Desert Safari Dubai Dubai United Arab Emirates

The desert safari is the most-booked experience in the Emirates, and it is a format rather than a place. A four-wheel drive collects you from the hotel in the afternoon, drives forty-five minutes to an hour inland, deflates its tyres at the edge of the sand and then spends twenty minutes crossing the dunes at speed — the part known locally as dune bashing. After that comes a camp: camel rides, sandboarding, a falcon on the arm for the photograph, henna, a barbecue dinner and a show with belly dance and the spinning tanoura. The dunes used are mostly at Lahbab, where the sand is deep red from iron oxide, and in the Al Marmoom reserve, where the driving is gentler and oryx and gazelle are part of the point.

The same day is sold in several shapes. The evening safari is the standard and ends around nine. The morning version skips the camp and the dinner and costs much less. Overnight camping adds the dunes at night and the sunrise. Private safaris put one family in one car with its own timing, and versions with no dune driving exist for anyone prone to motion sickness or travelling with small children — they go straight to the camp and are worth asking for by name. Quad bikes, dune buggies and balloon flights over the desert are sold as add-ons or separate mornings.

Practical. The season is October to April; in high summer the camps run later and the afternoon in the sand is genuinely dangerous. Dune bashing is rough — skip breakfast, sit in the middle row, and take the no-bashing version if you are unsure. Wear closed shoes for the camp and bring a layer, because the desert drops fifteen degrees after dark. Alcohol is served at some camps and not others; check when booking. Falcon and camel photographs are usually included but the professional prints are not. Pickup windows are wide, often ninety minutes, since the vehicles collect several hotels in turn.