Desert Safari and Quad Biking in Hurghada (2026): The Full Guide

A Hurghada desert safari is a half-day trip into the flat, empty desert behind the resort's beach hotels, built around a quad bike or ATV blast and usually finished with a camel ride, a Bedouin camp, a barbecue and a folklore show. It is the cheapest genuine thrill in town, starts from about 723 EGP (roughly 15 USD), and takes around four to five hours door to door. It is not deep-desert expedition stuff, and it does not pretend to be. It is engines, dust, a sunset and dinner under the stars, and at these prices it is one of the easiest yeses on the Red Sea coast.

What a Hurghada desert safari actually is

Drive five minutes inland from the hotel strip and the sea disappears. The land opens up flat and gravelly, the colour of weak tea, running toward a low wall of mountains. This is the Eastern Desert, and it is the setting for the resort's most-booked activity. A safari here is a packaged outing: a minibus collects you from your hotel, drives you to a camp on the edge of town, and hands you a helmet, a quick briefing and a machine. You ride out along a marked track in a convoy, usually toward the sunset, then most trips press deeper into the desert by Jeep to a Bedouin-style camp for tea, a camel, a barbecue and a show before dropping you back.

Do not arrive expecting solitude and rolling golden dunes. Hurghada's desert is more gravel plain than Sahara postcard, the tracks are well-worn, and you will share them with other convoys. What you are buying is a fun, social, slightly chaotic few hours with a great sunset and a full stomach. Treat it as the crowd-pleaser it is and it delivers every time. For where it fits in a wider trip, see our Hurghada travel guide.

The vehicles: quad, ATV, buggy and Jeep

Listings use the vehicle names loosely, so here is the plain version:

• Quad bike: a four-wheeler you ride astride like a motorbike, twist-throttle, no gears to worry about. This is the volume seller. A quad tour of the desert and Red Sea starts from about 723 EGP (roughly 15 USD), rated 4.34 across more than 3,200 reviews, and most trips let you pick a morning, afternoon or sunset slot.
• ATV: in nearly every Hurghada listing this is the same machine as a quad. Do not pay extra thinking you are getting something different. A Makadi Bay ATV tour runs from about 846 EGP.
• Dune buggy / spider car: a two-seater with a roll cage and a steering wheel. Better if you want to share with a child or a nervous partner, or if you would rather drive than ride. On stacked packages you get a short buggy leg, often around 20 minutes.
• 4x4 Jeep: you do not drive this one. A driver takes a group deeper into the desert, sometimes with a bit of dune-bashing, and it is the transport that links the quad section to the Bedouin camp.

The best value is almost always the stacked package. The "Super Safari" and "5-in-1" style trips combine a quad or ATV, a buggy leg, a Jeep ride, a camel ride and a barbecue dinner with entertainment, from around 1,300 EGP, turning a quick blast into a full evening out.

Sunset, morning or overnight?

Most people book the late-afternoon into sunset safari, and it is the pick: you ride into golden light, the heat has dropped, and the camp dinner lands as the desert goes dark. Morning safaris exist and suit families who want the activity done before the day heats up, or anyone who burns easily, but you miss the sunset and the show is usually shorter or skipped. Genuine overnight desert camping is rare out of Hurghada, so do not count on it, but the stargazing dinner safaris are the closest thing: an evening Jeep run into the desert, a Bedouin dinner, and a guided stargazing session with a telescope once the sky is properly black. Those sit around 2,000 to 2,250 EGP and are the quiet, romantic end of the menu.

The Bedouin village, dinner and show

After the riding, the Jeep runs you out to a Bedouin-style camp, typically 20 to 25 kilometres from town. Be clear-eyed about it: these are staged tourist camps rather than a living nomadic village, but they are a genuinely fun stop. You are welcomed the traditional way with sweet Arabic tea and fresh flatbread baked on the spot, and there is usually a corner showing off desert life, sometimes with a terrarium of scorpions and desert snakes that the kids either love or flee from.

Then comes the barbecue. Grilled chicken and kofta, rice, salads and bread, eaten at long low tables as the sun drops. The entertainment is the reason many people rate the evening: a tanoura dancer spinning in a whirl of coloured skirts, a belly dancer, and often a fire show. Shisha is usually available if you want to linger. It is unashamedly touristy and it is a good time.

Stargazing in the desert

One genuine upside of the empty desert is the sky. With no city glow and no beach-bar neon, the stars come out in a way most visitors never see at home. On the stargazing safaris a guide sets up a telescope and points out constellations, planets and the odd star cluster once dinner winds down and the desert cools. Even on a standard sunset trip, look up on the drive back. It is the free part of the show and often the bit people remember.

What a typical trip includes and how long it takes

A standard sunset safari runs about four to five hours door to door and usually includes:

• Free hotel pickup and drop-off anywhere in Hurghada.
• A short safety briefing and a test-drive to learn the controls.
• A convoy quad or ATV ride along a marked desert track.
• On stacked packages, a buggy leg and a Jeep run deeper into the desert.
• A camel ride at the Bedouin camp.
• Tea, flatbread, and on longer trips a barbecue dinner.
• A folklore show (tanoura, belly dance, sometimes fire).

Bring cash for any extras, tips and drinks, and confirm exactly what your particular package covers when you book, since the cheapest quad-only tickets skip the camp and dinner entirely.

Be honest about the dust

Riding in a convoy means eating the dust of the quads in front. It is part of the experience and it catches people out every single day. A scarf, buff or bandana over your nose and mouth, plus sunglasses or the provided goggles, makes an enormous difference. Closed shoes and clothes you genuinely do not mind ruining are essential, because the fine desert dust gets into everything. Do not wear anything you care about. Bring a light layer too, because the desert cools fast once the sun is gone. If you wear contact lenses, glasses over goggles beat grit in your eyes every time.

Safety, plainly

These trips are run in huge numbers and are generally safe, but they are still motorised vehicles on loose sand. A few sensible rules keep it that way:

• Listen to the briefing and the test-drive, then keep to the convoy and the guide's pace. Showing off on a quad is how people get hurt.
• Keep your distance from the rider in front, both for the dust and for stopping room.
• Confirm helmets are provided, which any reputable operator does as standard. Wear it.
• Children usually ride as a passenger with an adult or go in a buggy, depending on the operator's age rules. Check before booking if you are travelling with kids.
• Skip it if you have back or neck problems, since the ride is genuinely bumpy.
• Book through a reputable operator with real reviews rather than the cheapest hawker on the beach, and check that insurance is in order.

Cost ranges: what you'll pay

Prices are low across the board, which is the whole appeal:

• Quad-only blast: from about 723 EGP (roughly 15 USD).
• Makadi Bay ATV run: from about 846 EGP.
• Full quad, buggy, camel and barbecue evening: near 1,300 to 1,319 EGP.
• Stargazing dinner safari: around 2,000 to 2,250 EGP.

Even the top package costs less than a single reef trip, which is a big part of why the safari is one of the most-booked things in Hurghada. If you would rather spend that money on the water instead, weigh it against our roundup of the best Red Sea boat trips from Hurghada.

Is it worth it, and who it suits

For thrill-seekers, the quad ride alone justifies the price. For families, the stacked package works well, with kids riding buggies or camels and everyone piling into the camp dinner, as long as you check age rules first. For couples, the stargazing dinner safari is the standout, swapping some of the engine noise for a quiet, dark sky and a telescope. The people who come away disappointed are usually the ones who booked expecting Lawrence-of-Arabia dunes and silence, or who turned up in flip-flops with no scarf and spent the ride choking on dust.

The smart move is the combined quad, camel and barbecue evening. It stacks the thrill, the novelty of the camel, the show and the food into one sunset for well under the cost of a diving trip, and it turns a 30-minute blast into a proper night out. Wrap up against the dust, book the Super Safari if you want the full evening or the stargazing version if you want the quiet end of the desert, and treat it as the easy crowd-pleaser it is. For planning the rest of your trip, start with our Egypt travel guide, and when you're ready to book, browse desert safaris and quad tours on This is Egypt.