Fayoum Desert Tour – Day 2. On and Along the Nile in Cairo

On Tuesday morning, I try sandboarding in the desert. It doesn’t slide very well. There isn’t a very steep dune right next to the camp, and besides, the others are already waiting for me.

After that, we are directed into a minibus, even though our second day of the desert tour is supposed to continue by 4x4 vehicle. This time, we do have an English-speaking guide, which we completely lacked on the first day. We ask why we aren’t continuing in the 4x4, and eventually it turns out that we were accidentally placed on a different program for the second day—one that includes visits to roadside attractions instead of off-road desert driving.

After a phone call to the local tour company, the situation is quickly resolved and we are reassigned to a 4x4 vehicle as originally planned. The same minibus is told to pick us up at the end of the tour instead. In the meantime, the minibus driver simply waits for us.

Later, we are driven back to Cairo, where food is provided. In the evening, we take a taxi to the Nile and go for a nighttime speedboat ride on the river. Afterward, we stroll along the riverside promenade, lined with elegant restaurants, cafés, and bars. Instead of stopping at one of those, we have dinner at a restaurant in the St. Regis Hotel, enjoying a view of the Nile from above.

On the way back to the hotel, I decide to try Cairo’s metro system. However, reaching the nearest entrance requires nearly an hour of walking.