Planning a trip to Dubai and wondering if a Dubai Desert Safari is worth it? It’s one of the most popular tours in the UAE, read our article to find out and read about our experience. In this guide, I’ll share everything you need to know before booking: what to expect, how to choose the right desert safari tour, practical tips, an overview of our experience and our honest opinion.
To visit the desert in Dubai, you need to go on an organized tour. There are plenty of tour providers offering different packages, and while many follow a similar format, they vary in price, duration, and included activities.
Dubai 3-Day Itinerary for First-Timers: Best Things to Do (with map)
Recommended reading: Guide to Visiting Dubai: 7-Day Detailed Itinerary with Costs.
Table of Contents
In this guide, we’ll cover the following topics.
Dubai Desert Safari: What to Expect on the Tour
Most tour providers will offer a similar experience. Here’s what’s usually included in most tours:
- Dune bashing: you go on a jeep that drives at different speeds over the soft dunes—this was our favorite part of the experience;
- Sandboarding: it’s similar to snowboarding but you go down on sand dunes—it was fun and not scary at all;
- Camel ride;
- Quad bike;
- Bedouin Camp visit with dinner included;
- Camp activities: shisha, henna painting, photos with falcons, and shows (tanoura, belly dance, and fire shows).
Other premium tours offer these activities:
- Buggy tour (4 hours or more)
- Night in the desert with stargazing
- Hot air balloon flight
- Heritage safari in vintage Land Rover
- Desert morning drive with wildlife experience
Dubai Desert Safari – Types of Tours and How much do they cost?
The cost of a desert safari in Dubai can vary widely depending on what’s included in the package. Group tours typically start at around €30 per person, while more premium options—like private tours or those with added activities—can range from €150 to over €400, depending on the tour operator and level of service.
| Tour | Type | Price (from) | Includes |
| Evening Group Desert Safari | Shared Group | ~35€ (Book here) | Dune bashing, sandboarding, camel ride, BBQ dinner, live shows |
| Dune Buggy Ride Group Tour | Shared Group | ~115€ (Book here) | Off-road buggy adventure, sandboarding, camel ride, BBQ dinner, live shows |
| Sunrise Balloon Ride | Shared/Private | 265€ (Book here) | Sunrise hot air balloon ride, breakfast at Bedouin camp, camel ride |
| Overnight Safari with Stargazing | Shared | 155€ (Book here) | Dune bashing, sandboarding, camel ride, BBQ dinner, live shows, stargazing, overnight stay, breakfast |
| Private Night Safari with Stargazing | Private | 660€ (Book here) | Night safari, astronomy session with telescope, 3-course dinner |
The cheapest Dubai desert tours usually include dune bashing, sandboarding, and camel ride. It’s a great option if you want to have a desert experience without spending a lot of money.
Most complete tours include all the activities like dune bashing, sandboarding, camel riding, quad biking, a visit to a bedouin camp with dinner or lunch, and camp activities.
There are other unique experiences like a hot air balloon ride in the desert or spending the night in the desert with stargazing.
How to Book the Dubai Desert Safari Tour
The best way to book your Dubai Desert Safari is to use tour aggregators like GetYourGuide, Klook (usually lower prices) or others. Search for tours that include the activities you want, and choose based on ratings and price. Some hotels might also book and arrange the tour for you. Here’s a couple of highly rated options for budget travelers:
- Dubai: Desert Safari, Quad Bike, Camel Ride & Al Khayma Camp (similar to the one we did—check our experience below);
- Dubai: Sunset Camel Trek, Al Khayma Camp, Stargazing & BBQ (similar to the previous activity, but includes stargazing).
Is the Dubai Desert Safari Worth It? Our Honest Review
So, is the Dubai Desert Safari worth it? Absolutely. It’s a must, especially if you’ve never been in the desert before. This was one of the highlights of our visit to Dubai and for the price we paid (only 50€ per person with dinner included), it was well worth it.
However, after visiting the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, we realized how much more commercialized the Dubai desert safari felt. In Wadi Rum, we had a more immersive and enriching experience in the vast desert (you can read about our experience in Wadi Rum here). That said, you’ll still have a great day in Dubai. Continue reading for a complete description of the tour we went.
Dubai Desert Safari – What it’s like? Overview and our Opinion
The tour we booked costed around 50€ per person and it included dune bashing, sandboarding, camel ride, quad bike (for an extra cost), visit to a bedouin camp with dinner and camp activities (free and extra cost activities).
To give you a better idea of what a desert safari in Dubai is like, we’ll describe our experience. While the details may vary slightly depending on the tour provider, most tours within the same price range offer a very similar experience.
When you book your tour, you need to provide the place where you’re staying and they will pick you up at your accommodation or at a place nearby. Our guide picked us up at around 2 PM. The car was a 4×4 Toyota Landrover and it takes 6 people plus the driver.
After picking up everyone, he drove for about 50 minutes to a meeting point with other cars from the same and other tour operators. The meeting point was basically a place on the road next to the desert with a cafe, restrooms, and several vendors selling the typical desert head scarf and souvenirs.
Quad Bike Ride
At the meeting point, there was a closed track if you wanted to ride a quad bike for an additional cost.
Some tours already have the quad bike option included (of course, they are more expensive). We opt not to do the quad bike activity. To be honest it didn’t seem worth it because it was in an enclosed flat terrain. There are other tours with different quad-biking or buggy experiences where you actually ride in the desert. We stayed at this place for approximately 40 minutes. After that, all cars departed at the same time to the desert.
Stop for Pictures
We finally reached the desert terrain, and just a few minutes in, we made a quick stop to take some photos. To be honest, it wasn’t the best spot for pictures—soon after we arrived, several other cars pulled up, and the area got crowded. Also, there wasn’t much time to just appreciate being there and watching the landscape.
The place looked quite different from what you usually see on Instagram. You’re not that deep into the desert—you’re actually still fairly close to the road, and you can even spot buildings in the distance. There are green bushes scattered across the sand (it’s not just sand). Plus, you’re sharing the experience with many other groups, so it doesn’t feel as remote or exclusive as the photos online might suggest.
Dune Bashing
After approximately a 20-minute stop for pictures, the actual dune bashing started. I thought I would hate this, but it was actually my favorite part of the tour. This is way more fun than it seems. When we chatted with the other guests later, most of them agreed this was the highlight of the experience.
Sandboarding
Next, we stopped for sandboarding (our car and all the other cars on the tour). Our car was the first one to arrive at the sandboarding point, so we didn’t have to wait to experiment sandboarding for the first time. It was easy and super fun, so make sure you give it a try—it’s included in almost all desert experiences. While we waited for the others, we took a few more pictures.
It was time to go to the camp to ride the camels and have dinner. But before that, the drivers stopped in a place to adjust the tire pressure and clean the sand from the car. There were also some simple stores in this place. They will clean the sand from your feet and footwear for free but will push you into their stores to buy something.
Sunset and Camel Ride
After approximately 20 minutes, we headed to the camp for the sunset, camel ride, and dinner. The camel ride was included in our package, but we preferred not to do it and just watch the camels. I’m not a fan of riding animals, but these seemed very well looked after.
Additionally, the ride was pretty short, about two minutes. They take a picture of you on the camels and will try to sell it during the dinner.
I was pretty disappointed with the sunset. The view from the camp wasn’t the best, and when we arrived the sun was already too low. I believe watching the sunset from the actual desert would be more interesting or if we have arrived earlier it would have been better.
Diner and Bedouin Camp Activities
Finally, we entered the camp. The camp looks pretty good with a nice decoration from the inside and there are some camp activities that you can do. I watched many youtube videos about this experience, and all camps look very similar to this one.
Once you arrive at the camp, you’re welcomed with Arabic coffee and tea. Then, you can enjoy unlimited soft drinks (alcohol is available for an extra cost). Shisha is free in the designated smoking area, but there’s a small charge if you want it at your table. You can also get a free small henna tattoo, though larger designs cost extra. For a small fee, you can take pictures with a falcon. Some tours include this and Arabic attire for photos.
The buffet dinner offered a wide variety of options, including Arabic, Asian, Moroccan, and even some Western dishes. There was a selection of vegetables, salads, side dishes, and traditional barbecue. We were served generous portions, and the barbecue was really tasty—especially the chicken skewers. The starters were also quite good. The dessert included some traditional pastries. Some of the cakes were good and others I didn’t appreciate that much.
Live Shows
While we were having diner, the Tanoura dance started. This is a folkloric dance performed by men with big skirts. The performer spins throughout the whole show without stopping. It’s pretty impressive and I really enjoyed this show. This was followed by a fire performance that was also pretty good.
The last performance was a belly dance show, which in my opinion wasn’t that good. The dancer was good, but the show was a bit awkward. Once the belly dance show was over we headed back to the car for our 50-minute drive to our accommodation. We arrived at our hotel around 10 PM.
Dubai Desert Safari — was it worth it?
Was the Dubai Desert Safari worth it? Yes! If it’s your first time experiencing the desert, this is something you shouldn’t miss. It ended up being one of the highlights of our Dubai trip. Considering we paid just €50 per person including dinner, it was definitely great value for money.
There were some things that were not exactly as I was expecting, but that’s also part of the experience. The red sand dunes were beautiful and the colors are amazing. There are many camps spread throughout the desert land for different tour operators. Something that disappointed me a lot was the number of small plastics and plastic bottles on the sand dunes next to the camps. Expect lots of people, lots of cars at the same place at the same time, and a rushed tour.
As we mentioned earlier, after visiting the Wadi Rum desert in Jordan, we realized that the Dubai desert safari was very commercialized. In Wadi Rum, we had a more immersive and enriching experience in the vast desert (you can read about our experience in Wadi Rum here). That said, you’ll still have a great day in Dubai.
There are other more complete and more expensive tours that include more activities. For example, some tours already include falcon pictures and Arabic attire, as well as quad biking. On our tour, this was not included in the price (it was available for a small fee). Those were not activities that we were interested in, so we thought it wasn’t worth it to pay more than 100€ per person.
See what the different tours have to offer and choose based on your preferences. You don’t need to overthink it. All tours are quite similar and you’ll spend a freat day.
If you want something extra, some tours also offer spending the night in the desert with the possibility of stargazing—I believe this should be an amazing experience.
Wrapping Up
We hope this article gave you a clear idea of what to expect from a typical Dubai Desert Safari Tour and helps you plan your time in the city. Of course, there are many upgrades you can do to your tour to make it more exclusive like exploring the dunes in a buggy, a hot air balloon ride in the morning, or even a luxury private tour.
If you’re planning a trip to Dubai, we also recommend reading our ultimate guide (you can adjust our itinerary for your desired number of days):
Finally, you can use our links to book accommodation and activities and find cheap flights. You won’t pay more for it and you’ll be supporting our work.
Thanks for reading.
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