Dubai Red Dune Desert Safari: Quad Bike, BBQ & Camel Ride

4.68

(125 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was how the city faded away so quickly—one minute we were in downtown Dubai, then suddenly it was just us and the endless red dunes of Lehbab. Our driver, Nabeel, laughed when I asked if he ever got bored of this view. “Never,” he said, tapping the dashboard like it was an old friend. The Land Cruiser hummed over the sand, and honestly, I gripped the door tighter than I’d admit during that first round of dune bashing. There’s this weird mix of excitement and slight terror as you slide sideways on sand—my heart was pounding but I couldn’t stop grinning.

We stopped at what felt like the top of the world (or at least my legs thought so after climbing out). The air had that dry sweetness you only get in deserts—like sunbaked earth and something faintly spicy from someone’s shisha nearby. Nabeel handed us boards for sandboarding. I wiped out almost immediately—sand everywhere—but it was worth it just for the laugh he gave me. Then came quad biking across those red dunes; I didn’t expect how much fun it would be to just let go and race my own shadow.

Later, we tried camel riding (the camel’s name was Sultan; he seemed unimpressed by my attempts at conversation). The sun started dipping low, turning everything coppery-orange. Someone brewed Arabic coffee right there in a battered pot—smelled nutty and strong—and handed around dates that stuck to my fingers. The evening rolled into a blur of fire shows, swirling dancers, and smoky barbecue under strings of lights. There were moments where everyone just went quiet watching the flames twist up into the dark sky—I still think about that silence sometimes. Anyway, it all ended too soon but left me with sand in my shoes and more stories than I expected.