Bucket list experience:
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Dune bashing with a 4×4 jeep is a popular desert activity
Due to their often inaccessible locations, unrelenting heat and generally harsh living conditions, deserts are not something we come across or get the chance to experience often – which is why this is such an essential Dubai experience.
First, there are your desert outdoor activities for those with an interest in adrenaline. These include sandboarding, dune-bashing (driving over dunes in 4x4s) and quad biking. A number of more nature-themed safaris head instead to the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, a stunning environment populated with rehabilitated indigenous wildlife, including the once-endangered Arabian oryx and gazelle.
Second, a trip into the expansive desert outside of the city also allows you to tick off a checklist of distinctly Arabian experiences. Many tours will include the option to ride on a camel, watch a traditional falconry display, smoke a sheesha and get a henna tattoo.
Your Lawrence of Arabia desert experience concludes at a Bedouin-style desert camp for dinner, with entertainment supplied by traditional local performers, including belly dancers.
Platinum Heritage and Sonara Camp are amongst the best operators that have overnight camp options. You could then also arrange a sunrise hot air balloon flight – a surreally beautiful way to see the desert.
Falconry has been an integral part of Bedouin culture for centuries. Platinum Heritage offer a unique trip to witness an authentic desert falconry display, and even learn the basics. On the way back, you’ll take a guided wildlife safari through the Conservation Reserve.
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Destination Guide >Numerous operators run tours into the desert, offering a variety and mix of activities and adventures, but it’s best to pick one that is licensed to operate in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, a pristine environment full of indigenous wildlife. See their website for details.
For the full Arabian experience – distinctly touristy but lots of fun – choose a sunset dinner safari which ends at a makeshift Bedouin encampment within the reserve. If your focus is the wildlife, choose a nature safari.
Your tour operator will pick you up from your hotel and drop you back at the end of the day. All food and drinks are provided, including bottled water. Dinner generally includes an Arabic feast and there is always an abundance of food.
Some of the desert activities have minimum age requirements; for example, dune buggying is for over-14s only (passengers) or over-18s (drivers). The sunset dinner safaris are a great experience for children from about 5 upwards.
Take a hat and sunscreen during the hotter months and a scarf or shawl during the cooler months – the desert gets much colder than the city after nightfall.
Desert safaris run all year round. Pick-up time for the sunset dinner safari is usually around 3.30pm (later in summer), with drop-off at the end of the evening, around 10.30pm. Other tours vary.
Despite the tours starting in the late afternoon, try to avoid the summer months, which can be too hot to be enjoyable.
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Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)[18.4 miles]
Luxury eco-resort in the spectacular Dubai desert, inspired by a traditional Bedouin encampment, with inspired desert activities included.
Official star rating:
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)[38.9 miles]
The only hotel in the world with interiors and exteriors by Zaha Hadid, home to stylish bars and restaurants and unmistakeable design.
Official star rating:
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)[39.6 miles]
A stylish boutique-sized hotel in buzzing DIFC, with a rooftop bar, small-but-sexy rooftop pool, and some of the city’s best restaurants on the doorstep.
Official star rating:
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)[42.4 miles]
An atmospheric creekside hotel filled with retro design details, just a short walk from old Dubai and the city’s heritage areas.
Official star rating:
Destination guides including or relevant to this experience
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Dubai offers year-round sun, sand and sea, with a unique combination of Arabian culture, mega-malls and audacious architecture.
Our writer’s recommendations of other bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)[7.9 miles]
Get a fascinating insight into Emirati culture, tradition and rituals by watching a camel race – a popular sport in Dubai since the 7th century.
Best for ages: 6+ | Free | Half day
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)[9.8 miles]
Take the opportunity to spend the night in a real desert, outside of the city – for a night of complete tranquillity and mesmerising star-gazing.
Best for ages: 13+ | £100 | 4 hours
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)[19 miles]
Float above the Dubai desert at sunrise in a hot air balloon, for spectacular views of the dunes and – if you’re lucky – camels traversing the sands.
Best for ages: 12+ | £250 | 4-5 hours
