Siwa Oasis 2 Days from Cairo: Salt Lakes & Desert Safari

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

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Duration2d

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · AR

PickupAt your hotel

Taste authentic Siwan cuisine and explore hidden local gems with native guides

A two-day private tour from Cairo to Siwa Oasis with English or Arabic-speaking guide, hotel pickup and dinner included. You swim in salt lakes, visit Shali fortress and the Oracle temple, explore pharaonic tombs, and spend an evening sandboarding and dining in a desert camp. The guide is Siwan, so the stops go beyond the standard route to show local customs and hidden corners of the oasis.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Salt lakes and desert safari

Visit Old town of Siwa (Shali fortress)
Swim in the salt lakes
Enjoy desert safari and sandboarding
Visit fossils area and hot spring
Watch sunset and have dinner in desert camp

Day 2 — Siwa cultural and natural sights

Visit Siwan traditional museum
Visit pharaonic and Greek Roman tombs
Visit Oracle temple (Temple of Amun)
Visit Dakrour Mountain
Relax and enjoy sunset at Fatnas island

The Experience

The tour starts with pickup from your Cairo or Giza location in a private air-conditioned car. On the first day you reach Shali fortress, the old town of Siwa and a UNESCO heritage site, then move into the salt lakes for swimming—the water's buoyancy makes floating effortless. The afternoon shifts to the Great Sand Sea for a safari: sandboarding down dunes, fossil hunting, a soak in the hot spring, and a cold lake for contrast. Dinner happens at a desert camp as the sun sets, and you sleep at an ecolodge hotel in Siwa.

Day two covers the sights most visitors miss. You visit the Siwan traditional museum to understand local life, then the pharaonic and Greek-Roman tombs carved into rock. The Oracle temple—also called the temple of Alexander the great—sits next, followed by Dakrour Mountain. The day ends on Fatnas island at sunset. Because your guide is from Siwa, the stops include the customs and food of the place, not just the monuments.

Pickup is available from Alexandria or Marsa Matrouh if you're coming from the coast. Dinner is included; bring extra money for drinks and any meals not covered by the package. The pace suits all fitness levels.

What’s included

Private air-conditioned pickup from Cairo, Giza, Alexandria or Marsa Matrouh.
English or Arabic-speaking Siwan guide.
entry to Shali fortress, salt lakes, Oracle temple, Siwan museum and pharaonic tombs.
desert safari with sandboarding and hot spring.
dinner at the desert camp.
one night at an ecolodge hotel in Siwa.

Good to know

Easy physical levelPublic transport nearby

Operated by Windows of Siwa

Is this one for you?Book this tour if you want a guide who is Siwan and can show you the oasis beyond the main sites—the local food, the customs, the corners that don't appear in standard itineraries. The private car and fixed schedule mean the two days hold together without you managing transport or timing between stops.