Egypt budget holiday, backroads adventure

This trip is as much about people as it is about places. Much of the first week is spent exploring the Western Desert as we drive south from Cairo, on a 6-day jeep safari, in the company of our Bedouin friends and guides. We camp out in the stunningly beautiful White Desert, spend a morning larking about in massive, pristine sand dunes, and visit the various oasis towns along the way.

In Dakhla some of the revenue from our groups goes to support an excellent little Ethnological Museum that has been established to teach local children about their rich heritage. Reaching Aswan, we then spend several days with our Nubian crew as we sail along the Nile in a traditional felucca. We are accompanied throughout by an English-speaking local leader.

Although they speak some English, your Arabic-speaking Egyptian tour leader will happily act as translator, allowing a unique opportunity to learn about Bedouin traditions. On reaching Aswan you spend the next three days sailing to Luxor in a traditional 'felucca' sailboat. These are owned and operated by Nubians, whose culture and traditions are notably different to the Bedouin. All in all, it's a very educational trip.

This trip is focused on respecting and benefiting the local people and the environment of this country. On this trip you will be lead by an experienced local leader passionate about their country's history, heritage and natural beauty that will help you to get 'under the skin' of their country and see it through the eyes of a local. This trip stays at locally run accommodation; we eat at local restaurants and travel on local transport. This ensures the financial return to the local economy opens up training and employment opportunities - and allows for informal and meaningful interaction between our travellers and local people.

We are constantly seeking new and innovative ways of neutralising our impact on the environment. We will become the first Australian adventure tour operator to offer a voluntary carbon offsetting option on the land component of all its tours, as well as the accompanying flights. Our Community Trust provides funds for local community projects and initiatives that promote responsible and sustainable tourism development in the destinations in which we operate. First and foremost, but not exclusively, the Trust supports projects and initiatives that advance education and employment within the tourism and hospitality industry. The Trust operates on a not-for-profit basis, with every cent of funds donated by us, our staff and our travellers, going to the nominated projects.

The maximum group size on all of our adventures is 16 passengers – with exception of some African trips (24 max) and in the Polar Regions, where our ship carries a maximum of 110 passengers. Travelling in small groups ensures we make significantly less impact on the natural environment, as well as breaking down many of the communication barriers presented by a larger group.