Desert Travel Advice

Travel to the Desert

Whether you want to trek the Moroccan Sahara in the shadow of the mighty Atlas Mountains or head for California’s famous Sonoran desert, you need to keep your wits about you to stay safe and healthy. Here’s some good desert travel advice.

• First of all, consult our travel vaccination experts, who have travelled widely themselves and have excellent insight into the jabs and doses you might or might not need
• Second, exercise common sense! Here’s how to stay healthy in an environment that’s famously challenging: vast spaces, no water, extreme heat and extreme cold

19 top tips for health and safety in the desert

1. The same sensible advice applies in the desert as it does in, say, when hiking in the Lake District. Always plan your route first, write it down and lodge it with someone you trust – for example the staff at your hotel reception. Then, if you don’t turn up when you’re expected, they can raise the alarm in good time
2. Never travel alone in the desert
3. Always check the weather before you set off
4. Bear in mind deserts can be unpredictable – bone dry one second, violent flash floods the next
5. Hydrate constantly – dehydration can easily kill you, and it can creep up on you. Take more than enough water, not just enough
6. Keep your mouth closed to keep the mositure in
7. Don’t ration your water. Keep hydrated rather than hanging onto it when you’re thirsty
8. Remember to stash loads of energy bars in your backpack – a survival staple whether you’re somewhere hot or cold, low or high
9. Dress for extreme temperatures. Deserts are hot in daylight but can become freezing cold after sunset: a hat, long sleeves and long trousers protect against the heat and the cold, and clothing keeps your skin from dehydrating so fast
10. Take a compass, a real physical one as well as a compass or GPS app on your phone, just in case you lose phone power and need to orient yourself the old fashioned way
11. If you get lost and you’re out of mobile range – entirely possible in a desert – flash a mirror in the sunlight to attract attention. A tiny make-up mirror will do the trick
12. Rest during the hottest part of the day, finding shade if possible – it’s usually much cooler before 10am and after 4pm
13. Take it easy and take frequent rests
14. Don’t sit on the ground. It’s boiling hot. If you can, sit above it on a rock. Just a few feet makes a huge difference
15. Be aware of visual trickery. It might look like just 5 miles but your final destination could easily be twenty miles away – in the desert, distances are deceptive
16. Many desert denizens only come out at night, but it makes sense to keep an eye open for snakes and lizards, and give them a wide berth just in case they’re poisonous
17. Remember the risk of flash floods, particularly dangerous in summer when there can be sudden violent thunderstorms over deserts. Never camp in a wadi – a dried stream bed – since floodwater will fill it in an instant and turn it into a roaring torrent
18. Apparently if there’s no shelter to be had froma storm, it’s best to lie flat on the ground between the sand dunes and wait for it to be over
19. Wear good quality shades to keep the sun’s glare off your eyes

Get the right desert travel health advice

Depending on which country you’re visiting, you’ll probably need the appropriate travel vaccinations. Our staff are perfectly qualifies to deliver that advice, as seasoned travellers themselves and experts in the travel immunisation field.