Sam · Kanoi · Jaisalmer
Stay overnight in tents forty kilometres west of the city. Camel safari at sunset, Rajasthani folk music after dark, dinner by the fire and a Thar sky with nothing in the way of it.
Desert camping in Jaisalmer
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Moon Star is not a hotel that happens to be near the desert. The tents are pitched on the sand at Sam, our camel men come from Kanoi and the villages around it, and the musicians who play at night learned these songs from their fathers.
Guests come for one night and leave with the same three memories: the light on the dunes at sunset, the food around the fire, and how quiet it gets once the music stops. The camp, the camels, the jeeps and the cars are all ours, so when a train runs late or a group wants a slower morning, we simply change the plan.
Why guests book direct
Desert camping in Jaisalmer
Moon Star Desert Camp is pitched on the dune belt at Sam, near Kanoi, about 40 km west of Jaisalmer city. Tents sit in rows around a central dining and stage area, each with its own veranda facing open desert. You walk out of your tent onto sand, not onto a car park.
That matters more than anything else when you compare desert camps in Jaisalmer. Several camps advertised as Sam camps are actually on the approach road, which means a drive every time you want to see a dune. Check any camp on the map before you book, ours included.
Everything at the camp is run by our own family and staff from the villages nearby — the kitchen, the camel men, the jeep drivers and the musicians who play each evening. Nothing is contracted out to a third party, so if something needs changing on the day, we change it.
At the camp
Tent categories
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Three categories, all pitched on the sand, all including the sunset safari, the folk evening, dinner and breakfast when booked as an overnight stay. Rates move between the winter season, the shoulder months and summer, so we quote the current figure when you send your dates.
The tent most couples and small groups book. A double bed with clean linen, an attached bathroom with a western toilet and hot water, and a veranda with two chairs facing straight out at the dunes. Comfortable without pretending to be a hotel room.
Bigger in every direction, furnished with Rajasthani block-print fabric, carved wood and a proper sitting area rather than just a bed and a gap. This is the tent couples take for an anniversary or a honeymoon night, and the one we set up with flowers and lights when you tell us the occasion in advance.
Four beds under one roof, so parents and children stay together instead of splitting across two tents at opposite ends of the camp. We pitch these closest to the dining and stage area, which makes the walk back after dinner short when somebody has fallen asleep.
Included in every overnight stay
Not included
If any of these matter to you, ask before booking and we will put the full cost in writing on WhatsApp.
Desert experiences
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Your evening, hour by hour
This is how an overnight desert camp stay runs at Sam. Everything shifts by an hour or so through the year, mostly because sunset does.
Dinner is a buffet of Rajasthani and North Indian food. Pure vegetarian is always on the counter, and Jain or no-onion-no-garlic meals can be arranged with a day's notice.
Reach camp, welcome drink and tea, and a first look at your tent.
Out onto the dunes — camels for the slow version, jeeps for the ride over the crests.
The half hour everyone remembers, with chai and something hot to eat on the sand.
Manganiyar musicians, Kalbelia dancers and usually a fire act, on the stage beside the tents.
Dal, seasonal sabzi, ker sangri when in season, roti off the tawa, rice and a sweet.
No streetlight for forty kilometres. On a clear moonless night the Milky Way is visible from your tent door.
Sunrise over the dunes if you can manage it, then breakfast and a relaxed checkout.
Jaisalmer tour packages
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Packages put the desert camp and the city together, with our own cars in between. We quote a real price for your dates rather than publishing one that goes stale.
1 night / 2 days
Price depends on tent category, group size and season.
Get current price
2 nights / 3 days
Price depends on hotel category and season.
Get current price
Made to fit
Tell us the group and the dates and we will build the plan.
Plan my tripBeyond the dunes
Most guests give the city a day around their camp night. Times below are the drive from the camp at Sam.
A fort people still live inside — lanes, Jain temples and the palace museum. Two to three hours, best in the morning.
Five havelis built by one merchant family, and the finest stone jali work in the city. About an hour inside.
A reservoir dug in the 14th century, ringed with ghats and small temples. Boats in the evening, birds in winter.
The village abandoned in the 19th century and left standing. It sits on the road out to Sam, so it costs no extra driving.
Jaisalmer taxi service
The taxi side grew out of the camp — guests needed picking up from the station, then a day in the city, then a drop to Jodhpur. Same family, same drivers, so the man who meets your train is the one who takes you out to Sam.
Fares are agreed before you get in, and fuel, tolls and the driver sit inside the number we quote.
Plan your trip
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The desert is open all year and every season reads differently. This is what to expect at the camp, month by month, so you can pick your dates honestly.
October – November
Warm days, mild nights
The heat has broken but the nights are not yet cold, so sitting out at the bonfire in a shirt is comfortable. The sand still holds warmth after sunset. Diwali week gets busy and rates rise with it.
Most comfortableDecember – February
Cold nights, clear skies
Perfect daytimes and the clearest night skies of the year. Nights at Sam can drop close to freezing, so bring a proper jacket and socks. The Jaisalmer Desert Festival falls in February, and Christmas and New Year book out weeks ahead.
Book earlyMarch – September
Hot days, quiet dunes
March is still pleasant. April to June crosses 40°C by afternoon, though evenings after six are fine and the dunes are almost empty. Monsoon brings a handful of rainy days, green scrub in patches and the lowest rates of the year.
Best valueWhat to pack
Good to know
Getting to the camp
We are on the Jaisalmer – Sam – Dhanana Road at Sam, near Kanoi village. Coming from Jaisalmer, take the Sam road west for about 40 km on a good sealed road; the drive takes roughly an hour and Kuldhara sits on the way, so it costs no extra driving to stop there.
Trains from Delhi, Jaipur and Jodhpur reach Jaisalmer early in the morning, and the airport is 15 km from the city. We run our own cars for both, and we send a live location pin once your booking is confirmed.
| From | Distance | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Jaisalmer Fort & city centre | About 40 km | 1 hour |
| Jaisalmer railway station | About 42 km | 1 hour |
| Jaisalmer airport | About 45 km | 1 hour |
| Kuldhara village, en route | About 25 km | 30 minutes |
| Khuri dunes | About 50 km | 1 hour 15 min |
| Jodhpur | About 285 km | 5 hours |
Before you book
On the Jaisalmer – Sam – Dhanana Road at Sam, near Kanoi village, Rajasthan 345001. About 40 km west of Jaisalmer city, roughly an hour by road, and we can arrange the transfer.
About 42 km from the railway station and 45 km from the airport, an hour either way. Most guests arrive in the afternoon so they are on the dunes before sunset.
An overnight stay normally covers the tent, a camel or jeep safari at sunset, the folk music and dance programme, dinner, the bonfire and breakfast. Exact inclusions depend on the package, so confirm when you book.
It depends on the tent, the season and the size of your group, and rates in Jaisalmer swing hard between December and June. Send your dates on WhatsApp and you will get a firm figure with nothing added later.
A sunset camel ride is part of most overnight packages. Longer rides, dune-to-dune caravans and sunrise rides can be added — see the camel safari page.
Yes, with our own jeeps and drivers. It can be booked on its own or added to a camp stay, and many guests do both on the same evening.
The Deluxe, Royal and Family tents have attached bathrooms with a western toilet and hot water. Check the category when you book.
Dinner is included with an overnight stay. The buffet is mostly Rajasthani and North Indian, and pure vegetarian food is always available. Jain or no-onion-no-garlic meals can be arranged in advance.
October to March, with warm days and cool nights. December and January nights get genuinely cold, so carry a jacket. April to June is very hot by day, and the monsoon months are quiet and pleasant in the evening.
Yes. We run our own cars for airport and station pickups, a full day of Jaisalmer sightseeing, and drops to Sam, Khuri or onward cities in Rajasthan.
Sam Sand Dunes, Jaisalmer
