A trip Dubai will never be complete without experiencing an actual real desert (redundancy for emphasis!)! This was the day that we looked forward to the most, since it was whole day fixed on an immersive experience of the Desert Safari.
If you’re planning to book for the Desert Safari, I suggest you plan it a bit in advance so that you can find out when the drivers are available. For ours, we were actually supposed to go two days before, but had to reschedule due to the driver’s availability. We were lucky enough to make flexible adjustments, since our friends in Dubai already had contacts. But, if you’re coming in as independent tourists, I suggest you do your researching and planning in advance. The research will also help you land cheaper bookings.
We decided to meet up as a group at the Marina area, since we all lived within the vicinity. The area near the yacht’s docking area is also where our friends told the drivers to pick us up. We planned to meet in the morning, but we arrived a bit too early and decided to have some coffee at a nearby cafe first.
COSTA coffee shop
Once the drivers had arrived, we all went for a quick restroom break (lol) since the ride from the city area all the way to the desert outskirts takes about 1.5 hrs – 2 hrs. I suggest you prepare like this too before departing. haha!
Fortunately, there’s actually a stopover about halfway to the destination. So, if you’re worried about the restroom break, I think they stop over at a souvenir shop/ATV riding area after about an hour’s ride.
ATV riding at the stopover! The guy in the photo is actually one of our convoy drivers! haha!
Tire tracks and desert sand~
A word of advice though: do prepare your own shawls for the desert sun and wind! If not, you are bound to be swarmed by some hawkers who sell shawls/scarves at the stopover! (lol)
The remainder of the ride to the actual desert area after the stopover should take about 30 min. or so. The ride once you reach the desert sand dunes all the way up to the desert camp is the actual dune bashing experience itself!
One tip though: when the driver asks you what level of extremeness you want for your dune bashing ride, I highly suggest you stick to the MILD level (for wussies like me lol!). But, if you’re more of the extreme and thrill-seeking kind of person, then I suggest you go for the EXTREME. However (!!!), I must warn you that they will choose very steep slopes and it will almost feel as if you’re about to fall into a bottomless pit! (lol!) If you’re worried about safety, all of the seats have good seatbelts, and they also provide hand bars on the ceiling for you to hold onto inside the land cruisers.
Dune basshiiinggg!
Once you reach the desert camp site, you will be welcomed by some camels and some falcons with their falcon tamers. Depending on the Desert Safari package you purchased, you can get to ride a camel for free; otherwise, you’d have to pay a certain fee. Same goes for touching and having pictures taken with the falcons.
This is Jackie Chan, the camel (the one with the blue cloth)! ♥ I got to ride him, and I apologize for the weight you had to carry! lol (From what I know, camels are considered sacred in Dubai, so they treat them with the utmost care and respect.)
At the desert camp site
Got a henna tattoo (comes for free at the booth; although, I don’t know what kind of symbol the lady was trying to paint..)
My sisters’ attempts on sandboarding. lol! (failed attempt since they didn’t know where to ask for assistance, and the board they found weren’t in the best condition anymore haha!)
Free water and Arabian tea at the camp
The Arabian party and show at the camp. Currently: Ottoman Dance with funky black light
The belly dancing performance
Poi/Fire dance performance
After the night’s show, the driver for your dune bashing will take you back to your pick up point (depending on what you agreed on). There are no stopovers for the ride back, so I suggest you take a restroom break before leaving the camp. The campsite restrooms are surprisingly decent, considering that it’s in the middle of nowhere. But, I guess it will also depend which campsite you’re in, since the drivers have their own designated campsites.
If ever you plan to visit Dubai, I highly highly suggest you book for the Desert Safari experience for even just once in your life! It’s a totally unique and authentic Arabian experience that you will definitely won’t regret!