After spending so much time in Oman and not getting out to the desert, it is a priority for me here. I adore a desert landscape, arid, simple, exquisitely beautiful and big. What I actually want is to touch sand, see dunes and play. What I get instead, is a rush. The best dune bashing & sandboarding in Qatar plus camels & the turquoise sea! 😁
What Tour?
There are a plethora of tour groups offering the same, or similar trips out into the Qatari desert. The popular sites like Viator, Klook, Get Your Guide, Booking.com and Tripadvisor all offer competitive rates and the exact same excursions. It’s a matter really of choosing a company that offers the time slot, price and inclusions that you are seeking.
I would have been thrilled with a dune visit, and some historical sights, perhaps a fort and village. Alas, those tours are way beyond my budget. What I settled upon was a day time trek into the desert that includes dune bashing, a brief camel ride, sandboarding and a visit to the rare inland sea called Khor Al Adaid. I book with Viator and the cost is $43 CAD for 3-4 hours of fun. This is what transpires.
Pick Up
The night before, the local tour company will make contact to confirm the pick-up location. Luckily for me mine was relatively close to my hotel, the National Museum Metro station. A quick Uber ride and I was there for 8am. The guide had sent me a photo of the 4×4 vehicle I should be looking for and that is great because there are numerous tourists milling about, all waiting for their pick-up with their various tours.
The Drive Out
Qatar is a small country. Once the city is behind us the drive to the first stop, the camel ride, takes only perhaps 30 minutes. Along the way we pass oil refineries, one after the other, with dozens of flames aglow. The US airbase is also close by and although I cannot see it, there are aircraft low in the sky that give it away.
Past these, we begin to see ‘camps’. My guide Mohammed tells us that these are where the Qatari city folk come out to camp for weeks or months at a time. A household will have an entire fenced area full of tents and everything else they need for their vacation. These areas of camps are huge and are situated at the base of the dunes near the highway.
Camel Rides
Definitely not something I was keen on was this first stop. We pull off the highway to a fenced area full of muzzled camels languishing in the heat. There sole purpose, to be ridden by tourists for perhaps five minutes at a time. The site looks so tacky, with small tents and seating areas where tour groups are ushered towards, to have a tiny cup of tea. One tent has several beautiful falcons that handlers will immediately bring over to you hoping you will agree to hold it for a photo, and then they will ask for cash payment.
I don’t personally agree with riding the camels, or elephants for that matter. I just feel so badly for the animals and it fills me with unease. Instead, I chose to walk around and have a little chat with the animals, looking at their features in detail and the beautiful woolen blankets covering them. Once my guide has tried to persuade me to ride, and given up, and the rest of the group has had their ride, we hop back into the vehicle. But not before ¾ of the air is released from the tires.
Dune Bashing
Something I was a little apprehensive about was the dune bashing but it turns out to be an absolute blast. I though it would jostle my body too much and be uncomfortable, but it was so much fun! Mohammed blasts some local pop music and we head into the dunes. This area of Qatari desert is called Ash Shakra. What was once a sea bed millions of years ago, is now a series of sand dunes, so salty is the sand here, the colour is almost white.
We have accumulated two more vehicles now and are running beside each other. I’m holding on for dear life, a hand on the ceiling and the other on the door handle. Music blaring, a massive smile on my face as we careen down slip faces and the sand covers our windshield leaving us blind. Over and over we do this, swaying from side to side on the flat bits in the fluffy sand. Eventually we stop at the top of a dune with one other vehicle. Its now time for the third event.
Sandboarding
Having done this once in Jordan, I have an inkling of what it entails. I had to walk up the slip face with the board in Wadi Rum. Here I slide down first and bring the board back up. When it’s my turn, my shoes are off. Of course they are, almost the instant I was allowed out of that vehicle I had my toes in that sand. 😂
I’m instructed to keep my feet on the board no matter what. One, two, three and I’m given a push down the slope. For the full video see my Instagram post. But suffice to say I’m howling in laughter and a little terror as I race down. I’ve got so much speed I glide across the flat surface at the bottom and almost over the next dune! Everyone is yelling ‘put your feet out!’ and thank goodness I do that as it brings me to a halt.
Now the long climb back up the slip face, my feet on fire! From the burning hot sand. Its all I can do to keep going, resting every few steps to dig my knees into the sand and lift my bright red feet out for a moments respite.
The Inland Sea
Back into the vehicle and we are ripping across a vast salt flat headed towards this freak of nature, the inland sea. Officially known as Khor Al Adaid, it’s a UNESCO recognized natural reserve and rightly so. Located south of the desert and Doha and close to the Saudi border is this exquisite body of water. Tidal sea water surrounded by towering white dunes, imagine the beauty! The water has flowed deep into the desert here and created this land locked lagoon. Crystal clear and clean and oh so lovely to frolic in.
As soon as we pull up, I’ve got my shoes off again and am headed to the shoreline. Into that turquoise water I go. Those mountains in the background? That’s Saudi. We are given perhaps 15 minutes here and then its time to depart.
The Return
Back through the tracks in the sand and salt, we arrive quite quickly at a manned station where they replace their air in our tires. I inquire, and for the roads we are driving at 40PSI and in the dunes that tire pressure was decreased to 12PSI.
Within a few minutes we are back on pavement and headed towards Doha. The return drive is perhaps 45 minutes and we are dropped off where we got into the vehicle. What a fun and amazing trip to see a small piece of this special country outside of the capital city. If anyone is wondering if its worth it, GO! Definitely a highlight and something I wont soon forget from my time in Qatar.
