Sheila's Fast and Easy Sinai Peninsula in Egypt
NOW - Desert adventures in the Sinai desert are easy to book and you can be assured of enough to eat. No more stale bread, fighting over tins/cans of food with ample places to replenish the food stores. You can:
- Do it as you go and book day tours from Sharm el Sheikh, Dahab, Eilat or any of the towns along the Sinai coast.
- Contact one of the many tour operators on the internet for a package. Select Egypt has a 9 day/8 night, Desert Ecotours, Neot Hakikar (e-mail them at: neot@hotmail.com, and click on the Adventure Finder on the left of this page to browse Adventure Center's Egypt trips (all beginning in Cairo).
Air? There are three ways of going about this. Fly into Aqaba, Jordan, cross the border to Eilat and begin there. Fly into Cairo, Egypt, almost all the international airlines fly to Cairo. Or fly to Tel Aviv, Israel and journey down into the Sinai in the same fashion as our tour.
Visas? United States citizens do not need a visa for Israel. Check with your local Israeli Embassy for other countries. Visas are required to enter Egypt and are easily attainable at major points of entry.
Travel Insurance? You must show proof of insurance if using a tour operator. On your own? Your decision. Contact Travel Guard for insurance needs.
Health? No Malaria, keep general inoculations up-to-date and bring a general medical kit.
Equipment? Cameras! Camcorder. Binoculars as well as a flashlight (torch) and Nalgene water bottles. All communal camping equipment - tents, sleeping bags, etc. is usually provided by the tour operator. Most important is lots of plastic bags to protect clothes and cameras from all the sand.
Clothing? It is broiling hot during the day under a strong Sinai sun. A hat, long shorts/capris, t-shirts and sandals for every day, and lightweight boots to climb Mount Sinai (if that's your intention). The Bedouins are used to seeing Westerners in shorts and t-shirts. A warm fleece, sweater, sweat pants for cold evenings.
There have been major infrastructure changes in the Sinai Desert since 1984 - after all it was 25 years ago - and you'll have to decide if it's all been for the better or worse. From the Beduoin standpoint, it's for the better but hindsight shows how lucky ex-Marine and I were, even with the lack of food and amenities, to visit and experience a deserted Sinai Desert. Beach combing and swimming on pristine clean beaches with not a soul around...
...jeeping through the desolate interior with the Sinai's rugged mountains in ever-changing colors, rocks that changed shape depending on how you looked at them, climbing sand dunes and ...
...sleeping under the stars in uninhabited areas. A novice camper couldn't have asked for a more awe-inspiring first experience and despite the now laughable glitches, the Sinai Desert Adventure became just the first in a long line of camping, trekking and hiking hits and misses throughout the world. Wouldn't you like to give this a try?
