Exploring Dubai’s desert on a DIY trip won’t give you the full-on Arabian camp experience. This excursion delivers it with a difference: incorporating a longer-than-usual camel ride, a falconry show, and activities like bread- and coffee-making demos, while giving the standard dune bash a miss. Ride a camel to a tented camp, enjoy the activities as you wish, and savor a 4-course dinner and dancing shows before returning to Dubai.

After pickup from your central Dubai hotel, travel into the desert by air-conditioned minivan. Meet your camel convoy and enjoy a 45-minute ride across the sands to a Bedouin-inspired camp set within a reserve owned by the UAE’s royal family.

Take in the atmosphere of the torch-lit compound, and as the sun sets, watch a falconry demonstration. Stroll into the dunes for sunset photos, and enjoy the activities on offer inside the Bedouin-style tent—getting a henna tattoo, sipping Arabic coffee, and watching bread- and coffee-making demonstrations.

Next, settle at a low table for a 4-course dinner of Emirati dishes served with soda and mineral water. See the Itinerary for a sample menu.

Afterward, opt to try a shisha (Arabic water pipe), and enjoy live dancing and music displays under the stars before your trip concludes with a hotel drop-off in Dubai.