Sharm El Sheikh: Desert ATV, Camel Ride, Stargazing & Dinner

4.56

(144 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

Ever wondered what silence in the Sinai desert actually sounds like? I didn’t, until we stopped our ATVs and just listened—no cars, no city noise, just the wind moving sand. Our guide (I think his name was Mahmoud) grinned when I stalled my quad bike at first, but honestly he made it feel okay to mess up. The ride itself was bumpy and weirdly fun—you get this gritty taste in your mouth from the dust, and there’s this dry heat that clings to your skin. We followed each other in a long line, kicking up clouds behind us. It’s not as easy as it looks on Instagram.

After that came the camel ride. I’ll admit, getting onto a camel is much less graceful than you’d hope—mine stood up so fast I nearly slid off. Someone from the group laughed (probably at me), but then we all just sort of relaxed into it. The camels plodded toward a Bedouin camp where we were handed tiny glasses of hot habbak tea. The smell was sweet and herbal—kind of minty? We sat under a low tent as the sun started dropping behind these wild red hills. It was quieter than I expected; even the kids with us went silent for a minute watching that light change.

Dinner was buffet style—BBQ chicken, kofta, rice, salads—and honestly after all that dust and sun everything tasted better than usual. They use mineral water for cooking (our guide pointed this out like three times), so if you’re picky about food safety you can relax. There was a fire-eating show and some wild spinning dance—I still don’t know how that guy didn’t fall over.

But the best part for me was lying back on these old rugs while our Bedouin guide pointed out Saturn through a telescope. An English-speaking astronomer explained what we were seeing; apparently you can spot Mars if you’re lucky (we weren’t). The stars felt closer somehow out there—maybe because there’s nothing else around except quiet voices and distant laughter drifting across the sand. I keep thinking about that sky whenever city lights get too much.