Siwa Oasis from Cairo

Siwa in 3 days

Siwa Oasis in three days from your Cairo or Giza hotel, private: El Alamein on the way, two nights at a lodge, the oasis's temples and springs, a 4x4 afternoon in the Great Sand Sea with dinner at a desert camp, and Shali and a salt lake before the drive back.

Length: 3 days, 2 nights
Tour type: Private, just your group
Pickup: Your hotel in Cairo or Giza
Guide: English-speaking guide
Lunch: Included
Dinner: Included
Nights: 2, Ghaliet Ecolodge or similar
Desert: 4x4 in the Great Sand Sea
The drive: About 750 km each way, with stops

The tour journey

Your trip, day by day

Times are estimates; traffic and your hotel's location change them. Drive times are from map routing without traffic.

Day 1 · Cairo to Siwa by the coast road
5:00approx.
Pickup
An early start: the whole drive is about 750 km, with stops on the way.
8:30approx.
1
Visit
260.4 km from your hotel, about 2 h 56 min without traffic
The museum of the Second World War battles fought here in 1942, on the coast road west of Alexandria.
El Alamein War Museum and Cemeteries: history, hours and tickets →
9:30approx.
2
Visit
1 km from the War Museum, a few minutes by car
A short stop at the Commonwealth war cemetery beside the road.
9:45approx.
On the way
182.4 km from the War cemeteries, about 2 h 26 min without traffic
12:15approx.
Lunch, included
Lunch by the sea before the road turns south into the desert.
17:00approx.
3
Arrival
307.8 km from Marsa Matruh, about 3 h 46 min without traffic
The last part of the road crosses the desert to the oasis, which lies nearly 20 m below sea level. Check in at Ghaliet Ecolodge or a similar lodge.
17:30approx.
Dinner, included
18:30approx.
Overnight
An eco-lodge in Siwa town; when it is full, a similar lodge such as Dream Lodge or Shali Lodge is booked.
Day 2 · The oasis and the Great Sand Sea
7:30approx.
Breakfast, included
8:30approx.
4
Visit
1.5 km from Siwa, about 3 min without traffic
A hill of rock-cut tombs used from the 26th Dynasty to Roman times; the painted tomb of Si-Amun is the best known.
9:30approx.
5
Visit
2.5 km from the Mountain of the Dead, about 5 min without traffic
The temple on its rock at Aghurmi, built in the 6th century BC. Alexander the Great came to consult the oracle, in 331 BC according to most accounts. The ruins of the Umm Ubayd temple are a short walk away.
10:45approx.
6
Visit
1.3 km from the Oracle Temple, a few minutes by car
A round, stone-rimmed spring among the palms, thought to be the Spring of the Sun that Herodotus wrote about. You can swim here.
11:45approx.
Lunch, included
13:00approx.
7
Activity
11.1 km from Cleopatra's Spring, about 19 min without traffic
By 4x4 over the dunes south of the oasis to Bir Wahed, a hot spring with a cold lake just over the dune. Sandboarding if you want to try, then sunset in the dunes.
18:00approx.
Dinner, included
Dinner around a fire at a desert camp, then back to the lodge.
19:00approx.
Overnight
An eco-lodge in Siwa town; when it is full, a similar lodge such as Dream Lodge or Shali Lodge is booked.
Day 3 · Shali, a salt lake and back to Cairo
7:30approx.
Breakfast, included
8:45approx.
8
Visit
7.9 km from Bir Wahed, about 14 min without traffic
The mud-brick town built of kershef (salt and mud) in the 13th century and left after three days of heavy rain in 1926. Walk up for the view over the palms.
9:45approx.
Activity
The turquoise pools are flooded salt quarries; the water is so salty that you float.
10:30approx.
On the way
308.9 km from Shali, about 3 h 48 min without traffic
14:30approx.
Lunch, included
21:00approx.
Drop-off
461.7 km from Marsa Matruh, about 5 h 10 min without traffic
The drive back takes most of the day; you reach Cairo in the evening.

Drive, times without trafficTap a photo to see moreSimplified map

Included

Pickup from your hotel in Cairo or Giza and return
Private air-conditioned car or minivan with driver for the whole trip
4x4 with a desert driver for the Great Sand Sea
English-speaking guide
2 nights at Ghaliet Ecolodge or a similar lodge
Meals in the program: breakfast, lunch and dinner (lunch and dinner on day 1, breakfast and lunch on day 3)
Entrance fees to the sites in the program
Bottled water during the trip
All taxes and service charges

Not included

Drinks with meals
Tipping
Personal expenses
Any extras not mentioned in the program

Book this trip

Request this trip

Send your date and group size for Siwa in 3 days. We reply with the price for your trip and confirm the pickup from your hotel.

Approx. $560 per personEstimate; confirmed with your quote

Private, just your group
Hotel pickup and drop-off
Change or skip a stop: just ask
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before
Tomorrow or today: we reply within an hour

Nothing to pay with the request. To book, a 25% deposit by card or PayPal; the rest in cash on the day. Payment and cancellation

Is this trip right for you?

What to bring

Comfortable shoes, sun protection, a hat, and some cash for tips.

Tips

Tips are not part of the price.

Siwa Oasis

More Siwa trips

The mud-brick ruins of Shali, the old town of Siwa

From Cairo or Giza hotels

Siwa in 2 days

Private
Lodge + meals

Approx., per person$290

Sunset over the lake at Fatnas Island, Siwa

From Cairo or Giza hotels

Siwa in 4 days

Private
Lodge + meals

Approx., per person$590

Approx. $560 per personRequest this tour