Al Ain Full-Day Private Tour from Dubai with Guide
Dubai8 hours
- Free cancellation
- Hotel pickup
About this experience
Al Ain sits 120 kilometres inland from Dubai, and it is the opposite of the coast: green, low-rise and old. This is a full day there and back in a private vehicle with a guide, so the pace is yours rather than a coach timetable's.
The day takes in the Al Ain Oasis and its falaj irrigation channels, the mud-brick forts and the national museum, the camel market, and the climb up Jebel Hafeet - at 1,240 metres the highest peak in the emirate, with the whole desert laid out below. Your guide fills in the history as you go.
Pick-up is from your hotel or residence in central Dubai at around 8am and you are back by early evening, roughly eight hours door to door. The vehicle is yours for the day: the price covers the car and the guide, not a seat, so a family or a small group travels for one fare.
Next available dates
What’s included
- Entry / admission fee
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with driver for the day
- Professional guide throughout the tour
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off in central Dubai
- Entrance fees to the sites visited, including Al Ain National Museum
- Visits to Al Ain Oasis, Jebel Hafeet, the forts and the camel market
Not included
- Tips and gratuities
- Food and drinks
- Lunch and any food or drink during the day
- Personal expenses and shopping
- Gratuities for the driver and guide
- Anything not listed under inclusions
Itinerary
- 1
Pick-up in central Dubai, around 8am
Your driver and guide collect you from your hotel or residence in central Dubai - Deira, Bur Dubai, Sheikh Zayed Road or the Marina. Give the exact address when you book. Al Ain is about 120 kilometres inland, roughly ninety minutes on the motorway.
- 2
Al Ain Oasis and the falaj channels
A walled palm oasis in the middle of the city, still watered by the falaj channels that have run here for centuries. Shaded walkways run between the date palms, and your guide explains how the irrigation system works and why the settlement grew where it did.
- 3
Al Ain National Museum and Al Ain Fort
The country's oldest museum, next to the mud-brick fort where Sheikh Zayed was born. Archaeology, ethnography and the story of the region before oil. Note that the museum, the fort and the Archaeological Park are closed on Mondays and Fridays.
- 4
The Al Ain camel market
One of the last working livestock markets of its kind in the country, where camels, goats and sheep are traded much as they always have been. Noisy, dusty and entirely genuine. Traders will happily pose for a photograph, and usually expect a small tip in return.
- 5
The drive up Jebel Hafeet
The mountain road climbs in long switchbacks to 1,240 metres, the highest point in the emirate. From the summit car park the desert runs flat to the horizon and Al Ain sits green below. The last stop of the day before the drive back.
- 6
Back in Dubai by early evening
The return drive takes about ninety minutes and you are dropped back where you were collected. Door to door the day runs roughly eight hours, depending on how long you linger at each stop - the vehicle is yours, so the pace is yours.
Good to know
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Languages
- British English, Arabic, German, Russian, French, Spanish, Chinese
- Start times
- 08:00
Know before you go
- A valid photo ID or passport
- Comfortable walking shoes and modest clothing for heritage sites
- Sunscreen, sunglasses and a hat
- Your voucher, on your phone or printed
Cancellation policy
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts.
- Cancel within 24h of the start time: 100% charge.
Standard Viator policy
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From AED 1,257 per person
