Private Night Safari and Astronomy Experience for Two

Anna R

We chose this tour because we wanted an experience that connected us with the desert in an environmentally sensitive way (i.e. no dune bashing!) and offered a culturally authentic experience (i.e. no belly dancing).Platinum Heritage definitely delivered and we were very happy with the tour itself as well as Jay our guide and all the other crew involved in front of or behind the scenes.The tour involves driving from Dubai in an air-conditioned pickup, then into the desert in an open top jeep before getting out with torches and ultra violet lights to spot desert creatures. We saw quite a few - gazelles, oryxs and a gerbil in terms of mammals and a baby scorpion (which fluroesced bright green in the UV light), dung beetles and spiders as well. It's a natural environment so there's no guarantee as to what you will see. Even if we saw nothing the night walk would still have been enjoyable in itself.From there we drove to the camp for a falconry display, but with a desert owl instead of a falcon. The falconer, Cornelius, let us put on his leather gauntlet so Yoda the owl could land on our arm and take food. It was such an amazing and memorable experience.We had a tasty dinner after that - lots of food - far more than we could eat. Then it was time for the astronomy talk. Even though nature wasn't very obliging and the sky was rather overcast and the moon was full, Eddy the astronomer did an excellent job of giving an informative and interesting talk nevertheless. We learned lots.All in all it was a great tour and our group of three all really enjoyed it. Do be aware that it finishes just after midnight then there's an hour's drive back to Dubai. So take this into account if you have an early start the next day.

marinavM2597CF

Awesome experience! Beautiful landscape and very kind and attentive staff. The meal was delicious. Very interesting explanations given regarding the local culture: food, dance and astronomy. Great experience, totally recommend it!

Borja B

Strongly recommended experience. Just relax and discover dessert’s charm at night. Thank you Lionel for such a great time!

kay25lnk

The whole experience from pick up to drop off was 5 star. From booking on the internet we had excellent communications giving us confidence in the booking. All the activities - star gazing, safari , owl experience, meal - were led by friendly and welcoming guides, who were flexible on accommodating our requests. Food was top notch. A very enjoyable evening and big thank you - especially to Amir, Rammel, Michael and Eddy who made the evening so memorable .

Rose N

Lionel was an amazing guide… he took care of us, explained everything!!! The land rovers were a unique experience.. very worth it!!

Sarah Esmeralda

The tour is a one of a kind activity in the region. Our guide, Jacob, ensured we had the best experience possible. He picked us up around 6:30 in the evening and it was around 40-45 mins drive to the desert.Upon reaching the desert, he put for us the traditional headscarf for each of us and gave us our welcome kit. Soon after, we were comfortably seated in the Vintage green Land Rover and drove off to our eco-walk spot. We were each given a torch to search for animals. The walk was surreal and we didn't even know how time passed by so quickly. We were lucky to find a horned viper, a couple of beetles and geckos. Around 8:45, Jacob took us for the desert conservation ride and we reached the camp around 9. The weather was perfect and stars were ever so visible. We were greeted by Chewbacca, the 11 month old Arabian owl. He was so cute.We quickly had our lentil soup and starters (so much variety and so tasty) and we started the next part of the tour - the owl experience with Lushano. We learnt so much about them and how they live in the desert and were each given a chance to hold him. After that, we had our choice of main course - mine was the Arabian spiced chicken served to us. Very delicious.We ended the night with the astronomy experience. A very holistic experience with Eddy. We thoroughly enjoyed the session - learning about the stars and the stories behind the stars.We departed from the desert around 12 and were dropped home safe and sound.