Dune Bashing Dubai — Local services in Dubai

My parents and I did the Regular Desert Safari with this company in March 2025. The experience was only enjoyable because of the unique opportunity to be in the middle of the desert. Other than that, it was quite disappointing, with several issues that need improvement.

Regarding the driver, I have no complaints. His driving was excellent.

Regarding the 4x4 vehicle, we were a group of three and were joined by three other young girls. The vehicle was not comfortable for six people. The two passengers in the back seats were seated uncomfortably, especially for taller individuals. Fortunately, two of the young girls were very kind and gave the better seats to my parents. Otherwise, one of them would have had to sit in the cramped and uncomfortable back row.

Regarding the desert safari plan, there were many shortcomings:

The plan which led us to choose this company, did not mention a mandatory 1-hour stop at a souvenir shop and a desert camp for buggy rides. These activities were optional but very expensive. Spending one hour in the middle of nowhere on something unplanned was a waste of time. We later realized that all companies seem to do this, but this information should have been provided upfront.

Comparing the promised plan to what we actually had:

Pick-up and drop-off in a 4x4 from our location – OK 25-30 minutes of dune bashing – OK Photo stop at the top of a dune – OK Camel ride – It lasted literally one minute! If we wanted more, we had to pay extra. It was just getting on and off the camel. Absolutely ridiculous! ❌ Sandboarding – OK Henna painting – The design was tiny. Anything beyond that was an extra charge. Welcome drinks (tea, coffee, Gahwa) – There were no welcome drinks at all. ❌ Unlimited soft drinks and water – OK Arabic clothes for photos – There were no arabic clothes for pictures. ❌ Two belly dance shows, Tanoura dance, and two fire shows – Only Tanoura dance and fire show were provided. No belly dance at all! ❌ BBQ dinner with vegetarian and non-vegetarian options – The BBQ dinner was extremely poor, and the dessert was a joke, just a slice of apple and orange. The dinner venue lacked atmosphere. It was nearly empty, and the overall setup could have been much better. They should have combined more groups, provided more entertainment, and decorated the space with traditional elements to create a truly immersive experience.

Overall, this safari was far from what was promised, and I would not recommend this company unless they make significant...

We booked the private tour. We were picked up and taken to a tourist trap. They don’t disclose all charges. Added extra for using a credit card. If this is disclosed, then fine but it wasn’t and felt extremely deceptive. The 10 min camel ride was a 4 minute strut around and enclosure. It was a joke. Nothing authentic about it and who wants pictures of a roped up camel with a fence in the background. Then our driver seemed upset when we questioned what was going on and when we started the dune bashing part of the “tour”, he seemed to be overly aggressive. He was a little reckless and even took a call while driving. If you have done this, you know it requires the drivers full attention. There are a ton of people and cars out there. It was very commercial. We ended up getting stuck and another driver helped get us out of the sand. The worst part is that I booked with one agency, Dune bashing Dubai and they seemed to outsource to another agency. The driver had no idea who the company we booked through was....

So we booked a safari yesterday. The driver was really nice and friendly - Adil was his name! He really took care and even made some photos of us. The bbq was okay, but nothing really fancy. The worst part was, that people tried to sell you nonsense stuff all the way - toys, perfumes, sandart and whatsoever. At some point it was super annoying. The worst part was the photographer - he ran around and tried to convince to take some photos of you. He was super persistent and even though you said multiple times no, he still tried to take photos. After that he tries to sell them to you. And if you say no, he really gets angry. Another couple, who was sitting right next to us was so annoyed of him that they wanted to leave the venue and he even ran after them and tried desperately to sell his photos.

So for the price it was all okay - driver was nice, desert was nice, but the people trying to sell you stuff that you don’t need, really make the...