When you want to experience Wadi Rum to the max, you have to stay overnight. Preferably two or more nights. If you go on tour with companies based in Rum village, you have three options to stay overnight. You can either sleep in one of the small Bedouin camps, spend the night with a Bedouin family or stay overnight under the stars. No matter which option you choose, you will overnight inside the Wadi Rum desert protected area.
#1 Bedouin camp
The majority of the overnight guests who visit Wadi Rum with a Rum village-based company sleep in a Bedouin camp. All camps are located within the protected area. At first, they may look all the same. But when having a closer look, you realize that they are different. Still, the outline is alike. All camps have a kitchen building next to the dining/communal tent and an outside sitting/dining area. Once you arrive at the campsite, the sweet tea will be ready for you here. And the cook is already busy preparing a Bedouin dinner which you will enjoy later. In the sleeping area, you will find cabins for two persons or families of 4 to 6 persons. In this area, you will also find the building with showers and toilets. More and more camps have solar-heated water. Electricity is mostly available for a couple of hours during the night. Perfect to charge your camera’s battery for tomorrow’s tour. Sleeping in the Bedouin camp is the most comfortable way of staying overnight in the desert.
#2 Bedouin homestay in the house of hair
If you want to have an extraordinary experience, then a homestay in the Bedouin house of hair may be an option for you. Some of our tribe members still live the nomadic life with their livestock in the desert. Some companies can arrange for you to stay overnight with one of them (update 2019: we stopped offering this option a few years ago to grant the families their privacy). It roughly will be as follows. After sunset, you go to their tent. The Bedouin welcome you with the sweet Bedouin tea. After finishing your drink, you can talk to your host or walk around to see the livestock. In the night, you will join the family for the freshly prepared dinner. After dinner, it is time to relax and enjoy the silence of the desert. And when it is time to sleep, your mattress and blanket will be ready for you—sweet dreams for you and your Bedouin host family.
If you want to know more about the layout and roles within the Bedouin tent, please read our blog, ‘An insight into the Bedouin house of hair‘.
#3 Sleeping under the stars (also known as bivouac camping or sleeping outdoors)
The comfort of the Bedouin camp may be tempting. And the unique experience of staying overnight with a Bedouin family too. But nothing beats the fabulous experience of sleeping under the stars.
Just imagine: After sunset, you step into the car, and we drive to a cave. Once you arrive at the cave, you can explore the area while we prepare the sitting area. For you, it is time to relax. We will start the fire to make tea and a Bedouin dinner. After dinner, we relax and enjoy the night. We can share Bedouin stories, play music, or watch the amazingly starry night sky. When you feel tired, you sleep and enjoy the absolute silence of the desert night. In the morning, you will wake up by the sound of birds in their morning chirp and the light of the rising sun. We prepare you a traditional breakfast to start your brand new day. Staying overnight like this is truly is a one of a kind experience. We know that it will be the highlight of your visit to Wadi Rum.
In our blog ‘5 things you want to know about sleeping under the stars of Wadi Rum desert‘, you can read more about sleeping under the stars.
Almost all our tours include an overnight stay with sleeping under the stars, see our tour pages.
