How to dress for a hike in the desert

Why do we write this article? Because when we looked for advice on the internet about how to dress for the desert excursion, we didn’t find anything! We found only a lot of articles that advised how to dress during the actual safaris and stays in the desert, but nothing regarding a day trip in the desert.

What we did, in fact, was a day trip with jeeps in the desert. And it was so cool! There are so many operators who make this excursion. We chose GetYourGuide for the first time and we really enjoyed it! We bought it in five minutes on the internet and after ten minutes we already had confirmation directly from Whatsapp by the driver that he would pick us up the next day.

The two-day stay in Abu Dhabi is highly recommended if you want to do the desert excursion! It is absolutely something to do, we will remember it forever!

How to dress?

Man: shorts, shirt, pashmina, hat and sunglasses.

Woman: knee-length trousers or panta-pareo, short-sleeved T-shirt, pashmina, sunglasses and always remember a sweater for the air conditioning on the jeep.

We do not suffer much from the sun so the protective cream was not necessary, but could be used because the sun in the desert is really strong.

We chose this clothing and it was right for the whole excursion, from morning to evening, but to help you choose, we will briefly explain how this exciting day takes place:

Desert excursion

First of all the beautiful thing is that they come to pick you up directly at the hotel with the Jeep (beware that both in Dubai and Abu Dhabi they are always all in advance and a lot!)

The water is supplied directly by the organizers of the excursion, so it is not necessary to take it with you. Plus the jeep guys keep it cool in a jeep fridge.
Unless you want to do extra activities (in some cases the excursion on quads/camels is to be paid separately) it’s all paid so you don’t need to take money with you.

Camel Farm

Arriving in the desert the first stop of the day is at a camel farm where we fed the camel cubs and Nico really looked like a baby!

4×4 ride on the dunes

From there we left in the caravan with all the other jeeps to ride the sand dunes. It was super exciting and fun! The guide then had a great time playing music at full blast, but he continually worried that none of us felt bad or was afraid.

Panoramic Photos

After this “rally” on the dunes we stopped in the middle of the desert to take both funny and romantic photos with the fantastic support of our guide who found a thousand ways to let us take pictures.

Surf on the Dunes (Sand Boarding)

Nico also surfed the dunes with the board! We have an incredible video to witness! Giugi, on the other hand, is a coward and promptly took the opportunity to make the video to Nico.

Camel ride

We then resumed the jeeps and moved to take a short camel ride with obviously compulsory souvenir photos.

Sunset in the Desert

From here we enjoyed an incredible desert sunset with truly unique colors.

Dinner at the Camp

Dinner takes place outdoors, sitting on cushions, in a classic Arab style, in an original Bedouin camp. The menu also includes traditional Arabic dishes.

Smoking Shisha

After dinner, it is a must to relax on the pillows with a hookah and smoke Shisha (for the uninitiated, it is nothing “illegal”, but it is only a type of flavored tobacco).

Belly Dance and Color Show

While we were comfortable on our cushions smoking Shisha, in the background began a show of belly dancing on the prepared stage, in the middle of the field. Immediately after a show of a thousand colors and a thousand lights that we do not want to anticipate. A must see!

Shhhhhh Observe the Stars

At one point, in the middle of the evening, the organizers turned off all the lights in the camp. We found ourselves in the middle of the desert, without any light and realized how many stars there are in the sky! We are no longer used to seeing so many and it was a really fascinating show.

Comfortable and fresh clothing was our choice, always remembering to bring something to cover, in case of wind and air conditioning.

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