Dubai Desert Safari: Red Dunes, Camel Ride & Sandboarding

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Duration4h

GroupUp to 100

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Red Dunes adventure with sandboarding camel ride and hotel pickup

You’ll feel your heart race on wild dune bashing across Dubai’s Red Dunes before catching your breath on a gentle camel ride and trying sandboarding (don’t worry if you fall). With hotel pickup included and a local guide leading every step, it’s four hours of laughter, desert air, and those little moments that stick with you long after you’re back in the city.

Step-by-step itinerary

Dubai Desert Safari with dune activities

Hotel pickup by safari guide
Drive 50 minutes to desert meeting point
Take 30-minute break and camel ride
Prepare 4x4 for dune bashing
Enjoy 45 minutes dune bashing
Stop for panoramic views and sandboarding
Return to hotel after desert adventure

The Experience

I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to laugh so much while holding on for dear life in a 4x4. The moment we hit the Red Dunes outside Dubai, our guide Khalid grinned in the rearview mirror and said, “Ready?” I wasn’t. The city faded behind us—just glass towers shrinking—and suddenly it was all endless orange sand and that weird dry silence you only get in deserts. Even the air tasted different, like sun-baked earth and something faintly metallic. We stopped at Lehbab Desert for a quick break; some kids tried sandboarding right away, but I just watched at first, shoes filling with warm grit.

The dune bashing part? Honestly wild. Forty-five minutes of sliding sideways up and down these huge red slopes—I kept thinking we’d tip over (we didn’t). Khalid had this way of narrating little things about the desert between bumps: how the light changes by the hour, why camels always look slightly annoyed. At one point he stopped at what he called “the tallest dune,” handed me his phone for photos, and pointed out some tiny tracks in the sand—fox maybe? Or just someone’s sandal. My legs were jelly when we got out but I still tried sandboarding. Fell twice, laughed harder the second time. It’s easier than snow, somehow.

There was this short camel ride too—maybe two minutes tops—but it felt longer because of how slow and swaying it is up there. The handler said something in Arabic I couldn’t catch; Khalid translated with a smile: “He says you sit well!” Not sure if that was true or just politeness but either way, it made me grin like an idiot under my scarf. On the afternoon tour you get this unreal sunset—the kind that makes everything look gold and soft-edged. We drove back as dusk settled in, everyone quiet for once except for someone humming softly in the back seat.

What’s included

Your day includes round-trip hotel pickup and drop-off by 4x4 vehicle with an experienced licensed safari guide at the wheel.
bottled drinking water throughout.
a short camel ride (about two minutes) that can be repeated if time allows.
plenty of chances for photos at the highest dune.
forty-five minutes of guided dune bashing through Dubai’s Red Dunes.
all necessary equipment for sandboarding.
plus sunset views if you choose an afternoon safari slot before heading back into town together.

Good to know

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

Operated by Dream Journey