Dubai Desert Buggy Tour: Can-Am Maverick X3 Ride & Pickup

4.96

(2226 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

It started with a grin from our driver, who handed us cold water before we’d even left the hotel in Dubai. I was still half-awake but the city faded fast as we drove out—suddenly it was just endless sand and that weird hush you only get in the desert. Our guide, Ben (from New Zealand, but he’s lived here for years), cracked jokes about “Big Red” being the only dune that could make him nervous. He handed me gloves and a helmet—smelled like sunblock and dust, oddly comforting—and ran through the basics of the Can-Am Maverick X3. I’m not usually into engines, but 192HP sounded like trouble in a good way.

The first time I hit the gas, my stomach did this little flip—like dropping in an elevator, but louder. The sand isn’t soft like you’d think; it rattles your teeth if you hit it wrong. We followed Ben’s lead up to Pink Mountain, where everything looked washed out except these crazy streaks of color across the dunes. There was this moment when we stopped on top—wind whipping at my scarf, goggles fogging up—and Ben pointed out some old Bedouin trails winding off into nowhere. He told us stories about camel caravans and how locals still come out here for tea at sunset. I tried to say thank you in Arabic (Li laughed when I butchered it), and honestly that stuck with me more than the adrenaline.

I didn’t expect to care so much about the quiet between rides—the way everyone just stood there catching their breath, nobody talking much, just sand crunching under boots and that dry smell after the wind dies down. The ride back felt shorter somehow; maybe because we were all grinning like idiots or maybe because I was already thinking about doing it again. If you’re after a day trip from Dubai that’s more than just ticking off “desert adventure,” this buggy tour is worth every grain of sand you’ll find in your shoes later.