60-Minute Quad Bike Desert Safari with Camel Ride & Sandboarding Dubai

Red Dunes desert camp: briefing and welcome

Your quad bike safari in Dubai begins at a desert camp on the edge of the Red Dunes, in the Lahbab area along the Dubai to Hatta road, around 45 minutes from the city by our air-conditioned vehicle. The camp is the base for the morning or afternoon: a shaded area with the quad bikes lined up and an air-conditioned tent where you rest between activities.

On arrival you sign the indemnity form, choose your helmet and listen to a safety briefing of about 30 minutes, including welcome refreshments. The instructor shows how the throttle and brakes work, how to stand up on the footrests over bumps and how to keep a safe distance in the line. Everyone gets a short practice before heading out into the dunes.

One hour on your own quad in the Lahbab Desert

With the default option you ride your own quad bike, one person per bike, for a full 60 minutes. The instructor leads the group across the Lahbab dunes, starting on gentle sand and moving to bigger ridges as the riders settle in. The landscape is wide and open: orange-red crests, wind ripples in the sand and the odd ghaf tree in the hollows.

An hour gives you time to feel the quad respond on soft sand and to enjoy the views from the crests. Single riders must be aged 16 to 55, and the activity is self-driven at your own risk, so we recommend travel insurance covering adventure activities. Note that this trip does not include 4x4 dune bashing; the thrill is all yours on the quad.

Sandboarding in the Lahbab dunes

After the ride the group heads to a smooth slope for sandboarding. The instructor shows the easiest positions, sitting or lying on the board with feet forward, and confident riders can try standing like on snow. The descent is quick and the landing soft, so it is fun for all levels.

The climb back up through loose sand is the hardest part, so take a couple of runs and rest in between. Sandboarding in Dubai is most comfortable in the morning slots or later in the afternoon, when the sand has cooled. Keep sunglasses on and your phone in a zipped pocket while you slide, and shake the sand out of your shoes before getting back in the vehicle.

Camel ride and the air-conditioned tent

Back at the camp, a handler leads a short camel ride over the sand, and on this trip you can repeat it if you enjoyed the first one. You mount while the camel kneels and hold on as it stands, back legs first. Children under 12 ride with an adult, and the handlers help everyone on and off.

Then it is time to cool down in the air-conditioned tent with soft drinks, cold water and Arabic tea or coffee served with dates, the classic Emirati gesture of welcome. It is a relaxed moment to swap photos and stories before the drive back to the city, with the dunes glowing outside the tent windows.

Pickup times and options

Our shared air-conditioned vehicle collects you from your hotel or residence in Dubai or Ajman for morning departures at 7:30, 8:00, 9:00 or 10:00 AM, or afternoon departures at 2:00 or 2:30 PM, and the whole trip takes about 4 hours including transfers. In summer, pickup moves about an hour earlier in the morning and an hour later in the afternoon to avoid the strongest heat.

Besides the default single quad for one hour, the page offers a 1-hour shared quad with two riders on one bike, which lets under-16s ride with an adult, and a shorter 30-minute single quad ride with the same sandboarding, camel ride and refreshments. Pick the morning for the coolest air, or the late slot for warm light on the dunes.