Empty Quarter Desert Safari: 4WD Sunset Tour with Guide

Dunes rise 150 meters high, and you drive them instead of walking around them.

A 4WD desert safari through Oman's Empty Quarter with a professional English-speaking guide, starting from the Bedouin settlement at Thumrait and moving through Wadi Duka's frankincense national park, the legendary Lost City of Opar, and ending with dune bashing and sunset in the sand. Pickup is included. Water, tea and Arabic coffee come with the tour. The vehicle is air-conditioned and built for both road and off-road driving.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore desert and historical sites

• Visit Wadi Dawkah Frankincense Park
• Explore RAFO Thumrait airbase
• Discover UNESCO Lost City of Opar
• Enjoy dune bashing with local guides
• Watch sunset with Arabic coffee or tea

The experience

If you have an afternoon free and want to see the desert without renting a car or navigating alone, this tour moves through four distinct stops in a single run. You start at Thumrait, a historical Bedouin settlement at 1,570 feet elevation, then move into Wadi Duka, which holds the world's largest frankincense national park. The trees grow low and gnarled across the landscape, and the frankincense trade that built the region's wealth is visible in the way the ground is organized around them. Your guide is a local who speaks English and knows the timing and the routes.

The Lost City of Opar is a UNESCO World Heritage site: the legendary Atlantis of the Sands, a city that vanished into the desert centuries ago and was only rediscovered in modern times. What remains is scattered across the dunes, and the guide walks you through what archaeologists have found and what the site meant to the trade routes that crossed the peninsula. After that comes the part most people come for: dune bashing in the Empty Quarter itself, where the sand rises to 150 meters and the vehicle climbs and drops across slopes that feel like they have no bottom. A professional desert guide handles the driving. You sit in an air-conditioned cab and feel the angle change beneath you.

The tour ends as the sun drops, and you stop in the dunes with Arabic coffee or tea and water to drink while the light goes orange and then red across the sand. The whole day is seven hours from pickup to return.

What’s included

• Pickup from your location.
• an English-speaking professional guide.
• air-conditioned 4WD vehicle for the full seven hours.
• water, tea and Arabic coffee.
• access to Thumrait, Wadi Duka, the Lost City of Opar and the Empty Quarter dunes.

Before you book

Days and timesNext departure: 10 Mar 2027

Book up to2h before

AgesAdult (15 and older) · Child (3 to 14 years) · Infant (under 3): free

GroupUp to 20

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.You can choose from 25 pickup points.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 16 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortStroller-friendlyNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with back problems

Operated by Arabian Travel Service

Is this one for you?Choose this tour if you want to visit multiple desert landmarks in one afternoon with a guide managing the route and timing, plus air-conditioned transport for comfort during dune driving and long stretches between stops.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 14 years); Infant (under 3): free.

What is the Lost City of Opar, and why is it on this tour?

The Lost City of Opar is a UNESCO World Heritage site known as the Atlantis of the Sands: a legendary city buried in the Arabian desert that was rediscovered in modern times. It sits on the route through the Empty Quarter, and the guide explains what archaeologists have found there and its role in the ancient trade networks that crossed the peninsula.

How does dune bashing work on this tour?

Dune bashing happens in the Empty Quarter, where dunes rise to 150 meters high. A professional desert guide drives the 4WD vehicle up and down the slopes. You ride in an air-conditioned cab and experience the angle and speed of the terrain without doing the driving yourself.

What's included to drink and eat during the seven hours?

The tour includes two bottles of water per person, plus tea and Arabic coffee served at the end of the day during sunset in the dunes. No meals are provided beyond those drinks.

Is the vehicle comfortable for a long day in the desert?

The 4WD is air-conditioned and built for both road and off-road driving, with suspension designed to handle the dunes without jarring. It's maintained to a high standard and equipped for the terrain.

What is Wadi Duka, and what will I see there?

Wadi Duka is home to the world's largest frankincense national park. The frankincense trees grow across the landscape, and the site shows how the frankincense trade shaped the region's history and economy.