Private Tour: 4x4 Desert Adventure Safari from Dubai

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Spend a day in the desert with a private guide, and enjoy a camel ride and sandboarding session as well as a BBQ dinner and show under the stars! After leaving Dubai by private 4x4 vehicle, stop off at a camel farm for a ride, and then race down the sand dunes by sandboard before heading to a desert campsite for dinner and the folk- and belly-dancing show. If you want to experience another exhilarating activity, upgrade to include a 30-minute or 60-minute quad biking session that takes place roughly halfway through the day.

After a pickup from your centrally located Dubai hotel, relax in an air-conditioned 4x4 vehicle as you head to the desert that surrounds the city. Admire views of the barren yet enchanting landscape on the way, and listen to your private guide’s tales about the region and its fascinating geology.

First stop on your desert rendezvous is a traditional camel farm to see herds of the magnificent humpbacked herbivores. Show off your balance skills on a camel ride around the enclosures, and learn about the different types of camels that are commonly seen in the desert around Dubai.

Continue by 4x4 across the desert plains and try your hand at a popular local pastime: sandboarding! Learn to master the art of 'surfing on sand' and race your friends and fellow travelers down the sand dunes during in an adrenaline-rushing experience. If you have upgraded to include a 30- or 60-minute quad-biking experience, enjoy this after sandboarding. Listen to a safety briefing, and then take to the dunes as you follow a local guide around the desert canyons and valleys.

Then, travel with your guide to a campsite, nestled deep in the desert. Take a seat outside to watch your show as the sun sets over the craggy canyons and sun-baked plains, and settle in for the late afternoon’s entertainment. Get a henna tattoo design on your hands or feet, watch a traditional folk dance, and feast on a delicious barbecue dinner.

After dinner, smoke a shisha (Arabic water pipe), if you wish, and watch a live belly-dance performance around the campfire. Relax under a canopy of twinkling stars and enjoy an experience that could be straight out of One Thousand and One Nights!

Meet your guide after the show and meal, and then finish your day in the desert with a drop-off at your Dubai hotel.

USD $96.00

Traveler Reviews

Review by:   Cornelia M,    June 2018
If ever in Dubai, do this, you will not regret it. it is an amazing experience being under the open skies and have a dinner with so much open space around you....I must say I enjoyed the sand boarding the most - even if it was just a bit for the fun of it!

Review by:   Gillian L,    February 2018
Excellent trip from start to finish. Driver was excellent and looked after our family well. We didn't follow all other cars that were together we went off the beaten track. Would definitely recommend.

Review by:   Hugh M,    November 2017
Excellent driver and exhillarating drive through the desert. THe evening in the camp is very enjoyable. The food is surprisingly good The closing touch with a small camel Train floodlit on the dunes was very moving._br/_ The only downside is that it takes an eternity before it gets going. All the Jeeps have to meet in a garage etc.

Review by:   Malcolm I,    September 2017
Loved this trip. Highlight of our holiday. Picked up from hotel by driver in private 4x4 Toyota. Met up with other vehicles for approx 1 hr 30 min dune bashing with superb driver Rafiq. Really exciting experience. Only vehicles in our part of the desert in Sharjah. On our way to our private camp we drove past huge number of vehicles ferrying people in 4x4s to more populous camps. Looked horrendous and expect people had long waits to be ferried there and back. Orient Tours camp provided camel riding, quad bikes, sand boarding, henna, falcon and souk , BBQ plus fire dance and traditional dance show. Fantastic. Well worth the money. The drivers and camp staff were all superb.

Review by:   Boris N,    May 2017
It is important to note that my experience is based on a lone business traveler who needed to kill a weekend in Dubai. Things might have been different had I been here with my wife and kids. To start off, my driver was 15 min late - he was told to pick me up at 3:15, while the company told me 3, so I ended up waiting having to worry as to whether they just forgot me. He finally arrived and was actually very nice. 4x4 driving in the dessert was a lot of fun - by far the best part of the trip. I then had also paid for a 60 min quad rental, which was a lot of fun to drive up and down sand dunes, but, for some reason, only lasted 45 min instead of 60, with the person who was leading me just returning to base camp after 45 min with no explanation. Not a big deal, but if I pay for 60 min, I should get 60 min. This left me at their camp around 5:45PM, while all evening activities and BBQ start at 7PM. So what am I supposed to do along in this camp for 1h15m? Candy crush to the rescue as there was nothing else to do, but play my phone in the dessert with 38 degrees heat. Evening BBQ and entertainment were fine. All in all, not a bad time, but probably not for the lone business traveler looking to spend a day.

Review by:   Robert D,    April 2017
A really amazing experience until dinner's dessert contained peanuts with no warning :

Review by:   knr2kute,    February 2017
The ride through the desert was great. Both thrilling and scary. The Bedouin village was interesting. The dancers were very entertaining.

Review by:   Lisa S,    January 2017
So worth doing! Our guide was very considerate and a real pro driver of the vehicle. The food was delicious. _br/_ we really enjoyed all the entertainment. They were really beautiful and talented. the dessert by night is not to be missed.

Review by:   phvcrg,    July 2016
amazing experience, great staff_br/_ we recommended 100

Review by:   MICHELLE C,    May 2016
Trip was terrific and would recommend it. Very well put together.

Review by:   Doug M,    December 2015
From the prompt pickup from our hotel to our return everything was first rate. _br/_ Our driver was great with the kids, dune bash was lots of fun._br/_ At the camp our Quad biking was the highlight for all the kids. The guide was so patient with the inexperienced riders. Glad we did the 60 minute ride, it went by so fast._br/_ The dinner was much better than I expected. Not too many times have I seen my kids go for seconds. _br/_ Kids enjoyed all the activities in the camp. Great time had by all. _br/_ Highly recommended

Review by:   donnaw1,    December 2015
Well run tour, enjoyed going with this company.

Review by:   jules,    November 2015
The tour was fantastic. Best day ever. Quad bikes where great. Desert drive was exciting. Sandboarding was easier than snow. Food was very tasty and a lot of it. The show was memorable. Great day would do it again

Review by:   Yassir E,    October 2015
Worth paying extra for the private car and the quad experience if that's something your into!

Review by:   Miss F W,    October 2015
Brilliant!_br/_ Especially loved the quad-biking - well worth purchasing as an extra!

Review by:   Krista G,    July 2015
We had an excellent time. _br/_ Our driver/tour guide was the best. Everyone was so friendly and informative. No troubles booking or meeting our driver.

Review by:   Anita S,    June 2015
The tour was amazing, the whole experience from the driver in the dessert safari to the camp with camel riding and belly dancing was all superb! Would definitely recommend this tour company

Review by:   Csilla C,    June 2015
Such an amazing experience and so well organized. Everybody who goes to Dubai should do this tour

Review by:   PRASHANT P,    June 2015
Very well arranged and the camp in the desert was excellent.

Review by:   Silvia,    June 2015
This tour was amazing!

Review by:   Marques G,    June 2015
Our driver, Mustafa, was amazing! He arrived to our apartment early to pick us up, and patiently waited as we got ready. We had an absolute blast on all parts of the excursion. Everyone in our party agreed it was the highlight of our trip to Dubai.

Review by:   Christopher L,    May 2015
Brilliant tour, worth every penny, although if you get car sick don't bother !! The dune blasting was so much fun. Haven't laughed like that in ages. It was much more extreme that we expected, how those cars don't roll over I don't know. Unfortunately one of our party didn't take so well to it, but our driver dealt with it really well. The whole thing lasts about 5 hous altogether, with the other attractions plus of course the travel to and from. All the staff were very friendly and helpful. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend it and would love to do it all again.

Review by:   Jessica H,    April 2015
this tour was highly disappointing and way too overpriced. We would never recommend it to anyone. we rode a camel for literally 3 minutes the ATVs was in a fenced in part of the desert that we rode in circles. the only fun part was the truck ride through the desert that our tour guide took us on.

Review by:   kristapsaudrins,    March 2015
Brilliant experience. I would like to recomend this tour to everyone who wants to experience jeep safari. The tour company does this very well. Great cars, great driver, great service, great value for money, great time. Thanks to our driver Rasak who made our tour special not only making us feel safe, but although saving a day for unexperienced drivers in a middle of desert.

Review by:   Abdul A,    March 2015
Overall, great experience.

Review by:   Kathryn S,    March 2015
Excellent!!

Review by:   Simon K,    January 2015
The tour is worth doing and was a highlight of our trip. However, our guide didn't communicate with us and we were often left with questions unanswered or with little idea of what we were seeing/ doing. No sandboarding either and the camel ride lasted 15 seconds. 6.5/10.

Review by:   Carole N,    December 2014
Awesome!!!! Our driver was fantastic, a little quietly spoken and a bit reserved at the start, but get this guy in the sand dunes in a 4 x 4 and he literally like a kid in a sandbox. The quad biking was excellent, evening venue, camel riding and food was very good. It was a really excellent day out. - very much recommended!

Review by:   Alexander P,    December 2014
easy booking, fast reply to my emails, our tour guy was very friendly, easy to communicate, hotel pick up / drop off was very good, the 4x4 desert tour was a lot of fun (ca. 30 min)

Review by:   Zee,    November 2014
This was very nice. The dune bashing was alot more than we expected but a good time. Great food, nice entertainement and I loved my henna tattoo.

Review by:   Jonathan B,    October 2014
This is a "must" for those traveling to Dubai. The guide was excellent, very friendly and supportive of all our request, food was excellent and plenty of activities to keep us moving all the time. Definitely 5 stars!!!!

Review by:   Victoria H,    October 2014
Amazing tour, so nice to get out into the desert for some 4x4 fun. i was surprised at how beautiful i found the desert, but it truly was. Visited at just the right time during the day, just as the sun was setting. The camels at the farm were super friendly and loved a good stroke and their picture being taken. The BBQ was very special with some lovely coffee and dates, henna tattooing, holding a falcon and much much more. The food was wonderful and we were well catered for. I would highly recommend this for a family, make sure you have eaten something light beforehand as the 4x4 is quite extreme!

Review by:   Pok Hong A,    September 2014
Very well organized. Driver was experienced. Food quality can be better and more choices should be available. Overall, it is worth going.

Review by:   Bina Y,    August 2014
We did the private 4x4 desert adventure tour in mid-August. The company called my US cell phone the day before we were scheduled and arranged for a time and place for pick-up. The driver was 15 minutes early, spoke excellent English and had excellent demeanor and obviously enjoyed his job. From the half hour ride to the desert to the actual ride over the dunes, his driving was exemplary. He was generous with his local knowledge for our multitude of questions. The camp had wonderful bathroom facilities including running water and soap. Private tour means that your group has it's own car, just front and back seats. All of the private tour cars drive together through the desert and arrive at the camp at the same time. Highly recommended!

Review by:   Katherine S,    August 2014
Besides the heat this was amazing trip. The guide was insightful, helpful and on time. The desert drive was awesome. Dinner was ok, the show was ok, the sand surfing was so much fun. I highly recommend this trip if your in Dubai.

Review by:   Lyn B,    August 2014
This was a great experience enjoyed every minute of it and well worth doing, the sand dunes were good and the dinner was also great plenty of food and drink driver was prompt in picking us up from the hotel_br/_ It you have the time in Dubai it's a must. LB Australia

Review by:   Vicky A,    August 2014
This tour was amazing!

Review by:   Oneka R,    July 2014
We had a nawesome time and have pictures to prove it!

Review by:   Robtred,    July 2014
We had an excellent guide who picked us up on time at our Hotel and personally looked after my family for the afternoon and evening. We had a blast doing the quad biking and 4WD through the sand hills. The camp site experience for dinner was a little tacky and commercial but the food was all good as was the dancing. A good experience that my boys still talk about with the quad biking.

Review by:   Matthew W,    July 2014
Our driver was prompt and courteous and collected us on time. The journey to the desert strip took about an hour and we waited at a petrol station for 10 minutes whilst the other vehicles in the convoy met up. The actual dune driving was fantastic and was made better being in a convoy with other vehicles as it added to the effect. The Camel Ride was very short but enjoyable and the evening entertainment and BBQ was excellent. We particularly enjoyed the spinning dervish male dancer, but the belly dancer was a little disappointing as she was not very authentic and looked more like she was from Doncaster than Dubai. A videographer and photographer from the tour company documented the whole trip and this was available for sale at a reasonable price the DVD's being delivered to our hotel the next morning. The event finished about 21:00 and we got dropped off at the Dubai Mall so we could see the fountains at the Burj Khalifa. Overall an excellent day and well worth the money.

Review by:   Dirk U,    June 2014
The tour was great, our driver Rafiq was very well experienced, great fun, let's do it again

Review by:   Montse S,    April 2014
Our driver was fantastic. However, the camels' farm very dissapointed ( no explanations, no ride just photos) a waste of time bearing in mind the camel ride was in the eating place. The ride too short ( 2'), the food and dance excellent. The rest of the things over there seem too commercialized.

Review by:   Libby W,    March 2014
If you are doing a desert tour, this is the way to go. Sure it cost more for it to be private, but it was worth every penny to not have other "tourist" influence our experience AND to not be in the back 3rd row of the SUV! It was first-rate, wonderful experience. I would highly recommend! 2 thumbs up!

Review by:   Natasha L,    February 2014
Excellent day out. Made all the better by Mustaffa our wonderful driver for the day ! Great value for money ! Highly recommended !

Review by:   CHRISTIAN M,    February 2014
Excellent tour, I loved this tour, everything was amazing the 4wheels in the sand, the ride in the desert, the food the show at the end, it was very nice.

Review by:   MICHAEL L,    December 2013
Fantastic!!! Will do it again when we get back to Dubai again.Very well organised and very proffessional and couteous and friendly driver! Great fun! Will recommend again to friends and family!

Review by:   Sharon M,    October 2012
Fantastic safari tour! We had an awesome time..4wd, camel ride, henna tattoo, great meal under the stars in the desert, dancers! It was the highlight of our time in Dubai. Thoroughly recommend it.

Review by:   kandac,    October 2012
Insructions were to confirm with the Operator 24 hours prior so I phoned them from England before departure to be on the safe side. Nobody asked for any booking number and the whole call left me disatisfied and without any feeling of confidence that everything was OK and in place for our excursion. When we arrived in Dubai our Kuoni Rep kindly phoned to make sure all was well but even she had trouble being understood and getting a satisfactory confirmation. Waited nervously next day but everything went well so no worries there. Two comments/suggestions though. Firstly, and probably due to being in 'convoy' I felt the 'thrashing about in the dunes' was a bit tame. Would have liked a rougher ride. Secondly, the sitting on cushions on the ground at the evening camp is beautifully authentic and all that, but some provision for those less able to get down there and more importantly, get back up again would have been appreciated. Overall though....great experience, value for money and very glad we did it.

Review by:   Tour guide Barbie,    August 2012
Totally mad day, great adventure, fabulous food with energetic dancers in 43degreeC heat. Summer is when the REAL desert comes out.

Review by:   Jill M,    July 2012
This was just amazing......Loved every single bit from the pick up to the drop off at Hotel.The company is so amazing.e saw other companies with flat tyres etc on way and bad driving, these men know what they are doing especially our driver Bobby. The food, Camel riding , belly dancing Henna tattoo all great .What a wonderful experience to remember .Thank you Viator...p.s. if you are really really scared of fast driving maybe think twice.I am, and also in 60's but so thrilled I went....and did it all,

All Traveler Reviews...