Jeep safari in the desert, Egypt

A jeep safari in the desert is a good way to have some fun and adventure while on holidays in Egypt. But let’s start from the beginning…

In 2010, I went on holidays with my mum and after two weeks of discussions about where to go (my mum wanted to go to Spain) I insisted that Egypt was the perfect place for some good relax. I won and we booked this 7 days/6 nights package all-inclusive (will never book again with the same agency since at the end it was 5 full days and not 7 as promised) to Sharm-El-Sheikh.

During our stay we wanted to experience some adventure so we decided for the excursion that included jeep safari in the desert, camel ride and bath in the Blue Lagoon…

Jeep Safari in the desert, let the adventure begin

The group taking part to this excursion was quite big since it was composed by people staying in different hotels. We left with 17 jeeps, each one carrying driver and guide plus 5 or 6 passengers. We took the made-up road and we drove for a while, until our first stop: a beautiful bay on the Red Sea with a scruffy wreck in the distance.

After that, we left the normal route and our driver did his best to let us enjoy the desert, driving fast and making sure we jumped at every gap on the rough ground.

This went on until we reached a bedouin tent where the guides told us about the Bedouin’s lifestyle and traditions. After all it was also a cultural excursion. There I bought my wonderful Keffiyeh, the traditional Arab headdress, that was very useful later in the day.

After having my Keffiyeh fixed by a Bedouin in the traditional local style, I was ready to go.

The camel ride

The next stop was another bay with beautiful seashell and crystalline water. But the biggest adventure had yet to come. There was something much more entertaining and worrying waiting for me: the camel ride.

After having lunch in one of those tents, we went towards this huge expanse of camels. They looked bored and sleepy under the hot sun. After being assigned to one of the camels in a group of tree, I did my best to get on smoothly and the nightmare started. I am not as adventurous as I would like to be, I was scared to death of falling down.

Anyway, these three camels, mine, my mum’s and another guy’s, were driven by a kid, not older than 12 I think, who didn’t even look at us or bother if we were ok or not. After a while, these big animals started to move and I was paralysed, totally unable to move, just holding as tight as I could to the saddle.

My mum’s and the other guy’s camel were in front, mine was a bit slower. Apparently he wanted to keep the pace with the other two and this meant that he quickened his pace, throwing myself into even more panic… I couldn’t wait for that to end. Finally we arrived at destination and we got off, my mum was having fun seeing my scared face. I was just happy to touch ground again.

We left the camels as we found them: bored and sleepy.

The Blue Lagoon

Shortly after, we took the jeeps to go to the most beautiful bay I had ever seen, the Blue Lagoon, just outside the town of Dahab. We took a bath in this perfect scenario and  relaxed on the beach and then I witnessed something astonishing… a man on his horse going into the sea to freshen up. What a wonderful sight!

It didn’t even look real for how wonderful the whole scene was.

On our way back to Sharm we stopped in a typical oasis with palm trees (just saw it in the movies before) where we drunk some tea before heading back to the hotel driving in the dark.

Do I recommend a jeep safari in the desert, in Egypt? Yes I do, it’s fun and the memories will stay with you forever.

Originally published on 02/02/2012, updated on 27/08/2019