I Slept in the Desert with Bedouins. Where Can You Experience the Most Adventurous Night of Your Life?

We traveled to the desert from the capital city of Muscat, roughly a two-and-a-half-hour drive by car or bus. Our local guide Sami explained how desert stays work on the way and that they are practically available to everyone. It’s certainly not a privilege for a few lucky and wealthy people; an overnight stay in the desert doesn’t have to cost you much at all.

Desert Hut or Luxury Villa?

For Sami and his friends, a trip to the desert is apparently a fairly frequent weekend activity since camping is allowed almost everywhere in Oman, including the desert. If wild camping isn’t your thing and you’d prefer something with amenities, there are, of course, plenty of options to choose from. From simple tents with shared bathrooms to luxurious private villas with pools and first-class service.

It depends on how much money you want to invest in the experience and how much comfort you require. There are hundreds of camps and resorts in the deserts where you can stay. Usually, the stay package includes transportation from civilization to the accommodation, as getting around in the desert is more complicated.

If you decide to head to the desert on your own without a travel agency, keep in mind that you can only get there with a larger four-wheel-drive vehicle built for dune driving. But most locals have exactly such cars, and you can rent one. Before hitting the sand, the tires of the car also need to be deflated a bit.

When to Visit the Desert?

When planning a trip, it depends on which desert you want to visit. Generally, it’s better to avoid the summer when the daytime heat is scorching. The best time is from fall to spring, but be prepared for significant temperature differences between day and night. We visited the Omani desert Wahiba Sands in December, and in terms of temperatures, it was a pleasant 25 degrees Celsius during the day and cooled to around 15 degrees at night. 

If you head to North Africa, the Sahara Desert, popular during vacations in countries like Tunisia, Egypt, or Morocco, will be much cooler in the winter. Night temperatures can drop below zero, so pack warm clothes or plan your visit for fall or spring when it’s more favorable.

Deserts in the Middle East, such as in Oman, the United Arab Emirates, or Saudi Arabia, aren’t as cold, so you can visit during winter comfortably. However, bring a warm layer for the evening. Naturally, the type of accommodation matters—it's colder in a tent than in a brick and heated room.

In Resorts, Bedouins Take Care of You

We chose the golden middle ground and stayed in the resort Safari Desert Camp, consisting of small individual cottages. The stay included the already mentioned transportation. Our desert trip started with Bedouins picking us up in large white jeeps and taking us from the edge of the desert, where the bus stopped, to our accommodation. They accompanied us throughout the stay.

We had a spacious bedroom with a huge double bed, a sofa, a bathroom with an open shower, even with a rain showerhead, and an outdoor veranda with seating. The room included basic amenities like bedding, towels, toiletries, bottled water, and a tea kettle.

Check out a house tour video to see what the cottages in the resort look like inside:

Electricity Starts at Six in the Evening

You might be curious, as I was, before I arrived, about how electricity works in the desert. Can you charge your phone? Is there light? And is there hot water? The answer is yes. At least in our camp, which was more like glamping; they do have electricity. They switch it on in the evening when it starts getting dark. After that, none of the above is an issue.

However, there is no signal or wifi in the cottage. It was only available in the common areas at the entrance to the camp and in the dining house. So, no scrolling before sleep or when waking up, which honestly was a great digital detox.

What Can You Do in the Desert?

The sky's the limit for adrenaline experiences here. Jeep rides over dunes, watching the sunset or sunrise from their peaks, sandboarding, quad biking, or camel riding are just a glimpse of what you can experience in the desert.

But even just a simple walk on the seemingly endless sand will thrill you. Once it gets dark, you’ll see a sky full of stars that we can only dream of in cities covered by light pollution. While stargazing in the desert, you might realize just how small we are and how vast the world is.

Top Sunset Spots

“Our” Bedouins took us to the dunes for sunset. The jeep ride up and down is not for the faint-hearted or those who fear easily. The adrenaline was pumping, and half-amazed, half-scared screams echoed from the jeeps. The drivers enjoyed this, showcasing even more dramatic turns and descents.

Besides the spectacle in the sky, we also enjoyed a traditional picnic on the dunes. While we took photos with the setting sun in the background, the Bedouins laid out a blanket, set up pillows, and brought out snacks.

Coffee, Karak tea, which is a popular spiced black tea, brownies, and fruit salad were on the menu.

“Little Date, Little Coffee,” Or the Hospitality of the Locals

“Little date, little coffee,” we heard from our guide Sami several times a day. We taught him this phrase in Czech because you get dates and coffee wherever you go in Oman. The coffee is most often served in small cups or glasses, more like a shot, and offered as a welcome gesture in hotel lobbies, as a courtesy in museums, mosques, and similar places.

Coffee Made with Rose Water

However, don’t expect any flat white; if you drink specialty coffee, you won’t enjoy it much here. The coffee is light in color and tastes somewhat watery and especially spicy. Ground cardamom is traditionally added, sometimes cinnamon, cloves, or saffron. To top it all off, some also pour rose water into it. Roses are widely cultivated in Oman.

From personal experience, I can say that you get used to it. After a few days, I found it quite enjoyable.

What About Dangerous Wildlife?

The idea of the desert often evokes scorpions, venomous snakes, and spiders lurking in the sand to sting or bite someone. Fortunately, the reality is much less dramatic, and you don’t have to worry; you can walk on the dunes barefoot. Locals even recommend it, otherwise, you’d be emptying sand from closed shoes for a long time.

Most desert animals are mainly active at night, during the day they sleep or hide somewhere and avoid people. If you go for a walk at night, take a flashlight and watch where you step. A scorpion sting, although very unlikely, is more painful but usually harmless.

The greatest danger in the desert is probably dehydration due to heat and direct sunlight. A head covering and enough water are therefore essential.

The Camel, a Bedouin’s Best Friend

The animal you’re sure to encounter in the desert is the camel. We came across our first one right at the beginning, after just a short jeep ride. It was a mandatory photo op, and even petting was on the menu, as the camel was extra friendly, sticking its head into the car window.

Speaking of camels, I must mention some fun facts. Every camel in Oman, and not just in the desert but across the entire country, belongs to someone. There’s no such thing as a wild camel; they all have owners who bought them and take care of them.

Bizarre Camel Competitions and Races

Camel racing is a popular activity in Oman. The fastest ones, who win, are often bought by the wealthy for large sums of money.

There are even camel beauty contests. It’s a bit of a sad fact and quite an extreme, but we learned from the Čedok tour guide and local culture and customs specialist, Jana Altay, that some owners used to inject their camels with Botox to make them prettier. Camels were sometimes even sent for X-rays to check if they had implants anywhere.

Dare to Try Camel Meat?

Our accommodation included dinner and breakfast, served buffet-style. The Bedouins offered plenty of everything, from meats to sides and traditional dips like hummus and baba ghanoush, to vegetable salads and desserts. Freshly grilled chicken was prepared by the chefs, and the highlight of the feast—camel meat. Yes, they even eat camels here.

Personally, it didn’t really appeal to me; I found the taste bland and the meat chewy, but if you’re there, it’s worth a try. More for the experience than the flavor.

Bedouin Fashion Isn’t Just Fashion

Bedouin clothing is quite special due to desert conditions. Bedouins wear traditional long white garments and headscarves, which protect them from the harsh sun and blowing sand. The men’s ankle-length tunic with long sleeves is called differently in each Arab region, sometimes dishdasha, elsewhere thawb or kandura. Often hanging from the neckline is a decorative tassel called karkoosha, on which they spray perfume so the scent lasts long.

There are many types of headscarves, again differing by region and occasion. The Bedouin mussar is made from fine fabrics like pashmina or cotton, has a more formal character, and is often colorful or embellished with patterns or tassels. It’s tied like a turban. Keffiyeh or kufiya, also known as hatta, is then a red-and-white checkered square scarf for Bedouins. Over it, a black headband agal is sometimes placed to hold it in place.

Omanis, at least the ones we met, but according to our guide, the nation in general, are nice and friendly. Even with occasional language barriers, they were eager to explain and demonstrate how their clothing works to us tourists.

What Happens in the Desert, Stays in the Desert

That’s how our evening program could be described. After dinner, we experienced something really unexpected. It’s common in the desert to sit around a fire after dark, talk, and have fun. However, we didn’t know the Bedouins would join us. At first, they sat in their own circle a bit further away, dragging a huge speaker, playing music, and lighting hookahs.

Once again, their hospitality shone through. They were happy to invite us over and didn’t hesitate to share. Somehow, we ended up teaching them our mazurka dance to the song Měla babka čtyři jabka, and they, in return, showed us their Arabic dance for the second time that day and introduced us to the biggest local music hits.

You’ll Pay a Fortune for a Beer

How is it with alcohol here? The locals don’t really drink, hardly at all. The Bedouins refused the beer we offered, which is rather hard to find in Oman, and a can costs at least about two hundred Czech crowns. They just know how to enjoy themselves without it. Instead of alcoholic drinks, they go crazy for very strong tobacco. They offered it to us too, but they said it couldn’t be compared to regular cigarettes and might knock a European out. Omanis drink alcohol only on occasions like weddings or bachelor parties, but since they’re not used to it, it knocks them out.

An Unforgettable Experience of a Lifetime

Whether you’re on vacation in North Africa, the Middle East, or somewhere in America or Australia, basically anywhere there's a desert, you shouldn’t miss visiting it. Unlike the sea and mountains, it’s something you just can’t experience in Europe.

We had a packed schedule in Oman and left the desert the next day before sunrise. However, I recommend giving yourself more time for the experience, as a serene morning in the desert must certainly be worth it.