Quad, Buggy or Jeep: which Hurghada desert safari fits you
Updated October 3, 2026 · 6 min read
Short version, if you need to decide right now. For most people, “Hurghada: Desert Quad Bike, ATV, Camel Ride & Optional BBQ” fits best – three hours, from €23.40 per person, rated 4.9 from 3,238 reviews: see dates and prices for the camel and BBQ trip. The cheapest way in is “From Hurghada: Makadi Bay ATV Tour”, two hours from €10.50: see prices for the Makadi Bay tour. If it isn’t just about the quad for you, take “Hurghada Desert Experience with Quad, Buggy & Camel” – four hours from €36: see availability for the buggy safari.
The desert safari selection on this page lists 70 offers from €7.57 in total. Below is what actually sets them apart, because the names alone barely show it.
The five most popular desert safaris compared
| Offer | Duration | From | Rating | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quad Bike Tour of the Desert and Red Sea | 3 hours | €12.87 | 4.3 · 3,358 reviews | those who want to choose the time of day themselves |
| Quad Bike, Camel Ride & BBQ | 3 hours | €23.40 | 4.9 · 3,238 reviews | first desert trip, evening |
| Quad Bike in Makadi Bay | 2 hours | €10.50 | 4.7 · 2,945 reviews | short outing, minimum cost |
| Quad Bike, Camel Ride with GoPro | 2 hours | €12.87 | 4.4 · 2,890 reviews | anyone who wants video of the trip |
| Desert Experience with Quad, Buggy & Camel | 4 hours | €36 | 4.8 · 2,366 reviews | two vehicles in one trip |
The number of reviews tells you how many reviews there are, not how likely a good day is. Four of the five offers sit at 4.4 or above – the difference between them isn’t quality, it’s what’s included.
How many minutes you actually spend driving
The duration in the listing is the time from hotel pick-up to return, not the time spent on the quad. Those hours include the drive to base, the briefing, the stop at the camels, tea, and the way back. That’s why “one hour” and “seven hours” don’t differ sevenfold in experience, only in how much the programme includes besides driving.
The shortest of the popular trips is “Hurghada: Sunset Quad Bike, Camel w/ Opt Stargazing and BBQ”, one hour from €9.47, rated 4.2 from 1,762 reviews. That’s a few hours carved out of a holiday day, not an evening-length programme. The longest is “Hurghada: Super Safari Adventure with ATV, Camel Ride & BBQ”, seven hours from €19.77, 4.6 from 1,943 reviews: besides the quad, the listing mentions Spider buggies, a Bedouin village, a BBQ dinner and an oriental show.
See the programme for the seven-hour super safari
Ask the operator directly: how many minutes are set aside for the actual driving. That’s the one number that answers “will this be enough for me?”, and it’s in none of the titles.
Quad, buggy, jeep: the difference isn’t speed
You drive the quad yourself, sitting astride it, in the column’s dust. A buggy is a frame with seats and a steering wheel; “Hurghada Desert Experience with Quad, Buggy & Camel” gives you both vehicles in one trip, plus a Bedouin village and a talk on herbs and oil infusions. A driver drives the jeep, and that’s the only one of the three where you’re not behind the wheel at all.
How many people fit in one buggy and whether two people can ride one quad aren’t stated in the listings. That’s a question for the operator before you pay, not an assumption: the answer affects both the price for two people and whether someone who doesn’t want to drive can come along at all.
See prices for the quad and buggy safari
If you don’t want to drive at all, an evening with a jeep and a telescope or a calm camel ride suits you better – covered separately here: stargazing in the desert.
The extra cost for dinner and a show: when it’s worth it
Several listings put dinner, a show and stars in the title. “Hurghada: Desert Safari with Quad, Buggy & Dinner Show” – three hours from €30.06, 4.7 from 1,411 reviews, with sunset, dinner, an oriental show and a belly-dance performance in the listing. “Hurghada: Desert Quad Bike Camel Ride with Optional GoPro” lists dinner, a show and stars as part of the programme while staying at €12.87.
The price difference here isn’t a difference in the quality of the ride, it’s an added evening. If you’re eating all-inclusive at your hotel anyway, you pay for the meal twice. But if your hotel evening is otherwise unoccupied, the surcharge for dinner in the desert is the most sensible of all the surcharges in this category.
See the evening programme with dinner and a show
For “Quad Bike Tour of the Desert and Red Sea” and “Sunset Quad Bike, Camel w/ Opt Stargazing and BBQ”, the listing names three time slots: sunrise with breakfast, daytime, and sunset with dinner. The starting price refers to the basic slot, not all three. Check the time you’ve chosen against the price in your basket, not the figure in the heading.
Where you’re picked up from
“From Hurghada: Makadi Bay ATV Tour” departs in the Makadi Bay area, not the desert near the city. For a guest staying in Hurghada, that’s extra travel each way; for a guest staying in Makadi Bay, it’s an advantage instead. If you’re staying in El Gouna, Soma Bay or Sahl Hasheesh, name your hotel in the enquiry before paying: the transfer is listed on these offers, the zone isn’t.
See prices and times for the Makadi Bay tour
How to get around the city at all, and when renting a car makes sense, is covered separately: getting around Hurghada.
Who the desert doesn’t suit
Dust in the quad column isn’t a minor nuisance, it’s the main feature of the ride. If anyone in your group copes badly with dust or dry air, an evening jeep trip is more honest than hoping to ride first in line. Jolting along the hard-packed track takes a toll on backs and necks, and a short ride doesn’t change that.
None of the offers in this category states a minimum age in the listing or says whether a driving licence is needed. So we don’t have those numbers, and we won’t invent them: ask the operator on the booking page and request a written answer. The same goes for children – what works in the desert with kids and what to ask in advance is gathered here: desert trips with kids. Teenagers are a separate case, also covered: Hurghada with teenagers.
Our recommendation
For a first desert trip, take “Hurghada: Desert Quad Bike, ATV, Camel Ride & Optional BBQ”: three hours is the length that doesn’t eat up the day, its rating of 4.9 from 3,238 reviews is the best of the five offers in the table above, and the camel ride and BBQ are already part of the programme, so you don’t need to piece together an evening separately. The surcharge over the cheapest tour is €12.90 per person.
See dates and prices for the quad, camel and BBQ trip
If you’re counting every euro, take the two hours in Makadi Bay and skip the dinner surcharge. If there are two of you and one doesn’t want to drive, don’t buy two quad spots – look at the jeep evening instead: it’s cheaper than one ruined spot in the column. The rest of this category’s offers, including jeeps and camel rides, are collected on the desert safari page.
