.5
What makes a sandboarding spot great
A good sandboarding dune needs three things: a long, steep face, dry sand, and a way up. The steep face is the slip face on the downwind side, where sand settles at its angle of repose, about 32 degrees for dry sand according to Britannica.8 Dryness matters as well: rain packs sand hard, and hard sand is where the Park Service records more injuries.9
The way up is the part people forget. Most places have no lift, and the climb sets your pace. Some destinations solve it with vehicles that carry riders to the top; others ban them. Gear matters too: the Park Service notes that boards made for sand rely on a slick base and wax, while snow gear moves only on sand soaked by rain or snow.1011
With those three tests in mind, we compared five destinations on what their tourism boards, parks agencies and UNESCO actually publish, rather than on travel-blog rankings. None of these places is objectively best; each is best at something, and which suits you comes down to the trip you have in mind.
Around the year
When each dune region shines or struggles
-
February-March
Huacachina
PromPeru names these the best months, when it is warmer.12
-
Spring
Great Sand Dunes
Moderate sand temperatures, but very windy afternoons.13
-
May
Agadir coast
The windiest month at Agadir Inezgane, 20.5 days.14
-
July
Dubai
Highs above 40 °C; ride at the edges of the day.15
-
December
Agadir coast
The wettest month, 49.0 mm on the long-term average.16
Namibia: the sand sea on the Atlantic
The Namib is a cool coastal desert that runs 1,900 km along the Atlantic coast from Angola to South Africa.17 Its dunes run in lines 16 to 32 km long and reach 60 to 240 metres high.1 UNESCO inscribed the Namib Sand Sea in 2013 and calls it the only coastal desert in the world with extensive dune fields influenced by fog.1819
For sandboarding in Namibia, the Namibia Tourism Board points to Swakopmund and Walvis Bay, on the dunes of the Namib.2 It describes two styles, standing up and lying down, and beginners start on training dunes called Little Nellie and Brigit Run.2021 The fastest dune is called Dizzy, where experienced boarders reach up to 80 km/h.22
Its practical tips are refreshingly simple: closed shoes for lie-down boarding, because your shoes are the brakes, and socks for stand-up boarding.23 Swakopmund lies 32 km north of Walvis Bay and 280 km west of the capital, Windhoek.24 A Swakopmund quad tour with an optional sandboard, including combos of 2 and 3 hours, starts from $36.
Popularity
Reviews of a leading sandboarding outing, by country
reviews
Side by side
Five sandboarding destinations
| Destination | Dunes | Getting up | Outing from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namibia, Swakopmund | Namib Sand Sea | Quad or on foot | from $36 |
| Peru, Huacachina | Ica desert | Buggy or on foot | from $48 |
| Dubai | Red Dunes | 4x4 safari | from $30 |
| Colorado, USA | Great Sand Dunes | On foot only | Board hire |
| Morocco, Agadir | Sidi Toual, Timlalin | Quad or on foot | from $23 |
Access as the parks agencies and the listings on this page describe it; prices are from-prices of those listings.25
Three outings, three continents
Morocco, Dubai or Namibia
Our pick
Most reviewedDubai desert safari
Red Dunes, with camels
- Board & dunes
- 45 minutes
- Rating
- 4.95
- Price
- from $30
Namib dunesSwakopmund quad & board
Namib dunes, Namibia
- Combos
- 2 or 3 hours
- Rating
- 4.85
- Price
- from $36
Namib Sand Sea is the only coastal desert in the world that includes extensive dune fields influenced by fog.
Peru: Huacachina, the oasis among the dunes
Huacachina is a small lagoon in the desert of southern Peru, ringed by dunes and palm trees, and its picture is a fixture of sandboarding lists. PromPeru places it about 15 minutes from the city of Ica, and Britannica puts Ica 275 km south-east of Lima.326 PromPeru gives the road trip from Lima to Ica as approximately four hours on one page and approximately 5 hours on another.2728
The lagoon and the desert around it are a Regional Conservation Area, at 406 metres above sea level.429 Racing down the dunes on a sandboard is one of the activities PromPeru lists there, and it names February and March as the best time to visit, while saying the oasis is good all year.12
One warning stands out on the official page: PromPeru tells visitors to stay out of the dune buggies, which it says nobody currently regulates or officially supervises.30 Several outings there bring a dune buggy into the trip, including the well-reviewed one we list, which spends 3.5 hours at Huacachina and starts from $48. Read what each outing includes before you book.
Map
Where the sandboarding dunes are in Morocco
First the whole country from the Atlantic to Erg Chebbi, then the coast north and south of Agadir, then the shore below Essaouira.
1Marrakech2Agadir3Essaouira4Timlalin dunes5Erg Chebbi
2Agadir6Inezgane7Taghazout8Tamraght9Imi Ouaddar10Aghroud11Tamri4Timlalin dunes12Sidi Toual13Tifnit
3Essaouira14Diabat15El Ghazoua16Sidi Kaouki
- 1Marrakech
The red city on the Haouz Plain, about 200 km from Agadir in a straight line; its medina is a World Heritage site since 1985.3132
In Google Maps ↗ - 2Agadir
The Atlantic port 10 km north of the mouth of the Sous valley, rebuilt after the earthquakes of 1960.3334
In Google Maps ↗ - 3Essaouira
A port founded in 1765, with sand dunes on its land side and an ocean breeze that brings windsurfers.353637
In Google Maps ↗ - 4Timlalin dunes
The dunes by the ocean north of Tamri, about 50 km from Agadir in a straight line; several half-day sandboarding trips stop here.6
In Google Maps ↗ - 5Erg Chebbi
The sand sea near Merzouga, with star dunes over 100 m high, about 385 km from Marrakech as the crow flies.738
In Google Maps ↗ - 6Inezgane
Where the Agadir Inezgane weather station stands, 23 m above sea level; our climate tables are its normals.39
In Google Maps ↗ - 7Taghazout
The surf village about 27 km by straight line from the Timlalin dunes; one canyon and sandboarding trip picks up here.40
In Google Maps ↗ - 8Tamraght
One of four pickup points of the guided sandboarding trip with a canyon visit.
In Google Maps ↗ - 9Imi Ouaddar
The pickup point of the 5-hour trip to the Timlalin dunes, 70 minutes away by van.
In Google Maps ↗ - 10Aghroud
Several Timlalin trips stop 15 minutes at Plage Aghroud on the way north.
In Google Maps ↗ - 11Tamri
The village where one trip stops 40 minutes for tea and lunch after the dunes.
In Google Maps ↗ - 12Sidi Toual
The beach where the site's quad and sandboarding outing spends its 2 hours, 45 minutes by van from Agadir.
In Google Maps ↗ - 13Tifnit
One quad outing from Agadir and Taghazout rides here, 45 minutes from Agadir by van.
In Google Maps ↗ - 14Diabat
A village on the shore just south of Essaouira, on the side of town where the sand dunes begin.36
In Google Maps ↗ - 15El Ghazoua
A village inland from the Essaouira dunes, among the dunes and argan country behind the coast.36
In Google Maps ↗ - 16Sidi Kaouki
One of two pickup points of the Essaouira sandboarding outing with a sunset picnic.
In Google Maps ↗
Checklist
Packing for dunes anywhere
01
Gear
- A board made for sand, with a waxed base
- Closed shoes as brakes for lie-down runs
- Socks for stand-up boarding in Namibia
02
Protection
- Sunglasses or goggles against blowing sand
- Sunscreen and a hat
- Plenty of water for the climbs
03
Safety
- Feet first, never head first
- Watch children closely on steep faces
- Ride mornings and evenings in hot months
Cost calculator
Price a sandboarding outing for your group
Enter your group size to compare outings on three continents.
People
Total from$45
per person from $23
Check availabilityfree cancellationYour group size multiplied by each GetYourGuide from-price, then converted with the ECB rate of the day; checkout has the exact total.
Video
Sandboarding in the dunes of Namibia
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Dubai and the Arabian sand
Sandboarding in Dubai is almost always part of a desert safari rather than a sport of its own. The most reviewed safari we found, with 44,385 reviews, lists a 45-minute camel ride and 45 minutes of sandboarding, dune bashing and photos in the Red Dunes, with 45 minutes by jeep out and 1 hour back. It starts from $30.
Behind it lies the great sand country of Arabia. Britannica calls the Rub al-Khali the largest area of continuous sand in the world, about 650,000 square km, mostly in Saudi Arabia with smaller parts in the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen.4142 A Dubai safari stays far from that empty heart, on dunes within reach of the city.
Heat is the deciding factor. Britannica gives Dubai's January lows as about 15 °C and its July highs as above 40 °C.15 A summer afternoon on a red dune is punishing; plan an early morning or evening session in the hot months. The safari above sets a minimum age of 16 to drive its quad, a rule worth checking before you book for teenagers.
United States: Great Sand Dunes and White Sands
In Colorado, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve has the tallest dunes in North America and covers about 604 square km.543 Sandboarding at Great Sand Dunes is permitted on the dunefield away from vegetation, and from the main parking area it is at least a 1 km walk to the small and medium slopes.44 Motor vehicles are not allowed on the dunefield, and ATVs are banned from the park.25
The Park Service is precise about gear. It does not rent sandboards or sand sleds itself; you hire them from retailers outside the park before you arrive.45 It recommends boards and sleds built for sand, and notes that spring afternoons can be very windy even when sand temperatures are moderate.1013
In New Mexico, White Sands National Park takes a simpler approach: waxed plastic snow saucers work best there and can be rented or bought at the park's gift shop.46 It names children between 5 and 9 as the group hurt most often, and asks everyone to keep their feet, not their head, pointing downhill.4748
Where Morocco fits
Morocco offers two very different kinds of sandboarding. On the Atlantic coast near Agadir, dunes rise above the ocean at Timlalin, about 50 km north of the city in a straight line by our calculation.6 In the Sahara, the star dunes of Erg Chebbi near Merzouga reach over 100 m.7 The map on this page shows where the Moroccan dune areas lie, from the Atlantic coast to the Algerian border.
The coastal dunes are the easy entry. The site's own tour is a 4-hour quad and sandboarding outing at Sidi Toual Beach, south of Agadir, with 2,021 reviews and a 4.81 rating, starting from $23. It is the lowest of the four from-prices on this page, and it adds a quad ride and tea to the board.
Wind is the constant on the Moroccan coast. The Agadir Inezgane station counts 174.6 days a year with wind of 10 m/s or more, and Essaouira 186.3.1449 That keeps the dunes moving and fresh, and it means sunglasses are not optional. Our other pages cover each Moroccan spot in detail.
How to choose your destination
If speed and size are what you want, Namibia's named dunes, with a top speed of up to 80 km/h on Dizzy, are hard to beat on the official numbers.22 If you want a single unforgettable scene, Huacachina's lagoon among the dunes delivers it, but heed PromPeru's buggy warning.30
If you are in the Gulf anyway, a Dubai safari puts a board under you for the price of an evening out, with camels and dune driving thrown in. If you prefer silence and walking, the American parks ban motor vehicles on the sand and leave the dunes to people on foot.25
And if you want the board with the ocean below or the Sahara around you, often in one trip, Morocco does both. Start on the coast near Agadir for a first session, and save Erg Chebbi for a desert journey. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before is listed on the site's own tour, which makes booking early low-risk.
Your dune outing
Quad, board and tea in 4 hours.
Pick a date, get collected at your Agadir hotel, and cancel free up to 24 hours ahead.
You ask,we answer.
Where is the best place in the world to sandboard?
It depends on what you want. Namibia has a named dune ridden at up to 80 km/h, Peru an oasis among dunes, the US parks dunes without engines, and Morocco both ocean and Sahara dunes.224257
How fast can you go on a sandboard?
Up to 80 km/h on one Namibian dune. The Namibia Tourism Board says experienced boarders reach up to 80 km/h on the dune called Dizzy.22
Is sandboarding in Dubai worth it?
As part of a safari, yes. The most reviewed safari we found gives 45 minutes of sandboarding, dune bashing and photos.
Can I use a snowboard on sand?
Only on very wet sand. According to the US Park Service, a snowboard or snow sled needs sand soaked by rain or snow before it moves.11
Can I rent a sandboard at Great Sand Dunes?
Not from the park. The Park Service does not rent boards; hire them from retailers outside the park before you arrive.45
What is the best time to sandboard at Huacachina?
February and March, says PromPeru. PromPeru names February and March as the best time, when it is warmer, but calls the oasis good all year.12
How does Morocco compare for beginners?
Very well, near Agadir. The site's own quad and sandboarding outing needs no driving licence and starts from $23.
Sources
The sources for this guide
- 1Encyclopaedia BritannicaNamib↩
- 2Namibia Tourism BoardSand Boarding↩
- 3PromPeru (Commission for the Promotion of Peru)Huacachina: oasis in the middle of the desert↩
- 4PromPeru (Commission for the Promotion of Peru)Lake Huacachina Conservation Area↩
- 5US National Park ServiceGreat Sand Dunes: Frequently Asked Questions↩
- 6World Meteorological Organization (Climate Normals 1991-2020, archived by the US National Centers for Environmental Information)Single station data sheet: AGADIR INEZGANNE, WMO 60250↩
- 7NASA Photojournal (NASA/JPL, Terra ASTER)Star Dunes, Morocco (PIA26287)↩
- 8Encyclopaedia BritannicaSand dune↩
- 9US National Park ServiceGreat Sand Dunes: Sandboarding and Sand Sledding↩
- 10US National Park ServiceGreat Sand Dunes: Sandboarding and Sand Sledding↩
- 11US National Park ServiceGreat Sand Dunes: Sandboarding and Sand Sledding↩
- 12PromPeru (Commission for the Promotion of Peru)Huacachina: oasis in the middle of the desert↩
- 13US National Park ServiceGreat Sand Dunes: Sandboarding and Sand Sledding↩
- 14World Meteorological Organization (Climate Normals 1991-2020, archived by the US National Centers for Environmental Information)Single station data sheet: AGADIR INEZGANNE, WMO 60250↩
- 15Encyclopaedia BritannicaDubai↩
- 16World Meteorological Organization (Climate Normals 1991-2020, archived by the US National Centers for Environmental Information)Single station data sheet: AGADIR INEZGANNE, WMO 60250↩
- 17Encyclopaedia BritannicaNamib↩
- 18UNESCO World Heritage CentreNamib Sand Sea↩
- 19UNESCO World Heritage CentreNamib Sand Sea↩
- 20Namibia Tourism BoardSand Boarding↩
- 21Namibia Tourism BoardSand Boarding↩
- 22Namibia Tourism BoardSand Boarding↩
- 23Namibia Tourism BoardSand Boarding↩
- 24Encyclopaedia BritannicaSwakopmund↩
- 25US National Park ServiceGreat Sand Dunes: Frequently Asked Questions↩
- 26Encyclopaedia BritannicaIca↩
- 27PromPeru (Commission for the Promotion of Peru)Huacachina: oasis in the middle of the desert↩
- 28PromPeru (Commission for the Promotion of Peru)Lake Huacachina Conservation Area↩
- 29PromPeru (Commission for the Promotion of Peru)Lake Huacachina Conservation Area↩
- 30PromPeru (Commission for the Promotion of Peru)Huacachina: oasis in the middle of the desert↩
- 31World Meteorological Organization (Climate Normals 1991-2020, archived by the US National Centers for Environmental Information)Single station data sheet: MARRAKECH, WMO 60230↩
- 32Encyclopaedia BritannicaMarrakech↩
- 33Encyclopaedia BritannicaAgadir↩
- 34Encyclopaedia BritannicaAgadir↩
- 35Encyclopaedia BritannicaEssaouira↩
- 36Encyclopaedia BritannicaEssaouira↩
- 37Encyclopaedia BritannicaEssaouira↩
- 38World Meteorological Organization (Climate Normals 1991-2020, archived by the US National Centers for Environmental Information)Single station data sheet: MARRAKECH, WMO 60230↩
- 39World Meteorological Organization (Climate Normals 1991-2020, archived by the US National Centers for Environmental Information)Single station data sheet: AGADIR INEZGANNE, WMO 60250↩
- 40World Meteorological Organization (Climate Normals 1991-2020, archived by the US National Centers for Environmental Information)Single station data sheet: AGADIR INEZGANNE, WMO 60250↩
- 41Encyclopaedia BritannicaRub al-Khali↩
- 42Encyclopaedia BritannicaRub al-Khali↩
- 43US National Park ServiceGreat Sand Dunes: Frequently Asked Questions↩
- 44US National Park ServiceGreat Sand Dunes: Sandboarding and Sand Sledding↩
- 45US National Park ServiceGreat Sand Dunes: Sandboarding and Sand Sledding↩
- 46US National Park ServiceWhite Sands National Park: Sledding↩
- 47US National Park ServiceWhite Sands National Park: Sledding↩
- 48US National Park ServiceWhite Sands National Park: Sledding↩
- 49World Meteorological Organization (Climate Normals 1991-2020, archived by the US National Centers for Environmental Information)Single station data sheet: ESSAOUIRA, WMO 60220↩
