What to Expect When Riding Camels
I don’t think anyone is really prepared to ride camels for the first time. It is such a unique experience that only happens in certain places in the world. We tend to see lovely images of people riding these strange animals, watching it in romance or action adventure movies, but riding camels really is something different in person.
I have ridden both 1 hump and 2 humped camels on my travels. You would think that the more comfortable one would be the 2 hump camels, because you sit in between the humps, but I actually preferred riding the one hump ones. This is probably beneficial for you as there are a lot fewer places that two humped camels live. Regardless of which one you are riding, you want to be wearing the right clothing. Now, most camel rides do not last long maybe an hour, but there are some places where you’ll do treks with these animals and you’ll want to keep this in mind when planning your trip to include riding camels. It’s great to get that glamorous Instagram shot from atop your camel, but wearing a skirt/dress is not the most ideal clothing for this type of adventure. If you do insist to wear it, make sure you are wearing leggings under that dress while riding camels!
You also want to wear shoes that are attached to your feet, unlike flip-flops. There are not stirrups so your feet are dangling and you’ll want to keep those shoes on your feet. This is my general overview of what to expect when riding camels. As with any animals not everything will go right all the time and when things don’t with camels, you can’t help but to laugh at the poor souls who are on that camel. I am sure I have just jinxed myself, but my advice, always opt for your own camel! Lol
These are not the animals that you will make friends with. A common question I get asked is if they spit a lot, but I’ve never really seen them spit when i was riding camels. I also don’t remember them smelling, so you can breath normally 😉 A number of camel owners will have a mussel on them for safety reasons…so they don’t turn around (they have long necks) and give you a nip. They make for some great photos, but I never got too close to them when I wasn’t riding them.
This here I think is the most shocking part of the whole ride as nothing will prepare you for the experience…even after watching others get up. First off, getting on one is not glamorous, so you just gotta do it. The camel will be sitting down, but it is still a tall animal from the ground. Second, once you are on the camel, the camel will need to stand up. You have to be prepared to hold on tight and clamp your legs around the camel so you don’t fall off when it gets up. You are going to think you will fall off the camel as it bends forward quickly to stand on its back legs and then back to get on its front lets. I laughed the whole time this happened!
Getting off one is somewhat easier because you are now aware of how the camel got up and will do that in reverse. You’ll still feel like you are going to fall off it, and you’ll probably be white knuckling it when it comes time to get off your camel. You want to wait until your camel is fully down and relaxed again before you start swinging your leg over. On one of my camel rides I was down on the ground, but I didn’t want to get off it just yet as I wanted a hand…I am so glad I waited. As our guide was helping someone else, my camel decided to not stay down, but instead got straight back up again and was walking around until I got wrangled by my guide. LOL
The ride I thought was enjoyable, but like I said above, the one-hump camels were preferable. Camels have a rhythm to their walk and if you can get in that rhythm with them, you can ride for hours and just take in the scenery. Have your camera with you (with a strap) and enjoy taking photos from up above. The majority of rides will be near sunset so you’ll have great lighting for pictures. On most of the short camel rides, you won’t have to worry about the camel running away with you on it as they are all tied together with one lead.
If you like trying new and unusual things to do, this is a must on your list. If you are unsure and nervous, I still highly recommend that you give it a go. It is a very easy ride, the “hardest” parts are the up and down on the camel, but everything else is such a wonderful experience. Even more so as you are more than likely in a desert somewhere, such as Morocco, it adds to the whole atmosphere. You will also be able to explore the desert more on camel back than by foot. Lastly, I would wait to take a camel ride until you are in the desert to get the full experience. I have seen camel rides along beaches in some places and it just loses that whole coolness factor, at least for me. I have many more places on my travel list that include areas with camels and I will not hesitate for one second to do more camel rides. I hope you get to experience these unique cool animals somewhere on your adventures.They are not the most friendly
Getting on
Getting off
The ride
The experience