Best Desert Safari in Dubai
Dubai is located within driving distance of the expansive Arabian Desert, making it the perfect setting for an exciting desert safari tour dubai featuring heart-pounding dune bashing, camel riding, sand boarding and live cultural performances.
Start your day early and watch as the sunrise over the sand dunes illuminates the horizon. Add to that an early quad bike ride or henna painting session!
Dune Bashing
Desert safaris provide an immersive view of Dubai that few other activities can match, with activities including 4×4 dune bashing, camel riding and taking in breathtaking sunset views from giant sand dunes (surely worthy of Instagram!).
Dune bashing involves racing up and down sand dunes in a Land Cruiser at breakneck speed, punctuated with seat-gripping and screaming of different decibels. Most desert tour companies employ experienced drivers who know how to safely navigate these extreme dunes.
After your dune bashing adventure, you are taken to a Bedouin-style camp for live entertainment such as camel riding and henna painting, followed by an incredible BBQ dinner served directly to your table – some may also offer falconry experiences or shisha smoking as add-ons; after which there will be time for photos or belly dance performances before returning back to your hotel.
Camel Riding
One of the most popular desert safaris in Dubai offers guests a camel ride and falcon show as well as dinner in a Bedouin-style camp. Indulge in traditional Arabian attire such as kandora-and-abaya (for men) or gharifa dresses (for women), smoke shisha, and have their henna painted while waiting for your meal!
While many desert safaris don’t include camel rides, this tour gives you an experience like no other: ride on an ancient form of transport used by Bedouin travelers for 45 minutes before enjoying a short falcon show and desert sandboarding! The 45-minute camel ride will certainly put a historical spin on things! Additionally, enjoy desert sandboarding for some extra fun.
If dune bashing isn’t your cup of tea, why not give quad biking or sand boarding a try on this affordable desert excursion? After traversing the dunes with a quad bike drive across them, relax at an oasis camp as the sun sets while witnessing an exciting tanoura dance performance from one of their camp hosts?
Dune Buggies
Dubai is known for extreme sports, and one of its most thrilling activities for adrenaline junkies is dune buggy riding. Similar to dune bashing but unlike 4×4, this involves driving yourself. Dune buggies are small automotive vehicles designed specifically for riding across sandy terrain with low-pressure tires designed for riding over it.
Desert safari tours dubai offer an immersive, hands-on experience and typically begin with a lesson on how to operate the vehicle. Once comfortable behind the wheel, your guide will lead you over massive dunes while showing you some of the desert’s most striking spots including marine fossils and an iconic rock formation resembling a camel resting in its bed of sand.
After your thrilling buggy ride, relax at a desert camp for entertainment such as belly and Tanoura dancing while feasting on Arabic barbecue delicacies. Some tours also provide henna painting or even sand-boarding experiences, making shorter 5-hour desert safaris the ideal quick escape.
Night Safari
Underneath Dubai’s glittering skyscrapers and malls lie vast swaths of rocky desert, which boast a wealth of adrenaline activities, wildlife encounters, Bedouin culture and breathtaking nighttime sunset views over its dunes.
On this full-day and evening desert safari you will be driven out into the Red Dunes of Al Hibab by 4×4, where you’ll engage in some dune bashing before trying your hand at sandboarding before relaxing at a desert camp for some henna painting, camel riding, falconry experiences and a buffet BBQ dinner before watching traditional dance shows and performances that complete this experience.
Note: With few exceptions, Dubai desert safaris tend to be very tourist-oriented. As it would be impossible for a camp full of hundreds of other people to offer an authentic desert adventure experience, please be mindful that this won’t be a personal journey. Please consult the calendar below for pricing & availability details.