Area Overview
You will find some ideas for routes below; these can be combined to make multi-day tours if required. We are very flexible when it comes to trip design; if there is somewhere else you would like to go/see then we will endeavor to create a trip for you that goes there!
Desert Area One: Way Out West!
The desert west of the Ghayathi-Arada Road (E15) is vast and almost empty! In the northernmost part, the dune structures are unusual in that they run north to south; these were apparently laid down at the time of the last ice-age, some 18k years ago!
The driving here can be very easy, easy, or intermediate; our driving style is “overland”, which means taking the smoothest route and avoiding advanced maneuvers such as side sloping or cross cresting. This is the most remote area in the UAE and the place where you will find the darkest skies and, since the entry/exit point is 3.5 hours from Dubai, and 2.5 hours from Abu Dhabi, you won’t be seeing many other offroading enthusiasts here!
For multi-day trips, these itineraries can be combined with a visit to the shores of the Sila peninsula, or alternatively, the Rub Al Khali at Arada.
Desert Area Two: Madinat Zayed
The oasis town of Madinat Zayed makes a great starting point for a private tour; less than 2 hours from Abu Dhabi and just under 3 hours from Dubai. This area offers easy and intermediate driving over beautiful dunes. We can cruise past a plantation, stop by a camel farm, take pics of camels wandering the desert, cross the Tropic of Cancer and so much more!
For rookies, we can create a lovely loop route, starting off easily over quite low dunes, and gradually working up to larger, slightly more tricky dunes – we might even make it out to THE tanker.
If all the convoy has some experience, then we can go further than the tanker to emerge onto the Arada-Ghayathi Road. We will tackle steep slipfaces and some challenging climbs, all the while cruising through amazing dunes.
Desert Area 3: Hameem
We love remote deserts, far from the offroad “hotspots” and we can safely say that Hameem meets this criterion, as well as being only an hour from the outskirts of Abu Dhabi (and just under two from Dubai).
The dunes here are different from the other areas you will normally find us in. Here there is gorgeous beige and red sand and often you will see wildlife here.
It offers great camping too. We won’t be a million miles from the “milky way spot”, although we are bound to be in a quieter and more remote place!
We can offer very easy, easy, or intermediate trips here.
Desert Area 4: Liwa Crescent
Last, but by no means least, we come to the magnificent Rub Al Khali – The Empty Quarter. Covering over a quarter of a million square kilometres over Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, the Abu Dhabi portion is the easiest to access being just 2 hours from Abu Dhabi and 3 hours from Dubai. We have “crossed the crescent” many times, where the driving is intermediate/ intermediate plus, and we ask that all drivers have lifted cars, and have at least 10 offroad trips under their belt. Although the route is only 100kms long, we usually take 1.5 days to cover it.
Don’t worry if you have a car that doesn’t have the clearance of a lifted one or are a desert rookie, we have a lovely short route, with very easy driving, which will get you up to 10kms into the desert from the Arada area!
The Desert Diva – Moving On (2025 Edit)
Hello and welcome, fellow Adventurers.
I’m no longer living in Madinet Zayed and have returned to my native Scotland, where the winter nights are long and the temperatures are significantly lower than those I experienced on these trips.
I have left this page on my blog site so that you can see what routes are available for your group to tackle and give newcomers to my site an idea of my experience.
I now run my travel company, Arabian Cities and Sands, from home. If you would like to discover the Arabian Peninsula for yourself, head on over to my website. You’ll find an update on my travels there and the amazing adventures I now curate.
Area Overview
You will find some ideas for routes below; these can be combined to make multi-day tours if required. We are very flexible when it comes to trip design; if there is somewhere else you would like to go/see then we will endeavor to create a trip for you that goes there!
Desert Area One: Way Out West!
The desert west of the Ghayathi-Arada Road (E15) is vast and almost empty! In the northernmost part, the dune structures are unusual in that they run north to south; these were apparently laid down at the time of the last ice-age, some 18k years ago!
The driving here can be very easy, easy, or intermediate; our driving style is “overland”, which means taking the smoothest route and avoiding advanced maneuvers such as side sloping or cross cresting. This is the most remote area in the UAE and the place where you will find the darkest skies and, since the entry/exit point is 3.5 hours from Dubai, and 2.5 hours from Abu Dhabi, you won’t be seeing many other offroading enthusiasts here!
For multi-day trips, these itineraries can be combined with a visit to the shores of the Sila peninsula, or alternatively, the Rub Al Khali at Arada.
Desert Area Two: Madinat Zayed
The oasis town of Madinat Zayed makes a great starting point for a private tour; less than 2 hours from Abu Dhabi and just under 3 hours from Dubai. This area offers easy and intermediate driving over beautiful dunes. We can cruise past a plantation, stop by a camel farm, take pics of camels wandering the desert, cross the Tropic of Cancer and so much more!
For rookies, we can create a lovely loop route, starting off easily over quite low dunes, and gradually working up to larger, slightly more tricky dunes – we might even make it out to THE tanker.
If all the convoy has some experience, then we can go further than the tanker to emerge onto the Arada-Ghayathi Road. We will tackle steep slipfaces and some challenging climbs, all the while cruising through amazing dunes.
Desert Area 3: Hameem
We love remote deserts, far from the offroad “hotspots” and we can safely say that Hameem meets this criterion, as well as being only an hour from the outskirts of Abu Dhabi (and just under two from Dubai).
The dunes here are different from the other areas you will normally find us in. Here there is gorgeous beige and red sand and often you will see wildlife here.
It offers great camping too. We won’t be a million miles from the “milky way spot”, although we are bound to be in a quieter and more remote place!
We can offer very easy, easy, or intermediate trips here.
Desert Area 4: Liwa Crescent
Last, but by no means least, we come to the magnificent Rub Al Khali – The Empty Quarter. Covering over a quarter of a million square kilometres over Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, the Abu Dhabi portion is the easiest to access being just 2 hours from Abu Dhabi and 3 hours from Dubai. We have “crossed the crescent” many times, where the driving is intermediate/ intermediate plus, and we ask that all drivers have lifted cars, and have at least 10 offroad trips under their belt. Although the route is only 100kms long, we usually take 1.5 days to cover it.
Don’t worry if you have a car that doesn’t have the clearance of a lifted one or are a desert rookie, we have a lovely short route, with very easy driving, which will get you up to 10kms into the desert from the Arada area!