Deserts, Tombs & Beaches

Tour description

Featuring a desert jeep safari and camp, and a looping drive through the Oases of Baharya, Farafra, Dakhla and Kharga, this tour gets away from the main tourist trail and right out into the barren and beautiful Egyptian Western desert. In Luxor, we visit some of the most important Pharaonic sites before returning to Cairo and then heading into the Sinai desert where we spend a few days relaxing by the blue waters of the Red Sea at Dahab.

The tour starts in Cairo with a visit to the ancient Pyramids and Sphinx at Gisa. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Pyramids above all stand as a symbol of Egypt. We also visit the famous Egyptian Museum in the centre of the city, and learn more here about Egyptian and Pharaonic history, as well as seeing the golden mask of Tutankhamun and many other exhibits.

Leaving Cairo, we head out into the desert and the lush green oasis of Bahariya. After a chance to take in the tranquil beauty of the oasis we board jeeps and head out into the White Desert with its strange, unearthly rock formations and vast open plains. Its scenery is more reminiscent of the Moon than of the Earth. After visiting the Crystal Mountain you can help set-up camp and enjoy a night under the stars. Before we reach the Farafra Oasis you can stop at the Black Desert to see the famous "flowers of the desert". In Farafra, the smallest and most peaceful of the desert oases, we see traditional houses and an ancient way of life.

You continue through the desert, stopping at the larger oasis towns of Dahkla and Kharga to tour Roman ruins, Islamic villages and ruined forts, before arriving in Luxor. Here we tour the Valley of the Kings and other sites on the west bank of the Nile and you can enjoy an optional sound and light show at Karnak temple, and a spectacular sunrise hot air balloon flight if you wish.

After heading back to Cairo for a day, we travel to the Sinai Peninsular and the Red Sea at Dahab.

The tour spends the next few days relaxing in Dahab, and we offer various options including a snorkelling trip to the Blue Hole, and a sunset camel ride. There is plenty of free time to relax, and you can do more snorkelling, or try some scuba-diving (there is time to fit in the PADI Open Water Course). You also have the chance to visit Mt. Sinai and St Catherine's monastery.

The tour then returns to Cairo to finish your adventure.

Note: We have two other tours that run alongside this trip. Our Deserts & Tombs tour returns straight to Cairo from Luxor, missing out the Red Sea, while our Deserts, Tombs & Jordan tour, continues from Dahab into Jordan, and finishes in Amman, rather than returning to Cairo.