Liwa Oasis Desert Drive from Abu Dhabi

Begin your desert experience with a pickup from your centrally located Abu Dhabi hotel. Meet your expert driver-guide, hop inside your comfortable, air-conditioned 4x4 vehicle, and then set off toward the southern edges of the UAE.

As you travel, hear fascinating facts about the Liwa Oasis, a series of oases at the north of the Rub Al Khali or "Empty Quarter," the world’s largest desert of continuous sand. This immense desert extends from the southern UAE to southern Saudi Arabia, and into Oman and Yemen, and was once home to the tribes who went on to settle Abu Dhabi.

Along the way, gaze out at the desert scenery and watch as the sand changes color from creamy yellow to dark orange. Then, after around two hours, arrive on the outer fringes of Liwa and marvel at the ocean of dunes that stretches endlessly before you.

Follow the black-topped roads through the dunes and feel the thrill as your driver steers you off road onto the sands for a roughly 2-hour desert drive. Have your camera ready as you rumble past the incredible dunes, lush oases, desert settlements and camel farms.

As you explore, your guide will point out places of interest and interesting indigenous flora. Keep a watch, too, for desert wildlife such as the nimble Arabian gazelle, rabbits and lizards, and hear how they forage for food and water in this arid expanse.

After working up an appetite, stop at an oasis to enjoy a delicious picnic lunch. Savor goodies such as chicken pasta, fruit salad and muffins teamed with refreshing soda and water, and drink in the overwhelming silence and sense of emptiness around you as you eat.

Explore further after lunch and then, when the time comes, head back to the bustle of Abu Dhabi. Your trip ends with a drop-off back at your hotel in the late afternoon.