Dubai Desert Safari: Dune Bashing, Camel Ride & BBQ Dinner

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/12

Duration6h

GroupUp to 500

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

The Dunes Fill Up Fast — Here's What Happens When You're Already Out There

You ride dune-bashing in a 4WD vehicle, watch the sunset from the sand, then spend the evening at a camp with five live performances, a 15-dish BBQ buffet, camel riding, sandboarding and henna painting. Hotel pickup and drop-off are included, along with unlimited tea, coffee and soft drinks. The whole experience runs five-plus hours and ends back at your hotel.

Step-by-step itinerary

Dubai Desert Safari and Evening Entertainment

Pickup from hotel or home
Wear traditional Arabic dresses
Get henna tattoo for ladies
Enjoy sandboarding and camel ride
Explore souvenir shops
Watch sunset drive through dunes
Arrive at Bedouin-style camp
Watch live dance performances
Enjoy fire show and appetizers
Have BBQ buffet dinner
Return to hotel or home

The Experience

The 4WD vehicle is already moving when you settle in, sand spraying as the driver leans into the first dune. This is the part people talk about afterward — the dune bashing in Dubai's desert, where the vehicle tilts at angles that feel impossible until you're living it. The driver knows the terrain, knows how to read the slope, and you're gripping the seat or laughing or both. It's not a smooth ride, and it's not meant to be. After the initial rush, things slow down. You stop at a viewpoint to watch the sunset drain color into the dunes, and then the pace shifts toward the camp.

The Bedouin-style camp is where the evening settles into something different — less adrenaline, more ritual. You can get henna painted on your hands if you want, or change into traditional Arabic dress for photos. The hookah sits in a smoking area, self-service, and there's tea and coffee running the whole time. Around you, the camp fills with other groups, but the live entertainment keeps moving: belly dance, then the Tanura show (that spinning skirt thing that looks impossible), then folk dancing. A fire show happens twice during the night, and between performances the buffet dinner comes out — more than 15 dishes, vegetarian and non-vegetarian, with grilled lamb, chicken, fish and kebab. It's not fine dining, but it's substantial, and you eat sitting on cushions while the performances happen around you.

The whole thing runs about five hours from pickup at your hotel or home to drop-off, and the timing is built around catching the sunset drive through the dunes first. Sandboarding is there if you want it — some people do it right after the dune bashing, others skip it. The camel ride is short but it happens, and kids get henna too. What you're not doing is arranging transport, finding the camp, negotiating prices at the gate, or figuring out which show is worth watching. The pickup handles that, and the price is fixed before you go.

What’s included

Hotel or home pickup and drop-off by 4WD vehicle.
dune bashing in a 4WD with an experienced driver.
sunset viewpoint stop.
camel ride.
sandboarding.
entry to the Bedouin-style camp.
henna tattoo for women and children.
traditional Arabic costumes for photos.
BBQ buffet dinner with 15+ dishes (vegetarian and non-vegetarian options).
five live performances including belly dance, Tanura show and folk dance.
two fire shows.
Arabic hookah in the smoking area.
unlimited tea, coffee, soft drinks and water throughout the evening.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for back problems

Operated by OceanView Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want the main desert experience — dune bashing, camel riding, live entertainment and dinner — without arranging transport, camp entry or timing yourself. The fixed pickup time and all-inclusive format mean you show up at your hotel and the evening unfolds on schedule.