The edge of the Great Sand Sea
From Siwa into the dunes by four-wheel drive, a board down a slope, and dusk at a spring.
- Where
- Siwa Oasis
- Length
- Half day to sunset
- Needs
- None; a taste for thrills
The story
What happens
Leave Siwa with a local driver who reads the dunes.
Crest the first ridges and see the sand sea open to the horizon.
Try sandboarding down a slope you choose.
End at a spring or a high dune as the light goes.
A proposed shape, not a fixed programme. The final arrangements and order are agreed before booking.
Who it suits
A taste for thrills on the dunes. Tell us of any back or neck trouble, and we will plan the pace around it.
- Previous experience
- None; a taste for thrills
- Minimum age
- Tell us the children's ages and we plan the pace
- Best season
- October to April; summer afternoons are fierce
- What you see
- Dune ridges of the Great Sand Sea and a spring at dusk
Time and travel
- Starting location
- Siwa
- Total time
- Half day to sunset
- Active time
- Most of an afternoon in the dunes
Times are planning estimates. Confirm pickup, travel from your accommodation and the time you need to be back. Our effort judgement: moderate.
Our recommendation
Dune bashing is sold everywhere. From Siwa it is the edge of one of the largest dune fields on Earth, read by the people who live beside it.
What we confirm before you go
- A licensed local driver and a vehicle in sound condition
- That the route lies within the areas the UK government's travel advice excepts: Siwa and the Marsa Matruh–Siwa road are named; the open desert beyond is not
- Any desert permit needed for the route
- Water, shade and a safe return time
Every item is settled in writing before anything is arranged.
Where it fits
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Questions?
Ask about The edge of the Great Sand Sea
Tell us your dates, where you will be and who is coming. We confirm the host, the timing, the price for your party and the terms before anything is booked.
Sources and review
Reviewed on by Deluxe Trips Egypt. Facts are attributed to their sources; where we give a judgement, we say so. Arranged on request; we confirm every detail before anything is booked.
Photography credits (4)
Roland Unger, CC BY-SA 3.0; Ahmed Yousry Mahfouz, CC BY-SA 4.0; Berthold Werner, CC BY 3.0; Norhan Elmaghrabi, CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and cropped for display.
