All activities / Overlanding / Expedition Driving / Liwa
Overlanding / Expedition Driving in Liwa
The frontier oasis town where the UAE runs out into the Rub al Khali, the Empty Quarter, the largest continuous sand sea on earth. Base for expeditions to Tel Moreeb and the apricot-coloured mega-dunes of Abu Dhabi's deep south.
Why here
Liwa is where the tidy UAE ends and the Empty Quarter begins, an ocean of sand running unbroken into Saudi Arabia and Oman. This is proper expedition-driving country, not a bumpy hour outside the city. Convoys air down and thread between dunes the size of hills, climb Tel Moreeb, one of the world's tallest driveable dunes at around 300 metres, and camp out where the only light after dark is the Milky Way. Liwa Desert Safari and Liwa Adventures both run guided Empty Quarter trips in rollover-protected Land Cruisers, from sunset drives to overnight expeditions, and offer supported self-drive convoys for travellers who want to take the wheel themselves with a lead guide and recovery gear on hand.
Best months
The season is October to April, when daytime temperatures sit in the twenties and thirties rather than the summer's high forties. Deep-desert driving needs low tyre pressures, a convoy and recovery equipment; going in alone is a genuine risk, not a formality. Nights in winter can be cold enough for a jacket. The Liwa International Festival, with its Moreeb Dune hill climb, runs at Tel Moreeb around the turn of the year.
Getting there & around
Liwa is around two and a half to three hours by road southwest of Abu Dhabi, the last stretch running into the dunes. Most travellers join a guided departure from Abu Dhabi or Dubai; self-drivers should only tackle the deep dunes with an operator convoy. Bring more water than you think you need and confirm recovery support before heading off tarmac.
Skill levels: intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Liwa Adventures
GuideA desert-tourism operator with more than twenty years in the field, Liwa Adventures runs dune drives, sunrise and sunset safaris and overnight camps across both the Abu Dhabi fringe and the deep Liwa dunes of the Empty Quarter. Trips combine dune bashing with camel rides, sandboarding and Bedouin-camp dinners, and can be built as private departures.
Liwa Desert Safari
GuideLiwa Desert Safari runs private 4x4 dune drives and overnight Bedouin-style camps deep in the Empty Quarter, the world's largest continuous sand desert, where the dunes around Liwa rise past 200 metres. Based about 220 kilometres from Abu Dhabi, it also teaches self-drive dune technique and runs stargazing and trekking trips well away from the city-edge tourist runs.