Desert Safari Review – Mixed Experience - We went on a desert safari yesterday with my friend, and it was a day of highs and lows. Everything during the day was fantastic — it wasn’t until the evening that things really took a turn. We were picked up from our hotel by Emdad, our driver, who was polite and helpful. We first drove to the base camp, which had a small market area with headwear, jewellery, personalised sand bottles, perfumes, ice cream, quad biking, and falcon experiences (all at extra cost). We spent about an hour there, bought some headwear to look the part (70 AED), and also bought a personalised name-in-Arabic necklace (80 AED), which we later discovered had a broken clasp, so it’s pretty useless. We then headed off to the dunes. The dune bashing was incredible — fast, thrilling, and so much fun! After that, we did some sandboarding, which was a blast. While in the dunes, a man came on his quad bike offering to let us hold a falcon for just 10 AED, which was a really cool experience. You could also take your own pictures, which was great. Next, we drove to the evening camp for the BBQ and show. On arrival, we did a very short camel ride — about 30 seconds — included in the cost. Unfortunately, this is where the evening started to go downhill. We were relentlessly hassled by sellers all night, which was very unpleasant. One man went around taking photos of us without asking and then printed them, assuming we would buy them. When we said no, he became rude, muttered something under his breath, and walked off in a huff. The henna lady also seemed annoyed that we only wanted the free small design. Overall, the evening felt pushy and very sales-driven, almost bordering on harassment. The buffet was okay — some items had labels, some didn’t, and a few dishes were cold. The buffet area was chaotic and overcrowded. Alcohol was available, but a bottle of wine was around 300 AED, which is outrageous. Almost everything came at an extra cost, and I was surprised they didn’t charge an entry fee on top of the trip cost. That said, Emdad was fantastic throughout the day — he looked after our bags during the camel ride, took photos for us, and was helpful wherever he could. The belly dancer and local folk dancer performances were enjoyable, though a bit drawn out in between. Overall, the dune bashing, sandboarding, falcon experience, and camel ride made the day unforgettable. The evening camp, however, was ruined by pushy, aggressive sellers and the rude photo guy, making it uncomfortable. For anyone looking for adventure and excitement in the Dubai desert, the daytime safari is absolutely worth it — but I would personally skip the evening portion.