Desert Safari in Dubai, U.A.E. (Knight Tours Review)

A Dubai trip is not complete without a desert safari adventure! On our 3rd day in Dubai, Heesun and I went on the Desert Safari Tour with Knight Tours.

Knight Tours Desert Safari in Dubai

Knight Tours promptly picked us up at our AirBnB around 3 PM. We drove for about 30 minutes to the desert, and along the way we would joke around saying “wouldn’t it be funny if the driver just drove off the road and started driving over sand dunes?” We shared some laughs but lo and behold – that was exactly what happened. Caught off guard, we started driving like we were in “The Fast and the Furious”.

We met up with the rest of the tour group in the middle of the desert for about 5 minutes of picture taking. Afterwards we got in the car and started driving in a line through the desert sand dunes. If you’re seated in the back, you’re bound to experience what feels like 20 minutes of car hydraulics and drifting (sitting in the back means more intense motion). For some – it might be too much, but for Heesun and I, we were having the time of our lives.

The view was gorgeous. After a few minutes of driving, we got our last 5-minute rest stop for more pictures, and we were off to the campsite.

Arrived at the campsite! Outside were camels that you could ride for about a minute.

It was my first time riding a camel, and let’s just say, I was NOT ready:

We sat down to eat traditional Arabic food for dinner (which in fact was a buffet, so feel free to stuff yourselves)!

The food was delicious. If you choose the “VIP” package, you get to sit next to the stage and have the food delivered to you.

Yummm…

A picture of our group! This photo makes me laugh because us girls were totally off on thinking we were standing in the middle LOL.

As part of the package, there are different offerings around the campsite including an opportunity to try on the traditional Arabic dress. It was very cool experiencing this!

If you want shisha delivered to your table, you can do so for an extra 50 AED ($13.61 USD). However, there’s also free shisha at a different area in the campsite, which we happily visited and smoked. The shisha went down smoothly and tasted great.

For the last part of the tour, a spinning Tanoura dancer and a bellydancer graced the stage for entertainment. The performances were AMAZING!

This man basically spun round and round (while performing tricks) for what felt like 20 minutes. I’m pretty sure if I did what he did, I’d throw up after 5 minutes.

Lights!

Our friend getting a cool picture midway through the act.

The bellydancer who performed next, was extremely talented. It was hilarious seeing the husbands around the room gaping with extreme interest and wives watching with grave expressions..

We were thoroughly pleased with the desert safari tour held by Knights Tours. Besides the activities listed above, there were also henna tattoos you could get (Heesun did, I didn’t) and a booth with falcons where you can learn more about their importance in Arabian local life.

Here are some tips for your next adventure:

• If you easily get motion sickness, do not sit in the back while driving over sand dunes! The back seats experience the most movement.
• When you get your two 5-minute breaks in between sand dune rides, you should try and get as many photos in as possible. The view is more beautiful there; at the campsite the surroundings have less sand dunes, more vegetation, and the lighting won’t be as good as nightfall will come quickly.
• Hold on tight when you’re riding camels! You’ll be quite shocked when you’re mounting the camel and it stands up (its back legs come up first).

We highly recommend trying out Knights Tours for your desert safari experience!

*Thanks to Knight Tours for supporting Heesun and I on our Desert Safari Tour. As always, all opinions are my own.