Overview
Tour Description
Siwa is Egypt’s most remote and most beautiful oasis, a place of palm groves, salt lakes and mud-brick ruins near the Libyan border, with its own Berber language and culture. This private 7-day tour gives you four nights there in an eco-lodge, then crosses the desert by 4×4 to Bahariya and ends with a night camping in the White Desert.
Highlights
- El Alamein’s WWII museum and cemeteries on the way west
- Shali fortress, the Oracle Temple of Amun and Cleopatra’s Spring
- The painted tombs of the Mountain of the Dead
- Shiata Lake, fossil beds, sandboarding and the hot spring of Bir Wahid
- The Golden Mummies museum and the English House in Bahariya
- A night under the stars in the White Desert and Crystal Mountain
Itinerary
Day 1: Cairo to El Alamein and Siwa
We collect you from your Cairo hotel at 6:00 AM and drive about three hours to El Alamein, where you visit the WWII museum and the war cemetery. You continue along the Mediterranean to Marsa Matrouh, then south through the desert to Siwa, about six hours more.
Meals: Lunch, dinner. Overnight: eco-lodge, Siwa.
Day 2: Siwa town, the Oracle Temple and Fatnas Island
You walk through Shali, the old fortress-town built of salt and mud, then visit the Temple of the Oracle at Aghurmi, where Alexander the Great consulted the god Amun, and the temple of Umm Ubayda. After Cleopatra’s Spring and the Siwa House Museum, you watch the sunset over the salt lake from Fatnas Island.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: eco-lodge, Siwa.
Day 3: Shiata Lake and Bir Wahid by 4x4
A day in the dunes west of Siwa. You pass the village of Maraqi, stop at prehistoric marks in the rock, explore a field of marine fossils, and reach Shiata Lake, where flamingos often feed and you can swim. After sandboarding you finish at Bir Wahid, a hot spring in the sand, before returning to Siwa.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: eco-lodge, Siwa.
Day 4: Mountain of the Dead and Abu Shuruf
You visit the tombs of the Mountain of the Dead, including the painted tombs of Si-Amun, Mesu-Isis and the Crocodile. After a stop at Dakrour Mountain, you drive to the village of Abu Shuruf to see Bedouin life and its Roman spring.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: eco-lodge, Siwa.
Day 5: Across the desert to Bahariya
A long day by 4×4 across the desert to Bahariya Oasis, about six hours, with lunch on the way.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: hotel, Bahariya.
Day 6: Bahariya and the White Desert
You climb the Black Mountain by 4×4 to the ruins of the English House, then see the dunes and the salt lake. In town you visit the Golden Mummies museum, the Tombs of the Nobles and the Temple of Ain el-Muftella. In the afternoon you drive about two hours to the White Desert and camp among the chalk formations.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: White Desert camp.
Day 7: Crystal Mountain and back to Cairo
In the morning you stop at Crystal Mountain, the Valley of Agabat, the Black Desert and the El Haize spring, then return to Bahariya and drive on to Cairo.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch.
Included and Excluded
- Pick-up and return to your Cairo hotel
- 4 nights in an eco-lodge in Siwa
- 1 night in a hotel in Bahariya
- 1 night camping in the White Desert
- Breakfast and dinner at the lodge and hotel, lunch on tour days
- Camping equipment: tents, sleeping bags and blankets
- Air-conditioned vehicle Cairo to Siwa and Bahariya to Cairo
- 4×4 vehicles in Siwa, across the desert and in the White Desert
- Guide throughout the trip
- Entrance fees to all sites in the itinerary
- Bottled water and soft drinks while camping
- All taxes and service charges
- Hotel nights in Cairo
- Optional tours
- Tips for the guide and crew
- Personal expenses
Prices:
What will it cost you?
Prices per person change with the season and how many of you travel. Set yours and see the real number — no email needed.
FAQs
How far is Siwa Oasis from Cairo?
About 750 km, or around nine hours by road with stops. Breaking the journey at El Alamein makes the drive part of the experience.
How much does the 7-day Siwa and White Desert tour cost?
From $8,000 per person sharing from May to September, and $10,000 per person from October to April. Single travelers pay $10,000 in summer and $12,000 in winter.
Do I need a permit for Siwa?
Travelers need a permit to cross the desert between Siwa and Bahariya. We arrange it for you and will ask for your passport details in advance.
When is the best time to visit Siwa?
October to April, when days are warm and nights are cool. Siwa is also famous for its date harvest in autumn.
