All you need to know about travelling to a desert
Living in a desert? I would have never imagined that I would spend years moving from one desert to another.
Years ago a desert seemed to me like a place where the biggest adventures happen…a place unreachable for a Polish girl. I remember thinking that only the brave ones would go to a desert. I never thought of living in it…too hot, dusty and boring for my taste.
Who would think back then that I could become an expert in desert living?
But let’s start at the beginning before I share with you all the tips you need to know before travelling to or living in a desert.
It all started years ago when I had an opportunity to live in Chile in the city of Antofagasta– the capital of the desert of Atacama. While the city itself had very little to offer, the Atacama desert is richer than one might think. From white-sand beaches to moon-like valleys to flowering deserts (a rare occurrence that I was lucky to witness). I realized then that a desert can be much more alive and much more beautiful than any words can describe. My imagination never reached that far till I saw what I saw.
Discovering deserts
One desert does not equal another like no mountain is the same as another. That’s common sense, right? So, I planned a trip to Morocco and before I actually landed in Marrakesh I did not even think of going to Sahara but you know how things are. You like spontaneity, sometimes mention how great it would be to sleep in a desert, a pushy travel salesman confirms it, and bam! You have booked yourself a 3-day tour including riding a camel to a camp somewhere in Sahara.
I knew bits and pieces about deserts from books and films so I thought I was set for a trip. Little did I know!
My camel trip was memorable for all its lessons and failures. I won’t even mention here that riding a camel in the middle of the sea of sands is not very hygienic, but not packing anything to at least refresh your hands, can be a little uncomfortable. I could manage with this discomfort till the night came. Very briefly I am telling you that not taking warm clothes was the biggest mistake I made: I froze my butt off during the night.
See also: 12 cool things to do in Atacama.
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Lessons learned
- Respect the desert and take it seriously. Whether you decide to go for a walk or do dune dashing with a 4×4, touring deserts is not as easy or simple as it may seem. Getting lost between dunes can be so fast that you would not even realize it. You think that you go for a 5-minute walk and suddenly your camp or car is nowhere to be seen.
- Prepare for the weather accordingly. This is a huge lesson for me that I brought after my first ever trip to a desert years ago. I went on a camel tour with camping in the desert. It was a last-minute and very spontaneous decision to join the tour leaving the same day from Marrakesh. It was hot and I just couldn’t imagine the temperatures dropping to nearly zero at night. Well, it happened (dah!) and I froze my butt off the whole night and morning.
- Ask locals for tips and directions. It is quite easy to get lost or get in trouble in a desert. So when locals warn you or give you tips- listen! And ask them questions, quite often they really want to be helpful and want you to have a good experience visiting their country.
See also: 10 days in Oman. How to plan a perfect road trip guide and itinerary.
What to pack for a desert trip
When you pack for a trip to a desert, you need to consider the time of the year you are travelling and options of city and desert stay. The other thing to keep in mind is the part of the world you are going to.
Deserts in the Middle East
When travelling to deserts in the Middle East, you don’t only need to consider what to pack based on the weather conditions and commodity, but also the local customs. Nonetheless, no matter to what desert I am travelling to, these are my must items that I always pack:
- Long skirt and long dress
- Scarf or pashmina
- Sandals for long walks
- Sandals to go out (avoid high heels, they are mostly useless, but for a more dressy look in a city, as an alternative pack heeled sandals and usually go for a small heel and comfortable pair).
- Easy to wash, multi-purpose trainers. These are mine and I’ve taken them everywhere in the last two years.
- A hat (dah!… the sun can kill you). I love my Panama hat that was handmade in Ecuador that you’ve probably seen on so many of my pictures, many similar ones here.
- Sunscreen
- Filtered sunglasses
A few favourite hotels:
- Tierra Atacama Hotel & Spa, Chile with an amazing view of the volcanoes. It is actually a truly impressive hotel and I most loved the pool area.
- W Hotel Amman. It technically is not in a desert, but in the capital of Jordan, but the whole trip to Jordan is desert-oriented and I loved this hotel so much, that could not skip it here.
- Sheraton Hotel Doha. It was the first luxury hotel in Doha that opened in the 80s. When you visit museums in Qatar, you can find there some photos of Sheraton being in the middle of the desert. Now it is surrounded by beautiful gardens and has a lovely beach and pool area. It is one of the most beautiful hotels in Doha, which I love visiting even just for a coffee or dinner.
- Al Messila Luxury Collection– doe not have a beach, but its spa, extensive gardens and beautifully designed pool areas make up for it. I think that it is one of the most relaxing hotels in Doha.
- W Hotel Doha. I love this hotel for its amazing restaurants and decor. I stayed there once and it was ok, but if you expect a great pool, choose a different hotel.
What to expect from living in a desert
Visiting a desert and living in a desert are two different experiences mainly due to the duration of the stay. While you can handle extreme weather for a bit (especially when your excitement to discover a new or, maybe even very different for you place, is skyrocketing), spending months at a time dealing with it can be exhausting. So, what can you expect from living in a desert?
- Extreme temperatures. It can get very hot during the day and close to zero Celsius at night in some deserts, like Sahara for example. In Qatar, however, the hot weather stays for many months, usually from May/June till October the temperatures reach between 40 and 50 degrees (my car sometimes shows 59.5 even). Winters are warm and pleasant (over 20 degrees usually, but in some inland spots temperatures at night can drop below 10 degrees).
- Dust and wind. It is often windy in the desert, which means dust flies around and makes it difficult to breathe and hurts your eyes. Besides, the houses and cars get quite dirty quickly. In Qatar, the wind in summer is so hot and strong that it feels as if the rain of razors were cutting your skin. It is a very unpleasant experience that may stop you from being outside for weeks at a time. Sometimes, nights are even hotter than days and it is literally impossible to be outside for more than a few minutes. I found the weather to be much more pleasant in the Atacama desert in the north of Chile.
- Humidity. Another weather-related difficulty is high humidity, especially during the summer months. I was not too bothered by it in the Atacama, but the countries in the Middle East are quite harsh when it comes to humidity.
Happy travels.
Love,
Ania
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