Jaisalmer Sand Dunes - Khuri or Sam ?

Hi Sleepy,
That means you did the camel trip and came back to the hotel for the night stay, right?
How long was the camel ride? How much did it cost?

Hi Samik,
Yes I did come back after sunset and reached my hotel in jaisalmer before 7:30pm.

I was staying at Shahi Palace and went with them for my safari. It was 850 per person. The cost included cost for Jeep/Vehicle, Camel, Entry for two nearby tourist spot (badabagh, amarsagar), a visit to a desert village, camel ride to dune and back to hotel after sunset.

The camel ride was approx 30-40min.

This particular safari is a pretty expensive in my opinion, but the +ve side is they take you to a very non-touristry dune.

I also visited Sam for sunrise. The dune there is adjacent to the road. So I walked across the Dune to a secluded part. Though walking in Dune is not very easy. Camel should take 20-25 min to cover the distance.

850/person! Whoa, I got looted at 1400/person!
And I took my own 4x4 to the dune, and just my wife took camel ride!

Thanks for flickr link Sleepy. Great photos. That is exactly were we will be this Christmas eve. (Also staying at the Shahi Palace.) Ridiculously exited.

hey tsk, you did an overnighter with dinner on the dune, whereas I only went there for sunset. That explains the price difference. Hope that will make you feel better.

hi pt, glad that you liked the photos. Its an amazing place; hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Also, since you are putting up at shahi palace, do spend some time in their rooftop restaurant in the evening when the fort is lit up - absolutely magical.

Yes, that sure makes me feel better
Moreover I did a lot of sand and remote dune visiting on my own in the safari... 4x4s are fun

How far is khuri from Jaisalmer and Sam?

Both Sam and Khuri are 40-50km from Jaisalmer. But they are in different directions.

Can we hire a bike in Jaisalmer? I would probably want to do Kuri on bike and Sam on camel. Is that possible?

You can easily reach the Khuri village on bike, but going beyond into the desert won't be possible on the same. You'd have to walk, or ride a camel. Furthermore, I doubt visiting both places is a good idea, one is enough. There's so much to see and do in and around Jaisalmer.

We were just in Khuri and did a wonderful overnight on the dunes with folks from Mama's guest house. We arranged it the day of by mobile, and we were still the only people. Cost was 650/pp for the "basic" overnight safari- basic means blankets under the stars- they also offer tents for 1000/pp. Dinner was an excellent dal/veg/chapati/chai, and it was hard to believe it was cooked over a campfire! Breakfast was sweet chapati/toast/chai, and tasted fantastic.
The overnight was one of the highlights of our trip. I love sleeping under the stars, and only my husband, myself, and the two drivers were on the dunes. It was the quietest place I found in India. Cows, wheat fields, and the road were nearby, but there is hardly any traffic and it had the feel of a long-settled but still wild environment. We didn't go to the Sam dunes so I can't compare directly, but Khuri was magical.

I forgot to say, one of the guys at Mama's also does short tours of Khuri village (unfortunately can't remember his name). It is quite interesting/informative and worth doing. There is a textile shop there with mirror cloth/hangings that are quite nice, but the prices are not really any better than Jaisalmer (though not worse either). If you want to spend lots of $$ on mirrorwork cloth, better to go to Jaisalmer and shop around.

I am travelling to jaisalmer from jodhpur on 2 oct by train and reaching on 3 Oct morning.Can some one please suggest where to book for samdune or khuri? Which will be better? Is it advisable to book online or after reaching Jaisalmer through travel agent? I am travelling with my my wife and 2 children 7 and 12 years.
Thanks in advance

No need to book ahead - your dates are not in the busy Diwali time. Presently it is not a huge rush at all. Where you stay, the people may help you in this regard, also there are some good safari organisers out in the market. Ganesh travels in the Fort is a good one, in Gopa Chowk you have Sahara Travels, Adventure Tours, Trotters, and in Gandhi Chowk there is Thar Safaris, and a couple of others (forget names!) who are also okay.

Hi, We are going to Jaiselmer in Jan. two adults, two kids 9 and 10 for 4 nights. Before that we are staying one night in Oisyan, with local family in huts, Gemar Singh www.hacra.org and doing camel ride there.

We were going to skip camel ride in Jaiselmer, but Khuri sounds great. any thoughts on difference between outskirts of Oisyan and Khuri, riding camels, etc.

Thanks!

Dunes are good ,clean and clear in SAM and its a less crowdy place..