Libya holidays, Sahara tour
| country: | Libya |
| location: | Sahara Desert |
| departures: | 2010: 30 Mar, 19 Oct, 2 Nov, 16 Nov, 28 Dec 2011: 1 Mar, 12 Apr |
| price: | From £1395 - £1460 (11 days) including flights from the UK, from £1125 - £1185 excluding flights. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
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introduction to Libya holidays, Sahara tour
Ancient Rock Art & Akakus
After a brief tour of Tripoli with its world-class museum & impressive medina, we fly south to Sebha to begin our exploration of the great Sahara. Then heading south via the rock carvings of Wadi Methkandoush, we make for the Akakus, a mountain range known for its beautiful red sand and extraordinary rock formations. Amongst these mountains are some of the finest rock paintings in North Africa dating back to 8000 BC, an era when this landscape was grassy savannah rather than sand desert of today.
Salt Lakes of Dawada & Leptis Magna
We continue our exploration of Libya's Sahara with a visit to the surreal sight of the Dawada Lakes, a series of eleven lakes seemingly dropped in the middle of the desert. At Germa, capital of the Garamantian Empire whose warriors successfully repelled the Roman invasions, we discover an ancient trading centre that once formed the link between Equatorial Africa and the Mediterranean coast. Finally camping in the dunes of the Ubari Sand Sea, we enjoy for the last time the tranquillity of the desert before flying back to Tripoli. On our final day there is the opportunity to visit Leptis Magna, the best preserved Roman city in north Africa, stunningly located on the shores of the Mediterranean.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly London/Tripoli. |
| Day 2: | After a brief tour of Tripoli with its world-class museum & impressive medina, we fly south to Sebha to begin our exploration of the great Sahara. |
| Day 3-4: | Heading south via the rock carvings of Wadi Methkandoush, we make for the red sand and extraordinary rock formations of the Akakus mountains. |
| Day 5-6: | Spending time in these remote mountains we discover some of the finest rock paintings in north Africa dating back to 8000 BC, an era when this landscape was grassy savannah rather than the sand desert of today. |
| Day 7-8: | After the surreal sight of the Dawada Lakes, seemingly dropped in the middle of the desert, we come to Germa, capital of the Garamantian Empire whose warriors successfully repelled the Roman invasions; we end our time in the desert camping in the dunes of the Ubari Sand Sea. |
| Day 9-10: | Flying back to Tripoli there is the opportunity to visit Leptis Magna, the best preserved Roman city in north Africa, stunningly located on the shores of the Mediterranean. |
| Day 11: | Fly UK. |
traveller reviews for Libya holidays, Sahara tour
The local guides found the most amazing campsites amongst the sand dunes or up against the rocks of the mountains. (more)
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places. award winner
This tourism business won an Award in our 2008 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Daily Telegraph, World Travel Market, Geographical Magazine, of the Royal Geographical Society and BBC World News.Since 2004, the Awards has recognised individuals, companies and organisations in travel making a big commitment to the culture and economies of local communities and helping to conserve biodiversity.
how this holiday makes a difference
 The Libyan Sahara is truly one of the world's great wilderness areas. On this tour we use local leaders and local guides, especially at the major sites and little-visited routes that we visit. This provides local employment and so directly benefits the local communities. Our main accommodation is camping, which is very low impact in the desert, staying at fixed campsites and using safe and well equipped four wheel drives. As waste disposal facilities are extremely limited in the areas we travel to on this tour, we encourage all of our passengers to reduce the amount of disposable items and packaging on goods that they take with them. As well as the above, we support a variety of charities and projects worldwide which support vulnerable communities and habitats including Friends of Conservation, Hope Worldwide and Send A Cow. We are also actively engaged with UK travel industry bodies which promote best practice in responsible tourism, such as Tourism Concern, The Travel Foundation and AITO. Our commitment to responsible tourism is not limited to our overseas operation and we have measures to ensure our UK office operates according to our responsible tourism policy. Carbon offsets for all flights booked with us are included in the tour cost. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |
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