Dubai Desert Safari: Dune Bashing, 60min Quad & BBQ Camp

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.89 (12,840 reviews) 93% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/29

Duration7h 30m

GroupUp to 100

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Dubai’s wild dunes, quad bikes, and a campfire night under stars

You’ll feel Dubai’s desert come alive: quad biking across open dunes (not just circles), dune bashing with expert drivers, camel rides at sunset, and a night at Majlis camp with live shows and barbecue dinner under starlight. It’s equal parts thrill and calm — you might still think about that silence on top of a dune long after you’re back in your hotel room.

7h 30m

Step-by-step itinerary

Dubai desert safari and evening camp

Pickup from hotel
Drive to desert and refresh
Enjoy 60-minute ATV quad biking
Experience 45-minute 4x4 dune bashing
Arrive at Majlis Bedouin camp
Relax and try camel riding
Enjoy sand boarding and hookah
Get henna design and costume makeover
Watch live shows and dances
Have BBQ dinner under moonlight
Stargaze before returning to hotel

The Experience

I’ll be honest — I almost missed the pickup because I couldn’t find my sneakers (sand in flip-flops is just not it). Our driver, Hassan, just grinned when I finally showed up at the hotel lobby, shoes in hand. He had this calm way of making you feel like being late was part of the plan. The drive out from Dubai was all chatter and city lights fading behind us until suddenly it was just sand and that weird quiet you only get outside the city.

The first thing that hit me at the edge of the desert wasn’t the heat — it was this sweet cardamom smell from tiny cups of Arabic coffee and sticky dates they handed us. My hands were already sandy before we even got on the ATVs. The quad biking wasn’t some kiddie loop; it was real open desert riding. Sixty minutes felt both endless and too short as we tore over those huge red dunes. I stalled mine once (don’t judge), but Hassan just waved and shouted something encouraging in Arabic — probably “try not to flip it.” Sand got everywhere, even in my teeth somehow.

Dune bashing came next — forty-five minutes of what felt like being inside a rolling drum. The 4x4 driver barely blinked as we slid sideways down these massive slopes. There was this one moment at the top of a dune where everything went silent except for the wind whistling through the windows. I caught myself grinning like an idiot. We stopped for photos; everyone tried to look cool but mostly just squinted into the sun.

The Majlis camp looked like something from an old movie set, lanterns swinging in the breeze and carpets everywhere. We tried camel riding (awkward but fun), then sat around while a henna artist painted my friend’s hand with these careful little swirls. Dinner was this smoky barbecue — lamb kebabs, grilled veggies, flatbreads warm from a fire — and there were live shows: drums, spinning dancers, even fire twirling that made everyone gasp at least once. At some point I realized I’d lost track of time completely. The stars came out sharp and cold above us while people lounged on cushions or smoked shisha quietly nearby.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off within Dubai city limits, all open desert quad biking gear (with your own ATV for up to 60 minutes if you want), thrilling dune bashing in a 4x4 SUV with photo stops on high dunes, entry to Majlis elite camp for camel rides you can repeat if you’re brave enough plus sandboarding and shisha sessions if you fancy them; there’s also henna art by local artists and local attire makeovers before sitting down to a five-course BBQ dinner with drinks—vegetarian or Jain meals on request—and four different live shows unless it’s Ramadan or certain holidays when belly dancing is skipped.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleInfants must sit on laps

Operated by ABC Tourism LLC