Relishing Beautiful Memories from Sam Sand Dunes

My mind, usually wandering in the Himalayan Terrains, coaxed me this time to taste the adulation of golden sand in the spectacle of Thar Desert. I was accosted by the idea to start my year taking a trip to Jaisalmer. The inglorious sunrise, sun-kissed deserts sprawled with golden sand, luxury of Swiss camping, camel rides, whooshing sand dune rides on Mahindra Gypsy, folklores and not to forget the delight of overwhelming welcome – Desert land had everything wanted to start my year with. I had already put up a blogs on complete itinerary for Jaisalmer and exploring the offbeat village of Khuri, but not saying a word about Sam Sand Dunes – sheer injustice.

Sam Sand Dunes is hounded by tourist and when I say it is, it has everything a traveller would fall in love with. 🙂 🙂 No matter how much I read about the place being a Bazaar for seasoned traveller, I also knew Jaisalmer would not be complete without spending a night in Sam Sand Dunes. The place bags to be gregarious with hundreds of desert camps, resorts and dunes, vast and spread across in acres. The sheer spectacle of sparkling golden sand is benevolent encounter of gorgeous deserts, tipped with the gentle breeze that compels you to contemplate, idolising the surreal beatitude. No matter how much it is packed with tourist, a night in luxury Swiss tent in Sam Sand Dunes did check off a thing from my bucket list.

How to Reach Sam Sand Dunes?

It is located nearly 40kms from Jaisalmer city and very limited public transportation is available. I am truly committed to budget travelling and prefer public transport mostly, until there is no scope of it. Well, I am not into hitch hiking which makes public transport the only way to travel in budget. The stretch of road that extends from Jaisalmer to Sam is utter gorgeous, a mollifying treat to eyes. The roads can be seen far & beyond, with deserts on both of its sides. There are many options of reaching Sam Sand Dunes.

Self – Driving – The roads in Jaisalmer is an extreme delight for road trips and that makes people drive for long hours. It is the first option if you have your own car. However, you can rent a bike from Jaisalmer for 24 hours or accordingly and ride the buttery smooth road. The cost varies anywhere between Rs 1500 – 2000 for 24 hours.

Hiring taxi – This is again not exactly an extreme budget option but most of the people do hire taxi from Jaisalmer to Sam Sand Dunes. The taxi charge is around Rs 800 – 1200. There is an option to hire auto as well for Rs 500 – 600.

Local Transport – Not everyone know about it but yes, there is a way to cross 40 km a very budget way. From Hanuman Chowk, you get shared tempos or cars till Sam Village. The tempos will charge you Rs 50 per person and drop you near the resorts. All the resorts in Sam Sand Dunes are 5kms before reaching Sam. Keep an eye on the roads to look for the resort you want to go.

Accommodation in Sam Sand Dunes

The place has many accommodation options starting from budget to extremely expensive & luxurious resorts. Most of the resorts are clustered together with Swiss Tents and Mud cottage options. It is recommended to get your booking done beforehand to get accommodation at affordable price. Some of the steal deals are available through Ibibo.com; I managed to get an excellent deal at 85% off.

I was browsing for option on accommodation at a budget price. Most of the resort starts at Rs 2000 per person package that includes dinner, breakfast, dinner, cultural show and camel ride as complementary. Indeed I was lucky to be doing the browsing to find a great deal on Ibibo.com. I booked myself a Swiss Tent at Payal Safari Camp at very affordable rate of only Rs 900 (85% off given by Ibibo.com). The package included tea, dinner, lunch, camel ride to sand dunes and cultural show. I recommend the resort for its impeccable hospitability and one of the best resorts you can grab in budget.

Exploring Sam Sand Dunes was Spectacular 🙂 🙂 

Sam Sand Dunes brings back whirlpool of memories as I sit and write about my experience there. The kind of hospitality is rare to find. Even if it hounded by tourists and travellers, visiting the place at least once in a mandate.

Don’t miss jeep ride on sand dunes – The road stretching from resort to dunes is gorgeous, the ones you have perhaps seen on postcards, miles beyond. It is super fun to take a jeep ride to the dunes. The thump in your heart awakens as the jeep speeds up and down on the dunes; let us also include the loud music blaring out of the speakers. It is a mandate one must be sport to experience.

Camel Ride, again it’s for deserts – I already had my share of camel ride in Khuri Desert and wasn’t as excited about it. You can opt for a longer camel ride to the vast expanse of desert but at extra cost, not included in the package.

Watch for the sunset – Desert sunset is one of the most beautiful things to witness. As the sun sets, the sands change colour weaving connection with the orange sky. Stay for the sunset because if you miss, a great perspective of changing nature hues you are risking to miss.

Desert Bonfire – Celebrating the festival called life with bonfire in desert under open sky, there is nothing more tempting to tame your wild heart. This, trust me, will be one of your best memories you take back from the place.

Enjoy some folk dance – Folk dance is what makes Rajasthan vivid and vibrant. The moves, clothes, jewellery and everything reflects rich culture and tradition. The resorts organise cultural evenings to show you the rick shades of Rajasthani dance, culture and tradition.

Longing roads – One thing I can vouch for is the beautiful roads of Jaisalmer, the stretch extending from Jaisalmer to Sam Sand Dunes is spectacular extending miles and beyond till you can see. Camping in the heart of desert and driving on such roads is one of the best you can experience in being in Jaisalmer.

No matter what people say, no more how much you hear the phrase – “It is too commercial with lot of tourists” and no matter what, Sam Sand Dunes is a compulsion to experience Jaisalmer in one of its best form. Camping in heart of deserts, running on raw sands, letting the breeze flatter you and most importantly enjoying the luxury of Swiss tent, the place is best way to welcome your year. I did, make sure you do atleast once. 🙂 🙂 

Stories from Sam Sand Dunes