Christmas Desert Safari in Abu Dhabi: No Tree, No Turkey, Best Weather of the Year
There is nothing festive about the camp and we are not going to pretend otherwise. What there is, in the last week of December, is the finest desert weather of the whole calendar — and a date that books out.
- 5 min read
- From AED 35
- Book 2–3 weeks ahead
Christmas week is one of the two busiest fortnights of our year, and almost every enquiry carries the same quiet hope somewhere inside it: that the camp will be a bit Christmassy.
It will not be. But that turns out to matter far less than people expect, because the last week of December in the Abu Dhabi desert is as good as this landscape ever gets — and there is a version of the trip that fits neatly around a hotel Christmas lunch instead of competing with it.
No tree, no Santa, no turkey
Our camp at Al Khatim runs the same evening on 25 December as on any other night: dune bashing, the sunset stop, camels, sandboarding, the BBQ buffet, the shows and the fire. It is an Arabian evening, not a festive one. There is no tree, no Santa, no carols and no roast turkey.
There is also no alcohol — none served, none sold, none you can bring — so no mulled wine either. Alcohol in the UAE is licensed to hotels and restaurants, and a camp on open desert land holds no licence.
We say all of this plainly because the alternative is a family arriving an hour out of the city with children expecting decorations. If Christmas theming is what you want, the hotels in Abu Dhabi do it properly and at some scale.
What the camp gives you instead is the thing you cannot get in a ballroom: an enormous quiet sky, a fire, a genuinely good dinner and children who will talk about the camel for a year.
Christmas Eve or Boxing Day beats the 25th
The most useful advice on this page. If you have a hotel Christmas lunch booked for the 25th, do not put the safari on the same day. The evening safari is a six-hour commitment with a late-afternoon pickup, and it does not sit comfortably after a long lunch.
Christmas Eve works beautifully — the desert in the late afternoon, home by half past nine, and the whole of Christmas Day still ahead of you.
Boxing Day is the quiet one. Fewer bookings than either the 25th or New Year’s Eve, the same weather, and more room at the camp.
If it has to be Christmas Day itself, that is entirely possible — just message us two or three weeks out, because it goes early. There is no surcharge for the date; the problem is availability, not price.
Late December is the best it gets
This is the real argument for a Christmas-week safari. Daytime temperatures sit in the low-to-mid twenties Celsius — the seventies — with clean dry air and the low winter sun that makes the dunes look the way they look in photographs.
Then it gets cold. Once the sun has been down a couple of hours, the camp drops into single figures, sometimes lower, with open sky and nothing to hold the heat. Every December we watch people arrive in shorts and spend the fire show edging towards the grill.
Bring a proper jacket and closed shoes — a fleece in the car, not a light layer. The what to wear page has the month-by-month detail, and December in the desert covers the whole month.
What children can and cannot do
Christmas week is the family week, so the practical version: camel riding, sandboarding, the Arabic costume photos, henna and the shows are all fine for children and all included. The buffet has rice, pasta, chicken, potatoes, fruit and sweets, which covers most fussy eaters without a fight.
Quad bikes and buggies have age and height limits and a helmet is not optional — tell us the ages and we will say plainly what each child can do.
Under-fours need a car seat by law, which usually makes the private car at AED 599 the honest recommendation rather than an upsell. The family safari page goes through the ages properly.
If the dune bashing worries anyone, it can be skipped entirely at no extra cost — see without dune bashing.
Prices, payment and the drive out
Prices do not change over Christmas. Self-drive from AED 35, shared coach AED 50, hotel pickup AED 100, private car AED 599, overnight AED 450 — the same as any other night, VAT included. Everything is on prices and timings.
Nothing is paid in advance. No deposit, no card details, no payment link. You agree one total on WhatsApp, pay at the camp in cash or by card, and cancel free up to twelve hours before pickup — so booking Christmas week early costs you nothing at all.
The camp is at Al Khatim, about an hour from the Corniche and forty minutes from Zayed International. The evening runs roughly six hours door to door, with most guests back around half past nine.
If your trip runs into the new year, the New Year page covers the 31st and why 1 January is the most underrated morning in our calendar.
Christmas safaris — your questions
Is there a Christmas theme at the desert camp?
No tree, no Santa, no turkey and no carols. It is the standard evening safari – Arabian, not festive – and we would rather say so than have you arrive expecting decorations. What it does have is the best weather of the year and a camp full of people in a good mood.
Do safaris run on Christmas Day?
Yes, all of them – morning, evening and overnight. Christmas Day itself is busy, so give us a couple of weeks’ notice for it.
Is there mulled wine or any alcohol?
No. There is no alcohol at the camp at any time – none served, none sold, and you cannot bring your own. Arabic coffee, karak tea, fresh juice, soft drinks and water are unlimited and included.
Should we book Christmas Day or a different date?
If you have a hotel Christmas lunch booked, take the safari on Christmas Eve or Boxing Day instead – the evening safari is a six-hour commitment and it does not sit well after a long lunch. Boxing Day is quieter than the 25th and just as good.
Is it warm at Christmas in the Abu Dhabi desert?
Beautiful by day – low-to-mid twenties Celsius, the best conditions of the whole year. Genuinely cold after dark, often single figures at the camp. Bring a proper jacket.
Can children do everything?
Camel riding, sandboarding, the Arabic costume photos, henna and the shows are all fine for children. Quad bikes and buggies have age and height limits. Under-fours need a car seat, which usually makes the private car the sensible booking.
Read next
All the packages and start times are on prices and timings, the month itself on December in the desert, and the New Year end of the fortnight on the New Year page. Travelling with children? Start with the family safari.
Christmas week books out — send us your dates
We will tell you which day actually works around your hotel lunch, what the whole family costs, and whether the private car is the sensible call. Nothing is paid to hold a date.