Dubai Desert Safari: Land Rover, Falconry & Michelin Dining

4.92

(181 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

Someone’s wrapping a soft scarf around my head — turns out it’s our guide, Khalid, who grins and says it’ll keep the sand out. I’m not sure if I look more like an explorer or someone who got lost in the gift shop, but it feels right as we step into the Land Rover Defender. The city drops away fast. There’s this hush in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve that makes you lower your voice without thinking about it. Even the tires sound different here — sort of muffled by the sand.

Khalid points out tracks — gazelle maybe? — and hands me a cold steel water bottle (they let you keep it). We bump along for what must be an hour, stopping at a lake where birds flicker over the water like quick shadows. The air smells faintly of something herbal and dry. At some point I realize my phone’s full of photos of old Land Rovers lined up like they’re posing for a family portrait. I didn’t expect to care about vintage cars but there’s something about them out here that just fits.

The falconry show is quieter than I thought it’d be — everyone’s watching this bird slice through the sky while we nibble tiny canapés and sip something sparkling (non-alcoholic, still felt fancy). Someone tries to say “shukran” and gets a laugh from one of the handlers. Then we’re on camels — mine keeps turning its head back at me like it’s checking if I’m still there. The sun drops fast; suddenly everything is gold and purple and you can hear your own breath.

I still think about that dinner under lanterns at the oasis cabana. Four courses, each one explained by someone who clearly loves food — local ingredients, flavors I couldn’t name but wanted to remember anyway. There was fire dancing too, which sounds over-the-top but honestly just felt kind of magical after dark out there. We lounged with shisha afterward; smoke drifting up while everyone traded stories in low voices. The drive back was quiet — tired in a good way, sand still clinging to my shoes.