Dubai, UAE: Driving a Desert Buggy in Lahbab, Sharjah

Call time was 8:30am and I felt sleepy as I was in the closing shift the previous day. We went to our meeting point near Al Fahidi Metro Station so we could begin our Hatta Mountain Safari tour. The first activity was seeing the desert sand dunes of Lahbab, Sharjah City.

I was informed that the location of our previous desert safari tour wasn’t as grand as the place we were to visit. I wasn’t expecting much, else I would regret it if they are not met later on.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Driving a Buggy Lahbab, Sharjah
April 30, 2013

safari desert dubai
ATV on the sand

desert dubai
looks fake eh?

Change of Scenery

Driving outside Dubai, I noticed the change of environment. From busy buildings to a bare sandscape. It amazes me how Dubai has transformed into a cosmopolitan city from a blank desert in a span of only three decades.

Looking past the vehicle dashboard, I could see the sand freely covering parts of the road. We stopped in one of the desert shops, thinking that we were going to buy food for the tour. It turns out that this was the desert dune stop.

sharjah
sand even on the center island!

sharjah desert
wide sandscape

We could see many sand buggies for vacationers who want to try driving these vehicles on the vast desert sand. Fortunately for us, we were the only visitors at the time and made it look like we had the place all to ourselves.

Driving a Buggy on Sand Slopes

Considering that there were no other persons around, we rented a buggy for 30 minutes, for 350 Dirhams (ouch), and had a blast driving through the sand. Actually, I had too much of blast that one of the attendants rushed on a sand buggy to stop me from stepping the pedal on full throttle.

We were driving on slopes and there were steep ones that it seemed like the vehicle was going to topple over. Not wanting to end up in the hospital, we listened and I only hit the accelerator on flat surfaces.

desert buggy
the attendant took off after warning me not to go crazy on the wheel

middle east sand
do the buggy

Our tour guide was smiling saying that he saw me swerving fast and bashing the sand hard. I really had fun during that time.

We took some more photos of the place because it felt like the location was photo-shopped. Even if we were actually on the desert, it didn’t feel like the set-up was real.

desert sand
destroying the pattern, hehe.

middle east desert
crazy about the sand

Recreational Center

The activity center has a small go-kart race course, camel rides for rent and even horse riding. They also have a few animals and souvenir shops. It’s a recreational area for those wanting to experience the desert.

It was time to head back to the car, but had I remove my feet from my shoes to take the sand out. There was a lot!

dubai peacock
peacock

sharhah lahbab
other activities

I experienced the Dubai Desert Safari in an earlier time, but I noticed the difference between that common tourist activity compared to going to this location which is farther from the metro. This place is a lot better as there are lesser plants and more sand! You can really feel how vast the desert is from here.

dubai desert
desert of Lahbab, Sharjah

Tour Guide: Shahzad Ahmad
Mobile Number: +971 56 2318281, +971 52 7866550

We hopped on the vehicle and proceeded to driving to our next destination.

To be continued…

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Check out my other posts about our Hatta Mountain Tour here:

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Check out my other Dubai articles here:


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soloflightEd.com is a travel blog by Edcel Suyo. He enjoys performing headstands and crazy stunts during his trips in the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Now based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates and working to earn a living, he takes time to enjoy the city and travel during weekends.
For updates, Like his page on Facebook or Follow him on Twitter.
For questions, advertising, and other concerns, shoot an email to ed@soloflighted.com.


14 thoughts on “Dubai, UAE: Driving a Desert Buggy in Lahbab, Sharjah”

  1. wow, ang saya (deadma na sa presyo ng buggy driving)!
    and there’s your trademark headstand of course!

    ang husay ng mga pre-nup pics, oops, pre-nup photos na ba iyon? biro lang.
    who says those photos look like photoshopped? anyone can fake a photo with editing but not the happiness etched on the smiles!
    naks! 🙂

    nice one too on the peacock. 🙂

    Reply
    • naks, happiness on the smiles talaga! I haven’t used my SLR na for a long time! Would’ve wanted to bring it pero I’m sure I wouldn’t have as much fun if I was worrying too much on the settings. Dedma na lang talaga sa price ng buggy. hehe. thanks doc! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Wow, were you in Mars?! Looks like the red planet. 🙂 350 dirhams sounds expensive with the ouch. Does this entail any environmental/ecological impact? Just wondering aloud, no need to answer my rhetorical questions. :p If I do make it to the Middle East, this is one of 2 things I gotta do (the other is riding a camel, hehe).

    Reply
    • Yes, 1 Dirham is 12 Philippine Pesos, AJ. So it’s a little expensive. Not sure about the impact as it’s all sand. hehe. Yes, better if you visit the deserts in Sharjah compared to the nearby ones. It’s more grand here! 🙂

      Reply
  3. humayyy, 350 dirhams!!
    Cge lang parang inlove na inlove naman yung nagsusulat. :p

    If I go to this desert, I’ll be reminded how small I am in this world.
    It’s so vast and beautiful.

    More posts please 🙂

    Reply

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