The Desert, Privately
Liwa dunes, falconry and a camp kept for you alone.
- Nature · Adventure
- Ideal length: 3-5 days
- Best time: November through March, when the desert cools into clear, temperate days and long golden evenings by the Gulf.
- Private guiding, access and transfers throughout
- From US$11,000 per traveler — a starting point, tailored to you
- Designed one-to-one by a Forest Travel advisor
- Virtuoso privileges at the finest luxury hotels
Liwa dunes, falconry and a camp kept for you alone.
A country where the vertical glamour of the city, the quiet of the dunes and the warmth of the Gulf are all within a private morning's reach.
When to go
November through March, when the desert cools into clear, temperate days and long golden evenings by the Gulf. Your advisor times it to the light, the crowds and your own calendar.
The experiences
A sense of what this journey can hold — each one arranged privately and shaped to you:
- A camp on the edge of the Liwa dunes kept entirely for you, staffed and stocked to your taste.
- A dawn falconry session with a master handler, the birds working the open sand.
- A private dune drive deep into the Empty Quarter, ending at a table set beneath the stars.
- An astronomer-guided evening under some of the clearest skies in the region.
A sense of the rhythm
The desert asks you to slow to its own rhythm of light and silence. Days move gently from cool mornings to shaded afternoons, then open into vast, star-filled nights. With the camp yours alone, the great emptiness becomes something intimate.
Liwa or a closer desert?
Choose Liwa when you want the true grandeur of the Empty Quarter, with the tallest dunes and the deepest quiet, a few hours from the city. The nearer reserves offer easier access and shorter transfers for a first taste of the sands. For a night or two of real remoteness, Liwa is unmatched.
How to do it well
The counsel our advisors give travelers planning this journey:
- Confine desert nights to the cooler months, as summer heat makes the dunes inhospitable after morning.
- Have the finest luxury hotels arrange a private camp rather than a shared lodge for genuine solitude.
- Schedule falconry and dune drives for first light, before the sand warms and the haze rises.
- Pack a warm layer for the evening, as desert nights turn surprisingly cold once the sun drops.
What only your advisor can open
The difference between a good trip and an unrepeatable one is access — and access is a relationship, not a booking. Every guide, room and moment is chosen and sequenced for you.
Who it's for
Travelers who value privacy, time and doing it once — beautifully — and who would rather have one trusted advisor orchestrate every detail than assemble it themselves.
Estimated investment
From US$11,000 per traveler, based on double occupancy — scaled to your dates, party size and level of privacy. A starting point, not a final quote; confirmed once your advisor tailors the itinerary.
Designed entirely around you
Nothing here is a package. A Forest Travel advisor shapes the whole journey and stays one message away before and throughout your trip.
Your Virtuoso privileges
As a Virtuoso member, Forest Travel includes benefits reserved for Virtuoso guests at the finest luxury hotels, at no added cost: a room upgrade on arrival when available, daily breakfast for two, a property credit toward dining or spa, and early check-in with late check-out when the hotel allows.
Continue exploring United Arab Emirates
Part of our United Arab Emirates travel guide. Related private journeys:
Begin the conversation
Tell a Forest Travel advisor how you like to travel and they will design The Desert, Privately around you — privately, every Virtuoso privilege included. Request your private consultation →
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