Middle East - Anthony Ham [144]
New Oasis Hotel ( 3847 3030; max_rfs@hotmail.com; s/d E£50/80, with air-con E£100/120; ) A study in curvaceous construction, this small but homely hotel by El-Beshmo spring has several teardrop-shaped rooms, some with balconies overlooking the expansive palm groves nearby. Inside, the rooms are aged but kept in fine condition, though someone’s been a little overzealous with the powder-blue paint.
Old Oasis Hotel ( 3847 3028, 012 232 4425; www.oldoasissafari.com; s/d E£80/140, with air-con E£120/180; ) This is one of the most charming places to stay in Bawiti. The Old Oasis Hotel sits above a pretty, shaded garden of palm and olive trees by El-Beshmo spring and has 13 homely and impeccably maintained fan rooms, as well as a few fancier, stone-walled air-conditioned rooms. A large pool receives steaming hot water from the nearby spring; the runoff waters the hotel garden. A fine restaurant serves full meals (dinner E£30), and you can rent motorbikes from here (E£150 per day) and access the internet (E£10 per hour).
Badr Sahara Camp ( 3847 2955, 012 792 2728; www.badrysaharacamp.com; Gebel al-Ingleez; huts per person E£25) A couple of kilometres from town, isolated Badr Sahara Camp has a handful of bucolic, African-influenced, two-bed huts, each with small patio sitting areas out front. Hot water and electricity can’t always be counted on, but cool desert breezes and knockout views of the oasis valley can. Free pick-ups available.
Qasr el-Bawity Hotel & Restaurant ( 3847 1880, in Cairo 02-2754 7383; www.qasrelbawity.com; s/d half board €55/75, ste from €100; ) The relatively new Qasr el-Bawity boasts the swankiest accommodation in Bahariya. With a finely trained eye for environmentally friendly design, this hotel has sumptuous rooms finished in cool stonework, sporting ornate domed roofs, fine furniture and decorative arty touches. There are two pools (one natural and one that’s chlorinated) and the restaurant here is suitably good.
Food options are limited to the hotels, a modest cafeteria near the petrol station or the town’s most popular restaurant, aptly named Popular Restaurant ( 847 2239; meals E£15-20; 5.30am-10pm). The decent set meal here comprises soup, roast chicken, rice, pickles, salad, vegetable dishes and bread. Beer is available.
Getting There & Away
Six daily buses run by the Upper Egypt Bus Co ( 3847 3610) depart for Cairo (E£27, five hours) between 6.30am and midnight.
Heading to Farafra (E£20, two hours) or Dakhla (E£40, five hours) you can pick up one of the buses from Cairo. These pass by at around midday and midnight and stop in front of the Upper Egypt Bus Co ticket office on the main road.
Occasional microbuses travel to Farafra and Cairo for the same ticket costs.
There are no services to Siwa; you will have to hire a private four-wheel drive for the rough journey. A permit is required for this trip, and recent changes in legislation make it easy to arrange these permits in Bahariya (US$5 per person).
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SIWA OASIS
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Easily the prettiest, and most remote, of Egypt’s oases, sleepy Siwa is the perfect antidote to the commotion of bustling Egyptian cities. Isolated for centuries from the rest of the country, Siwa today hasn’t managed to stray from its traditional roots – donkeys still outnumber combustion engines and Siwi, the local Berber language, dominates. Worth the long detour from the Nile Valley, Siwa rewards those who trek out here with gorgeous freshwater springs, a dash of ancient history, and generous helpings of tranquillity among palm-shaded streets.
Information
To the north of the main square you’ll find a branch of the Banque du Caire ( 8.30am-2pm & 5-8pm) with ATM, as well as a post office and a helpful tourist office ( 460 1330, 010 546 1992; 9am-2pm Sat-Thu, plus 5-8pm Oct-Apr).