5 Days Siwa & White Desert Safari

Why travellers choose this trip

Places on this trip: Bahariya, Siwa, White Desert

Your route

Day-by-day itinerary

1. 1
   Day 1 · Siwa OasisCairo to Siwa

   Pick-up. Your driver collects you from your Cairo hotel early and takes the road north to the Mediterranean, then west through El Alamein to Marsa Matrouh. From there a paved road runs south to Siwa. Allow the whole day, with a lunch stop; lunch is included, and so is bottled water in the vehicle. Expect checkpoints and keep your passport in reach. The UK government makes an exception to its Western Desert warning for Siwa and the Marsa Matruh to Siwa road, and Canada advises a high degree of caution on that road. Check your own government's advice before you book. Permits and timings are arranged by us and confirmed when you book.

   Evening. You reach the oasis by evening and have dinner at the hotel, which is included.

   • Pick-upPrivate transfer to your hotel
   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsLunch, Dinner

   Overnight in Siwa
2. 2
   Day 2 · Siwa OasisSiwa sights and the dunes

   Morning. After breakfast at the hotel your local desert guide takes you to the fortress of Shali, built of salt-and-mud brick on a rock outcrop. Then you go to Aghurmi and the remains of the Oracle temple of Amun. Entrance to the Siwa sites is included.

   Afternoon. Lunch is included. After it the 4x4 and driver take you to the salt lakes and then out to the edge of the Great Sand Sea, where Siwa sits in the eastern part of a sand desert of around 72,000 km2. The afternoon ends at the dunes for sunset.

   Evening. You return to the oasis for dinner, which is included, and sleep in your hotel in Siwa.

   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Overnight in Siwa
3. 3
   Day 3 · CairoSiwa to Cairo

   Morning. You leave after breakfast at the hotel and your driver takes you back through Marsa Matrouh to Cairo, with bottled water in the vehicle. Expect checkpoints again and keep your passport in reach.

   Afternoon. It is a full day of road, and we stop for fuel and food. Lunch is included.

   Evening. You arrive at your Cairo hotel in the evening, with breakfast included the next morning. Use the evening to wash and repack for the White Desert.

   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsBreakfast, Lunch

   Overnight in Cairo
4. 4
   Day 4 · White DesertCairo to the White Desert

   Morning. Your driver collects you from the hotel early in the morning, after breakfast. The road runs to Bahariya, about 370 km from Cairo. After a stop in the oasis you change to the 4x4 with your local desert guide. Lunch is included.

   Afternoon. The 4x4 heads through the Black Desert, where hills about 100 m high are capped with basalt, and on to the White Desert. You walk among the chalk formations before sunset with your guide.

   Evening. Dinner is cooked at camp. Nights can be cold, so pack a warm jacket. Bedding and camp equipment are confirmed when you book. UK government advice says visitors to Bahariya, Farafra, the White Desert and the Black Desert must apply for permits in advance and use an official guide. We arrange the permits and confirm them when you book.

   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner

   Overnight in desert camp
5. 5
   Day 5 · CairoWhite Desert sunrise and return

   Morning. Breakfast is at camp and comes with the camp night. After a walk at first light with your guide, you break camp and the 4x4 takes you back to Bahariya.

   Return. From Bahariya the private vehicle and driver continue to Cairo, with lunch included on the way. Timings for the return are confirmed when you book. The drop-off is at your Cairo hotel or the airport, with bottled water in the vehicle to the end of the trip.

   • Drop-offPrivate transfer to the airport or station
   • GuideYour private guide
   • TransportPrivate air-conditioned vehicle
   • Entrance feesIncluded for the sites of the day
   • MealsBreakfast, Lunch

   Trip ends in Cairo

How much does this 5-day trip cost?

In US dollars, per person, for a private trip. The price in your written quote, made for your dates and group, is the one that counts. International flights are not included. Choose a hotel level in the booking box to see the total for your group.

Where you’ll stay

What’s included

Booking policies