What to Wear on a Desert Safari in Abu Dhabi

Why What You Wear Actually Changes Your Day

People treat the outfit question as a style problem. In the desert it is a comfort problem first. Over roughly 5,000 guests at our Al Khatim camp, the same four mistakes come up again and again, and every one of them is a clothing decision made in a hotel room hours earlier.

Someone arrives in new white trainers and spends the evening trying to keep them clean instead of sandboarding. Someone wears skinny jeans and cannot sit cross-legged at the low majlis tables. Someone wears a strappy summer dress in January and shivers through the entire fire show. Someone wears flip-flops and loses one halfway up a dune in the dark.

None of these ruin a safari. All of them make it smaller than it should have been. The good news is that dressing correctly for the Abu Dhabi desert is genuinely simple once you understand the two forces at work: sand gets everywhere, and the temperature swing between afternoon and night is bigger than almost anywhere you have been.

The two rules everything else follows from

Rule one — dress for two climates in one evening. An evening safari picks you up at around 3:00 PM in full daylight heat and drops you back after 10:00 PM in genuine night chill. In December and January the difference between the 3:30 PM dune drive and the 9:00 PM fire show can be fifteen degrees. You are not choosing one outfit; you are choosing a base layer plus something to put on top.

Rule two — sand is not dust, it is fine powder. Al Khatim sand is fine enough to pass through loose weaves and settle into every seam. It will get into your shoes, your hair and your camera bag no matter what you do. Your job is not to keep it out — it is to wear things where sand does not matter, and to leave the pieces you would be upset about back at the hotel.

The Abu Dhabi Desert Safari Dress Code, Explained Honestly

There is no enforced dress code on a desert safari. Nobody will turn you away at the camp gate and there is no written rule you can break. What exists instead is a cultural expectation and a practical standard, and they happen to point in the same direction.

The UAE is a Muslim country with a relaxed attitude toward visitors, particularly in tourist settings. Abu Dhabi is noticeably more traditional than Dubai. At a desert camp you will be sharing space with Emirati staff, families from the Gulf, and guests from every part of the world. The respectful default is shoulders covered and knees covered. That is the entire cultural rule.

What that means in practice

Ramadan and religious holidays

During Ramadan the mood across Abu Dhabi is more reserved and modest dress matters more, both in the city and on the way to the desert. Safaris still run and the camp still serves food after sunset, but out of respect avoid eating, drinking or smoking in public during daylight hours on the drive out, and keep clothing conservative. If your safari falls in Ramadan we will tell you what changes when you book.

What to Wear Month by Month in Abu Dhabi

Most guides split the year into “summer” and “winter”. That is too blunt for a desert where a January evening and an October evening ask for completely different things. Below is the practical version, based on typical Abu Dhabi conditions and what our guests actually end up wearing.

The single most common mistake is a December or January booking made from a hot-country mindset. Guests arrive in shorts and a vest because “it is the desert”, then spend the evening wrapped in a borrowed blanket at the camp. If you are travelling between late November and early March, bring a real jacket. Not a cardigan — a jacket.

Summer specifics: May to September

Summer safaris are absolutely doable, and prices are often better, but clothing choices become genuinely functional rather than stylistic. Cover more skin rather than less. A long, loose linen shirt keeps you cooler than a t-shirt because it blocks direct sun while allowing airflow — this is why Gulf dress evolved the way it did. Add a wide scarf or shemagh for your neck, and drink far more water than feels necessary.

In these months we recommend the morning desert safari, which starts in the cool first hours of daylight and has you back in the city before the worst of the heat.

Winter specifics: December to February

This is peak season and the best time to be on the dunes, but the night chill is real. The layer that works best is something wind-resistant, because the desert breeze after dark is what actually makes you cold, not the air temperature. A denim jacket, a light puffer, or a fleece all work. Add socks — sitting on cool sand in bare ankles for three hours is the detail nobody plans for.

Footwear: The Thing Almost Everyone Gets Wrong

If you only take one thing from this page, take this: wear closed shoes you do not care about, and bring sandals as a second option. Footwear affects more of your evening than any other clothing choice, because it determines whether you climb the dune for the sunset photograph or stand at the bottom watching other people do it.

Socks matter more than you think

Two reasons. First, socks stop sand abrading your ankles during sandboarding and dune climbing. Second, on winter evenings your feet are the first part of you to get cold, because you are sitting on sand that has been losing heat since sunset. Bring a spare pair in your bag — putting on dry, sand-free socks before the drive home is a small thing that feels enormous.

Should you go barefoot?

At the camp in the evening, yes — plenty of guests do, and sand between the toes is part of the experience. During the day in summer, absolutely not. Surface sand in Abu Dhabi can exceed 60°C in July and will burn the soles of your feet in seconds. Test with a hand before letting children run barefoot at any time of year.

What to Wear: Women

The outfit that works best for women on an Abu Dhabi desert safari is loose, long and light. That is not a modesty compromise — it is the same thing that keeps you cool, protects you from sun, lets you sit comfortably on floor cushions and moves beautifully in wind for photographs.

Best options

• Maxi or midi dress in cotton or viscose. The single best choice. Cool, respectful, and stunning in golden-hour photos.
• Loose linen trousers or palazzo pants with a light top. The most practical option if you plan to do quad biking or a lot of dune climbing.
• Leggings with a long tunic or oversized shirt. Ideal for camel riding, where you need to straddle a saddle comfortably.
• Wide-leg jumpsuit. Works well, just consider the practicalities of the washroom at a desert camp.

What to avoid, and why

• Skinny jeans — hot, restrictive when climbing, and difficult to sit cross-legged in for a three-hour dinner.
• Very short skirts — the practical problem outweighs the cultural one: you cannot ride a camel or climb a dune comfortably.
• Strappy or backless tops — sunburn on the shoulders is a real risk, and it reads as beachwear in a family camp setting.
• Delicate or expensive fabrics — silk and fine knits do not survive sand well.
• Loose jewellery and dangling earrings — they get lost in the sand, permanently.

The scarf: the most useful thing you can bring

One large lightweight scarf or pashmina does five jobs. It shades your head at sunset, wraps your face if the breeze picks up sand, covers your shoulders if you want more coverage, becomes a layer when the temperature drops, and doubles as something to sit on. If you bring one accessory, bring this.

Hair and makeup, honestly

Tie long hair back before dune bashing — the windows are often open and hair plus fine sand is an unpleasant combination to untangle later. Heavy makeup does not survive heat and dry desert air well; most guests are happiest with a light base, SPF and a lip balm. Bring hair ties even if you do not normally use them.

Solo female travellers

Abu Dhabi is one of the safest places in the world for solo female travel, and desert safaris are no exception — camps are family environments with staff present throughout. Dressing modestly is not a safety requirement here; it simply means you attract no attention at all, which is what most solo travellers want. See our solo female desert safari guide for the full picture.

What to Wear: Men

Men have it easier, and most get it right by accident. The formula is a t-shirt or light shirt, breathable trousers or knee-length shorts, and trainers.

• Best top: a cotton t-shirt or a loose linen shirt. A long-sleeved linen shirt is genuinely cooler in direct sun than a t-shirt.
• Best bottom: chinos, cargo trousers or lightweight joggers. Knee-length shorts are fine and common.
• Avoid: denim (heavy, hot, slow to shake sand out), anything black in summer, and vests or tank tops, which are the one item that looks out of place in an Abu Dhabi camp.
• Quad biking or buggy: long trousers, always. Bare legs plus a hot engine and flying sand is a bad combination.

What to Wear: Children, Babies & Older Guests

Children aged 3–12

• Closed shoes, no exceptions. Children run on sand that adults walk on, and in summer that sand is hot enough to burn.
• A complete change of clothes in the car or day bag. Sandboarding means sand inside everything, and a child in sandy clothes for a three-hour dinner is an unhappy child.
• A warm top from November to March. Children lose heat faster than adults and will feel the evening chill an hour before you do.
• A hat with a chin strap. Ordinary caps end up in the dunes.
• Avoid new or favourite clothes. Sand and BBQ sauce are not kind to them.

Babies and toddlers

Light long sleeves and long trousers rather than sun cream on every surface — babies under six months should not wear chemical sunscreen, so fabric is your sun protection. Bring a muslin or light blanket for the evening, a sun-shading hat, and more wipes than you think you need. If you are travelling with a baby, we recommend the private car safari so you control the pace and the dune-bashing intensity.

Older guests and anyone with mobility concerns

Prioritise stable, closed, supportive footwear over anything else — soft sand is uneven and unpredictable underfoot. A warm layer becomes more important with age, and a walking stick is genuinely awkward on sand, so let us know in advance and we will position the vehicle closer to the seating area at camp.

Dressing for Each Activity

What to Wear for Photographs on the Dunes

The Al Khatim dunes at golden hour do most of the work for you. But there is a reason some guests go home with photographs they frame and others go home with snapshots, and a surprising amount of it is fabric choice.

Colours that work against sand

• Best: burnt orange, rust, deep red, mustard, olive, cream, dusty rose, sky blue. Warm tones glow in low sun; cool tones contrast against it.
• Good: white — genuinely beautiful in photos, if you accept it will be ruined by the end.
• Avoid: beige identical to the sand (you disappear), pure black (loses all detail in the shadow side), busy prints and large logos.

Fabric that moves

The single trick professional photographers use in the desert is fabric that catches wind. A long skirt, a flowing dress, a wide scarf, an open shirt — anything that moves creates the shape that makes a desert photograph feel alive. A fitted t-shirt and jeans will always look flat by comparison, regardless of how good the light is.

Couples and families

Coordinate, do not match. Pick two or three tones from the same family — cream, rust and olive, for instance — and let everyone wear one. Matching outfits look staged; a shared palette looks intentional.

Practical photo notes

• Photograph before the sandboarding, not after.
• Barefoot on the dune crest photographs better than trainers — carry your shoes up and put them back on for the walk down.
• The best photography spots at our camp face west, so the light is behind you between roughly 5:30 and 6:30 PM in winter.
• Bring a lens cloth. Fine sand on a phone lens is the most common reason a shot comes out hazy.

What to Bring in Your Bag

Clothing is half the answer. This is the rest of it, kept to the things that genuinely change your evening.

For the full version, see our Abu Dhabi desert safari packing list.

See What Guests Actually Wear

Real photographs from our Al Khatim camp — not stock images. This is what the dress code looks like in practice, across seasons and activities.

Common Mistakes We See Every Week

1. Brand-new white trainers. They will not be white again. Wear the older pair.
2. No layer in December or January. The most frequent regret by a wide margin.
3. Flip-flops as the only footwear. Guaranteed to limit what you can join in with.
4. Skinny jeans. Hot during the day, restrictive on a camel, uncomfortable on floor cushions for three hours.
5. Heavy makeup and styled hair. Dune bashing with open windows undoes both within minutes.
6. A big handbag. There is nowhere to put it down that is not sand. A small crossbody is better.
7. Loose sunglasses. They come off during dune bashing and are almost never found.
8. Forgetting a change of clothes for children. The difference between a happy dinner and a miserable one.
9. Wearing the mosque outfit and nothing else. If you visit Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque first, the long sleeves and headscarf will be too warm for a 3:30 PM dune drive. Bring the safari layer separately.
10. Assuming “desert” means “hot at night”. It does not, for six months of the year.

After the Safari: Getting the Sand Out

A small practical section nobody writes, and everybody needs.

• Shake everything out before it goes in your suitcase. Fine sand transfers to every other item once it is in there.
• Shoes: tip them out, then tap the soles together outside. Do not wash them until the loose sand is gone or you will turn it into mud.
• Hair: brush it out dry before showering. Washing sandy hair first pushes grains into the scalp.
• Electronics: blow out ports and cases before charging. Fine sand in a charging port is a real problem.
• Clothes: a normal machine wash handles it, but shake them outdoors first for your machine’s sake.

Dress Code by Safari Type

The safari you book changes the answer more than most guides admit. A morning safari and an overnight safari have almost nothing in common from a clothing point of view.

Comparing morning and evening dress

On a morning desert safari you dress for cold-to-warm. On an evening desert safari you dress for hot-to-cold. It sounds like the same problem reversed, but the practical difference is what you do with the layer: in the morning you start wearing it and end up carrying it, and in the evening you start carrying it and end up wearing it. If you are still choosing between the two, our morning vs evening comparison covers everything else.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi: Is the Dress Code Different?

Slightly, and it is worth knowing. Abu Dhabi is more conservative than Dubai in general dress expectations across the city — but at the desert camps themselves, the practical standard is effectively identical. Where you will notice the difference is the drive out, hotel lobbies and pickup points, where Abu Dhabi leans more modest.

If your safari runs from Dubai, the same guidance applies. See our separate Dubai desert safari dress guide for the city-specific notes.

Can You Wear Shorts on an Abu Dhabi Desert Safari?

Yes — knee-length shorts are completely acceptable at the camp and very common, particularly from April to October. The real considerations are practical rather than cultural: bare legs are uncomfortable on a camel saddle, unprotected against a hot quad-bike engine, and cold after sunset in winter. Very short shorts are tolerated but will make you conspicuous in a family camp, and they make sitting on floor cushions awkward.

We wrote a full answer to this one because it comes up so often — see can you wear shorts to a desert safari in Abu Dhabi.

Ready-Made Outfit Formulas

If you would rather not think about it, copy one of these exactly.

Why You Can Trust This Guide

Royal Arabian Safari is a Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi licensed tour operator running its own camp in the Al Khatim desert. Everything on this page comes from what we watch happen at that camp — which layers guests reach for at 8:00 PM in January, which shoes come off at the bottom of a dune, which outfits guests tell us they wish they had chosen instead.

We have hosted more than 5,000 guests and hold a 4.9-star Google rating. Our advice on this page is not affiliate-driven and we do not sell clothing. If a guest turns up in the wrong shoes we lend them what we can and adjust the evening around it — but we would rather you read this first.

• Operator: Royal Arabian Safari Tourism LLC, Al Sila Tower, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi
• Camp: Al Khatim desert, approximately 80 km east of Abu Dhabi city
• Licensing: DCT Abu Dhabi licensed tour operator
• Guests hosted: 5,000+ · Google rating: 4.9★

Frequently Asked Questions

Plan the Rest of Your Safari

• Abu Dhabi desert safari prices — every package and add-on rate
• What to expect on your desert safari
• Full packing list
• Best time of year to visit
• Safety guide
• Book your desert safari