One of the most popular tourist attractions or rather things to do in the UAE is a Desert Safari and Dune Bashing in Dubai. I was recommended a company called Arabian Adventures by a friend, checked out the reviews and decided to book. I loved this tour from start to finish and I if I could – I’d give this Arabian desert encounter an 11 out of 10. What this tour will bestow on you is a thrilling adventure ride through the desert, an opportunity to witness a glorious Arabian sunset and a highly entertaining evening in a bedouin-style camp. This cultural evening is something not to be missed when visiting Dubai.
Arabian Adventures
I booked the Sundowner tour with Arabian Adventures (part of the Emirates group) which currently costs AED 360 per person (approx $136 Aus). The online booking process was simple. I picked a date, nominated my hotel pickup and then printed off my reservation.
I was then advised via email what time I was to be waiting out the front of my hotel, which in my case was 4.30 p.m. I waited around 15 minutes before my driver arrived with the 4WD and to my relief, there were other people in the car to share this dune bashing experience with me. Now, I’ll admit to being a slight wimp (I only say slight because I have jumped out of a plane solo before!) and the minus side of being the last one in the car, was that I got relegated to the front seat. So I had the prime view of the windscreen and thus I would be the first to see what perils lie ahead once we hit those dunes. Fair to say I was little bit nervous and I hope I wasn’t going to embarrass myself by cowering behind the front dashboard on the first big dune. I had never been 4 wheel driving before, so I had no idea of what I was in for.
So, there I was in the front seat, the family of five in the seats behind and our new friend the driver who was about to take us on this adventure through the Arabian Desert. At this point you start summing up your drivers capabilities as they are driving you along the highway. A few subtle questions later and it transpired that our driver had being doing this for a few years now and indeed once on the dunes he proved a skilful driver.
The journey out to the desert takes around 50 minutes and along the way, our driver told us stories, answered questions and pointed out things of interest. We passed by many camels, the camel racing track and the Royal family’s properties. Our guide also told us that the property we were to enter for the dune bashing was owned by the Sheik and was some 90 km of land dedicated to conservation. In fact a portion of the fee goes toward conservation areas and indeed you will see wild life freely wandering about, if you keep your eye out.
Our first stop was to let the air out of the tyres to enable the 4WD vehicle to plough through the sand dunes without sinking into the sand. Our driver then explained what to expect next and the general run of the evening.
We then drove to an area where we could have some refreshments (water and soft drink), a photo opportunity with the camels and then we were escorted to a seating area to watch the Falcon show.
The falcon handler took us through the life of this predatory bird and what it is capable of. The handler demonstrated it’s stunning flying techniques and how quickly it can spot food and obtain it within seconds. It was an interesting demonstration that lasted for around 30 minutes.
The seating area for the falcon demonstration.
Keep your eyes peeled for the wildlife wandering around the desert conservation area.
4WD Dune Bashing
The tour continues with the main attraction – the desert safari and dune bashing. We locate our cars and I will add at this point, that it is a good idea to either memorise your car’s number plate or even better take a photo of it. There are around 30 cars that all look the same, so finding yours might prove to be a little confusing.
