Ras Al Khaimah aims to welcome over 3.5 million visitors annually by 2030. It’s well on its way towards realizing this goal, registering a 6% year-on-year growth in visitor arrivals in the first half of 2025, when it welcomed more than 654,000 visitors.
This emirate, the fourth largest in the United Arab Emirates in terms of land mass, is known for landscape diversity, with its rocky mountain backdrop, alluvial plains, pristine beaches, and the rolling dunes of the desert.
The terracotta-colored Ras Al Khaimah desert is stunning, especially the 1,235-acre, protected desert area, Al Wadi Nature Reserve. In a vast area where you’re surrounded by nature, you have the opportunity to experience the beautiful wilds of the desert, with animals such as rare oryx, bombastic camels, and desert foxes spotted by eagle-eyed visitors.
Here are five desert experiences visitors to Ras Al Khaimah can add to their bucket lists.
1. Desert Safari
A desert safari takes visitors deep into the desert. Tour companies pick guests up from their hotel and then drive them to the desert, where guests may engage in desert activities.
The mix and range of desert safari activities will vary according to the provider and package. They may include outdoor desert activities as well as a desert camp visit or immersion. However, the primary activity of a desert safari is the drive itself, likely with a sunrise or sunset viewing as a highlight.
Sunrise or sunset viewing: Desert safaris are typically morning or evening safaris. Morning safaris set out very early so visitors can catch the sun rising over the desert. Evening safaris set out in the afternoon so the guests can be in the desert for the sunset.
How to arrange: A tourist can sign up for a desert safari with a tour operator. Alternatively, they can inquire with their hotel, which may provide the same service or connect them with an accredited desert safari operator. Another way is to stay at a desert camp, which typically offers desert safari and other activities for its guests.
2. Desert Camping
There are several desert camps in Ras Al Khaimah. Here are some of the options available to visitors:
- Bedouin Oasis Camp: This desert camp is for authentic Bedouin-style camping in goat-hair tents or the more lavishly appointed chalets. Guests sit on cushions set on Arabian rugs arranged around a campfire, sipping on coffee, tea, or milk (camel or goat milk) and dining on traditional Bedouin cuisine, which may include whole mutton slow-cooked in an underground oven, grilled goat meat, shish tawook, rice, bread, nuts, dried fruits, hoummus, and fattoush. Visitors can get a henna tattoo, observe skilled falconers, listen to Bedouin poems, watch belly and tanoura dancers, and enjoy a fire show.
- Bassata Desert Village: Bassata Desert Village offers various desert adventures and activities, including jeep safari, dune buggying, quad biking, camel riding, private tours, and overnight stays.
- Sonara Camp Al Wadi: Sonara Camp Al Wadi is an eco-friendly and luxurious desert camp, where guests can choose from various experiences (e.g., sunset experience, dinner experience, and 4×4 desert safari with activities). In-camp entertainment includes falconry, live music, an interactive hawk show, a fire show, soft archery, sandboarding, football, and volleyball.
- The Dunes Camping and Safari: The Dunes Camping and Safari is made for overnight desert stays. Accommodation options include platinum pods, heritage huts, igloo tents, elevated tree houses, and dome tents. The camp also offers various activities, including morning and evening desert safaris, as well as forays into the mountains and other non-desert destinations.
How to arrange: Visitors must inquire with the desert camp they prefer.
3. Outdoor Desert Activities
There are many outdoor activities in the Ras Al Khaimah desert. Tour, safari, or camp operators can arrange these for visitors.
- Dune bashing: Riding a four-wheel-drive vehicle as it (under the guidance of an experienced desert driver) traverses the perennially shifting sands of the dunes.
- Sandboarding: Tourists will be provided with boards, similar to a skateboard, which they can ride down (seated or with feet strapped and standing up) as they slide down sandy slopes.
- Quad biking or dune buggying: Visitors navigate the desert on a motorized, four-wheel vehicle: a quad bike or a dune buggy. The quad bike is more agile and can navigate various types of terrain, including rocky and sandy paths. Dune buggies have roll cages for added protection, and they are made especially for sandy terrain.
How to arrange: Visitors may inquire with their hotel or a tour operator, desert safari provider, or desert camp.
4. Camel Riding or Trekking
Shorter camel rides are typically available as an add-on or inclusion in desert safaris, tours, and camp activities. However, there are also longer camel treks, where riding a camel through the desert (often to a predetermined destination) is the primary event. Visitors may be driven to a camp or a launching point, where they transfer to a camel and continue their desert exploration on a camel’s back.
How to arrange: Visitors may inquire with their hotel or a tour operator, desert safari provider, or desert camp.
5. Wildlife Feeding Experience at The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert
At The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert, guests can start their morning with a truly special encounter — the Wildlife Feeding Experience. Set against the serene dunes of the Al Wadi Nature Reserve, this guided activity invites visitors to hand-feed the elegant Arabian oryx and graceful gazelles that roam freely across the protected landscape.
Led by the resort’s expert rangers, guests will learn fascinating insights about the reserve’s conservation efforts and the native wildlife that call it home. It’s a peaceful and memorable way to connect with nature — and capture stunning photos of these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.
How to arrange: Visitors are recommended to reserve in advance due to limited availability by contacting the Ritz-Carlton Experience Concierge at +971 7 206 7777 ext. 5656.
