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View all Abu Dhabi toursAbu Dhabi Morning Desert Drive with Camel Ride and Sandboarding
The morning version, which is the one photographers and families should take and almost nobody books.
Highlights
- Ridged, untouched dunes at first light before the evening convoys
- Low side-on light — the difference between a good desert photo and a flat one
- Dune driving, sandboarding and a camel ride
- Arabic tea, coffee, dates and water in the vehicle
- The only sensible option between June and September
Abu Dhabi Morning Desert Drive with Camel Ride and Sandboarding: Key Facts
| Price | From $71 per person |
|---|---|
| Duration | Flexible |
| Languages | English |
| Tour type | Guided Tour |
| Booking | Direct with the local operator — no OTA markup |
Full description
The morning version, which is the one photographers and families should take and almost nobody books.
At first light the Abu Dhabi dunes are ridged, untouched and empty — the wind rebuilds them overnight and the evening convoys have not been through yet. The light is low and side-on, which is the difference between a good desert photograph and a flat one.
Four hours: hotel pickup, dune driving by 4x4 with the tyres down, sandboarding, a short camel ride, and Arabic tea, coffee, dates and water in the vehicle.
It does not include the camp dinner or the evening shows — that is the evening safari's job. What you get instead is cooler air, no crowd, and the desert doing what it does when nobody is watching.
Between June and September the morning safari is not merely nicer, it is the only sensible option; an Abu Dhabi afternoon in the open is genuinely dangerous.
⚠️ The dune driving is still deliberately rough. Anyone pregnant, with back or neck trouble, or prone to motion sickness should say so at booking and the driver will take a mild line.
Includes
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Dune Bashing / Desert Drive by 4x4
- Short Camel ride
- Sandboarding session
- Light refreshments such as Arabic Tea, Coffee, Dates and Bottled Water
Excludes
- Food and drinks, unless specified
Important information
Meeting point
Hotel pickup and drop-off are included. The operator confirms your exact pickup time and place after your booking is confirmed.
Know before you go
- Free cancellation available up to 24 hours before the activity starts
About this activity
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Traveler Reviews
The tour was very well organized—from sunrise viewing and hiking to crossing a suspension bridge and visiting one of the oldest temples. What made it truly special was our guide, Ananta. With 14 years of experience, he is knowledgeable, friendly, and made the whole trip unforgettable. Although the weather wasn’t clear enough to see the mountains, the tour was still spectacular and definitely makes me want to come back to Kathmandu again—of course with Ananta as our guide. The road can be a bit bumpy and curvy, so I recommend taking a motion sickness pill if you’re sensitive. Overall rating: 10/10. धेरै धेरै धन्यवाद Ananta, अर्को पटक भेटौँला!! 🙏
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ What an incredible morning! The Abu Dhabi desert tour was unreal flying over the sand dunes in a 4x4 was pure adrenaline, then we stopped for some sandboarding which was boss fun! 🏄♂️🐪 Finished it off with a short camel ride and loads of laughs. The guide was brilliant, really friendly and knew loads about the desert. Transport was spot on too comfortable, on time, and great value for money. Highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Abu Dhabi! 🇦🇪🔥
We most enjoyed the sand dune drive, many gasps and laughter. The camels were lovely, the ride could have been a little longer, once around a very small enclosure was a bit sad.
I had the best time!! Uni was a great guide and made the experience lots of fun, would recommend to anyone!
Our guide was Farook and he was awesome. We were picked up at the hotel punctually. we did Dune bashing, visited Camel 🐪 farms, later went to the camp site for Sandboarding and camel ride. Sandboarding was harder than expected and the camel ride was only 10 mins. I wish it was longer. We had two kids with us and during Dune bashing, one started throwing up and our guide Farook was so patient and accomodating of our needs. We still managed to have a lot of fun🎉 I would totally recommend this...
Fun and fantastic tour of the dunes. The camel ride was great fun and so was the 4WD tour of desert. Highly recommended!
I couldn’t rate this trip higher, the main reason for this was our guide Unni. He really gauged how extreme we wanted the dune ride as we had children with us. He was so friendly and he laid back demeanour meant we never felt rushed during all the stages of the trip. I would 100% recommend this trip to anyone who wants to experience something a little different while in Abu Dhabi. Thank you Unni so much.
We enjoyed the entire experience from the first till the last minute with our great driver and guide Farook. Although the ride is fuelled with adrenalin, we felt very safe all the time. Definitely the experience we would like to repeat and recommend.
The amazing experience!! You should definitely try it!! I took a morning desert safari, and got fully satisfied with the service provided. Enormous thanks to our driver Farook, his kindness and professionalism are above any rating. The cars are excellent, clean; the stop point for refreshment absolutely clean, I was not expecting that. Give a try, people! It is worth it!!
It was super fun. Faisel was a great and knowledgable tour guide :) can only recommend the tour