Desert Safaris in India — the 15 We Would Book

1.Desert Camel Safari Day Tour In Jodhpur

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 161 reviews · from $24Our pick

Travel from Jodhpur to Osian by private car, visit Sachiya Mata Temple, and choose a camel ride, jeep safari, buffet dinner, and folk dance. Pickup is offered from hotels, the airport, railway station, or bus station. The outing lasts about five to seven hours, but Osian has open scrub and sand rather than towering dunes.

“Our guide was lovely and his family were welcoming. The food was amazing. We would have liked the ride to go further into the desert and wouldn’t take the jeep experience again as it literally just meant we drove in a jeep back to the starting point. The trip was well organised with transfers”

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2.Wild Desert Overnight Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 132 reviews · from $62

Leave Jaisalmer at 2 pm for a private jeep ride through the Thar Desert, stopping at Kuldhara Village before reaching camp. Ride a camel at sunset, eat dinner cooked over a campfire, sleep in the desert, then watch sunrise and enjoy a fire-cooked breakfast. A visit to a Gypsy village completes the return trip.

“The tour is absolutely fantastic! Jeep ride out into the desert (do not pay the 30 rupees the driver will try and ask for at the gate, all fees are included in the tour price and it's clearly optional as we went through after refusing no problems). Then a nice camel ride to a quiet aRead more”

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3.Jodhpur Overnight Stay in Desert with Camel Safari SR

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 126 reviews · from $64

Leave Jodhpur with pickup to Osian and a 500-year-old desert village. Host Sumer and his family welcome you with chai, village walks, open-fire cooking, dinner, a bonfire, and sleep in a mud hut or beneath the stars. At sunrise, ride camels across the dunes before breakfast and return to Jodhpur.

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4.Desert Safari Tour Package

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 121 reviews · from $99

Leave Jaisalmer at 2 pm with a small group of up to 15, visit abandoned Kuldhara, ride across the golden dunes, watch sunset, and camp under the desert sky. Abed and Rahul are named guides for this experience. Dinner, breakfast, tea, snacks, water, and hotel transfers are included.

“Stop debating and just do it. This trip changed my life! Abed and Rahul (4 yo) were terrific guides and gave me the exact experience I was looking for in India. After weeks of horn honking and thick smog, I was ready for a break. This duo delivRead more”

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5.Jodhpur Camel Safari & Jeep Safari In Desert Jodhpur SR

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 116 reviews · from $30

Travel from Jodhpur to Osian for Sachhai Mata Temple, a camel ride through the Thar Desert, a home-cooked Rajasthani lunch, and one hour of dune driving by jeep. Sumer and his family host the meal and share a look at village life. Pickup and return transport are included, but no guide is provided.

“Great time on the jeep and camels! Driver was careful but fun, camels were well behaved and well led! The food cooked was lovely, made by the mother on an open fire, so nice to see the daily routines of village life. Lots of people always checking we are ok and so nice that the home stay and tours are such a family run affair! Really enjoyed.”

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6.Thar Desert Camel Tour, Guide with over 25 years of experience!

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 112 reviews · from $37

Raj Camel Safari takes you from Jaisalmer to a quieter part of the Thar Desert for a private camel ride. Choose a half-day outing or an overnight trip with sunset chai, snacks, dinner, a bonfire, breakfast, and a night under the stars. Raj has more than 25 years of experience, and pickup, return transport, and luggage storage are included.

“Raj and his friends have been great hosts and great genuine guides. We were a group of friends who work in the guiding travel industry and for the first time in a while, we all felt like guests. I'm not sure if I'm coming back, nor of I'm going to ride a camel again...but I'm sure that, IF this is the case, I'll do it with Raj.”

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7.Desert Camel Safari & Jeep Safari Tour From Jodhpur

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 106 reviews · from $26

Travel from Jodhpur to Osian by private car, visit Sachiya Mata Temple, then ride a camel across the Thar Desert at sunset. Drivers such as Ray are praised for friendly conversation and local knowledge, while camel handlers including Dhanu Ram may welcome you to a family home for food. Jeep safari, folk dance, and dinner are optional upgrades.

“Ray and Dhanu were the best! Ray drove me around and spoke to me the entire time. He was funny and caring. Dhanu let me ride his camel named Michael Jackson. We went to his village where I had food prepared by his wife. What an experience!”

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8.Jodhpur Camel Safari & Overnight Stay In Desert With Sumer

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 89 reviews · from $40

Sumer collects you in Jodhpur at 2:30-3 pm for Osian’s Sachiya Mata Temple and a night at his family homestay in a 500-year-old village. You’ll cook over a wood fire, eat homemade Marwari food, choose a hut or open-air bed, and ride camels at sunrise before returning by air-conditioned car.

“We had a brilliant time with Sumer’s family. The hut is gorgeous, comfortable and clean. It was special to have the option to lie outside under the stars. The atmosphere is calm and a nice break from busy city life. Everyone was extremely friendly and hospitable and the food delicious! We also got to experience an afternoon English class with the local village children and learn more about the lives of the people living here. Everything was well organised and the ride to and from Jodhpur in a comfortable, air conditioned car. The camel ride was awesome! We are really grateful for this special experience and recommend to everyone. Thank…”

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9.Desert Camel and Jeep Safari with Traditional Food

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 57 reviews · 6 hours · from $22

Sumer and his family take you from Jodhpur to Osian and their rural village for a temple visit, camel ride, optional jeep safari, tea, and a vegetarian Marwari meal cooked by his mother over wood fire. English and Hindi support is available, with pickup and return by air-conditioned car.

“This was a fantastic experience and a highlight of our trip. Sumer and his family were so inspiring and what they are doing for the children in their community is amazing. This is a definite ‘must do’ for everyone visiting Jodphur. Such an authentic experience. The sunset camel ride was brilliant!”

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10.Nomadic Non-Touristic Overnight Camel & Desert Safari Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 56 reviews · from $34

From Jaisalmer, you’ll drive by shared jeep or car to an oasis, Khabha MT Fort, and a quiet dune area. Local camel drivers, including Marvin’s team, lead a 30 to 45 minute ride, cook dinner, and prepare bedding beneath the stars. Expect simple food, no toilets or electricity, and a genuinely remote night.

“We had a blast driving in the jeep, seeing the oasis and haunted village, and especially riding the camels. Marvin was an excellent tour guide and he shared a lot of great information for my family. My kids loved the sands dunes and tired themselves out running all around. We had great weather in July! Experienced a short-lived sand storm followed by light rain as soon as we arrived to camp. It cooled us off nicely. The young men who cared for the camels and cooked for us were really kind and seemed to enjoy talking English with us. Everyone was polite send answered whatever questions we had. It was…”

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11.Overnight Stay in Desert with Camel Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 53 reviews · 20 hours · from $35

Leave Jodhpur around 2:30PM in a private air-conditioned car with an English-speaking driver such as Ray or Viru. Visit Osian’s Sachiya Mata Temples, stay with the Balaji family, ride camels for one to two hours, eat vegetarian Marwari food, and sleep in a hut or under the stars before breakfast and a morning return.

“We are western travellers, so relied on local information at every point. There was a wonderful Indian family on holiday who invited us into their celebration making the evening a truly wonderful experience. The camel ride, breadmaking, walking the farm fields, jeep blast through the dunes and temple complex made this a good value experience. Sleeping huts are really cool, don't be scared to ask for hot water in the morning.”

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12.Sunset Cultural Desert Safari Tour Package

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 44 reviews · from $33

Start around 2 pm from Jaisalmer for a car ride to Kuldhara, then continue to Khuri for a camel safari, tea, snacks, dinner, and a traditional song-and-dance program. The tour lasts about eight hours and returns to the city. A driver serves as your escort, but no guide names are provided.

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13.Half-Day Sunset Desert Safari

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 40 reviews · from $54

Leave Jaisalmer by jeep for a remote Thar Desert camp, then ride your own camel past a village to isolated dunes. Watch the sunset, enjoy tea and a freshly cooked vegetarian dinner by a campfire, and return to the city around 9:30 pm. Small groups and hotel drop-off keep the evening simple.

“Excellent desert safari experience – highly recommended We had a fantastic experience on this desert safari, just the two of us. Everything was perfectly organized and the staff was very punctual with the pickup and schedule. They providRead more”

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14.Desert Jeep Safari & Camel Safari Tour From Jodhpur

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 26 reviews · 5 - 6 hours · from $21Best value

Leave Jodhpur by private car for Osian, visit Sachiya Mata Temple without a guide, then ride by jeep and camel across sandy scrubland before sunset. Your English-speaking driver handles the transfers, with Ray or Ritesh sometimes leading the day and camel guides such as Balaji helping with the ride and photos.

“Excellent customer care! Ray [Ritesh] as our Tour guide has been knowledgeable, warm and efficient👍🏻 Our driver Govind Singh is a master on the sands! Jeep ride was well-controlled thrill & Camel ride was safe fun😄… keep up the good work, to the Jodhpur GYG team🫱🏻‍🫲🏼👏🏻”

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15.Peeps Billions of Star Experience with Desert & Camel Safari

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 18 reviews · 2 - 3 days · from $33

Leave Jaisalmer with Marvin Camel Safari, visit a natural oasis and Khabha Fort, then ride your own camel into the Thar Desert. After sunset tea, enjoy a wood-fire dinner and sleep on the dunes beneath the stars. Sunrise breakfast, masala chai, and a short morning camel ride lead back to Jaisalmer by about 10 AM.

“Super expérience, guide au top, disponible, adaptable et prévoyant. Nous avons passer une excellente excursion, depuis l’hôtel en passant par des beaux points de vues historiques, la mythique balade en dromadaire jusque dans les dunes de sables. Paysages à couper le souffle puis une nuit fraîche mais tellement incroyable avec un feu de camp et un beau ciel étoilé. Nourriture au top. Je recommande à 100%”

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