Camel Farm Abu Dhabi: The Desert Stop Everyone Photographs First

Quick answer: You do not need a separate tour to visit a camel farm in Abu Dhabi — our evening desert safari route passes a working camel farm on the way to the camp, and the stop is included in every ticket from AED 35 per person. A short camel ride at the camp is included too; longer rides and treks are a separate experience covered on our camel riding page.

Camel Farm Abu Dhabi: The Desert Stop Everyone Photographs First: The Short Answer

Quick answer: You do not need a separate tour to visit a camel farm in Abu Dhabi — our evening desert safari route passes a working camel farm on the way to the camp, and the stop is included in every ticket from AED 35 per person.

  • How much does the desert safari cost per person?: From AED 35 self-drive, AED 50 by shared coach, or AED 100 with hotel pickup — including the farm stop, camp camel ride, BBQ dinner and all three live shows.
  • How long is the camel ride on the safari?: The included camp ride is a short escorted loop — enough for the experience and the photos.
  • Is the camel farm stop suitable for young children?: Very — it is consistently the stop children remember most. They watch from beside the paddock with you; at the camp, small children take the camel ride seated with a parent.
  • Can you drink camel milk, and is it safe? +: Camel milk is a serious industry here, not a novelty.
  • Can I visit a camel farm in Abu Dhabi?: Yes — the easiest way is the included stop on our evening desert safari route, which pauses at a working camel farm in the Al Khatim desert belt on the way to the camp.

What the Farm Stop Is Actually Like

Between the dune bashing and the camp, the convoy pulls up beside the paddocks of a working farm in the Al Khatim desert belt. This is not a petting zoo built for tourists — it is where owners keep and raise their herds, including tall, long-legged racing camels worth more than the Land Cruiser you arrived in. You will get close enough for photographs, watch the herd being fed if the timing is right, and hear from your driver how a good racing camel is judged — the lines of the neck, the depth of the chest, the bloodline before anything else.

Ten to fifteen minutes, cameras out, and the single most-photographed moment of the pre-camp route. Children in particular remember the farm longer than the dunes.

A guest smiling beside a camel during the farm stop on the Abu Dhabi desert safari
The farm stop: close enough for this photo, included in every evening ticket.

Camels in Emirati Life: Why the Farm Matters

Before oil, the camel was wealth, transport, milk, wool and poetry all at once — Bedouin families measured standing by their herds, and the animal is still called Ata Allah, “God’s gift”, in the region’s older speech. That heritage is alive, not archived: camel racing is a serious sport here with dedicated tracks across the emirate, robot jockeys, and prize money that explains why the finest animals at the farm are simply not for sale. When your driver talks bloodlines at the fence, he is talking about a living economy that predates the UAE itself.

Want More Than a Stop? The Other Camel Experiences

At the camp: a short camel ride around the camp loop is included with every evening safari — no extra fee, handlers walk beside first-timers, and children ride with a parent. Longer rides and sunset treks: covered in detail on our camel riding guide. The deep cut for enthusiasts: the Al Ain Camel Market — the UAE’s famous traditional camel souq, about 90 minutes from the city — where traders buy and sell exactly as they have for generations; go early morning, walk freely, and keep polite distance from working animals. We can build an Al Ain day around it as a private tour — ask on WhatsApp.

What to Wear (Especially for the Camel Ride)

For women the practical answer: loose trousers or leggings under a longer top — skirts and short shorts fight you on the mount and dismount. Everyone: closed shoes or secure sandals for the sand, sunglasses for the late-afternoon glare, and nothing dangling that a curious camel can reach. The mount is the only tricky moment — the camel rises back legs first with a forward lurch, so hold the pommel and lean back when the handler says so.

A family riding camels together at the Abu Dhabi desert camp
The included camp camel ride — handlers walk with first-timers and children.

It is our camp — and that is why we can promise the rest of this page

We built our desert camp and we run it. We are not buying you a seat at somebody else’s. It sounds like a small distinction and it is the most important one on this page, because almost every operator ranking for these searches is reselling space at a camp they do not control.

Here is what that actually changes for your evening, in plain terms:

What we can commit toWhy a reseller cannot
Nobody will pressure you to buy an upgrade.Our camp, our staff, no commission on extras. A reseller does not employ the people selling henna, photographs and seating once you arrive.
Your seating is settled before you travel.We are not buying tables from a host camp that tiers them and sells the better ones on arrival — which is exactly where guests report feeling cornered.
Vegetarian, Jain or allergy meals arranged properly.We run the kitchen. A reseller has to ask a favour of a camp that has never met you.
The timings we quote are the timings you get.We are not fitted around another camp’s schedule and another operator’s coaches.
We can answer questions about the animals.It is our operation, so there is someone to ask. Ask a reseller about camel rest periods and there is nobody on the other end of the question.
You can have the camp without the dune drive.We can reshape the evening because it is ours to reshape.

We are a DCT-licensed Abu Dhabi operator. And where this page says we will confirm something in writing before you pay, that is not a hedge — it is us checking our own operation rather than repeating a promise made by a company we booked you with.

Every Safari Includes the Camel Farm Stop

The farm, the camp camel ride, the sunset and the shows — one ticket covers the lot.

Guests on a camel ride at the Abu Dhabi desert campFrom AED 35 per person

Evening Desert Safari

Dune bashing, the camel farm stop, camp camel ride, BBQ dinner and the full three-show night.

  • Camel farm stop included
  • Camp camel ride included
  • AED 50 coach · AED 100 pickup
Book on WhatsAppOr use the form
A guest enjoying a camel ride on the dunes in Abu DhabiAED 799 per car

Morning Desert Safari

The cool-hours private safari — dunes and the camel encounter in soft morning light, back before lunch.

  • Private 4×4, up to 7 guests
  • Best light for photos
  • Hotel pickup included
Book on WhatsAppOr use the form
A private desert camp set up for one group at nightAED 599 per car

Private Evening Safari

Your own vehicle and driver — linger at the farm as long as the photographs need. Land Cruiser AED 800.

  • Up to 7 guests, one price
  • Unhurried farm stop
  • Full camp evening
Book on WhatsAppOr use the form

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I visit a camel farm in Abu Dhabi?

Yes — the easiest way is the included stop on our evening desert safari route, which pauses at a working camel farm in the Al Khatim desert belt on the way to the camp. No separate ticket is needed; the whole evening starts from AED 35 per person.

Can I ride a camel in Abu Dhabi?

Yes — a short camel ride around the camp loop is included with every evening safari, with handlers walking beside first-timers and children riding with a parent. Longer rides and sunset treks are a separate experience — see our camel riding guide for the options.

What should a woman wear for a camel ride?

Loose trousers or leggings under a longer top work best — skirts and short shorts make the mount awkward. Closed shoes or secure sandals, sunglasses for the glare, and nothing dangling within a curious camel’s reach.

How long is the camel ride on the safari?

The included camp ride is a short escorted loop — enough for the experience and the photos. If you want a longer ride or a sunset trek, ask us on WhatsApp and we will build it into your booking.

Are the camels treated well?

The farm we stop at is a working owners’ farm, not a tourist pen — these are prized animals, many of them racing stock worth extraordinary sums, and their condition reflects it. At the camp, rides are short, loads are managed, and handlers stay with the animals throughout.

What is the Al Ain Camel Market?

The UAE’s famous traditional camel souq in Al Ain, about 90 minutes away, where traders buy and sell as they have for generations. It is free to walk around — go early morning and keep respectful distance from working animals. We can arrange it as part of a private Al Ain day tour.

Is the camel farm stop suitable for young children?

Very — it is consistently the stop children remember most. They watch from beside the paddock with you; at the camp, small children take the camel ride seated with a parent.

How much does the desert safari cost per person?

From AED 35 self-drive, AED 50 by shared coach, or AED 100 with hotel pickup — including the farm stop, camp camel ride, BBQ dinner and all three live shows. A private car for up to 7 guests is AED 599 (Land Cruiser AED 800).

What is a camel farm in Abu Dhabi, and what actually happens when you visit? +
A camel farm here is a working herd, not a zoo. Camels are kept at real scale in this emirate: the population is 476,082 head, split 99,071 in Abu Dhabi, 254,034 in Al Ain and 122,977 in Al Dhafra (Abu Dhabi Media Office / ADAFSA, mediaoffice.abudhabi, read 17 August). On a safari route you pull off the road at the pens, walk among adults and calves, hear how the herd is managed and take photographs. It is a short, quiet, unstaged stop between the dune drive and the camp.
Can you feed the camels at a camel farm near Abu Dhabi? +
Whether you may hand-feed depends entirely on the farm and the herdsman on the day, so we will confirm this in writing before you pay rather than promise it up front. What you will certainly see is how camels here are genuinely fed. Abu Dhabi’s heritage register describes so’out, a traditional supplement of fat, honey and eggs given roughly once a week to build condition (abudhabiculture.ae, read 17 August). Never feed a camel anything you have brought yourself.
Can you ride a camel at the camel farm? +
Usually not. A farm stop is about seeing a working herd; camel rides on a safari are normally a short, led walk at the camp rather than at the farm itself. If a ride matters to you, say so when you book and we will confirm in writing whether it is included, where it happens and how long it lasts. If nobody will confirm it, assume it is not included. A farm visit and a camel ride are two different things, often sold as though they were one.
How many camels are there in Abu Dhabi? +
476,082 across the emirate — 99,071 in Abu Dhabi, 254,034 in Al Ain and 122,977 in Al Dhafra, with females far outnumbering males in every region (mediaoffice.abudhabi, read 17 August). Al Ain alone holds more than half the emirate’s camels. A single farm on a safari route will hold a tiny fraction of that, usually dozens rather than hundreds, so do not arrive expecting the scale those figures suggest.
Is there an entrance fee for the camel farm? +
There is no published official ticket price for the working farms that safari routes use, so we will not quote one. Where a farm stop forms part of your itinerary it is covered by the tour price, and we will confirm that in writing before you pay. Our private tours are priced per vehicle, so children add nothing. There is no deposit and no booking fee, you pay on the day, and cancellation is free up to twelve hours before pickup.
Can you drink camel milk, and is it safe? +
Camel milk is a serious industry here, not a novelty. The UAE produces more than 7,000 tonnes of pasteurised camel milk a year and exports to the European Union, China and the United States, and the Codex Alimentarius Commission has approved a UAE-led proposal to develop the first international standard for pasteurised camel milk (mediaoffice.abudhabi, read 17 August). Buy pasteurised milk from a shop. Do not drink raw, unpasteurised milk offered at a farm — the reason is in the next answer.
Should anyone avoid close contact with the camels? +
Yes, and we would rather lose the booking than leave this out. The World Health Organization records dromedary camels as the primary reservoir of MERS-CoV and advises that people at greater risk of severe disease avoid contact with dromedary camels and avoid handling or drinking raw camel milk (who.int, read 17 August). WHO describes that higher-risk group as people over sixty-five, immunocompromised people, and those with chronic conditions including diabetes, kidney, lung and heart disease. If that is you, skip the farm stop. Everyone else should wash their hands before and after touching animals.
How long does the camel farm stop last? +
It is short — a proper stretch of the legs rather than an hour — but we will confirm the exact stop length in writing before you pay rather than invent a number here. It sits between the dune drive and the camp, so it is one component of a longer afternoon, not the centrepiece. If you want an unhurried spell with the herd, ask for a private itinerary and we will tell you honestly whether the farm we use can accommodate that.
Is the camel farm suitable for young children? +
Very. Small children often enjoy the farm stop more than the dune drive. UAE law requires a child up to four years old to travel in a child safety seat, a front-seat passenger to be at least 145 cm tall and at least ten years old, and every passenger including those in the rear to wear a seat belt; the penalty is AED 400 and four black points (u.ae, read 17 August). Tell us your children’s ages at booking so the correct seat is fitted.
Is the camel farm stop worth it, or should I skip it? +
If camels are the entire reason you are coming, a safari farm stop will disappoint you and you should not buy a safari to get it. Go to the racing instead. Al Wathba Camel Race Track sits about 45 km east of Abu Dhabi on the Al Ain Road, there is a second track at Al Maqam near Al Ain, and entrance to the races is free (visitabudhabi.ae, read 17 August). That is a bigger, louder and far more genuine camel experience, and it costs you nothing but the drive.
Do you own the desert camp, or do you resell someone else’s? +
We built our own camp and we run it. That is the reason we can commit to the things on this page — no pressure to buy upgrades, seating settled before you travel, meals arranged for your family, and timings we actually control. An operator reselling seats at a shared camp cannot promise any of that, because none of it is theirs to promise. We are a DCT-licensed Abu Dhabi operator.
Why does it matter whether the operator owns the camp? +
Because everything guests complain about at desert camps happens at the camp: tiered seating sold on arrival, henna and photographs charged after the fact, quad bikes pushed at you by the minute, and food that cannot be adjusted. A reseller has no authority over any of it — they booked you in and left. Since the camp is ours, the answer to each of those is simply a decision we make.
Can you arrange vegetarian, Jain or allergy-safe food? +
Yes — tell us when you book. We run the kitchen at our own camp, so this is an instruction rather than a request passed to a third party. It is one of the most common questions we get and one almost no operator answers on the page, because most of them genuinely cannot.

Meet the Camels Tonight

Farm stop + camp camel ride included with every evening safari: from AED 35 · coach AED 50 · pickup AED 100 · private car AED 599.




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