Private 4×4 Wildlife Drive in Dubai

We collect you from a centrally located Dubai hotel. Choose the sunrise start or the later morning start when you pick your day. The lobby window is sent to you beforehand, because the sunrise start leaves while it is still dark.

Be downstairs on time. A late pickup can shorten the time you have on the dunes and at the lakes.

Yes. Hotel pickup and return in Dubai are part of both starts. You travel in a private air-conditioned 4x4 with your own driver.

If you are staying outside the usual pickup area, tell us the hotel so we can confirm the collection still works for the reserve route.

You choose a sunrise start of about four hours, or a later morning start of about five hours. Both run the same Al Qudra route: dunes, wildlife, and the lakes.

We tell you beforehand whether you have the sunrise start or the later morning start. You can ask the driver to linger at a stop so long as the outing does not run over.

You'll need to be at least five years old. Children travel with an adult in the jeep for the wildlife loop and the snack stop.

Please tell us the ages when you confirm. The driver keeps the group together on the sand tracks and at the lakes.

This is a private 4x4 for up to nine guests. You stay with your own driver for the whole outing, from the hotel lobby to the last stop at the lakes.

Solo guests still get the private vehicle. You are not asked to fill the jeep yourself, and you are not merged with another group on the sand.

After the dune run you drive to watch protected wildlife such as desert gazelle and Arabian oryx, then continue to Al Qudra Lakes in the Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve. Sightings are never guaranteed, but this is the stretch of desert where those animals are protected.

At the lakes there is time for photographs and a picnic-style stop with the snack box. You do not walk a long trail.

Arabic coffee, dates, refreshments and a snack box travel with you. This is not a sit-down restaurant meal, so the pause at the lakes is picnic-style beside the jeep.

Eat at the hotel before pickup if you want a full breakfast, especially on the sunrise start when you leave while it is still dark.

No driving experience is required. Your driver handles the 4x4 for the whole outing. You sit as a passenger with a seat belt on for every climb and descent on the dunes.

Sandboarding is a short stop on the sand after a brief. You can sit it out and watch from the ridge if you would rather not take a run.

We recommend wearing closed shoes you do not mind getting sandy, and bring a hat, sunglasses and a light layer for the early start. The desert is cool before sunrise and warmer once the sun is up.

We'd suggest leaving loose scarves in the jeep when you sandboard. Keep phones in a zip pocket on the dunes.

Yes. Sandboarding is there if you want it. Tell the driver at the brief if you would rather stay on the ridge and take photographs while other people take a run.

We won't push you onto a board. The morning still works if you prefer the dune drive, the wildlife stretch, and the snack box at the lakes.