Middle East & Africa Travelers Recommend

Once you’ve experienced the glitz and extravagance of Dubai, plan to spend at least a day in the Dubai Desert taking in this beautiful natural landscape. As a nation made up of mostly desert, the United Arab Emirates have become a top destination for desert adventures, many available just outside of Dubai. By far the most popular desert experience near Dubai is sandboarding. On a Dubai 4x4 Sandboarding Safari, you’ll get to experience the rolling dunes of the Dubai Desert two ways. First, you’ll enjoy the scenery from a 4x4 vehicle as it takes you from the city into the desert. Next, you’ll strap on a board and experience the exhilaration of gliding down the dunes. Sandboarding is actually easier to master than snowboarding, so it’s a great family friendly activity for any age.

Dubai has transformed in the last 100 years from a port town to the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, and a center for great shopping, glitz and glamor and high romance. With tall skyscrapers filling the skyline, this is where Tiger Woods famously teed up from the helipad of the tallest hotel in the world – the Burj Al Arab Sailboat Hotel. Make your way over to the Dubai Museum to take in four millennium’s-worth of discoveries. After learning about how Dubai transformed from a small fishing town to the business hub it is today, take an abra across to Deira. This water taxi is a well-used form of transport and will give you a great opportunity to take in the sights of the city as you cruise across the creek. Make the most of the many souqs (markets) in Deira to haggle for anything from a belly dancing uniform to a block of gold! This fantastic tour will give a real taste of what the United Arab Emirates is like outside of Dubai.

No trip to Egypt is complete without a visit to the pyramids. The iconic image of the towering Sphinx is one of the most recognizable in the world, and these tours from the capital city will ensure that travelers see these desert wonders up close before heading home. Group travel can be a blast, but sometimes visitors want to explore on their own. A private tour from Cairo lets travelers decide where to spend their time and leaves plenty of room for individualized attention. A professional Egyptologist provides hotel pick up and drop off, and guides tourists through a variety of the most famous landmarks in Egypt, including the famous Giza Pyramids, the iconic Sphinx, Egypt’s ancient capital, the oldest pyramid and the best example of the transition from “step” pyramid to “true” pyramid.

When many people dream of the Arabian Desert, they dream of exotic belly dancers, camel riding and, more recently, tearing through the dunes in a 4x4. The 1001 Arabian Stars Private Safari is a great option. Starting in the early afternoon, you are taken through the dunes in a 4x4 to a camel farm. After riding the camels, you will watch the sun set across the sand. As night falls, the camp becomes alive with belly dancing, delicious barbeques and sheesha smoking. This is a great way to experience how life was for the Arab settlers in the Dubai desert. The next morning, you will be returned to your hotel. If you’re tight for time or don’t fancy sleeping in the desert, then there are several one day tours available too, in which you drive towards the Hatta village, which has existed since the 16th century. The Hatta village lies on dry river beds, which wind up the mountain towards a glorious oasis, where you can cool off in the turquoise rock pools.

With its show-stopping architecture, glamorous shopping malls and palm-fringed beaches, Abu Dhabi is deserving of its reputation as the rising star of the Middle East. At less than two hours drive from Dubai, Abu Dhabi also makes a good choice for a day trip. The most thrilling way to cross the border is with a 45-minute seaplane flight, affording unbeatable views of Palm Jumeirah, World Island and the F1 Grand Prix Circuit. For a thorough overview of Abu Dhabi, opt for a city tour that covers all the main sights and marvel over the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, drive the scenic Corniche coastal road and get a feel for life in a Bedouin encampment at the Abu Dhabi Heritage Village. Alternatively, discover modern Abu Dhabi on an architecture tour of Masdar City, Yas Island and Saadiyat Island; visit the Falcon hospital or get your adrenaline pumping at the Ferrari World. Finally, for a VIP experience, why not combine an Abu Dhabi City Tour with lunch at the opulent Emirates Palace Hotel?

When dressing for an Abu Dhabi desert safari, it’s best to wear some closed toed shoes for walking out on the dunes, as well as bring a change of clothes should you end up covered in sand. After all, many desert trips offer guests the chance to sandboard on dunes, and even though the boards are wide and relatively stable, there’s always the chance a soft landing could leave you covered in sand. Depart from the city in afternoon and four-wheel across the dunes, reaching a point where profound silence is nature’s only sound. Watch the sunset while sipping tea in a pillow-lined Bedouin camp and sit and watch as stars burst through a clear, inky black sky. Throughout the trip, new adventures and unique experiences are found around every bend, from riding a camel, to Henna tattoos, to a belly dancer’s enchantment. Pass a water pipe around a campfire that dances into the night.

The capital of the United Arab Emirates—as well as the largest and richest—manages to hold on to its cultural heritage while modernizing at a dizzying rate. Day 1: Culture and Religion Start with a morning visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, where you’ll see white marble imported from around the globe, the world’s biggest marble mosaic and the world’s biggest carpet Day 2: Past and Future Abu Dhabi pre-oil boom would be almost unrecognizable, and to see what life was once like, spend the morning at the charming UAE Heritage Village. This open air museum includes reproductions of traditional desert-dwelling tents, an old mosque and workshops in local crafts like metalwork, weaving, spinning and pottery. Day 3: Day Trip to Al Ain Al Ain, another significant city in the emirate, is only a two-hour journey through the rolling red sand dunes from Abu Dhabi.

Located on Yas Island, Ferrari World is a fantastic example of the Western-style fun to be had in the UAE. Much more than simply a showroom or even museum, Ferrari World is a full-scale amusement park and interactive experience that has something for everyone. There are junior rides for younger kids, thrilling Ferrari-themed amusement rides, 4D exhibitions that put you in the driver's seat, and of course, a gallery of the world-famous sports cars from the past, present and future. There's also plenty of shopping, and delicious Italian dining options. Ferrari World is open every day from 11am to 10pm. To get to Yas Island from Dubai requires taking a bus from the Al Ghubaiba green line metro station to the Abu Dhabi Main Bus Station, then another to Yas Island, and then either walk a bit more than a mile (2.5 km) or take one of the frequent shuttle buses on Yas Island that go from the bus station to the Ferrari World entrance (with stops in between).