Hurghada safari trip: half a day in the desert, and what is in each of the eight

Inland from the Hurghada seafront the land goes flat, dry and open within about twenty minutes of driving. Everything sold as a Hurghada safari trip happens out there, and every operator is working with the same five ingredients: a quad bike, a buggy, a camel, a meal in a camp and a stretch of dark sky. There is no sixth ingredient hiding in a more expensive listing. There is only which of the five you get, and for how long.

Once you see it that way the eight listings sort themselves quickly. $41 is four hours and names three machines. $29 is three hours with a quad, an ATV and a camel. $15 is three hours of riding through desert and along the Red Sea. The two-hour listings — $15, $16, $17 and $20 — put a camel and usually a camp into a shorter window. And $12 is a single hour on horseback with transfers.

Those short outings are a different product rather than a smaller version of the same one. A two-hour evening in a camp with dinner, a show and stargazing is built around sitting down; a four-hour Hurghada safari trip with a buggy in it is built around driving. People who book the second expecting the first tend to say so in reviews, and the fix is entirely in reading the title.

The timing is the other thing worth knowing before you choose. Most of these depart in the late afternoon, which is when the light on the sand is worth photographing and when the heat has come off the day; the ones that name dinner and stargazing run straight through into the evening from there. A morning Hurghada desert trip is the quieter alternative, with the same ground and none of the camp programme.

The fullest version runs four hours. $41 is the Hurghada Desert Experience with a quad, a buggy and a camel, rated 4.8 across 2,378 reviews. It is the longest listing in the desert here and the only one that names all three in its own title. If you want the afternoon to feel like a proper expedition rather than an outing, this is the one.

The best-rated is three hours. $29 pairs a quad and an ATV with a camel ride and an optional BBQ, rated 4.9 across 3,420 reviews — the highest score of any Hurghada safari trip on this site, on a large crowd. $15 is the other three-hour listing, running through desert and along the Red Sea at 4.3 across 3,387 reviews.

The evenings are about the camp. $16 names a quad, a camel, a show, dinner and stargazing in two hours at 4.4 across 2,145 reviews. $17 does a similar evening by the sea at 4.2 across 1,511 reviews, and $20 runs the same programme on horseback at 4.4 across 1,709 reviews. These Hurghada safari tours are built around sitting down under an open sky after the riding stops.

The short rides are their own thing. $15 is two hours with a quad, a camel and optional GoPro footage at 4.4 across 2,897 reviews. $12 is one hour on horseback on the beach and in the desert with transfers included, rated 4.7 across 1,758 reviews — the shortest listing on the whole site, and the one most often booked by people who have no interest in an engine.

For the fullest afternoon, book $41. Four hours with a quad, a buggy and a camel, rated 4.8 across 2,378 reviews — the longest desert listing on this site.

For the best rating, book $29. Three hours with a quad, an ATV, a camel ride and an optional BBQ, rated 4.9 across 3,420 reviews.

For an evening in the camp, book $16. Two hours with a quad, a camel, a show, dinner and stargazing, rated 4.4 across 2,145 reviews.

For the same evening by the sea, book $17. Two hours with a quad, a camel, dinner and stargazing, rated 4.2 across 1,511 reviews.

For riding without an engine, book $12 for an hour on the beach and in the desert at 4.7 across 1,758 reviews, or $20 for the two-hour version with dinner, a show and stargazing.

And for three hours along the coast and inland, book $15. A quad run through the desert and beside the Red Sea, rated 4.3 across 3,387 reviews.