Cassandra Vivian, 2nd edition, The American University in Cairo Press 2002
Comprehensive book about Egypt’s Western Desert. Lots of detailed info, history, GPS waypoints, but is unfortunately not always accurate. One doesn’t have much choice however.
Wil & Sigrid Tondok, 15th edition, Reise Know-How 2004
Focuses on active, individual travel with your own transport, so different from and complementary to the Rough Guide. Accurate info and route descriptions (German).
5th edition, Rough Guides 2003
A typical backpacker’s guide with lots of information on public transport and accommodation but describes also the contexts such as history, books, music etc. Good section on the Western Desert. Be aware however that timetables and hotel properties can change rapidly so don’t rely too heavy on it.
Topographic maps made by the old Soviet Union, based on satellite photography. Useful, but learn your Cyrillic alphabet. You can download the digital maps for free here. A much needed pdf file with detailed explanations and a legend is available here.
One of the better overview maps of Egypt at a reasonable scale, but quite useless in the desert regions.
Chris Scott, 2nd edition, Trailblazer Publications 2004
This book is the bible for any Sahara-bound traveller. The first edition guided us on the Moroccan pistes from Tinerhir to Alnif and Merzouga to Tagounite. It resulted in an update for this second edition, packed with tips for preparation and on the road as well. Clear descriptions of pistes in nearly all Saharan countries. A must-have.
Hachette 2000
Especially for the countries where the French once ventured, the “Guide du Routard” series always reveal something different. More, it’s actually well written and accurate. A nice complement to the main English-language guidebooks.
5th edition, Rough Guides 1998
A typical backpacker’s guide with lots of information on public transport and accommodation but also describes the contexts such as history, books, music etc. Also covering some more remote regions. Be aware however that timetables and hotel properties can change rapidly so don’t rely too heavy on it.
For those using a mapping-enabled Garmin GPS receiver on their explorations, Olaf Kähler has made a free vector map for use in the unit. It is compiled using SRTM data, vmap0 data and tracks of travellers in Morocco. Especially useful when touring on pistes and tracks. You can download a free copy here.
Large scale topographic maps, the best to date regarding the terrain and elevations and for planning stretches off the main roads. Made in the 1960′s/70′s, these beautiful coloured maps are hard to obtain on paper. Luckily, they are freely available in digital format, e.g. here.
