The Unique Desert Safari Experience in Egypt
Desert Safari – Hurghada, Egypt
Desert Safari in Egypt, may sound like something normal, especially that Egypt is 96% desert. The Egyptians live alongside the Nile, where some greenery can be found. The rest of the country is made of parts of the Sahara Desert and the Libyan Desert.
Taking those facts in consideration, one of the most popular activities, while visiting Egypt, is the desert safari. Everybody wants to see the magnificent dunes and discover how the Bedouins live. If you plan on visiting Egypt and have this activity in mind, this is what you should know about the desert safari in this incredible country.
The price of a Desert Safari
For each part of Egypt, that you are staying in, you will find a wide range of desert activities. We have stayed in Hurghada and the Desert Safari activities were on top of the list, amongst the snorkeling and diving adventures.
The price range of this tours are quite affordable. They range from 15 to 40 dollars per person, depending on the length and the complexion of the tour. We have selected a morning tour, as we wanted to have the rest of the day, for other activities like: laying at the pool, sunbathing and swimming with colorful fish in the Red Sea. The tour included hotel pick-up and drop off, safari to/from the Bedouin camp, buggy rides and camel rides.
What did we expect?
After an amazing Desert Safari experience in Dubai, where we have conquered the dunes and discovered the secrets of the desert, this is all I had in mind. For us, hopping on an adventure and discovering some local secrets and do something that is unusual for where we are from, is the ideal way of travelling.
Just thinking about that we will have our footprints in the sand of the desert, is just unreal. Coming from a temperate-continental climate and having contact with the desert in Africa, this was a bucket list item.
The story
You know that, in general, when you set your expectations so high, you can be lucky to have the best of the best, or you can just have the greatest disappointment.
The driver took us from our hotel at around 8 AM, in a 4×4. In the car we were just us four, the Travelicious couple and our closest friends. In my mind, that was supposed to be the car that will drive us through the desert. But, again, don’t make plans or suppositions.
After our arrival at the base camp, we have been transferred to the car that was going to take us, through the desert, at the Bedouin camp. The car was the biggest surprise. It was not a usual 4×4, it was a SUV/van. We were four and thankfully, nobody else has joined us in the car, besides the driver and the tour guide.
The amenities provided at the Desert Safari
I don’t know if you remember or know, the old vans that were used to carry potatoes, when we were little. That was the kind of car that was used for the safari. In the back of the car, there were no backseats, seatbelts or anything that would give you comfort or safety. But, the super potatoes van, had some awesome wooden benches.
The whole ride was bumpy, no dunes, almost no sand, just dust. Driving through that rocky fields, with that van, sitting on those benches, just imagine where the whole story is going. The driver wanted to “entertain” us and started rock climbing with the car.
Great idea!
To make you understand the feeling: when you drive, accidentally, through a pot whole and you feel shaken by the impact, the sound and also feel sorry for your car. That was our safari ride. I don’t know why some countries make an effort to lay fresh asphalt, as they can take the Egyptian desert safari example and make it a tourists spot.
The Camp
Even though I’ve asked to stop climbing those rocks, they just laughed and made fun of me and continued. In the meantime, because the safety of the passengers were a priority, as we were sitting on those benches and survived through the pot holes, one of my friends fell over me and we were a little bit hurt.
The whole disastrous road, took us to the Bedouin camp. The view there was like from another planet. There we were told stories about them, their traditions, their way of life. They served us with tea and coffee and started exploring the camp. We have really enjoyed the whole stay at the camp.
The surprise at the end
The road back to the entrance, was again with the same car, as bumpy and friendly as it was at the beginning. Even though I had swallowed a few anti-movement sickness pills, going through the van experience was to much for me. So, I have stayed and gave my entire all-inclusive meals to a trash can at the entrance.
Do we recommend it?
For me it was an unexpected disappointment. If the car was different, the driver and tour guide more understanding and the whole tour more interesting, that would have been a great day spent in the Egyptian desert, for me. Starting from the experience we had in Dubai, with the dune bashing, that could be considered more dangerous; this whole experience with the car in the desert is not worth it.
The Amazing Safari Experience in Dubai
Maybe, it would have been a better idea to go to the Bedouin camp in a guided ATV tour, and we would have avoided getting bumped or car sick. The not car related part of the tour was beautiful and interesting. So, if you plan on experiencing the desert safari in Egypt, especially in Hurghada region, take the ATV tour, not the car one. This was not…Travelicious.