The 10 Best Dubai Desert Safaris and 4WD Tours

What are the best desert tours in Dubai? Your super detailed guide to the 10 best desert safaris and 4WD desert tours in Dubai with my reviews and all pros and cons of each tour. Are you in Dubai and want to see the desert? What is the best desert safari experience you can book to explore the desert dunes near Dubai? Are you looking for an excursion by private 4WD and a personal guide or do you wish to join a group tour? Guided safaris in Dubai include desert tours by 4WD, ATV quad and buggy excursions and camel rides into the dunes. Options are endless, you can book desert morning tours, afternoon excursions and evening safaris including dinner at a desert camp. There are tours that take you into the desert, guided self-drive 4WD tours and safaris for families with children. A comparison and detailed description of the 10 best private and group desert tours and safaris you can book in Dubai to see the desert, with my considerations, some suggestions, all the important things you need to know before choosing and direct links to book online by credit card.

Photo Credit: Land Rover Mena

The Best 4WD Tours, Quad, Dune Buggy and Camel Desert Safaris in Dubai

The 10 Best Desert Tours and Desert Safaris in Dubai

Are you in Dubai and want to book a desert safari to see the red sand dunes of the desert? Do you have doubts whether to choose a group desert tour or an excursion by private 4WD with your own personal guide? You don’t know whether to book a 4WD tour, a camel ride or a quad guided safari? Do you want to explore the desert driving yourself in your own jeep?

• I have selected tens (maybe hundreds) of guided tours and desert safaris from Dubai organised by locally based travel suppliers and sold online, and have chosen 10 different desert tours. These are not the only ones you can book but in my opinion they are among the best and most complete desert tours and safaris in Dubai available on the market.  

• The 10 best desert tours and desert safaris in Dubai: premium red dunes 4WD & camel safari with dinner at Al Khayma Camp from Dubai, luxury heritage 4WD desert safari in the pristine Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, self-drive Quad bike (ATV) desert tour in the dunes of the Dubai Desert, 4WD & Quad morning desert safari from Dubai, exclusive camel desert safari with dinner from Dubai, private tour in the Dubai desert by private 4WD from Dubai, overnight desert safari sleeping in a tent at a desert camp in Dubai desert, 1-hour hot air balloon flight over the desert from Dubai at sunrise, hot air balloon with Quad and 4WD tour including dune bashing and breakfast, and self-drive 4×4 Dubai desert tour and dune bashing safari, the perfect tour if you want to self-drive a 4WD in the Dubai desert.

• All desert tours and safaris are described below, in a very detailed way, with full descriptions, my considerations, some suggestions, all the pros and cons and all the important things you need to know before choosing. Have a look and see if there is a desert safari you like.

• You can book all these tours easily by credit card through Get Your Guide, Withlocals and Viator, for the great majority of tours you get instant confirmation, while for some, tour confirmation is subject to availability and will be given within 48 hours of your booking.

• Moreover, if you stay in Dubai for some days and want to visit Abu Dhabi on a day trip, leaving in the morning and coming back in the afternoon, or want to reach the fabulous Musandam Peninsula in Oman, please read my technical reviews of the most interesting and value for money day tours from Dubai in the page The 5 Best Guided Day-Trips to Abu Dhabi and Oman from Dubai so that you can quickly get some idea of the several different options and book the tour that best meets your way of travelling.

Photo Credit: OceanAir Travels

4WD Desert Tour with Dinner: Premium Red Dunes & Camel Safari with Dinner at Al Khayma Camp from Dubai

This is the most classic and popular of all the desert safaris on offer in Dubai. A value for money 4WD desert excursion. But how is the tour carried out? You leave your hotel mid-afternoon, one hour’s drive to reach the start of the desert, a stop to deflate tyre pressure and then drive into the sand. About half an hour to 40 minutes of dune bashing in the Lehbab desert area that is known for its photogenic red dunes, then it’s time to try sandboarding, surfing down a steep dune. Arriving at Al Khayma Desert Camp you will be welcomed with Arabic coffee, sweets and dates. If you wish you can take a super short camel ride and pose with a falcon, this is a nice, unusual photo. While waiting for the food you can smoke shisha, dress Arabian-style – Kandora (for men) and Abaya (for women) or opt for some henna painting. You have dinner at the camp, sharing a table with other tourists and watching a Tanoura dance show with the stars above you. Finally, you travel back to your hotel arriving mid-evening. Transportation is always by 4WD, usually a comfortable and air-conditioned Toyota Land Cruiser.

• Pick-up and drop-off: at your hotel in Dubai.

• Duration of the desert tour: approx. 6 or 7 hours depending on traffic, departure at mid-afternoon and return to your hotel in the evening.

• Guide: English speaking driver/guide.

• Safari features: there are several options you can choose and which can be combined, including with/without dune bashing and sandboarding and with/without Quad (ATV) ride.

• Price: in addition to 4WD air-conditioned transportation with cold mineral water in the vehicle the cost includes 30-45 minutes dune bashing, sandboarding, falcon experience, henna painting for ladies, a super short camel ride (less than 5 minutes), free shisha pipe, traditional Emirati, Moroccan, and Arabian meal catered by Al Khayma Heritage Restaurant featured in Michelin Bib Gourmand with vegetarian/non-vegetarian options, unlimited soft drinks and Tanura and belly dancing show. Alcoholic beverages are not included and are to be paid extra on the spot.

• Video: the full experience of the safari in the Dubai desert with OceanAir Travels is in this video by Perfect Little Planet, so you know exactly what happens/where you go/what you do/what to expect:

• Pros: this is a super value for money tour; considering that for a very reasonable amount of money you are picked up at your hotel, taken into the desert, have a sumptuous dinner and taken back to your hotel, it is hard to ask for more.

• Cons: whatever option you choose do not expect an intimate situation or to be alone silently admiring the vastness of the desert. Dinner and all activities are very well organised (the local provider of the service is OceanAir Travels, absolutely one of the very best in Dubai) and the reviews are in fact really excellent, but you will always be with lots of other people and the atmosphere is 100% touristic. It’s better you know this in advance.

• Good to know: don’t even think of seeing great Sahara dunes hundreds of meters high. With very few exceptions the great majority of desert areas near Dubai offer small and medium sized dunes tens of meters high; this is valid for the area known as extreme high dunes too. Children under 3 years old are not allowed in a car during shared dune bashing other than during a booked private tour.

• Recommended: as a first desert experience for someone who has never been into the desert before.

• Check prices and book with: GetYourGuide | Dubai: Premium Safari, Camel Ride & Al Khayma Camp 3-Buffets

• A slightly different option: the same well-known OceanAir Travels agency offers a slightly different version of this desert tour, still centered on the activities at Camp Al Khayma, with different options with/without Quad bikes and with/without dinner, in case dinner is the most simple BBQ dinner; worth investigating, here is the link to check the cost and book GetYourGuide | Dubai: Desert Safari, Quad Bike, Camel Ride & Al Khayma Camp

• The second alternative: another interesting 4WD tour in Dubai Desert is the one organized by the local operator Ammar Tours and bookable with GetYourGuide | Dubai: Safari, Quad Bike, Camel Ride, and Buffet Dinner, the price is usually very attractive and the level of services is always very good.

Photo Credit: Platinum Heritage Luxury Tours & Safaris Dubai

Exclusive 4WD Desert Tour with Dinner: Luxury Heritage Desert Safari in the Pristine Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve

By far, this is one of the best desert safari tours in all the United Arab Emirates and one of the best and most intriguing Dubai travel experiences. In small groups, travelling in a legendary 1950s vintage Land Rover you explore the sands of the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, the first designated protected area of UAE. After your wildlife drive you watch a sunset falcon show before reaching the bedouin camp (fake, obviously, as per all other camps, but very well furnished and lit by torch and traditional lamps) to have your dinner under the stars watching a cultural Emirati entertainment performance. The Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve is one hour’s drive from Dubai, offers good opportunities to see local fauna and is open to a very limited number of travel agencies. The camp where you have dinner is inside the private retreat of a local royal family member, this is the same area where the prestigious Al Maha Desert Resort is located.

• Pick-up and drop-off: at your hotel in Dubai.

• Duration of the desert tour: 7 hours, departure from the hotel between 2:30pm and 4:30pm, return between 9:30pm and 11.30pm depending on the season/sunset; a reminder email with the precise pick-up time will be sent prior to your tour departure.

• Guide: Spanish, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian speaking driver/guide; usually the guides are very well-experienced.

• Safari features: small group exclusive tour.

• Price: is per person and includes air-conditioned minivan transportation from/to your hotel, wildlife drive through Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve in a open vintage Land Rover, sunset falcon show with sparkling date juice, henna tattoos, live bread making, Arabic coffee making and aromatic shisha pipe, a very short after-sunset camel ride in a lit area near the camp, dinner includes soup, salad, appetiser, main course, desserts, tea and non-alcoholic beverages and a cultural performance.

• Video: a drone view of vintage open Land Rovers, falconry demonstration and the bedouin camp of Platinum Heritage in these images courtesy of Jens Journeyz:

• Pros: exploring the desert in an open vehicle means getting fantastic views and a more thrilling experience; usually the Land Rovers proceed slightly interspaced from each other and the safari takes place inside a protected area, so you have a greater chance of seeing the desert fauna including Arabian Gazelles, foxes and if you are (very) lucky one of the rare 100 elusive Arabian Oryx living in the reserve.

• Cons: none, the price is higher than any of the other similar safari tours but worth the money; here everything, including the 4WD you use during wildlife drive, dinner and toilets at the bedouin camp is exceptionally good; compared to the previous tour and to almost all other safaris on offer in Dubai, the number of participants on this tour is lower and the camp is more intimate; however do not expect to be alone.

• Good to know: during Ramadan there is no performance either on this safari or on all the other desert tours offered in the United Arab Emirates; instead you will experience a lavish iftar (term for a meal after sunset during Ramadan) and spend the rest of the evening relaxing in a traditional majlis, trying top-quality shisa, admiring the stars in a professional Astronomy session.

• Recommended: if you want high level services, the local supplier of this safari is Platinum Heritage Luxury Tours & Safaris, very well-appreciated on TripAdvisor. They have handled lots of celebs, including Will Smith, Ricky Martin, Kobe Bryant, German professional footballer Thomas Muller and Australian singer Kylie Minogue.

• Check prices and book with: GetYourGuide | Dubai: Platinum Heritage Land Rover Desert Safari

Photo Credit: GetYourGuide

Quad Bike (ATV) Desert Safari: Self-Drive Quad Biking Off-Road in the Dunes of the Dubai Desert

Have you ever ridden a Quad bike and would like to do it in the Dubai desert dunes? Well, it’s possible and without spending exorbitant amounts of money. You have the chance to try a new vehicle and admire the desert at the same time. You will be picked up from your hotel in Dubai and taken to the starting point of the tour where a guide will provide instructions on how to use and control your ATV Quad bike. After being briefed on the rules and issued with safety gear it is time to take control of your own automatic Quad bike and ride through the sand dunes. Usually this desert tour is scheduled with an early departure and a return to your hotel by late-morning, so you have the rest of the day free to do something else.

• Pick-up and drop-off: departure and return to your hotel in Dubai.

• Duration of the desert tour: 4 hours.

• Guide: English.

• Safari features: this is a shared tour with other participants; one hour to reach the desert, quad tour that lasts up to one hour plus one hour’s drive back to your hotel.

• Price: is per person; one quad for each person booked.

• Pros: the opportunity to have a look to the desert scenery around Dubai with a more active tour compared to other traditional excursions.

• Cons: don’t even think of going where you want to and riding over virgin dunes. The itinerary is pre-fixed, the guide leads the way and all participants must all follow in ordered, single file; apart from riding a Quad bike, the tour does not include 4WD dune bashing; as for all shared tours at departure and arrival the pick-up and drop-off at different hotels means wasting time.

• Good to know: participants must be 16 years and over and should have a basic knowledge of driving; a minimum of 2 participants per booking is required.

• Recommended: if you have never driven a Quad bike this is a good chance to try it, the riding path to follow is very easy, suitable even for families travelling with teens.

• Check prices and book with: GetYourGuide | Dubai: Quad Bike (ATV) Safari Morning Tour

• A similar option: the ATV Quad bike ride lasts one hour but departure can be in the afternoon and if you wish the tour can includes a BBQ dinner in a desert camp, in this last case total duration is 6 hours with return to the hotel in the evening, this is the link to book GetYourGuide | Dubai: Desert Safari, Quad & ATV Tour, Camp with BBQ Dinner

• The Dune Buggy option: the same local supplier offers another variation of this tour, with a 2 seater dune buggy instead of the ATV Quad bike, here is the link to investigate GetYourGuide | Dubai: Self-Drive Dune Buggy Safari with Pickup and Drop-Off; the age limit is 18 years old and over, bring your driving license with you; the price is much more attractive if two people share the same buggy and alternate the driving time.

Photo Credit: GetYourGuide

4WD & Quad Morning Safari: Dune Bashing, Sandboarding & Quad Bikes Ride Morning Tour from Dubai

Are you outdoorsy? Are you not interested in fake bedouin dinners at all? During your stay in Dubai you can only do a desert tour in the morning? In addition to admiring the beautiful desert scenery with this excursion you can try at lot of activities: not only experience the thrill of dune bashing but take a ride on a camel and try out your sandboarding skills surfing the sand. Plus, as an option, have the chance to ride your own Quad bike for half-an-hour.

• Pick-up and drop-off: departure and return to your hotel in Dubai.

• Duration of the desert tour: 4 hours, morning departure, you leave your hotel between 8am and 9am, usually the day before the tour you will be notified of the exact pick-up time.

• Guide: English speaking.

• Safari features: there are several safari options, shared or private tour, with or without a Quad; in addition to transportation from/to your hotel the tour includes 30 minutes of dune bashing in the middle of the Lahbab dunes, a very short camel ride plus sandboarding; if you buy the Quad option you have a 30 minute Quad bike experience, you drive your own Quad on a pre-fixed itinerary.

• Price: is per person, you can book with or without a Quad; just note that if you are not interested in the Quad, well this excursion becomes an exceptionally good value for money tour, probably one of the cheapest ways to have a look at the Dubai desert, without investing too much time and money.

• Pros: the combination of the off road 4WD dune bashing plus the opportunity to personally drive your own Quad.

• Cons: I would say none, just be aware that the camel ride is super short, no more than a few minutes; take into consideration that on the way back to your hotel there is usually a 20 min long stop at a fuel station in the middle of nowhere to inflate the tyres of your vehicle, so be patient.

• Recommended: if you want to see the desert and enjoy a multi activity experience.

• Check prices and book with: GetYourGuide | Red Dunes Desert Safari, Quad Bikes, Sandboarding & Camel Ride

• Another option: a similar excursion is also offered by GetYourGuide | Dubai: Red Dunes with Camel Ride, Sandboarding & BBQ Options, please read carefully the description of the tour, what is included and what is not and compare the prices before booking.

Photo Credit: Viator.com

Luxury Camel Safari with Dinner: Exclusive Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve Camel Safari

Speaking about the desert, you cannot miss out on a camel tour. Actually, the excursion you find described below is probably the most expensive of all camel safaris offered in Dubai. Why? Because it is one of the best and well organised tours. It takes place inside the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve and the actual supplier of the service is the acclaimed Platinum Heritage, proprietor of the special high end camp where you have dinner and watch a show at the end of the safari.

• Pick-up and drop-off: at your hotel in Dubai.

• Duration of the desert tour: 7 hours, departure between 2pm and 4pm, back between 9pm and 11pm, the exact time changes according to the season.

• Guide: English, French and Arabic.

• Safari features: one hour shared minibus transfer to go, the same to get back; usually the camel ride is not on an individual basis but together with other tourists who have booked the same tour, generally this is a small group exclusive tour; you sit on a camel but you do not ride it, your guide walks in front leading the camel; dinner and show included.

• Price: is per person, children 5-11 years old have a discount.

• Pros: the chance to observe and take things at a slower pace; the slow rhythm of the camel’s stride allows you to appreciate the beauty of the natural environment and take in details that escape you when you travel by 4WD.

• Cons: even if the total duration of the tour is 7 hours, the camel ride only lasts 45 minutes, this is something you must know in advance in order to avoid disappointment; nevertheless, even though it is not a long camel ride, it takes place in the middle of the dunes in the actual desert and not inside a camp compound. Furthermore, it lasts much more than the 5-minute climb up/take pictures/get off camel activities featured in all other tours which include 4WD dune bashing/quad/dune buggy.

• Recommended: this is the perfect Dubai desert tour for families travelling with children of primary school age and above, in fact kids under 5 can not join this tour.

• Check prices and book with: Viator | Camel Desert Safari with Traditional Dinner & Heritage Activities from Dubai

• If you want to spend less money: the camel ride always lasts 45 minutes but the camp where you have dinner and watch a show is more simple, it is located in a different area and accomodates more people, click here to get all the info GetYourGuide | Dubai: Sunset Camel Safari, Stargazing, BBQ at Al Khayma; usually you have the option to book the more expensive private tour or the cheaper shared tour, value for money of the group option is really interesting; the local supplier is the excellent OceanAir Travels, reviews are very good.

Photo Credit: Land Rover Mena

Private 4WD Desert Safari Adventure: Tour in the Dubai Desert by Private Car & Guide from Dubai

This is a totally private tour, your driver/guide comes to pick you up at your hotel and takes you into the desert in his own 4WD. There’s only you and your guide in the car, without sharing with anybody else. The tour is 100% customised, ask your driver to take you to an area of the Dubai desert where there isn’t anybody, so that you can experience the beauty and the magic of the desert with no other tourists in sight. Dune bashing and sandboarding are already included in the price, as well as one bottle of water, if you want to try the quad experience you will have to pay extra. Anyway, take into consideration that if quad & sandboarding are what you are more interested in there are tours to book. There is an unusual, brief stop at Ras Al Khor Nature Reserve in the inner area of Dubai Creek before returning to your hotel.

• Pick-up and drop-off: any hotel in Dubai.

• Duration of the desert tour: 5 hours, usually departure is in the morning at 8:30.

• Guide: English and Hindi speaking driver/guide, you know the name of the guide at the time of booking.

• Safari features: 100% private tour with 4WD and driver/guide on an exclusive basis.

• Price: the real cost of the tour depends on the number of participants, starting from 4 people the price is fully competitive compared to the shared tours.

• Pros: a car on an exclusive basis; you can reach uncrowded, off the beaten track areas of the desert, where you can get out of the car and take a walk on the sand in absolute silence; the short stop to Ras Al Khor Nature Reserve (if things have not changed it’s closed on Friday) on the way back to the hotel, you will see pink flamingos with the skyscrapers of Dubai in background.

• Cons: none.

• Recommended: great for everybody but perfect for families and small groups of friends that can travel all together in a private 4WD without sharing a car with anyone else; this tour really gives its best if you clearly specify to your guide that you don’t care about quad & sandboarding, but instead you want to experience the true desert and are looking for a remote dune with nobody on the horizon.

• Check prices and book with: Withlocals | One of a Kind Desert Adventure Experience

Photo Credit: GetYourGuide

Overnight Desert Safari: 4WD Tour from Dubai with Dinner and Night in a Tent at a Desert Camp

Sleeping in a tent in the desert? Yes, you can do this too in Dubai. It is an identical safari to the tour that takes you to Al Khaima camp, with all the usual activities of dune bashing, sandboarding and dinner with a show at the camp. But there is a difference: after dinner, instead of returning to your hotel you sleep at the desert camp, in a large and very comfortable tent. Then in the morning at dawn take a short camel ride of about 10 minutes, have breakfast at the camp and then return to the hotel by early morning.

But is it a good idea? Uhm, I have some doubts. There are two main things to consider. The first: you don’t sleep in a tent in the immensity of the desert and in contact with nature, but in a large camp together with many other tourists, the same camp that welcomes the vast majority of travelers who participate in dinner excursions in the desert in Dubai, i.e. sleeping in the desert does not add much to the experience of the normal desert tour with dinner without the overnight stay. The second: you pay extra for a night in a tent without using the room, already paid for, which remains at your disposal in the hotel where you are staying in Dubai.

Let’s be clear, I have nothing against nights in a tent in the desert, in fact I really love sleeping in a tent in isolated and very remote places, but only if there is a need and above all only if it is worth it. That is, if the place where I sleep in a tent is a place of extraordinary beauty, and the only way to enjoy it is to sleep in a tent.

• Pick-up and drop-off: the tour includes departure and return to your hotel in Dubai.

• Duration of the desert tour: approx. 17 hours, departure in the early afternoon with return to the hotel the following morning immediately after breakfast.

• Guide: English speaking.

• Safari features: shared group tour with overnight stay in a tent in the desert.

• Price: in addition to off-road transport, sandboarding, dune bashing in the dunes lasting 30-45 minutes and all the usual activities provided at the camp where dinner is served, this excursion also includes one night in a private tent in the desert including breakfast.

• Pros: if you want to experience sleeping in the desert with all the comforts.

• Cons: this desert tour is expensive and you end up paying for a night in a tent when after dinner you could easily go back to sleep at your hotel for much less; if you are someone who cannot give up the air conditioning, keep in mind that the tents in the desert camp do not have air conditioning.

• Recommended: if you are traveling as a family with young kids, they should like the story of the tent.

• Check prices and book with: GetYourGuide | Dubai: Overnight Desert Safari, Camels, Dinner, & Stargazing Safari

Photo Credit: Sindbad Gulf Balloons

Hot Air Balloon: 1-Hour Hot Air Balloon Flight Over the Desert from Dubai at Sunrise

Enjoy the vastness of the desert from the top of a hot air balloon. Wow, this is a unique emotion! A truly special experience, and above all it allows you an extraordinary view of the desert in the outskirts of Dubai, something you don’t get in traditional off-road desert tours and desert safaris. The hot air balloon flight generally takes place at dawn and lasts approximately 1 hour, transfers are included as well as a cup of hot coffee or tea before take-off.

• Pick-up and drop-off: included for any hotel in Dubai.

• Duration of the desert tour: approx. 4 hours from when they pick you up to when they take you back to your hotel in Dubai.

• Guide: English and Arabic.

• Safari features: shared transfers and small group hot air balloon flight, the local operator is Sindbad Gulf Balloons, excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.

• Price: includes transfers, hot air balloon flight lasting between 40 and 70 minutes depending on wind conditions, and light refreshments.

• Pros: the price, usually lower than other similar hot air balloon flights.

• Cons: this tour does not include dune bashing or other desert activities but only pure hot air ballooning.

• Recommended: if you want to fly in a hot air balloon over the Dubai desert spending as little as possible but using a reliable operator.

• Check prices and book with: GetYourGuide | Dubai: Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Tour Over the Desert

• An alternative hot air balloon tour: the pure hot air balloon flight over the Dubai desert is also offered by the well-known operator Hot Air Balloon UAE, this is the link to check the price and book GetYourGuide | Dubai: Hot Air Balloon Ride Over the Desert

Photo Credit: GetYourGuide

Hot Air Balloon, Quad and 4WD Tour: Desert Tour with Hot Air Balloon Flight, Dune Bashing and Quad Ride including Breakfast

If budget isn’t an issue then this tour has its spectacularity. Indeed it is one of the most exciting and adrenaline-pumping of all the desert tours presented in this post. There is everything in this excursion. Starting with the hot air balloon flight over the desert at dawn, lasting about 1 hour, flying over the dunes from over 1,000 meters above sea level, the panorama is extraordinary. During the hot air balloon flight you witness the spectacle of the falcons in flight, they leave and return to the balloon, and it is more exciting than you might think. Once landed, first follows the experience of dune bashing in 4WD among the desert dunes, and then enjoy a very rich and abundant buffet breakfast, immediately after which you can take either a short camel ride or horse ride inside the camp. But the activities are not over yet, before returning to the hotel the Quad experience is planned, driving for about 20 minutes in the sand along a pre-established route. Expensive but very complete and spectacular desert tour.

• Pick-up and drop-off: included for any hotel in Dubai.

• Duration of the desert tour: 5 hours total.

• Guide: English, and Arabic of course.

• Safari features: shared transfers and hot air balloon flight over the desert in small groups, the local operator is Hot Air Balloon UAE.

• Price: the cost of this desert tour includes transfers, tea/coffee before taking off, a 45-60 minute hot air balloon flight depending on weather conditions, the sensational falcon show in flight, a 20 minute off-road dune bashing tour in the middle of the dunes, buffet breakfast at a Bedouin camp, a short camel or horseback ride, 20 minutes Quad driving experience, and the flight certificate.

• Video: the spectacle of the hot air balloon flight with Hot Air Balloon UAE, the thrill of the falcons flying around the balloon, the dune bashing into the desert, the short camel ride and the sumptuous breakfast before returning to the hotel:

• Pros: trying more activities in addition to hot air ballooning, with off-road dune bashing and quad riding above all; the breakfast, much more complete and abundant than the simple tea or coffee refreshments offered on cheaper tours.

• Cons: only one, the price, this is perhaps one the most expensive desert tours of all the excursions you can do in Dubai.

• Recommended: if you are looking for a very exciting desert tour and can afford it.

• Check prices and book with: GetYourGuide | Dubai: Hot Air Balloon, Desert Safari, and Quad Biking Tour

• The alternative of a hot air balloon flight in the Dubai Conservation Reserve: a extraordinary desert tour, one of the most beautiful tours you can book in Dubai, a single tour that combines a hot air balloon flight of approximately 1 hour with the experience of exploration of the desert aboard a Land Rover inside the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve; the breakfast offered is very varied and of the highest quality, this is the link to investigate and book GetYourGuide | Dubai: Sunrise Balloon Flight with Breakfast & Falcon Photo; the local operator is Balloon Adventures Dubai, by far one of the most well-known and appreciated operators specialized in hot air balloon flights in the United Arab Emirates.

Photo Credit: Viator.com

Self-Drive 4×4 Dubai Desert and Dune Bashing Safari: the Perfect Tour if You Want to Self-Drive a 4WD in the Dubai Desert

This is a brilliant tour. Crossing one of the most scenic areas of all the Dubai desert, far from where other companies go and remote from more or less fake bedouin camps. But above all, you drive from start to finish! Oh yes, this is not the classic desert safari where you sit as a passenger at the mercy of a driver. Instead, it is “You” Driving a modified Jeep Wrangler in a convoy, into the heart of the most beautiful dunes in the UAE, while following an experienced leader in a 4×4. You see the best of the Dubai desert and learn how to drive a 4WD in the sands. This is how the tour works: you are picked up at your hotel, 45-minute minivan transfer to reach the starting point of the excursion, here you get your fully modified Wrangler with lifted suspension, upgraded wheels and tyres. Then your experience starts with a detailed safety briefing. Your guide will explain how the 4×4 system in your modified Jeep works, various safety aspects of the drive and desert driving tips. Further instructions will be given using walkie-talkies as you drive. Once on location it’s hands on learning as you deflate tyres and prepare for desert entrance. As you enter the desert you will learn and practice various driving techniques which are important for keeping on top of the sand while avoiding getting stuck. During your long drive you stop several times to take pictures and reach one of the best viewpoints in the Dubai desert, Fossil Rock, high on the dunes. Then you start on your way back, stop to inflate tyres, drop-off your Wrangler and go back to your hotel by minivan. Beware that the cost you see at first glance may appear very high, but if you book for 4 people the price becomes very interesting.

• Pick-up and drop-off: at your hotel in Dubai.

• Duration of the desert tour: 5 and a half hours start to finish, departure around midday, back at the hotel at 6pm.

• Guide: English speaking who drives in front in his own jeep, you and other participants follow in a convoy, everybody driving their own 4WD, walkie-talkies in each vehicle to communicate with. The guide has a winch, a tow rope (if you get stuck in the sand) and a first-aid kit.

• Safari features: self drive 4WD tour; here you really see the actual desert, this tour includes at least 2 hours off-road driving on the sand in the middle of the dunes. You have control of a very special vehicle, equipped to tackle any terrain.

• Price: select the date and insert the number of people (from 1 to 4) to get the correct price; the cost of this desert tour includes transportation from/to the hotel, one Jeep Wrangler with all the necessary fuel for the trip and guide assistance; one driver plus maximum 3 other passengers, if there are 2 drivers there is a supplement; confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability.

• Pros: with this self-drive 4×4 Dubai desert tour you see the most scenic area of the desert in the Emirate of Dubai and while looking at the dunes you learn how to drive in the sand. The local supplier of this desert tour is the acclaimed OffRoad-Zone, reviews on TripAdvisor are glowing, at least at the time of the update of this post.

• Cons: none, apart from the cost. No preliminary off-road driving experience is required and you do not go fast, here is what OffRoad-Zone writes in the website: The You Drive 4×4 Desert Experience will be technical and scenic but not at high speeds. The best way to learn to drive in the desert is to feel your vehicle and respond to the conditions.

• Good to know: the main driver must be at least 25 or over. 21-24 year olds can drive once in the desert. After booking you will receive all supplier contacts. You will be required to supply a copy with photo of a valid driver’s licence and passport copy by mail. Credit card must be Visa or MasterCard and is required for a security deposit against the 4×4 Jeep rental. Even though the jeeps are insured you are responsible for fast driving fines during road transfers to the desert, overtuning and any tyre and vehicle damage for incorrect driving in the desert, as well as any accidents that may occur. You will be required to sign a waiver form before starting the tour.

• Recommended: for couples or, better still, groups of two couples travelling together or families with grown children, in order to better share the total cost of the vehicle.

• Check prices and book with: Viator | Dubai Self-Drive 4WD Desert and Dune Bash Safari

• Video: the full and fun experience of the excursion, starting from the detailed safety briefing, the instructions, the road transfer to reach the desert and the exciting off-road driving in the middle of the dunes in this video by You Drive Desert Experience; the tent you can see at the end of the video does not refer to this tour but a longer overnight camp tour offered by the same company:

Important Things to Know About Dubai Desert Safaris

Aspects to Consider Before Booking a Safari to the Dubai Desert

• Do NOT expect to see grandiose, virgin Saharan sceneries nor the dunes of Sossusvlei in Namibia which are hundreds of meters high. The great majority of desert areas around Dubai offer small and medium size dunes tens of meters high. And on the horizon, more often than not, there is a pole, a fence or a construction to “spoil” the view.

• A tour into the Dubai desert is perfect as a first desert experience for someone who has never been into the desert before and wants to get there quickly and comfortably, protected from the heat and pampered by air conditioning and then go rapidly back to the hotel at the end of the tour.

• The Dubai desert is popular and many people go there. With a few exceptions, whatever tour you choose is likely to be a very touristic experience. This applies in particular to all multi-activity excursions and safaris combining dinner and a show at the bedouin camp.

• Take into consideration that very few bedouins still live in the Dubai desert. And, of course, you will not meet them in tourist camps located less than one hour’s drive from the big hotels and seaside resorts. If you are looking for authenticity and a real desert experience, forget it. You’ll be disappointed.

• Instead, if you are in Dubai for some days and want to admire landscape which is totally different from the one you live in and wish to spend a few fun hours without breaking your bank account, well you have endless desert tours to choose from.

Photo Credit: GetYourGuide

• Before booking read the full description of the desert tour you like in the official page of Viator, Withlocals and GetYourGuide carefully, please check what is included and what is not, meeting points, times of departure and cancellation policies. After booking, if you have any queries or doubts, immediately contact Viator, Withlocals or GetYourGuide Customer Service in order to receive assistance.

• The day before the tour, please reconfirm the pick-up time with the local supplier. You receive phone and email of local supplier of the tour immediately after your booking. Maybe your hotel can help.  

• Please read the reviews of each desert safari. If the majority of the reviews are positive that’s a good thing. And always check all the info you read here in the official page of each desert tour, things change and the official site provides the latest updates.

Last Update: December 7th 2023

Front cover photo credit: 4WD Desert Safaris in Dubai Desert, courtesy OceanAir Travels Dubai.