El Gouna: Red Sea Desert Quad Safari & Bedouin Shisha Stop

4.66

(145 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We’d already been bouncing along the edge of El Gouna for about ten minutes when I realized I was grinning under my scarf — you can’t really help it with all that wind and sand in your face. Our guide, Mahmoud, kept glancing back to check if we were keeping up (I was not, but he didn’t seem bothered). The quad bikes rattled and kicked up little clouds behind us, and there was this salty tang in the air that mixed with engine oil and something dry—maybe the rocks heating up? It’s hard to describe. But you know you’re not anywhere near the sea anymore.

The main thing I remember about driving through Wadi Billy — which they said is the second biggest canyon in the world, who knew? — is how quiet it got when we stopped. Just us, our bikes ticking as they cooled down, and this weird silence except for a bird somewhere far off. Mahmoud pointed out these old coral fossils stuck in the stone. He handed me a chunk of rock with what looked like a shell pressed into it; I almost dropped it because my gloves were too big (he laughed, said “Egyptian hands are smaller than yours”).

After all that dust and sun, sitting at the Bedouin camp felt like stepping into another world. Someone passed around sweet tea that tasted smoky—I’m still not sure what they put in it—and a shisha pipe appeared out of nowhere. I tried it once (coughing fit) while one of the guys showed us how to pour tea without spilling. We didn’t stay long but honestly, that slow moment under the shade has stuck with me more than any photo I took. Then we headed back toward El Gouna, faces gritty but weirdly happy.