As a leading holiday’s destination, the city of Dubai bustles, people from different nations; destinations and exuberant activities everywhere. The bustle isn’t stayed within the environs of the city. It stretches into the desert, defying its tranquility. This defiance is manifest in the desert safari, the focus of this article.

The word safari has been defined as “an organized journey to look at, or sometimes hunt, wild animals, especially in Africa.” It’s clearly a term originating from Africa and though it is used sometimes to refer to hunting, desert safari is quite different. It is, like safari, a journey; but one made to the desert.

In a desert safari, a tourist or a group of tourists who have opted for the safari with some tour operator are taken in an organized adrenaline journey, in a jeep usually, to the desert where they get roved around the desert, bashing dunes. A desert safari could be done in the day, say in the morning, or at night; it could be done well into the night, say until 10:00 PM or even through it. This is otherwise referred to as overnight desert safari. The foregoing is the most common meaning to the desert safari. See video below:

Dubai desert safari has outgrown mere roving around the desert and bashing dunes, however. In Dubai, desert safaris include festivity which features Barbecue dinner, Belly Dancing (explained below), Drumming in the Night, Shisha among others; as well as the Sunset package, Quad or ATV Biking, Camel Riding, Sand Skiing or Boarding and of course Photography.

Belly Dancing

Belly Dance is a type of Arabic dance usually by a lady which has to do with moving the hips, as well as the torso, vigorously. It originated in Egypt, and is today very popular in the Middle East as well as North Africa. The video below explains better what belly dance is.

A Video of Drumming in The Night in Dubai

Images of ATV Biking in Dubai

Images of Camel Riding

What Tourists Think of Dubai Desert Safari

1. A tourist from Kawasaki, Japan:

An amazing experience that ripped me out of my ordinary drudgery with a rollicking ride through desert sand dunes punctuated by the occasional glimpse of wildlife such as gazelles and an oryx.
A quick camel ride was followed by a divine dinner and dazzling belly dance. Other options available were falconry shows, chance to wear the national costume and henna tattoos, with lots of souvenirs on sale.
The only downside, as with everywhere in Dubai, was the outrageous price demanded for souvenir photos that are so overpriced I never saw a single one sold.

2. A tourist from Singapore:

An awesome trip through the desert safari. It was pleasant surprise with cool temperature of 17°c. Both hubby & I enjoyed the experience riding on ATV prior the dune bashing. Our driver/guide Arif from Ammar Tours was very knowledgeable and understanding. One of the pax got motion sickness so he was kind enough to not overbashing but at the same time we got to experience the thrills. Dinner was great. I wish we could have stayed longer and enjoy the cool evening on a desert. Overall we give a 5* for the service rendered by Arif and the well planned activities

3. A tourist from British Columbia:

We really enjoyed the trip , host was fantastic, great value. We had lots of fun. The following dinner in the desert was very good and better than most of the restaurants we visited. Entertainment was also enjoyable. We recommend.

Conclusion

Are you visiting Dubai or you are already in it? Desert Safari is one thing you don’t want to miss. Be aware that your tour operator goes a long way in determining how wonderful or otherwise your experience would be. Thus, you should take your time in choosing a tour operator to handle this. It is recommended that you read about the essential pieces of information about Dubai before visiting it. Please see information here (on the second section of the page to be precise). Enjoy your desert safari.

References:

1. TripAdvisor.com
2. DesertSafariDubai .com
3. Wikipedia.org