Jaisalmer Camel Safari
Choosing your safari
If you are heading to Jaisalmer you’ll definitely want to do the camel safari in the Thar Desert. There are so many hotels and tour agencies offering the camel safari you’ll be overwhelmed with choice, this can make choosing the right camel safari so hard! (don’t worry, we’re here to help)
We noticed online the accommodation was very cheap some rooms for as little as 100 rupees a night. This is because usually they expect you to do the camel safari with them and they can be very pushy about it. We chose a room for 600 rupees a night and they weren’t pushy with us.
We decided to get a few prices from the hotel and a couple agencies that were reviewed well, the prices range from 1000 rupees to around 3500 rupees for the one night safari. There is also one day, 2 to 3 nights, there are even tours for a week or more!
We opted with the tour ‘Pleasant Havelli’ was offering, because of the reviews and the people at the hotel were genuinely nice. We also heard Desert Man and Sahara Tours had good safaris too.
What’s included:
- Jeep travel pick up and drop off from Jaisalmer
- English speaking guides
- All your cold bottled water
- Beer or wine for additional cost
- Snacks, dinner and breakfast
- Stopping at Lake and Fort
- 3 hour camel ride
- Overnight camp in desert
What to bring
- Overnight bag
- Wet wipes, there’s no toilet and you’ll feel dirty after the camel ride
- Turban or hat
- Sun Cream
- Mosquito Repellent
- Sun Glasses
Our experience
For the one night safari you leave Jaisalmer around 2.30pm. We went in October and it would have been too hot to leave any earlier in the day.
We were lucky because nobody else had booked on our tour so it was just the two of us!
Top tip: Check before you book to find out how many people are on your tour!
We started to drive out into the desert in the jeep, with our two guides. First we stopped off at a lake in the middle of the desert as we wondered around the lake, 100’s of goats suddenly appeared for an afternoon drink!
After this we went to an abandoned fort and a village in ruins. We found this was so interesting to walk around and explore.
Top tip: Some tours go to a local village and it becomes very touristy so check where your tour is going.
Arriving at camp
As we drove out deeper into the desert and found our camels waiting in the sand dunes for us. Both of us had a camel and rode them for about two hours through the dunes (this was enough, you start getting a sore bum).
We arrived at our camp as the sun was setting on the dunes, this was of the best places we’d ever watched the sunset. As we watched the sunset we enjoyed some snacks and chai tea.
While we were riding the camels, our other guide had drove to our camp to start cooking our dinner on the open fire! He cooked us a delicious pakora and thali set and they fed us so much, we even had an ice cold beer!
Top tip: Ask if you tour cooks over the open fire as some tours don’t offer this
Our guides set up our beds for the night, which was really comfy and clean. We star gazed until we fell asleep, it was an incredible experience to sleep under the stars in the middle of the desert.
Day 2
We woke up to the sun rising over the sand dunes and were given breakfast in bed, of porridge, fruits and chai tea. After this we rode our camels back for another hour and returned back to Jaisalmer for 10am.
We definitely recommend doing the camel safari it was such an incredible experience that we will never forget! For more India recommendations check out our two month India itinerary.
