By Mohammed Rashad Hussain, Managing PartnerPublished 3 min read
The question comes up for two kinds of traveller: someone staying in Abu Dhabi who wants dunes, and someone splitting a week between both cities. The answer is mostly geography. This guide gives the distances, the differences between the deserts and a rule for choosing. The bookings are on the Dubai desert safari page and the Abu Dhabi desert safari page.
How far is each desert from each city?
These are road distances from the OSRM routing data, without traffic.
| From | To the Lahbab dunes | Drive |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown Dubai | 48 km | about 43 min |
| Dubai International (DXB) | 47 km | about 53 min |
| Abu Dhabi city | 163 km | about 1 h 53 min |
| Zayed International (AUH) | 139 km | about 1 h 42 min |
| Yas Island | 139 km | about 1 h 39 min |
| Al Ain | 119 km | about 1 h 23 min |
Lahbab is the desert most Dubai safaris use. The table shows why Abu Dhabi stays use a different one. A pickup in Abu Dhabi to the Dubai dunes means about four hours on the road across a safari evening.
What is different about the Abu Dhabi deserts?
Abu Dhabi emirate’s safari areas sit inland, towards Al Ain, and include Al Khatim. Ask the operator for the desert it uses, the pickup time from your hotel and the return time. These can differ a lot from the Dubai times because the distances are longer.
For the Dubai side, our guide to Dubai desert safari locations explains the options around Lahbab and how they differ.
What about Liwa?
Liwa Oasis is about 150 km south-west of Abu Dhabi city. It is the edge of the Empty Quarter and the place for the tallest dunes in the emirate. It is not an evening safari. Treat it as its own trip, ideally with a night in the area, and read the Liwa festival from Dubai guide if your dates match the festival.
Which should you book?
| You are staying in | Book | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | Dubai desert safari | 48 km from Downtown, home by evening |
| Abu Dhabi, one night | Abu Dhabi desert safari | Avoids about four hours of driving |
| Both cities | The desert in the city of your free evening | Keep the day with the longest drive for the city you leave last |
| Dubai, wanting something remote | Liwa as its own trip | Not part of a normal safari |
If you are choosing a city for a holiday rather than a desert, the Dubai or Abu Dhabi holiday guide covers it. Moving between them is covered in how to get from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.
Private or shared?
The decision is the same in both emirates. A shared safari loops through hotels before it leaves the city, and in Abu Dhabi the loop covers longer distances. A private 4x4 follows your timing. The private versus shared desert safari guide has the full comparison, and the morning versus evening guide helps you pick the slot.
What Assure does here
Assure’s safari pickups are in Dubai. For an Abu Dhabi desert, send us the date, group size and hotel on WhatsApp. We confirm what we can arrange for that trip before you commit, and we say so plainly if it is not something we can offer. If you are in Abu Dhabi and want to see the capital too, the places to visit in Abu Dhabi guide shows what pairs with a desert evening. More day plans are in the day trips from Dubai hub.
Photos in this guide
The sun setting over low dunes and desert shrubs in the Dubai Desert Conservation ReserveiMahesh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Safari 4x4s driving in convoy along a sandy track through the Al Marmoum desert south of DubaiRob Young / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Two 4x4s crossing pale sand dunes at sunset near Sweihan, in the desert of Abu Dhabi emirateHerman Darnel Ibrahim / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
The road through Liwa, with date palms on one side and high sand dunes aheadJSPhotography2016 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
