Dubai or Abu Dhabi desert safari: which one should you book?

If you’re choosing between a desert safari in Dubai and one in Abu Dhabi, the short answer is to book it in the city you’re staying in. The standard half-day trip is close to identical in both, and the time you’d spend driving between the two cities is better spent in the dunes. The exception is Liwa, which is a different trip altogether.

Is a desert safari better in Dubai or Abu Dhabi?

Neither is better in itself; the best one is the one closest to your hotel. Both cities run the same kind of trip: a 4x4 drive over the dunes, a sunset or sunrise stop, a camel ride and sandboarding, and on evening trips a camp dinner with shows. Visit Abu Dhabi lists camel rides, sandboarding, henna, falcon shows and belly dancing as the usual extras, and a Dubai evening safari sold on Visit Dubai’s booking site includes almost the same list.

What changes is the drive. From a Dubai hotel, the Lahbab dunes are about 45 minutes away. An Abu Dhabi safari from Dubai first means the trip to Abu Dhabi, which takes about 1 hour 45 minutes on RTA’s E101 bus, before you head inland.

How do Dubai and Abu Dhabi compare side by side?

The main differences are where the dunes are and how far you travel to reach them:

Checked 2 November 2026 with Visit Dubai, Visit Abu Dhabi and operator listings.

How do the dunes compare?

Dubai’s safari dunes are reddish sand close to the city; Abu Dhabi’s best dunes are much further out. In Dubai, most trips go to Lahbab or the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. The reserve covers 225 square kilometres, about 5% of the emirate, and only a small part of it is open to tourism, under controls. Arabian oryx and gazelles live there, so trips inside it often include wildlife spotting.

In Abu Dhabi, Visit Abu Dhabi says several dune bashing tours run close to the city, with dunes in the Al Khaznah area between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Booking listings such as Headout’s name the Al Khatim desert. For the most dramatic dunes, Visit Abu Dhabi points you to Al Dhafra and Liwa, on the edge of the Empty Quarter. Tel Moreeb there rises more than 300 metres with a 50-degree slope, and a paved road runs to its base.

Liwa is not a half-day safari from either city. Visit Abu Dhabi gives around 2.5 hours from Abu Dhabi and around 3.5 hours from Dubai to the Liwa Hotel, and says Liwa trips usually run as full-day or overnight packages.

What’s included, and does it differ?

Very little differs. Evening trips in both cities include hotel pickup, dune bashing, sandboarding when conditions allow, a camel ride, soft drinks and a BBQ dinner with shows. Abu Dhabi trips often add a stop at a camel farm: a shared Abu Dhabi evening safari sold by Arabian Adventures includes one, and so do the kids-friendly options on our Abu Dhabi safari page. Dubai’s conservation-reserve trips lean towards wildlife and falconry.

Some things are the same everywhere. Quad bikes are usually an extra. Belly dancing isn’t performed during Ramadan, according to listings in both cities. Listings in both cities rule out dune bashing for pregnant guests and people with back or neck problems; the is dune bashing safe guide explains why.

Which is less crowded?

That depends on the type of trip more than the city. A shared safari puts you in a vehicle with other guests and ends at a camp where many groups eat and watch the shows together, in either city. A private safari gives your group its own car and driver, and you set the pace at the dunes.

Inside the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, tourism is limited to a small area under controls, which keeps the numbers down there. If a quiet desert matters more than a show, a morning safari in either city is the calmest option: there’s no camp dinner, and you’re back before the midday heat.

Does the season change the choice?

It matters less for the city than for the time of day you book. In winter, evenings in the desert get cool, and Visit Abu Dhabi suggests carrying a light jacket or shawl. The Dubai morning safari on Dubai Pass offers sandboarding only in winter, weather permitting, and says pickup times may move an hour earlier in summer.

In the hot months, an early morning safari or an evening trip that reaches the dunes for sunset avoids the worst of the heat in either city. Our guide to morning, evening and overnight safaris compares the time slots in more detail.

Who should pick which?

• Staying in Dubai: book a Dubai safari. Evening if you want sunset and dinner, morning if you have children or it’s a hot month.
• Staying in Abu Dhabi: book an Abu Dhabi safari. The kids’ trips add a camel farm visit.
• Splitting your stay: do the safari on your Abu Dhabi night, so it doesn’t eat into a Dubai day.
• After the biggest dunes: plan a full day or a night in Liwa, starting from Abu Dhabi.
• Families with small children: see desert safari with kids for age limits and car seats.

In Dubai, the private evening safari collects you from any Dubai hotel between 3pm and 3.30pm in a Land Cruiser that seats up to six, and the morning safari has you back by late morning. In Abu Dhabi, the private evening safari includes a BBQ dinner with live dance and fire shows, and the kids-friendly morning safari adds a camel farm visit. Abu Dhabi trips pick up in Abu Dhabi; if you’re staying in Dubai, ask in the chat on that page about pickup from Dubai. For what the trips cost across the market, see the desert safari price guide.