One part of the trip I was especially excited for was to ride a camel through the red dunes of the Sahara Desert. There are a few sand dunes in Morocco – we chose Erg Chebbi near Merzouga. It’s a long 10 hour drive from Marrakesh through the Sahara. I wouldn’t suggest adding the dunes to your itinerary unless you really want to ride a camel through the desert or you have 3+ weeks to travel and can spare four to five days to explore the Sahara.
One thing that surprised me about this experience is that we weren’t riding the camels independently. Strings of four to seven camels are roped together in a line, led by a gentleman walking through the sand. I have always heard that camels can be unruly, spitting and angry. Fortunately, my camel was well mannered, even sweet. In order to get on a camel, you mount them while they are resting on the ground. Then, they stand up with you on their backs. It must take an incredible amount of strength to do this. From the rider’s perspective, it’s bizarre to be slowly thrown first backward, the forward as the camel stands up on its front then back legs.
The actual riding is a bit harder than riding a horse. Camels don’t have the smoothest gaits or flattest backs! Uphill is fine, but downhill is uncomfortable with the camel sliding through the sand. I would say that it was a more pleasant experience than I had expected, but not one that I would want to do for any length of time. We spent about two hours riding through the desert at sunset, which was spectacular. The only detractor from our experience was the large amount of unregulated use of the dunes. There were a huge number of camel outfitters and motorized vehicles. It definitely is not the serene experience touted in the literature. Get ready for a few thousand twenty-somethings on dune buggies and ATVs. Fortunately, the engine noise didn’t seem to bother our serene dromedaries.
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
2 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
3 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.