Safari and Extreme · Fayoum

Fayoum Day Trip from Cairo — Lakes, Waterfalls & Whale Valley

A full day by 4x4 from Cairo: the Wadi El Rayan lakes and waterfalls, the whale fossils of Wadi El Hitan and Bedouin tea in the dunes at sunset.

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Fayoum Day Trip from Cairo — Lakes, Waterfalls & Whale Valley
14h Daily FR · EN · DE Hotel pickup Fayoum New trip

About this trip

Fayoum is the countryside side of Egypt most visitors never see: lakes, palm groves and open desert, an hour and a half from Cairo. The day starts early from your hotel in Cairo or Giza, with breakfast on arrival and a walk through Tunis, the village known for its pottery school. A 4x4 then takes you to Wadi El Rayan, a nature reserve of three lakes and Egypt's only waterfalls, and on to Wadi El Hitan, the Valley of the Whales — a UNESCO site where 40-million-year-old marine fossils lie in the sand and a small museum explains how the sea once covered the desert. Lunch is at a camp overlooking the third lake, followed by the Magic Lake and Madwara mountain, time for sandboarding or a swim, and Bedouin tea as the sun goes down. You are back in Cairo around 8 pm. This trip departs from Cairo, not from the Red Sea resorts.

What's included

  • Return transfer from Cairo or Giza
  • French- or English-speaking guide
  • Lunch
  • Drinks: mineral water, juice, tea and coffee
  • Nature reserve entry
  • Desert travel permits
  • Tips for the driver from Cairo
  • Tips for the desert team (driver and guide)

Day itinerary

Early morning · Pickup in Cairo
Pickup from your hotel in Cairo or Giza and a drive of about an hour and a half to the Fayoum oasis.
10:30 · Tunis village
Breakfast, then a walk through Tunis and its pottery school.
Late morning · Wadi El Rayan
By 4x4 to the nature reserve of three lakes and Egypt's only waterfalls.
Midday · Wadi El Hitan
The UNESCO-listed Valley of the Whales and its museum of 40-million-year-old fossils.
Afternoon · Lunch and the Magic Lake
Lunch at a camp overlooking the third lake, then the Magic Lake and Madwara mountain, with sandboarding and a chance to swim.
Sunset · Bedouin tea
Tea in the dunes as the sun goes down.
20:00 · Back in Cairo
Drop-off at your hotel.

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Good to know

Frequently asked questions

We really have some of the lowest prices that can be offered while keeping the quality of service high. We are an online booking company working directly with large organizers in Egypt, so we can offer very favorable prices thanks to the large flow of tourists. Buying from us, you get quality service and don't overpay intermediaries.
The organizers' fleet has plenty of vehicles - cars, minivans and large comfortable buses. Vehicles for short, medium and long distances are equipped with air conditioning and safety systems, and buses with toilets are provided on long routes. All vehicles are regularly serviced and sanitized, hold the necessary tourist permits, and drivers are inspected before every trip.
We work without prepayment. Group excursions are paid on the bus or during the trip. The exceptions are individual excursions where plane tickets or documents are involved. The organizer comes to you - there is no need to look for anyone to pay. You can pay in cash in dollars or euros, and an alternative payment method can be arranged.
Egypt is heavily regulated when it comes to tourism. For a car or yacht to run a tour, daily permission from the police and military is required, and organizers without a license don't get permits. That is why on some tours we may ask for voucher and passport details (this applies to marine excursions, individual tours and some group tours that leave the city). For other excursions only the number of people is needed.
Some hotel guides wrongly claim insurance does not apply to third-party excursion organizers. That is not true. Your travel insurance is valid throughout Egypt, and once you are on the organizer's ship, bus or transport they carry full insurance responsibility for passengers - otherwise they could not obtain a tour permit at all.
Please check your belongings when you leave the bus or boat at the end of the tour. If something is lost it is hard to recover, as vehicles leave immediately to be cleaned. We will always help you look, but we cannot guarantee a 100% return - so please be careful!
We have a large daily flow of bookings, so most excursions run every day (or on set weekdays per the program's schedule). After booking we send the exact hotel pickup time. Many trips are shared with small hotel groups who bought the same tour from operators - the only difference is that our price is 40–60% lower.
Tour photographers are independent and do not work for the company, so any arrangement with them is your responsibility. We do not recommend paying in advance unless you are sure the photos will be delivered. If you do not want photos, tell the photographers early to avoid any pushiness.