
Camels and Culture – 1 Night UAE Adventure – January 2024 – Date TBC
Camping, Offroading and Camel Festival!
This is a 1-night camping trip with two easy offroad drives and two visits to the Al Dhafra Camel Festival to explore the cultural heritage and nature of the area. Ideal for rookies and families, our trip will be in the Liwa area, concentrating on the area around Madinat Zayed. The maximum number of guest cars will be 8 plus your trip leader Marina. This is a self-drive adventure, so you need your own 4×4; previous offroad driving experience is not essential.
PROVISIONAL DATE 1: Saturday 27th – Sunday 28th January 2024
PROVISIONAL DATE 2: Saturday 3rd – Sunday 4th February 2024
What’s included
- Dinner at Arabic restaurant at the festival ground on first night
- Camp Breakfast on the Sunday morning
- Lunch on Sunday
- Offroad tuition as required
- Easy offroad drive Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning
- Evening campfire, chats and stories
- Guided tour round Al Dhafra Camel Festival
- Maximum 8 guest cars

Itinerary
We meet in Madinat Zayed, Western Region at 1100 hrs on the Saturday . From our start point we’ll convoy to the Al Dhafra Festival, which is about 18Km away.
Return to the road after trip
Just south of Madinat Zayed at approx. 1700hrs on the Sunday (you can leave after lunch).
Driving
This is an easy drive with multiple stops so is ideal for rookie drivers, and for those with young families. Safety is our priority and adrenaline junkies may find it boring!
Many of our participants are quite new to offroading so we will include some tips and tricks in our safety briefing. We will continue to coach you over obstacles throughout the trip, as and when required.
Vehicle Preparation
We will meet at ADNOC fuel station Madinat Zayed so please fuel up your car before you come and say hello.
Please ensure your car is in tip-top condition!
- Must have recovery points front and rear
- Must be in tip-top condition (this includes the spare tyre too)
- Those with locking wheel nuts should carry a key to release them
Please see here for a list of suggested vehicles and other car information, but please get in touch if your car is not on the list.
Please see here for a suggested packing list
Please see here for our thoughts on what best to wear. Please note for the Saturday lunchtime we may visit a VIP camp for dinner, men should wear full length trousers and ladies either full length trousers or a long skirt.
Safety
Your safety is always our number one priority!
There will be no high side-sloping, side-cresting or other advanced manoeuvres on this trip. The aim is to explore the desert safely and make the trip memorable for all the right reasons!
However, it is a fact that most expedition injuries happen not during the driving, but around the campfire. Please take the utmost care near campfire and BBQ area, and if you sit on the ground, be aware of your surroundings.
Please wear trainers or boots in the dark and around the campfire – it may be the “empty” quarter but there are some creatures there which will bite or sting you if you stand on them by accident! If anyone should be unlucky enough to be stung by a scorpion, then we will drive them out to the nearest hospital – it will take about half an hour to reach there.
Notes
- This trip is suitable for families, couples and individuals.
- Children of all ages are welcome and they should be seated in a car seat appropriate for their age/weight.
- Maximum recommended persons per car – 4
- All persons should wear seatbelts whenever the car is moving.
Read about 2016’s trip here.
Do hope you can join us! Marina may be available for private guiding on other days during the camel festival.
PRICES
- Driver 850 AED
- Adult Passengers 450 AED each
- Children aged 4-11 years 400 AED each
- Children aged 2-3 complimentary with 2 adults
Advance registration and payment essential.
Pay by Mastercard or Visa
Empty Quarter Enterprises Ltd T/A Xpedition Arabia, 39/8 Hyvot View, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, EH17 8PQ
Call/whatsapp us +971509478563 UK number +447565570827
copyright Empty Quarter Enterprises Ltd, T/A Xpedition Arabia 2020
