How to Ride a Camel with Friends in Minecraft (2022)

Note: Currently, camels are only available as an experimental feature of Minecraft 1.20 Beta and 22w42a Snapshot. They are still being developed and their mechanics, including riding, are subject to change until the final release.

What is a Camel in Minecraft

As we detailed in our explainer, Camels in Minecraft 1.20 are rideable passive mobs that spawn in desert villages. They’re one of the tallest mobs in the game, even taller than the Endermen. Though, most of the time, you will find camels casually sitting on the desert village floor.
What makes the camels truly unique is their ability to have two players ride at once. Other than camels, two players can only ride the boats and rafts at the same time in Minecraft.

How to Tame a Camel in Minecraft

If you have ever ridden a horse in Minecraft, you must know you can’t just hop onto them and start riding them. Instead, you first have to tame the horse by feeding it, and only then you can ride it. Fortunately, camels are much friendlier. You can directly hop onto a camel, and it won’t throw you off. They cannot be and don’t have to be tamed. Though, steering a camel is another story. So, keep reading to find out how to ride and drive a camel in Minecraft.

How to Ride a Camel in Minecraft

You can ride a camel by simply right-clicking or using the secondary action key on them. But, before you do that, you must create a saddle to control it. So let’s look at how to find a saddle in the game:

How to Get a Saddle in Minecraft

Saddles are item blocks that you can use to ride and steer mobs in Minecraft, including camels. If you climb a camel without a saddle, you won’t be able to steer or control its movement. Unfortunately, you can’t craft a saddle on the crafting table. Instead, you have to manually find it within your world.
Saddles spawn inside chests at the following locations in Minecraft:

DungeonAncient CityBastion RemnantDesert TempleEnd CityJungle TempleNether FortressStrongholdVillage

Alternatively, you can try fishing to obtain a saddle but they only appear less than 1% of the time. It’s a better gamble to trade with master-level leatherworker villagers (one of many villager jobs) who sell them for 6 emeralds. Not to forget, you can also try to kill a Strider or a Ravager, both of which always drop a saddle when killed.

Steps to Ride the Camel Mob

With the saddle in your inventory, follow the steps below to ride a camel in Minecraft:

  1. First, approach a camel and right-click or use a secondary action key on the mob. It’s best to target a standing camel because there is no way to get a sitting one to stand manually.
  2. Then, open your inventory (E Key), which will appear merged with the camel’s inventory. There, place the saddle in its dedicated cell within the camel’s inventory.
  3. Finally, close the inventory and use your movement keys to ride it around. If you press and hold the jump key, the camel will take a boosted leap. Its cooldown will appear temporarily in place of your experience bar.

Why Should You Ride a Camel in Minecraft

Riding a camel in Minecraft has the following benefits:

Safety: Due to the height you sit on, most common hostile mobs, including zombies won’t be able to reach you. They will have to try multiple times and rely on getting on top of blocks before hitting you. Though, keep in mind that creepers will still explode when they are next to you.

Dual Riding: Unlike donkeys, horses, and mules, the camel allows two players to hitch a ride at once. This is a cool mechanic that will come in handy in Minecraft multiplayer servers.Combat: If there are two players on a camel, combat becomes quite easy. One can drive it around, while the other deals with mobs using a bow and arrows.Disguise: If you are traveling through a desert, camels can be harder to spot because of their sand-like textures. However, they are easy to spot in other Minecraft biomes.

Camel vs Horse: Which is Better for Riding?

Camels and horses are both reliable mobs when you wish to ride them and travel across the Minecraft world. But which one should you pick for your next adventure? Let’s find out with a quick comparison: From the looks of it, camels are the most reliable option when you want to fight mobs. Riding them makes it harder for mobs to hit at the higher height. Not to forget, having a second player on your camel will definitely give you a major advantage. Though, unlike horse armor, there is nothing to protect your camel from attacks. Moreover, even with the leap boost, the camel won’t be able to run away from a larger group of mobs in complex terrain.
So if you want to freely explore the world and quickly get away from your enemies, horses are a better choice than camels in the Minecraft 1.20 update. Meanwhile, if you want to fight hostile mobs or travel with your friend, camels are your only option. But neither of them can compete with mules, as they offer additional storage to the players.
Do two players need two saddles to ride a camel? Fortunately, two players can ride the same camel using only one camel. When it’s placed on the camel’s back, the saddle shows two seats instead of one. In this scenario, it’s more economical than horses.
Which player controls the camel? The player who sits first on the camel sits in the front and can freely control it without any interference from the second player.
Are camels faster than horses in Minecraft? Horses are generally faster than camels in Minecraft. But camels have a special ability that gives them a temporary long-jump-like boost to escape tricky situations.
Where do camels spawn in Minecraft? Camels only spawn in the desert villages of Minecraft. You can’t find them in any other villages or deserts without villages. How to breed a camel in Minecraft? You can breed camels by feeding them cactuses in Minecraft. We already have a dedicated guide to Minecraft’s camel breeding that you can use easily.
Can you ride a baby camel in Minecraft? You can only ride an adult camel. Baby camels can’t be interacted with or ridden.
Can other mobs and villagers ride camels in Minecraft? Even though it might look cool, no one other than the players is allowed to ride camels. At least, not without using Minecraft commands.

Saddle Up and Ride a Camel in Minecraft

Do you want to fight hostile mobs, travel your world, and feel safe in Minecraft at the same? Now, you can do that all at once while riding a camel when the Minecraft 1.20 update releases for all players. But make sure to invite your friends on a Minecraft server to test dual riding first. However, do keep in mind that even with their long legs, the camels can’t swim in most areas. So, you should also learn how to make a boat in Minecraft for those situations. While you are at it, do try getting a camel on the boat, as it’s the most bizarre-looking experience. Do share how it goes for you in the comments below!