Siwa Oasis: Great Sand Sea Safari

Siwa sits eight hours from the Nile Valley in its own world of Berber culture and Egyptian olive groves. Visit the crumbling mudbrick fortress of Shali, float in the mineral-rich Cleopatra Spring, and stand where Alexander the Great once consulted the Oracle of Amun. A 4x4 safari into the Great Sand Sea's dunes at sunset — with sandboarding for those who want it — closes out day one.