Dubai the City is a cosmopolitan tourist attraction and a half with its towers of concrete and glass reaching high into the skies. In 2022, it got 14.26 million overnight tourists. The figure should only grow in 2023.
With that said, Dubai’s natural face is that of the endless sands of the Arabian Desert. Dubai’s sandy dunes and endless blue skies is its own biggest attraction. On this desert come multitudes of potential activities and desert adventures.
Let’s now discuss the five different must-do, can’t-miss activities when engaging in a gorgeous and thrilling Dubai Desert Safari.
Table of Contents
Flying on a Hot Air Balloon
What better way to have your desert safari in the hot, arid desert than to rise above it all and ride on a hot air balloon? The altitude helps a lot alleviate the incredible heat. If anything, it also assists tourists when it comes to acclimating to the new climate while appreciating the greater beauty of Dubai.
This balloon allows you to view the desert from a bird’s eye point of view, giving you perspective on the nuanced gorgeousness of the region where tales about Arabian Nights were born. It’s not quite a magic carpet ride, but it’s certainly a way for you to have your cake and eat it too at 4,000 feet.
You’ll bear witness to a landscape filled with golden dunes as far as your eye can see along with desert wildlife you won’t see everyday in any other part of the world. What’s not to like, if not love?
Riding a Camel through the Desert
If you want to rough it on your Dubai desert safari, you can also ride on the ever-dependable camel or the ships of the desert to traverse the outside fringes of the Dubai metropolis using the living vehicles of the ancients. Camels have proven the test of time as desert companions.
It’s an old-timey yet elegant desert transportation solution with an old-world charm to it. The camel convoy also brings a sense of authenticity to your travel, with you traveling the same way the nomads did back in the day.
Just make sure to go with services that follow strict animal welfare guidelines to ensure ethical treatment of Dubai camels.
Sandboarding into Sandy Dunes
Perhaps you don’t merely want to go on safari by getting from Point A to Point B, with photo ops in between. Maybe you’re a lively adult tourist that wants to try some unusual sporty activities while you’re there in Dubai that you can’t do in Paris or Cancun.
Then sandboarding is just the activity for you, my friend! The sun and the sand might lack the waves that form a beach, but it is quite the curiosity for wave surfers and snowboarders to try out their sweet moves on the sandboard and the gritty Dubai dunes.
Quad Biking Across All Terrains
The quad bike, an all-terrain vehicle, is the perfect fit for the irregular terrains of craggy rock formations and uneven soft sand of the Dubai desert. They’re machines that give your Dubai desert safari that extra sense of thrill and adventure when all Is said and done.
Riding on them is even better than a ride at the roller coaster because you’re moving across bumpier roads rather than predetermined rails. Even so, it’s also comparable to such a ride because of how well the vehicle is able to traverse the safari in the sportiest and most exciting way possible.
Choosing a reputable quad bike rental Dubai, you can have your fill of photo ops galore as your ATV climbs everywhere. It’s all perfectly safe though thanks to the supervision of trained guides and instructors.
Dune Bashing at Your Dubai Safari
Dune bashing sounds like a perfectly “extreme sports” type of adventure activity that really makes use of the sort of environment that Dubai has. You can’t dune bash at the Alps or in the middle of New York, for example. It’s something you can do at sunrise or sunset in a desert setting.
Dune bashing is an off-road adventure sport activity involving the use of 4×4 ATV vehicles—and not just the quad bike at that—in order to thrash the dunes with multiple twists and turns, like you’re at a desert obstacle race or you’re doing filming for the latest in the Fast and Furious franchise.
Being able to control your sand buggy in desert territory as the ground sprays sand everywhere and makes your wheels slip Is an adrenaline-rush of an activity in and of itself. Highly recommended.