One of my favorite excursions during my trip to Dubai was desert dune bashing. If you don’t know what that is, it’s when you go out to the desert in a 4-wheeled drive Land Cruiser and the driver takes you off roading on the sand dunes. It’s quite the adventure. (PS, it’s a very bumpy ride though so if you’re pregnant or get motion sickness very easily be sure you consider if this is something you want to do).

Depending on which package you purchase, you can make an entire day trip to the desert. They offer additional activities like camel riding (which we did), and then in the evening they offer belly dancing, dinner, and hooka in an Arab setting but we didn’t do that because it’s very touristy. So my friends and I did a morning time trip from 9am returning at 1pm at the Hatta Desert which is an hour east of Dubai. Here’s the best part, guess how much it cost for all 11 of us? $20 per person and guess what? That INCLUDES a private driver that will pick up each person in your group from their location and drop them back off! It really doesn’t get better than that! The trick is to book via www.Cobone.com - this could be considered as one of the Groupons of the UAE, and you find deals on it for everything. The Groupon site actually has an extension for UAE so be sure to check that out as well: https://www.cobone.com/en/deals/dubai

Now for the FASHIONS – what to wear on a trip to the desert? When I think of desert style I think of bohemian maxi dresses, fringe, suede boots, funky prints, shaggy vests, turbans, wide brimmed floppy hats, chockers, bucket bags, and eccentric accessories. So I was excited to put together my desert outfit though I will say it took me a little extra time to make sure it was just right.

For starters, I wanted to wear a turban but I didn’t want my neck showing so I rummaged through a few tops that had a collar and were not of a winter style. I found one finally that was just right but the collar didn’t hold up on its own so I pinned it tight behind my neck to keep it in place. I then paired it with an Aztec button down maxi dress. You need to be able to move freely in the desert especially if you want to do camel riding, so I unbuttoned the dress and belted it so I could get a flowy free-moving effect. I paired it with tanned skinny jeans that accented the colors just right. The turban I wore is by Gul Naz, a Dubai based brand, that has a velcro strip at the back so you can adjust the size. Gul Naz makes really nice turbans, and I have to say I’m very picky with my turban looks! I finished the look with gold gladiator sandals that were just right. 

There you have it! You have all the info you need to plan a desert day trip from booking details to styling tips. Hope you get to enjoy it as much as I did with my friends!

Turban: GulNaz | Top: Anthropologie | Jeans: J Brand | Dress: Hale Bob |

Sandals: Tory Burch | Shades: Prada