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.

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.

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.

Start your scenic exploration of Dubai on the water. Before you begin, take a moment to imagine the city as the somewhat sleepy fishing port it was 40-odd years ago. Now get out on Dubai Creek, the city’s major waterway, on a customized version of a dhow, a traditional Arab boat, and marvel at the soaring, constantly-changing skyline. Return at night for a dinner cruise to see Dubai’s concrete colossi blazing with light. It was the distinctive shape of dhow sails which inspired one of Dubai’s defining landmarks: Burj al Arab, standing proudly offshore, bills itself as the most luxurious hotel in the world. Whether you fall for the extravagant swirls, royal blues and acres of gold leaf of its interior is a matter of taste, but few could remain unmoved by the incredible views from its summit. The restaurant Al Muntaha (“the highest”) is on the 27th floor, and is one of the best places to get a view of Dubai’s skyline and those extraordinary man-made features.

Most journeys to Egypt begin and end in chaotic Cairo, but a mere three-hour drive from the capital will bring you to Egypt’s Second City — Alexandria, the seaside metropolis that could not feel more different from the nation’s capital. Though it was once the country’s premier destination for foreign visitors, Alexandria’s once-legendary sophistication has diminished over the years. Nonetheless, today the city has a youthful vibe that derives, in part, from its position as the country’s window onto the Mediterranean. Alexandria is a great place to experience the Egypt of the 21st century, but it also has plenty of historical monuments and palaces. The following sites can be easily combined for a great Alexandria daytrip from Cairo.

It’s a little Las Vegas in style, but the Red Sea resort port of Hurghada is brilliantly positioned for snorkel adventures and desert encounters. Glass-bottom boat cruises are fun, and the corals and sea creatures you’ll see are just the beginning if you join a Red Sea snorkeling cruise to Giftun Island. Jeep safaris visit oases and Bedouin villages for camel riding, folklore and a spectacular desert sunset, followed by a traditional Bedouin barbecue dinner under the stars. The Red Sea is just one side of Egypt, and you can’t say you’ve seen the real Egypt without taking in the monuments and mummies of Luxor. Explore the pharaohs’ underground tombs in the Valley of the Kings, across the River Nile from Luxor, known in ancient times as Thebes. On the Nile’s east bank, Luxor Temple features the gigantic seated statue of Rameses, soaring obelisks and towering corridors of columns. Nearby Karnak is another maze of ancient statues and colossal columns.