Most safari listings tell you what is included. Almost none tell you what the evening actually feels like or how long each part lasts. Here is the Evening Desert Safari from start to finish.
3:00 PM — the lobby
Your driver arrives at your hotel between 3:00 and 3:30, depending on where you are staying and the run he is doing. Be in the lobby at the start of your window, and make sure the number you gave us can take a call — that is the one thing that causes delays.
The car is an air-conditioned Land Cruiser. Up to six guests share it. If your group is six, you have it to yourselves anyway.
3:30 PM — the drive out
Forty-five minutes of motorway, and then something you notice rather than are told: the buildings stop. Petrol stations thin out, the last roundabout goes past, and the road is suddenly running between low orange dunes.
This is the part of the day nobody photographs and everybody remembers.
4:15 PM — tyre pressure and dunes
At the edge of the dune field the driver stops and drops the tyre pressure — flatter tyres float on sand instead of digging in. Every other vehicle at the stop is doing the same thing.
Then 4x4s go over the ridge one at a time and the next 40 minutes are dune bashing: climbing, sliding sideways down slopes, a lot of noise from the back seat.
If you want it gentler, say so now rather than later. The driver will take a softer line and nobody minds. We have written more about that in is dune bashing safe.
5:30 PM — the sunset stop
The convoy stops on a high ridge and everyone gets out. The sun goes down fast at this latitude — you get about twenty minutes of the good light, and then it is gone.
Take the photographs early. People spend the first ten minutes looking and the last ten realising the light has changed.
6:00 PM — camp
A Bedouin-style camp with low seating, carpets and lanterns. This is the loose part of the evening and you do it in any order you like: camel rides, sandboarding on the slope behind the camp, henna painting, traditional dress for photographs, shisha if you want it.
Tea and soft drinks are unlimited and included throughout.
7:30 PM — dinner and the shows
The BBQ buffet opens — grilled meats, rice, salads, breads, and vegetarian dishes at every service. All the meat is halal. If you have allergies or a specific diet, tell us at booking and the kitchen prepares for it.
The shows run while you eat: tanoura, the spinning dance with the lit skirt, and belly dance. They are performed a few metres from the tables rather than on a distant stage.
8:30 PM — home
The camp empties, you get back into the same car with the same driver, and you are at your hotel between 8:30 and 9:00. Most people are quieter on the way back than on the way out.
You pay the driver at the end — cash or card. Nothing was charged when you booked.
What the timings mean for your day
- You lose the afternoon and evening, not the whole day
- Lunch before pickup is worth it. Dinner is at 7:30 and that is a long wait otherwise
- You are back early enough for a normal night, and fine for a morning flight
If you do not want it to end
The Overnight Desert Safari is exactly this evening, except that when it ends you stay. The day visitors leave, the camp goes quiet around ten, there is a campfire, and you sleep in a tent. Sunrise is around 5:45 AM and breakfast follows.
That is the version people describe years later.
Ready to pick a date? Send us your dates and hotel — no payment until the day, free cancellation up to 24 hours.
