Dubai desert tour: Uncover the stunning natural beauty and vibrant ecosystem of the UAE desert. This premium experience offers a deeper understanding of Emirati culture and transformed our view of Dubai.
Dubai. My family ended up in this squeaky clean city, defined by its bold architecture, its relentless pursuit of luxury, and its almost surreal level of polish, thanks to my son Dylan’s love of architecture. The Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, sat near the top of his personal bucket list.
From the moment we arrived, we were immersed in a world of gleaming surfaces, meticulously maintained greenery, and an atmosphere that hums with style and ambition. It was like Las Vegas, but if the sinful city had been put through the spin cycle on a washing machine. A hyper-manicured, intensely crafted environment that, to be honest, is usually the exact opposite of what I seek out when tend to seek out when we travel.
I’m typically drawn to the raw, the rugged, and the places where a country wears its soul on its sleeves. Sure, we love some luxury, but we crave it with a dose of realism and unpretentious zest for life. This city, where Lamborghinis and Bentleys roll through the streets like Honda Civics do back home, has always felt slightly unnatural to me.
But there’s another side of the United Arab Emirates that delivers that deep-seated raw beauty. One that pulled us away from the sparkling lights and luxury cars and shuttled us out towards the vast, unyielding expanse of the Arabian Desert. We wanted to find the true heart of Dubai, where gazelle and oryx run wild.
Why We Chose Platinum Heritage For Our Dubai Desert Tour
Desert tours aren’t new to us. We first introduced our boys to experiences like this when we stayed at a Bedouin camp in Wadi Rum during a visit to Jordan back in 2015. Since then, we’ve jetted off to places like the Siwa oasis in Egypt,, Huacachina, Peru, and Merzouga, Morocco, for sand dunes, desert camps, and sandboarding.
For a family like ours, whose travel compass consistently points towards authentic encounters and raw experiences, the typical tourist trail often falls short. This is where Platinum Heritage Dubai steps in, offering a refreshingly different kind of desert experience than the dune bashing and overcrowded camps on display in most tourism brochures.
Platinum Heritage is one of the premier desert experiences in the United Arab Emirates. Promising a journey that dives into the UAE’s natural and cultural heritage. What truly drew us to the company through was their stated commitment to providing an authentic experience that emphasized sustainability and conservation.
In a country famous for dune bashing, the focus of Platinum Heritage is instead laser-focused on the environment and cultural history. The Arabic Desert isn’t a monolithic environment like some areas of the Western Desert and the Sahara. Here, wild animals like oryx and gazelle are abundant. And that natural environment requires care to ensure that human impact doesn’t affect it more than it already has.
This was our primary driver in choosing this company over other, more high-impact options. And it would give us the chance to explore the raw beauty of the Arabic Desert with a clear conscience, knowing our adventure was contributing to its protection, not its exploitation.
The Platinum Heritage Experience: A Journey Into The Emirates Past … Kind of
We booked Platinum Heritage expecting a meticulously curated, historically accurate desert safari. What we got was something… else. And yet, somehow, it still ended up being one of the top experiences of our entire trip to the UAE.
The Pickup & Transport: Luxury from the Start
We were picked up from our hotel, Atlantis The Palm in Dubai, where I had spent the day before experiencing the world’s largest waterpark with the boys. Our guide arrived right on time, and we made the 45-minute drive out to the edge of the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. Along the way, we stopped to pick up one other passenger for our shared drive. There are private shuttles available as well for those who would like that.
Along the way, our guide briefed us on the experience, telling us about Platinum Heritage, its mission, and the company’s conservation initiatives. Along the way, we left the towering high-rises behind, replaced by vast stretches of the desert landscape dotted with the occasional Bedouin village (our guide noted that, unlike in countries like Morocco, Bedouins in the UAE are no longer nomadic and have all been moved to permanent villages).
We pulled up to the base camp for the Dubai desert experience. It was impossible not to notice. A dozen gleaming Land Rover Series 1 & 2 trucks were parked along the roadside. These would be our steeds during the tour. We had time for a quick bathroom break and were all given headscarves (Ghutras) to wear to help keep the desert sand from our eyes and hair. Men received one in the traditional white and red with chequered patterns of the Emirates called Shemagh, while women had a range of colors to choose from.
The Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (DDCR): Where Things Got Wild
The first experience on our Dubai desert tour was something that would become a defining factor of the trip. Photographs. We started with photographs of the family with the Land Rovers. But there would be many photo stops along the tour. The guides were all very good photographers, and the experience made it clear that the “Instagram” experience was alive and well on the Platinum Heritage tour.
We loaded up in the vintage open-top Land Rovers and roared into the Dubai Desert Conservation Area. We were no more than 500 meters into the drive when we came across our first wildlife encounter, a small herd of gazelle grazing along the edge of a set of sand dunes. This was shaping up to be more of a wildlife experience than we had expected.
Between stops for photographs, where, as a photographer myself, I was torn between the chance to get those coveted “family photos” and snapping the perfect photo of an oryx silhouetted against the sunset, we saw a lot of wildlife. The drive through the desert was relaxing, the boys laughing in the back, Christina chatting with our guide about the importance of Desert life in the Emirates
The Falconry Show: An Emirati Tradition
As the sun began to set behind the dunes, we rolled up into one of the properties of one of the Emirati families. Here we were treated to a falconry show, one of the historic traditions in the Emirates where falcons were used for hunting small game.
During the show, we were told the history of falconry in the Emirates, specifically, a wildly different experience than the falconry experience I had while exploring the fall colors in Sudbury, Ontario, just a few months prior.
The display of expert falconry was impressive as we lounged on carpets splayed across the desert sand. We were offered tea and a mixed berry juice to enjoy during the show, which I almost dropped when the falcon whizzed by my ear on an unexpected flight diversion.
The Bedouin Camp: An Evening Under The Stars
When the falconry show ended, we loaded up into the Rovers and made one last dash through the desert for a traditional Emirati Feast in a replica camp. We were greeted with coffee, filled halfway to indicate that we were welcome to enter and fill the remainder of our cups.
We were escorted to the camel ride. Which, I’ll admit, was a bit of a disappointment. The ride essentially involved climbing onto the camel saddles and enjoying a full minute of walking in a circle before heading back to the camp. It was too dark for photos, and too short to call it an experience, but I suppose it was a distraction while we waited for dinner to be ready.
The meal was fantastic. Traditional food includes lamb and camel, delicious vegetables, and rice, along with tea and juice. We enjoyed it in a cozy setting, in the open air under canopies, seated in traditional majilis style, pillows on the ground at a shared table.
As the meal came to an end, we lounged on pillows under the stars. Guests were invited to smoke from a hookah or enjoy pastries and fruit while traditional dances and drum shows took place. Dylan and I even had the chance to get up and join in one of the energetic drum sessions, walking in a circle with our drums while the beat became more and more energetic. Since Dylan studies the drums back home, he felt right at home here.
The final treat of the night was a “star gazing session,” a pretty cool experience as it’s Arabic culture that led to much of the world’s understanding of astrology. It wasn’t quite far enough away from the bright lights of Dubai for the sky to be free of light pollution, but we still got a pretty nice view of the sky while the guide used a green laser to point out specific constellations.
A Fun Desert Experience
Looking back, the Platinum Heritage tour wasn’t just a desert safari; it was the unexpected highlight of our family’s trip to the UAE. While we it may have been a tourist excursion, complete with photo ops and Instagram worthy food and trucks, it was a glimpse into how the UAE has rocketed from a nation where nomadic Bedouins roamed the land to one where iron and concrete reach for the stars.
It’s a glimpse into the breadth of the natural beauty in the Emirates, and a fun peephole into a history that isn’t as ancient as it might seem. The experience was as Dubai as it gets, seamlessly blending luxury and authenticity, offering a stark contrast to the squeaky clean luxury of the city.
Platinum Heritage’s commitment to sustainability and the intimate group setting truly resonated with us, allowing for a personal and impactful connection with the people, the desert, and its heritage.
For anyone planning a trip to Dubai and seeking a premium, authentic, and sustainable desert experience, check out their website and make sure to bring your camera.
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