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We stayed overnight at Bedouin Whispers Camp. Above is a photo of the camp. The overnight experience includes a camel and/or Jeep tour, plus overnight accommodations and lunch, dinner, and breakfast.
It was very nice and orderly (I would say "clean" but really it was quite dusty). It had plumbing, including flush toilets, showers, and sinks. However, the restroom was dark, wet, and unisex. There was no electricity (so don't plan on charging your cell phone or blowdrying your hair). It had an awesome dining tent with a fireplace in the middle. You can sleep under the tents or pull your mattress out and sleep under the stars. But yes, there are scorpions in the desert and, yes, they do climb onto the beds of campers.
I like camping and I'm glad we did this, but this was not my favorite experience of all time. On the downside was that I didn't pack properly (I did not bring a flashlight, for example) and I didn't get much sleep (due mainly to allergies and a headache, but also partly due to the snoring of other guests). The desert is simply exhausting; there is something about that dusty, dry air that just makes you want to go to sleep--but it's hard to really go to sleep because of the heat and dryness.
On the upside, the people at the camp--including our Bedouin guides as well as the other guests--were all friendly and nice. In addition to giving us a great tour of Wadi Rum, our guides watched out for us at the camp, made sure we knew where to go to watch the beautiful sunset, and cooked us a delicious dinner. Significantly, they "took care" of the scorpion that crawled into Maggie's bedroll.
There were two other families there at the same time we were: a German family and an Italian family. The Germans were from very close to where we lived in Germany--in Northern Bavaria--and we got to practice speaking our minimal German with them. The Italians brought special Italian Easter cake and shared it with everyone on Easter morning; it was delicious and the undisputed highlight of our Easter breakfast for sure! The desert was really beautiful and we enjoyed the camel ride, hiking, and the Jeep tour.
Here is my advice for Bedouin camping in Wadi Rum:
1. Most important: Bring a flashlight. Once it gets dark, it is very dark. The stars are bright and beautiful, but it's tough to see enough to do things like taking out contact lenses and brushing your teeth.
2. Even more important: Bring your own sleep sack and warm sleep clothes. The bedding is extremely dusty (as you would expect since it is the sandy desert after all) and not very clean. Also, the blankets we were given to put under us on the plastic-covered mattress were wool; consequently, if you are allergic to wool, you might think twice before sleeping on the wool. Apparently, I only thought once because I put the wool blanket under my nice cozy fleece sleep sack. A dumb move since I'm allergic to wool.
3. Pack like you are going to camp in a tent because that is precisely what you are doing. This means packing things like a flashlight and a sleep sack (see items 1 and 2 above), and it also means packing only what you need in a very accessible way. Don't bring make-up, for example. Bring your own soap and something to wash and dry your face and hands with (although a community towel is provided in the bathroom, all campers for who-knows-how-long have used that towel).
4. Drink plenty of water. And then drink some more. I think a big part of my problem was that I didn't drink enough water. The camp provides all the bottled water you can drink, so take advantage of the opportunity to drink whenever you can.
5. If possible, wear your PJs under your clothes so you don't have to change. There is no privacy at all. I ended up just sleeping in my clothes, which worked fine.
6. Don't plan on taking a shower. Although showers are provided, it is not very convenient to use them for numerous reasons: (1) the showers are co-ed; (2) there is no dry place to put your stuff while you shower; (3) you are there for a limited amount of daylight time and you have no privacy from the other guests; (4) the showers are dark even during daylight and there is no way to distinguish your shampoo from your conditioner from your shower gel. Just plan on not taking a shower and you will get along better. It's OK; the camels won't notice how bad you smell.
7. Be adventurous and sleep outside even though there are creepy bugs out there. The risk that you will actually be killed or seriously injured by a bug is minimal and it's much yuckier to sleep inside the tent than it is to sleep outside.
8. Although the dinner was delicious and the breakfast was sufficient (enhanced significantly by the Italian Easter cake--which won't be there the next time), the lunch left a bit to be desired and there were no snacks other than tea and water. Bring your own snacks if you think you will be hungry (and you will be hungry after riding camels through the desert). But, be careful not to bring sweets that will attract insects and other undesirables.
9. Bring allergy medicine, aspirin, bandaids, and any other supplies you might need. There are NO shops out in Wadi Rum. None. You will not be able to purchase anything once you leave Rum Village (and shopping in Rum Village leaves much to be desired--the only stores are small convenience stores).
10. Consider the luxury Bedouin camps if you don't like camping. We passed a "luxury" camp on our Jeep tour; it appeared to have electricity generators, more bathrooms, and private tents. I am not sure how much more luxurious this camp was, however, and so if you don't like camping at all, just drive on to Aqaba and stay in a nice hotel.
