Dubai Desert: Sunset safari with camel ride & quad bike

5.00

(29 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the crunch — tires rolling off the tarmac and onto the loose red sand outside Dubai. Our driver, Khalid, grinned in the mirror and said something about “real desert now.” The city felt a million miles away already. There was this dry warmth in the air that made my skin feel tight, but not uncomfortable. We stopped at a sort of outpost where you could smell cardamom from someone’s coffee flask. I tried to say thank you in Arabic (shukran?) and got a friendly nod from an older man pouring gahwa into tiny cups.

Dune bashing is wilder than it sounds — we were all laughing (and maybe gripping the seats a bit too hard) as Khalid took us up and over these massive dunes. Sand everywhere: in my shoes, hair, probably teeth. At one point he stopped at the top of a ridge so we could take photos; I just stood there for a minute instead, watching how the light turned everything gold and quiet. Someone handed me a sandboard and I gave it a go — mostly sliding on my backside if I’m honest. It was fun though, especially with everyone cheering each other on.

After that came the camels. Mine was called Zayed (I asked twice to get it right). Their eyelashes are ridiculous up close — like they’re wearing mascara or something. The ride itself is slow and kind of hypnotic; you can hear nothing but wind and sometimes another group laughing somewhere far off. Back at camp there was Arabic coffee again, sweet dates, and this falcon perched calmly while people took photos with it. Li laughed when I tried to hold it — apparently my “falcon face” needs work.