Most Diwali guides for the UAE are written from Dubai. They list the Dubai temples, the Dubai fireworks and the Dubai shopping promotions, then stop. If you live in Abu Dhabi or are visiting it, the one thing you actually need to know barely gets a line.

So here it is first: the BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi does not take walk-ins during Diwali. You register in advance or you do not get in. Every year families drive out, arrive at the gate and are turned away.

The BAPS Hindu Mandir runs its Diwali programme from 6 to 10 November. Four things decide whether your visit works:

• Register in advance. Entry is through registration on mandir.ae or the Mandir Abu Dhabi app. There is no walk-in entry during the festival. This is the single thing that goes wrong for families every year.
• Monday 9 November is open. The Mandir normally closes on Mondays. During Diwali week it opens, which catches out people who assume the usual schedule.
• Dress modestly — shoulders and knees covered, for everyone in your group.
• Dhanteras Pujan is webcast on Friday 6 November at 8:30 PM UAE time, if you cannot be there in person.

Register first, then plan the rest of the day around the slot you are given. Not the other way round.

This is the question Indian families ask us first, so here is the plain answer. The camp serves one BBQ buffet and every guest eats from the same spread — and that spread carries proper vegetarian food every single night, not a side plate added as an afterthought.

Vegetarian needs no notice. Turn up and eat.

The mezze table alone is a full meal: hummus, mutabbal, falafel, vegetable sambousek, tabbouleh, fattoush and fresh bread. The hot side adds a vegetable curry, dal, rice, pasta and potatoes, and there is fruit and sweets after. A vegetarian family of four eats a proper dinner from that without going near the grill. That much is our responsibility and we stand behind it — the full station-by-station list is on the BBQ menu page.

What the camp does not do is cook to order:

• There is no separate Jain, vegan or gluten-free kitchen. A dish is not prepared for one guest, so we will not take a dietary request and promise it will be waiting for you.
• A lot of the mezze uses dairy and bread is central to the table, so a strict vegan or a coeliac guest should plan around the buffet rather than rely on it.
• There is no special Diwali menu. The buffet on 8 November is the same buffet as any other night of the year.

So if someone in your group keeps a strict Jain or vegan diet, eat before you come and treat the evening as the dunes, the fire and the shows rather than dinner. Or take the self-drive option and keep your own timing, so you can eat where you want afterwards. We would rather lose a booking than have a family arrive expecting something the camp never offered.

Both the Mandir and our camp sit outside the city centre, in different directions, so doing both on the same day means watching the clock rather than hoping. Three shapes that work:

Mandir in the morning, desert in the afternoon. Our evening pickups run roughly 2:30 to 3:30 PM. A morning registration slot leaves the afternoon clear. This is the easiest combination.

Desert first, Mandir in the evening. The morning safari has you back in the city by lunchtime, with the whole evening free.

Keep them on separate days. With celebrations running 6 to 10 November there is no need to crowd both into one. Diwali is a Sunday; the desert works just as well on the Friday or the Saturday.

Travelling with family who have flown in for the festival? The family safari page covers car seats and age limits, and our guide for visitors from India answers the questions that come up most. If you are four or more, a private car works out cheaper per head than separate seats and lets you set your own pickup time.