Dubai Desert Safari: Dune Bashing, Sandboarding & BBQ Night

★★★★★★★★★★ 4.98 (671 reviews) 98% rated it 5 stars

Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/17

Duration7h

GroupUp to 7

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Evening in Dubai’s desert with dune bashing sandboarding camel rides and a fire-lit feast

You’ll ride over Dubai’s high red dunes in a 4x4, try your luck at sandboarding (wiping out is half the fun), meet camels up close, and end up sharing BBQ dinner while dancers light up the desert night. Expect laughter, new friends, and those little moments that stick with you long after you’re back in your hotel room.

Step-by-step itinerary

Evening desert safari with activities

Start 4x4 dune bashing
Sandboarding on dunes
Photo break at sunset
Camel ride at desert camp
Falcon interaction and photos
Enjoy belly, tanoura, fire dances
Sheesha smoking and henna painting
VIP BBQ dinner with drinks
Return to hotel/accommodation

The Experience

The first thing I remember is the sound — tires letting out this soft hiss as our 4x4 left the city behind and rolled onto the Lahbab Desert’s red sand. Our driver, Kareem, grinned like he’d been waiting all day for this part. The dunes looked almost too perfect, but then you feel them under you — the car tilting at angles that made me laugh (and maybe grab the seat a little too hard). My friend tried to film it but mostly caught us shouting “woah!” over each other. There’s something about seeing Dubai’s skyline fade into nothing but sand that makes you realize how wild this place really is.

We stopped at the top of one dune just as the light started shifting — not quite sunset yet, but you could smell the heat coming off the sand. Kareem handed us these battered boards for sandboarding (I wiped out instantly, which apparently is tradition). Some kids from another group cheered when I finally made it down standing up. It felt good to just laugh at myself — nobody cared how clumsy I was. The camel ride after that was slower than I expected; their eyelashes are ridiculous up close, like they’re wearing mascara for a festival or something. I tried to say “shukran” to our handler and he gave me this patient smile — probably hears tourists mangle Arabic all day.

The desert camp was already buzzing when we got there — music drifting out of speakers, people queuing for henna or snapping photos with a falcon perched on someone’s arm. Dinner was this smoky BBQ spread (the chicken skewers were my favorite), with endless sweet tea and soft drinks. There was a moment during the fire dance show where everyone just went quiet together, watching sparks fly into the dark sky. It hit me then how far away we were from malls and highways — just heat, laughter, and strangers sharing food under strings of lights. I still think about that view sometimes when city life gets loud again.

What’s included

Your evening includes pickup and drop-off from your Dubai hotel in an air-conditioned 4x4 SUV with an English-speaking guide.
dune bashing on high red sands.
repeatable sandboarding.
short camel rides.
falcon photo opportunities.
henna painting for ladies.
live belly dance, Tanoura dance & fire shows.
sheesha smoking.
unlimited soft drinks & water.
plus a BBQ dinner with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian choices before heading back to your hotel late in the evening.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Trawey Tourism