Hurghada Quad Bike ATV Desert Safari | Camel Ride, Bedouin Village & Sunset

Quad bike ATV desert safari Hurghada with camel ride and Bedouin village. Sunset option. $30. Honest review from a grumpy expat.

Hurghada Quad Bike ATV Desert Safari | Camel Ride, Bedouin Village & Sunset

The pickup was late. Half an hour. I timed it. Bloody typical.

We drove into the desert. Dust everywhere. The sun was already trying to kill us. The quad bikes looked old. Scratched. One had tape holding the fender together. Great.

Look, I've lived here over ten years. I've done this ATV quad safari more times than I should admit. It's never luxury. But thirty dollars including camel ride and tea? You don't expect luxury. You expect dust in your teeth and a sore back.

Why this sunset desert safari still sells out (despite everything)

They put you on the quad. No proper briefing. Just 'follow the guide'. The engine roared. Sand sprayed everywhere. My goggles fogged up – well, they fogged because I breathed too hard. I wiped them on my shirt. That made it worse.

The first dune was steep. I gunned it. The quad bounced. My kidneys complained. The guy behind me got stuck. His quad coughed and died. The guide walked back. Fixed it in thirty seconds. Probably happens fourty times a day.

The sunset desert safari route is about an hour of riding. Maybe less. Depends how many people break down. The desert is beautiful – well, it's empty and brown and somehow still stunning. The silence when you stop? Gone. Someone's phone played loud music. The music was loud, I forgot my earplugs again.

We reached the Bedouin village. It's a 'village'. A few tents. Some camels. A man making bread on a hot plate. They show you how they bake it. Then they sell it to you. Four dollars for a small piece. Taking the piss.

The camel ride is short. Five minutes. The camel smelled. Really smelled. Like wet wool and old hay. It groaned when I sat down. I felt bad for it. The handler walked us in a circle. Clicked photos. Demanded a tip after. I gave him a dollar. He looked disappointed. I didn't care.

To be fair, the Bedouin tea is decent. Sweet. Hot. You sit on carpets. The sun dips behind the dunes. The sky turns orange. Then purple. It's actually nice – but then someone starts shouting about buying scarves. Five dollars. Ten dollars. 'Good quality, my friend.' Sure.

The quad biking Hurghada desert tour ends with a race back. Everyone guns it. Dust clouds everywhere. I swallowed sand. My eyes burned. But I passed three people. Felt good for a second. Then my quad backfired. I laughed. Sorta.

No dinner included. Just tea and bread you pay extra for. The whole thing costs thirty bucks including hotel pickup. Back in the UK, that barely covers a takeaway. Here, you get an hour of chaos, a grumpy camel, and a sunset you won't forget – even if you want to forget the dust.

The guide was alright. Didn't speak much English. Didn't need to. 'Go fast' and 'stop' are universal. The group was mixed. Germans. Brits. A Russian guy who wore jeans. In the desert. Jeans. I wanted to warn him. I didn't.

Honestly, if you want a polished experience, skip this. Go to a spa. But if you want to feel like an idiot on a noisy machine, swallowing sand, pretending you're in a rally – this Hurghada quad bike ATV sunset safari is your thing.

A flat here costs less than a deposit back home. And having the desert as your backyard? Dusty. Loud. Kinda fun. Just saying.