Desert Safari is one of the most enjoyable tourist attractions in the UAE and more than 3,000 tourists are experiencing traditional Arabian hospitality every evening at the 15 desert camps run by the destination management companies in Dubai.
The safari activities include dune-bashing, camel rides, belly dancing, a barbeque dinner and an overnight stay at the campsite.
Every day, more than 500 to 600 four-wheel drives - mostly Land Cruisers - carrying between five and six passengers each, take to the desert dunes.
Guests from all corners of the globe are mesmerised by the experience of a lifetime. On weekends, the numbers are even higher.
Arabian Adventures, Net Tours, Desert Adventures, Alpha Tours, Arabian Nights Tours, Desert Rangers, Lama Tours, Knight Tours and Traveco LLC, among many others, organise desert safaris and offer visitors the thrilling experience of dune bashing at sand dunes on the Dubai-Hatta road where almost all of them have a desert camp site or two.
A desert safari usually begins around 3pm almost every day by collecting guests from various destinations, hotels, furnished apartments in the city. They are then taken close to the site where all the vehicles are lined up at the desert at about 4:30 pm close to where the sand dunes begin.
Then all the Land Cruisers of each tour operator line up on the tracks, reduce air pressure of the tyres and roar up the dunes, dives up and down, giving an excellent thrilling feeling by expert drivers.
It takes a lot of skill to manouvre the wheels on the soft dunes and maintain balance while driving the vehicle up almost vertical slopes. The fear of overturning and getting blocked on the dune keeps the exhilarating feeling pulsating through every tourists' veins.
Most of these camps have the capacity to entertain more than 200 guests each evening. Some have higher capacities – up to 500 or more.
The camps are fully equipped, with washroom facilities, seating and resting arrangements.
All of them offer camel rides in front of the camps, serve traditional Arabic tea, turkish coffee, three to four-course dinner including a barbecue.
Options for face painting and henna are also there for children and women.
Some of the most fascinating experiences are the traditional Arabic hair dance performed by women, and, traditional dance with sticks, or swords by a troupe of Arab men. There is also belly dancing by trained dancers – a memory that all visitors take back with them.
The arrangements are also tailored to suit the visitors' choice, their culture and expectations.
Food is mostly outsourced and served according to the chosen menu.
The desert between Dubai-Hatta and Dubai-Al Ain roads is busy from September to May every year. This is also one of the most important attractions of Dubai's tourism industry that attracts visitors to the emirate every day.
As winter approaches, all these operators are gearing up for a fully booked season, as they do every year.
Last year, due to September 11, most of them suffered a little due to a decline in the number of visitors from the West. Things, however, have return to normal. Lama Desert Tours LLC, has opened its second camp last weekend to cater to a growing number of visitors.
"The outlook for the coming season is very bright and we are looking forward to a fully-booked season," said Kulwant Singh, managing partner of Lama Desert Tours LLC.
"We have a camp at the desert with a capacity to serve over 500 guests at one time and due to an increase in customer demand, we have set up one more to cater to smaller groups.
"The second camp has a capacity of over 200 guests. This is also ideal for product launches and corporate parties".
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| An enjoyable desert safari experience in UAE. We had a stop-over at the desert while waiting for the sunset with my friends in Dubai. |
