Guide · an honest answer
Is a desert safari in Dubai worth it?
Published · Updated · 2 min read
The honest version
We sell desert safaris, so treat the recommendation with appropriate suspicion. Here is what we would tell a friend.
Worth it: the dune drive, and the twenty-odd minutes either side of sunset. Driving a loaded 4x4 over soft sand is a real skill and watching someone do it well is a genuine experience. The light on the dunes at sunset is the best thing in the emirate. Neither has a substitute anywhere else on a Dubai itinerary.
Not what sells it: the camp. The camel meet, the henna, the dance show and the buffet are a packaged evening. Enjoyable, well run, and not why you came.
Who ends up disappointed
Almost everyone who writes a bad review booked the same trip: the cheapest shared tour, in high summer, with a long pickup loop and a camp at full capacity. The complaints are consistent and they are all logistics, not desert.
- An hour in a minibus collecting other parties
- Dune driving pitched at whoever shouted loudest
- A buffet queue at a camp seating three hundred people
- Leaving when the last party was ready
None of that is the desert’s fault. All of it is avoidable.
How to avoid the version that disappoints
- Go between October and March if you can choose. This is the whole reason Dubai has a season.
- Book your own vehicle if you are four or more — at that size it is usually cheaper than shared anyway. See the price guide.
- Pick the right slot. Evening for the full programme, morning for the desert without the show.
- Read the inclusion list. The gap between a cheap tour and a good one is usually four unbundled extras, not the quality of the sand.
If the camp is what puts you off
Book a morning or sunrise safari. They are the drive, the dunes and the light, with no programme attached, and they get you back before the day starts.
If you want the best thing the desert does
Stay the night. The two hours after the day guests leave — no generators, no music, the sky filling in properly — is the part nobody puts in the brochure and the part people remember. See the overnight safari.
Questions we get asked
Is a desert safari touristy?
Yes, the camp part is. The dune drive and the sunset are not — they are the actual desert and they are the reason to go. If the camp programme is what puts you off, book a morning or sunrise safari, which skips it entirely.
Is it worth it in summer?
In June, July and August, the evening version is much less worth it — it stays hot well past sunset and the camp time is shortened. The morning safari is still good. If your trip is in high summer, go early rather than not at all.
Is it worth it with young children?
Yes, with two conditions: your own vehicle, and the morning slot for under-sixes. A shared evening tour with a toddler is the single most common version of a bad desert safari.
Will I be disappointed if I have been to the Sahara or Wahiba?
Possibly, on the desert. The dune belt near Dubai is smaller and busier than either. The driving is still excellent and the red dunes at Lahbab are genuinely tall.
Is the camp dinner good?
At a private table with a set menu, yes. At a shared buffet at peak capacity, it is catering. This is the part of the experience where the price difference is most visible.
What is the one thing worth paying more for?
Your own vehicle. It changes the pickup, the driving, the dinner and the departure all at once. Everything else is a smaller upgrade.
Safaris this guide is about
Private safari
Private Evening Desert Safari
A private evening desert safari with your own 4x4 and guide. Dune drive, sunset stop, dinner at a private camp table. Priced per vehicle, not per person.
Private safari
Private Morning Desert Safari
Early private desert safari with your own 4x4 and guide. Cooler air, firmer dunes, empty desert, back at your hotel before lunch. Priced per vehicle.
Private safari
Private Overnight Desert Safari
Stay in the desert after the day guests leave. Private 4x4, private tent, dinner, the night sky with no light pollution, and sunrise before anyone else arrives.
For an occasion
Family Desert Safari
A private safari built around children and grandparents. One family per vehicle, private seating at camp, halal-only kitchen, no-music option, and timings you set.