Arabian Adventures Dessert Safari, Dubai

Arabian Adventures Desert Safari, Dubai

Sunday 14 October, 2007

When we were planning this holiday to Dubai I was continually informed that we must do the following three things:

- Desert Safari

- Big Bus Tour

- Visit Burj Al Arab

I'm pleased to share that I ticked all of these things off my list during my stay and the highlight was definitely the Desert Safari. Arabian Adventures is one of the largest tour companies in Dubai - it is owned by Emirates and promoted in all of the Emirates owned hotels. There are about 40 tour companies offering similar tours and I've heard some horror stories however we had a wonderful evening and Arabian Adventures were a great tour company.

We were picked up from our hotel at 3.15pm. The white jeep was huge and our driver, Fisell, was very engaging and informative. The jeeps seat 6 people and our party of 3 shared with a family from Scotland. We all had a great time together. The journey out to the sand dunes took approx. 40 minutes and we arrived at the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, deep into the heart of the desert. Once we arrived the convey of 35 jeeps pulled in and started to let down their tyres while we played in the sand dunes and took lots of photos.

After a short break and plenty of water - it was at least 35 degrees - we got back into the jeeps for the sand dune experience. Here's the thing.........if you sit up front with the driver you will hardly feel a thing, if you want a bit more of an experience take the middle seats and if you want the all out bumpy ride where you hit your head repeatedly and squeal with delight take the back seat! Not surprisingly, we took the back seat. it was great fun and I think our driver let us off lightly.

After 30 minutes of this we pulled into a camel farm. The camels were resting and we were fortunate to watch a stunning desert sunset. The sun was a brilliant orange colour and we watched it disappear behind the sand dunes. A little further on we arrived at a traditional Bedouin encampment. More camels were there to greet us and we could take camel rides through the desert if we wished.

We walked inside and secured our positions for the Arabian feast and floor show. There were Persian mats lining the ground (sand) and cushions to sit on alongside low rise tables. The encampment was set out in stations e.g. drinks, entrees, mains, henna tattoos, aromatic shisha and sweets. It was difficult to know where to start however once we saw the henna tattoo artists we were in!

I sat down on the firmly placed cushions and indicated I would like a butterfly design. With little English the artist motioned for me to throw my leg across her lap. It took less than a minute and my henna tattoo was complete. The only instructions given were not to touch it for 30 minutes while it dried and it should last one week. Let me assure you, it is now over a week later and it still looks like I had it done yesterday.

We settled down to enjoy a feast of grilled meat, fresh salads and delectable Arabian sweets, while being entertained by a bewitching belly dancer. This was a very energetic performance and we were encouraged to join in and learn how to belly dance. Not sure about the timing of this directly after dinner but everyone was captivating by the dancer and her stunning costumes.

To round off your evening, we toasted with more wine and participated in the aromatic shisha. What a night! Around 9.30pm we were welcomed back to the jeeps for our journey back to the hotel.

I can highly recommend this experience.

Arabian Adventures Desert Safari - Dubai - +971 4 303 4888

http://www.arabian-adventures.com