Luxury Desert Experience: Dinner and Emirati Activities with Vintage Land Rover Transport from Dubai

Pass through the desert in a vintage Land Rover and spend an evening dining under the stars at a Bedouin-inspired camp, tucked away in the grounds of a royal residence! This must-do cultural experience includes an evening safari through Dubai Desert Conservation Range, followed by a night of Emirati entertainment, hospitality and traditional food. Enjoy live music and dancing, cookery demonstrations and a falconry display; get a henna tattoo and ride a camel; and then relax during a 4-course banquet.

Start your experience with a pickup from your Dubai hotel, and then travel into the desert aboard your open-roof vintage Land Rover – a mode of transport used extensively in 1950’s desert expeditions. As you travel, your guide will regale you with stories of Dubai’s past and present as well as the many customs and traditions that you’ll experience throughout the evening.

Head through Dubai Desert Conservation Range, looking out for wildlife such as Arabian gazelles and oryx, and then stop in a Bedouin-inspired camp in the grounds of a private royal residence. Make your way past the gently flickering flames of the lights that mark the entranceway, and then hop out of your Land Rover to take a seat at your shared table.

Before your meal starts, a range of cultural activities are demonstrated around the tables. Enjoy an Arabic coffee and sit back to watch flamboyant dancers performing to traditional Emirati music, or perhaps take a wander around the camp. Pose in the sand dunes for a photo as the sun goes down, watch a bread-making demonstration or gaze at UAE’s national bird – the falcon – during a falconry display. If you want to immerse yourself in the culture even more, why not get a henna tattoo, smoke a shisha (Arabic water pipe) or even try riding a camel?

Take a seat back at your table in time for a cookery demonstration, where you’ll learn how to make local bread. Then, all that’s left to do is to feast on your 4-course dinner under the stars. Like the activities at the camp, the dishes are mostly traditional Emirati specialties, combining flavors from the Middle East and Asia.

After your meal, return to your Land Rover with your guide and journey through the desert back to the camp entrance. From here, board your air-conditioned van to your Dubai hotel, where your experience finishes.

Sample Menu:
First course (choose one of the following):
• Shorbat adas (mildly spiced lentil soup)
• Tomato and onion salad
• Fresh garden salad

Second course:
• Selection of mezze including harees (cracked wheat dumplings with meat), kibbeh (minced meat and rice), sambousek (lamb- or cheese-stuffed pastries), hummus and tabbouleh (cracked wheat salad with parsley, mint, tomatoes and lemon juice)

Third course (choose one of the following):
• Ouzi (succulent lamb with spiced rice and nuts)
• Chicken kebabs
• Vegetable and ouzi rice

Fourth course (choose one of the following):
• Fruit salad
• Lgeimat (saffron-flavored fritters)

• Hotel pickup and drop-off
• Wildlife Safari through the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve
  
• Henna Artist
  
• Camel rides
• Live bread and coffee making
  
• Dinner
• Emirati entertainment
  
• Donation to Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve
  

• Gratuities (optional)