United Arab Emirates off-road trip: itinerary, GPS tracks, must-sees
All the information you need to plan your road trip to the United Arab Emirates
Hello! We’re Olivia & Victor, authors of the OunTravela guides.
Over the years, our passion for adventure has led us to create original travel guides sold in over 70 countries worldwide. Our mission is to spread a travel philosophy based on adventure, freedom, improvisation and exploration. Our guides inspire travellers to explore the world’s forgotten paths, encountering wilderness and civilization.
We hope you find this article, based on our own experience, useful.
Enjoy your reading!
Why visit the United Arab Emirates?
Outside the megalopolises of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates offer wide-open spaces for exploration. For lovers of sand-driving and desert landscapes! Almost the entire territory is sandy desert, with a mountainous region to the north and a few oases such as Al-Ain and Liwa. Sunsets in the Rub Al-Khali desert offer magnificent light. What’s more, you’ll be able to admire the Milky Way without light pollution, and you may even be lucky enough to spot an Arabian Oryx. Don’t forget to watch a camel race!
On the map below, we’ve mapped out our 12-day itinerary. Of course, this is not the ideal itinerary, as only the improvised route is ideal! We took our inspiration from the UAE Off Road road book.
Our itinerary inspired by the book UAE OFF-ROAD
We recommend you purchase the book UAE Off ROAD to plan your itinerary. Not every trail is worth taking, but it’s a good basis on which to build your road-trip. It’s best to avoid the outskirts of big cities, which are often polluted and dotted with industry.
If you want to get off the beaten track, it’s essential to have a powerful 4×4 (see article on which 4×4 rental to choose). We also recommend that you have a good command of sand-driving or that you set off with two cars (which will enable you to get out of the sand quickly).
The desert climate makes it essential to plan your trip between October and May, as outside these months temperatures can reach 50°C.
