What to expect on a guided dune ride
From pickup to the last dune, minute by minute.
Pickup is from your hotel, about 45 minutes to the Lahbab or Al Badayer dunes. Morning rides leave around 8 am; sunset rides around 3 pm in winter and 4 pm in summer.
At the base camp you sign a waiver, get a helmet and goggles, and the guide walks you through the machine and the hand signals. Beginners do two laps of a flat practice area before anything else.
The ride itself goes in a line behind the lead rider, with a sweep rider at the back. The guide picks routes to match the group: gentle climbs and long ridges for first-timers, steeper bowls for people who have ridden before. There is a stop on a high dune for photos and water, and on sunset rides you time the last ridge for the light.
Back at base there is tea, and on tours that combine with a camp you continue to dinner. Otherwise you are dropped back at your hotel about three and a half hours after pickup.
Bring sunglasses, closed shoes, sunscreen and a phone lanyard. Leave loose scarves, sandals and drones at the hotel.