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slightly astray

an honest look at life on the road

Early morning safari with Dubai Desert Safari Tours

Going on a dessert safari was the number one thing I wanted to do in Dubai. I wanted to race down the huge sand dunes and ride a camel and experience the feeling of being in an endless desert.

But when I started researching tours, I found myself sorely disappointed.

Let me first tell you what a typical desert safari is like. A car picks you up around 3 pm. You drive out to the desert and go dune bashing for maybe 20 minutes. Then you go to a camp with all the other tours. There are camels at the camp, but good luck getting to actually ride one because of the huge queue. And if you do get to, it’s only for a few minutes. There are ATVs available (but at an extra cost) and again, you’ll have to deal with queues. Then there’s a BBQ dinner, henna, shisha, pics in Bedouin costumes, and traditional performances.

I couldn’t care less about the BBQ, henna, or shisha. And even less about being at a camp with 100 other people. Maybe I’m antisocial (sometimes), but that sounds like…. just not fun.

I wanted a real desert experience. I want to ride a camel for longer than 5 minutes.

So when I found an Early Morning Safari by Desert Safari Tours, it sounded like my dream desert experience. This tour treats visitors to an early morning session of dune bashing, breakfast, an one-hour camel sunrise, 45 min of ATV, falcons, and sandboarding.

I didn’t even mind the 5:30 am pick up time (and if you know me, you KNOW I’m not a morning person. Freelancing has turned me into a lazy sleeper-in. :P) And I only slightly hesitated when they quoted the price… 460 AED (roughly US $125), 3x-4x the price of other typical afternoon safaris.

I confirmed my spot and one early Thursday morning, I found myself dragging out of bed at 5:00 am to get ready for my desert experience. Luckily, this trip was able to happen because I managed to find a buddy (Josh) to join me, since they wouldn’t take just a single person on the tour (story at the end).

By the time we got to the desert, the sky was just starting to transform into pinks and golds. Perfect timing! So we decided to start with the camel ride first (instead of dune bashing) so we can experience it during sunrise.

One-hour sunrise camel ride

In a few minutes, a camel was led out to us. It was told to kneel down on the ground and we climbed up. I started to get so excited!

look at that big smile. I couldn’t stop smiling even if I tried

Arabian camels all have one hump and the one we were riding is a 22 year old camel named Hassin. Camels are amazing creatures. They are truly ships of the desert. In the hot, hot summer, a camel can go 2 weeks without water – and up to 3 months during the winter!

I was most excited for the camel ride, so I was positively giddy now. The camel stood up and we began the slow saunter across the dessert. Annnnnd… within 5 minutes, I wanted off. Kidding, but seriously if you’ve never ridden a camel before, they are NOT comfortable. Soon enough, it got better, but most likely because your butt has gone numb.

And camel riding is also a very jerky activity. It was almost impossible to take good clear pics. 99% of my pictures are skewed and blurry. Like this:

This is better, though still blurry. :)

For one hour, our guide led us through the desert. We rode as the sky in the distance turned from dark to bright red to faded pink to finally a clear blue. It was incredible to be the only people out in the vast desert, with just birdsong as background music.

I privately chuckled at how this is actually the perfect romantic activity, but here I was doing it with someone I had only just met.

By the time we reached a little campsite (where breakfast was waiting), Josh and I both agreed that our butts have gone numb and our thighs were sore from squeezing the camel.

Hassin settled down again for a well deserved rest.

And this is him with our guide!

Breakfast was nothing to write home about. Orange juice, take-away burgers and fries, and bananas. It wasn’t very good, but we needed the energy for what was next:

Dune bashing on ATV’s!

This activity ended up being my favorite part of the tour! It was incredibly thrilling to ride up and down the sand dunes on a little machine. We followed another guide who led us all over the dunes. It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. My face literally hurt from smiling so much with glee.

Because we were fully immersed in the ATV riding, I don’t have much pictures from this activity. The guide took some videos, but until I figure out how to edit videos, here are a couple of pics.

And then… we got the crest of the hill.

The guide went down easily and it was my turn. I stopped at the top of the crest and looked down at the very steep hill and the guide who now looked so small down below.

“I’m scared! ” I turned around and yelled to Josh. I didn’t trust my driving abilities nor did I like the fact that I had no belt.

“I don’t blame you,” he said peering down. “Want me to go first?” I nodded and off he went. Well, he didn’t topple over.

Now they were both at the bottom and urging me to come down. I shook my head and said I can’t do it. I considered asking the guide to walk back up and ride my ATV down for me. But that’s just too losery, so I took a deep breath, pushed the accelerator just a little, released, and down I went.

And it was INCREDIBLE. The biggest thrill ever.

We continued onwards and the guide led us to several more big hills. With each one, my confidence grew and I hesitated less and less. We zoomed up and down the dunes, conquering each hill.

In the middle, we stopped by another camp and the guide disappeared inside for a bit. When he came back out, he was carrying a falcon!

Meeting a falcon

Falcons are the national bird of the UAE, symbolizing strength, courage, and pride. And falconry is one of the oldest traditions of the Bedouins.

We both got to take pictures with the beautiful bird and then pet it. It had the softest features. Except when I petted it, it started crying so the guide took him back.

Closer look! He’s a beautiful bird.

After some more time of bashing the dunes, we stopped once again at the top of another hill. The guide disappeared again for a bit, and when he came back, he had boards for –

Sandboarding

I’ve never snowboarded before, so I was terrified at the thought of going down the very steep hill standing on a small piece of metal.

Seriously, this hill is steep!

No way was I doing this, especially after seeing Josh go down first and falling. So I did the little baby hill while he conquered the big one.

The guide told me it was my turn to do the big one. “No way” I said. So he said I can go down sitting on the board.

How hard can that be right? But I even messed that up! As I zoomed down the hill, My board headed straight for a cluster of branches sticking up above the sandy surface (the branches you see to the right in the photo above). It smashed into the branches and I launched off the board, rolling down rest of the way (yes, I have this on video).

But you know what was the HARDEST part? Dragging that damn board back up the hill. Those boards were *heavy* and the sand was soft. I couldn’t gain any purchase. One step up, and 2 slides down. The guide helped lug the board back up, but I was still huffing and puffing from getting just myself back up.

At least the 2nd go was a success!

Dune Bashing in a 4×4

After sandboarding, we got back into the Toyota Land Cruiser for the standard dune bashing part of the tour. I had been looking forward to this too because so many people say it’s fun and thrilling and “not for the faint of heart”.

But honestly, you know what? It was completely anticlimactic after all the exhilarating things we just did. I don’t know if it was the driver that wasn’t good or just didn’t care or what. But there was no level of excitement at all. Or maybe it’s after bashing the dunes on an ATV, a car just can’t compare. I think if we had started with this, it could have been exciting, but Josh and I both agreed that the only thing it did was give us headaches.

When he finally drove out of the desert, I was happy to be on the way back to Dubai.

Desert Safari Tours Review

I paid for this myself so I can be completely honest. And I really did think this tour was excellent and worth every penny of the steep price. The tour guides were excellent (except for the dune bashing part, but I was already satisfied by then). The sunrise hour long camel ride was just as magical as I expected (albeit a bit uncomfortable :P). And the ATV was one of the most thrilling things I’ve ever done. The falcon and sandboarding felt like awesome perks. I left incredibly happy that I had gotten the desert experience I’d hoped for.

Even Josh (whom I basically coerced into doing this with me) was extremely happy he had decided to come along. He also felt like it was worth his money.

So, funny story…

If it weren’t for Josh, I wouldn’t have been able to do this. When I first contacted them, they told me that they couldn’t take just me as a solo person, unless I pay for 2 people. I wasn’t about to pay double, so I spent a long time looking for other morning safaris. But they also either couldn’t take just me, or their packages weren’t what I want. I guess not too many people want to go in the morning (and it’s true as we didn’t see one single other person), so they can’t operate a tour for just 1 person.

I was just about to resign to joining a standard evening tour, when another traveler moved into my Airbnb apartment. I figured “why not try” and asked him if he’d like to go on this awesome but expensive morning safari tour with me. To my surprise, he thought it was a great idea!

As soon as I had gotten another person on board, Desert Safari Tours was able to very quickly organize the tour. All communication was done through Whatsapp, and they’re relatively quick to reply. On the morning of pickup, the driver arrived at our location at the exact time he said he’d be there. So it all went very smoothly.

Only complaint: during the tour, the driver had taken professional pictures with his DSLR, and they looked GREAT. He said all the images will be emailed to us. And well, it’s been over a month now and still no pictures to be seen. So I give up and just went ahead and wrote up this post without the nice photos. If I ever miraculously get them, I’ll update this.

Practical Information:

  • Company: Desert Safari Tours | website
  • What: They offer several different tours, but the one that caught my eye was the Early Morning Desert Safari because of the activities and I also wanted to experience sunrise in the desert.
  • What’s included: Pickup/drop off, 1-hour sunrise camel ride, 45-minutes ATV, 20-ish minutes dune bashing in car, pictures with falcon, sandboarding, breakfast
  • Price: 460 AED (about $125 US)
  • Time: Around 5:30 to 9:30 am

Final note: I know there are many debates about whether it’s ethical to participate in any kind of animal activities for tourism. While I’d never participate in elephant rides, I felt no qualms about this as camels are built for this. They’ve been carrying their nomadic Bedouin owners across desserts for millenniums.

Have you been on a desert safari or ridden a camel or ATV? If not, would you want to do this?

Comments

  2. Oh wow, what a jam packed experience! You definitely opted for the best option as you are right, the first type of tour really doesn’t sound like fun! And those skies are just incredible!
    And I would have been scared too, Haha! But probably also would have enjoyed the thrill.
    That’s so annoying about the photos – I hope they one day arrive :)

    • Yeah, right? Being at a camp with a lot of people just doesn’t sound that fun to me. There are definitely more activities and a more intimate experience with this tour! I’m so glad I splurged for it. Hahah I don’t the pro photos would ever arrive.. it’s too bad because they were really good, and you know, actually had me in it, haha!

  3. What an awesome and memorable experience! Even though the price may be steep, but it sure does include a lot of different activities which makes it seem really worth the money. Glad you have found this tour!

    • I really felt like it was worth the money too! Because back in the US, horseback riding + ATV would be over $100 as well. And this was such a fun and unique experience out in the desert too. I’m really glad I found it AND was able to find a person to do it with me too!

  4. This sounds like my mind of safari! I totally agree with you, I could careless about all the other stuff, I want to ride a camel :) And that falcon is so cool! What a great day, Dubai isn’t really high on my list but I would LOVE to do this so it definitely moved a few spots up ;)

    • Yes! This was the thing I wanted to do most in Dubai (2nd was that awesome Friday brunch). I think there is definitely more to Dubai than just the tall buildings. This was one of my favorite days in Dubai for sure!

  6. Such a cool experience for you! I also went on a camel trek (but in the Sahara in Morocco) and your description is spot on. Sooo jerky and lots of butt-numbness hahaha. Not as idyllic as we had been led to believe!

    • Oooh I’ve seen pictures of the Sahara dessert in Morocco and the red dunes look so beautiful! Hahah yes, camel riding looks so peaceful, but not comfortable at all! Honestly, 10 minutes probably would have been enough, but it was still such a good experience to do a long ride during sunrise!

    • I was most excited to visit Dubai for this too!! And I’m glad I’m not the only weirdo who doesn’t like being with other people :’D. Getting up early was so worth it… but of course, as soon as we were dropped back off home, I just went right back to sleep!

  9. This tour looks great! I definitely want to try a camel ride and also the ATV. I’m not sure sandboarding is my thing though, if it’s anything like snowboarding. My first time snowboarding I snowboarded off the edge of the slope and into the thick of trees. Good times…!

    • Yikes! That sounds really scary… I hope you weren’t injured. Don’t worry, I was too scared to do the real sandboarding too. I don’t think my balance is that good haha. I only did the tiny baby hill, and for the big one, I went down sitting on it!

  10. I’m going to sound so lame when I say this, but if it was me, I would just like to go for an early morning desert hike. I just want to be out there in the desert, I can go without the other activities.

    I’m such a grandma.

    • Nope, not lame :). A desert sunrise hike (and picnic!) would be beautiful and romantic. But I think it’ll be really hard to walk on the soft sand hehe. I happen to love activities, so I don’t mind splurging on really cool ones!

  11. Ok – first off you are brave! Most of those things literally terrify me (I say this and realise how old i am getting as in my 20’s I would have been up for this stuff! Not sure my butt would fit on that saddle thing either lol!!! We will be on a tighter than tight budget too – where would you recommend staying? Was your Airbnb reasonable?

    • Ahh I still need to get you the info on my airbnb! My location wasn’t centralized, but the public transportation was very convenient to get to anywhere in the city. If you want to experience a desert safari, but you’re on a tight budget, there’s always the evening version, which is WAY cheaper. I think you can find ones for just $30 or so. :)

  12. sounds like so much fun!!! I don’t think I would’ve been even about to get on top of one of those metal sandsurfing boards! I have no balance. and hahahahha the falcon cried when at you. heheheheheee

  13. Oh wow, now this is something I would definitely do if I visited Dubai, a camel safari for sunrise? Yep, that is my type of fun – although I have ridden a camel before and yelped quite a bit at the jerky action (plus how they bend their knees to stand up and sit down, I confess I’m a bit of a scardey cat when my feet aren’t on solid ground lol). Of course there would be a tonne of fun activities in the sand – it’s sand dunes so a 4×4 trip would be SO much fun! Then there is meeting a falcon – yep, I would like that as well, you have truly shown me there is much more to Dubai than I initially thought so I have pinned this for the future! #feetdotravel

    • Haha yes! When the camels stand up and sit down are pretty scary moments, especially if you’re not prepared for it! The ATVs ended up being the most fun part of this tour! I would definitely recommend doing that. I’m really glad I was able to do this too, because it was such an unique experience, and like you said, it’s something different from just being in the city!

  14. This is so cool! This is the thing I would most want to do in Dubai – sandboarding in particular looks super fun and you have done so many cool activities in a day! Love this and would definitely try all of these things on my visit! Would have been awesome to learn about the falcons too!

    • This was definitely what I wanted to do most in Dubai, and I’m glad I found a tour that offered exactly what I wanted! The only thing is that the guide didn’t actually teach you about the falcons haha. He only brought it out for photos. It would have been cool to see it in action!

  15. This sounds absolutely awesome! We’re headed to Morocco soon and I desperately want to do something like this (a desert safari), but I don’t know if I’ll be able to top the experience you had in Dubai. Especially meeting such a gorgeous falcon. We do want to visit the Middle East someday, so when we do, we’ll keep this in mind as something to try! :) Thanks for sharing!

    • Oh from others’ pictures that I’ve seen, Morocco’s desert is beautiful with the deep red color of the sand dunes! And you can definitely ride a camel there! I hope you’re able to find a good desert experience when you go. :)

  16. wow looks like you had a great time, what fun! not heard of sand boarding before! will have to try that one day, great photos too!

  17. This seriously looks like my dream!!! I did a similar tours in Morocco [not all in one] and I can’t wait to do something like this again. Just look at those dunes and those skies!! Looks like you got the full experiences with quads, camels and sand-boarding! Glad you got to go :D

  19. I love Dubai. It’s nice to see a post about the landscape outside of the beaches, souk, and skyline!

  21. I have done this before and I could relate that it’s a beautiful experience!! Even the camel ride is amazing!! It’s okay to be a bit scared at first but eventually u have a lot of fun… Desert safaris are beautiful …I love Dubai ….And seriously the article is so relatable!!!

  22. I agree, morning safaris are so much more fun than the overcrowded evening ones. The time spent with the falcon and clear open spaces to roam on the back of a camel makes for a little more authenticity. Great post with plenty of info. :-)

    • Oh I know.. I’m so glad I was able to find someone in the end, so I didn’t have to settle for the crowded evening one! It was so incredible to be the only people out in the desert that morning!

  23. What a great adventure you found in the Dubai Desert. Love the morning sunrise camel ride and the rest of the activities plus glad you provided the information and link to the company. I pinned this for later when I make a trip to Dubai. Thanks for sharing :-) #feetdotravel

    • I’m glad it was helpful, Stephanie! This tour is definitely a lot more expensive than other safari tours, but I really thought it was worth it for the more unique experience and lack of crowds!

  24. Sounds like so much fun! I bet the desert was beautiful in the morning sun. I’ve always wanted to ride a camel, but like you, I’d probably want to get off after a couple of minutes. Great post!

    • Haha I know! I thought a one hour camel ride sounded so great, but they are really not comfortable! it’s okay, you get used to it, and the beautiful sunrise will distract you too. :)

  25. We are not morning people either. But this looks like so much fun. Probably worth waking up for. The ATV experience also looks fun! Not sure if we will be able to sandboard though. Looks like we might fall down way too many times.

    • It was definitely worth waking up for! So magical to experience sunrise in the desert. And yes, the ATV was my favorite part.. it was so fun. I didn’t want it to end!

  26. I was actually undecided between sunrise or sunset desert safari, but in the end our friend chose for us lol. I saw people struggle with the sandboards at the slopes – not moving! Kudos to you for trying these activities out from such high slopes. Completely opposite of your experience, the dune-bashing in 4×4 was the most fun part for me, hehe. You got the whole desert to yourself, how awesome!

  27. Stunning, all the pictures are So Amazing, Early morning desert safari is really worth waking up early because I remembered when I visited Dubai and because of the evening scheduled meeting I was unable to visit the desert in evening but thanks to these guys: ” https://www.yourtripdubai.com/morning-safari ” I finally visited the Arabian desert in their Morning desert safari deal. The desert’s view in the early morning is really awesome. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful experience with us.

  29. Desert safari is the famous attraction of Dubai. Morning desert safari is the best time that can save a lot of time and cover all the desert attractions. One of my friends planning to visit Dubai in November and he arranged the entire thing like hotel booking, flight booking and also taken tour package from Vootours LLC. After reading your information I found this is helpful for him during the Dubai trip. I have shared your article with him and hope this helps him during the trip. Thanks for sharing such as the nice post.