How many days do you need in Liwa? One, two or three days compared

Liwa is about 230 km and roughly two hours by car from Abu Dhabi, and 330 km and about three hours from Dubai. Mega Drive Experience × AMA recommends arriving the day before the first riding day, so that you check in and rest after the drive. After the last riding day you spend one more night and leave the next morning, check-out is at 12:00. In numbers: riding days plus one night, so three riding days mean four nights.

How you fit the programme to your own schedule is up to you. Experienced riders sometimes arrive in the morning, start riding the same day, stay one night, ride again and drive home. The figures below come from the Mega Drive Experience × AMA programmes for the 2026/27 season (October to May).

Day 1: transfer from Dubai or Abu Dhabi and hotel check-in. Day 2: briefing at 10:00 and departure at 10:30. Route 1, medium level, covers adapting to the vehicle on sand and riding in convoy through the dunes, with a camel farm, a natural oasis and lunch on the route. You are back at the hotel at 17:30. Day 3: breakfast, free time, check-out at 12:00 and transfer back.

The riding day is about 80 km and five to seven hours. This is the format for a first visit or for riders who want to try the desert without committing several days.

• Buggy (1 day): AED 5,800 per buggy, crew of up to 2 (about $1,580).
• Quad (1 day): AED 2,900 per rider (about $790).

The second riding day is Route 2, high level: the area of big steep dunes, higher speeds, long loose descents and route work, with a Bedouin camp and lunch. Distances for the two days are roughly 80 and 100 km, five to seven hours a day.

Two days suit riders who want to build skills on the first day and use them on the second, or who simply want to see more of the desert. Riders who prefer a compact trip sometimes arrive in the morning, ride, spend a night, ride again and go home, which fits into two days.

• Buggy (2 days): AED 11,600 per buggy, crew of up to 2 (about $3,160).
• Quad (2 days): AED 5,200 per rider (about $1,420).

With an arrival day and a departure day, three riding days make five days in total: arrive on day one, ride on days two to four, leave on day five. The three-day programmes are structured as a progression: learning the sand on the first day, a long ridge route deep into the Empty Quarter on the second, and the biggest climbs with a finish in LIWA Oasis on the third. Riding distances are about 80, 100 and 120 km, five to seven hours a day.

• Buggy: 3 days Desert Storm, AED 17,600 per buggy, crew of up to 2 (about $4,800).
• Quad: 3 days Endless Dunes, AED 6,600 per rider (about $1,800).

Each expedition includes a guide-instructor, the vehicle, gloves, helmet and goggles, technical support with a RAM 4x4 support vehicle and a mechanic, an assistance point on the route (karak tea, dates, fruit, snacks and drinks), lunch on the route, fuel, and servicing afterwards.

Transfer from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, accommodation and hotel dinners are paid separately. The operator recommends Western Hotel Liwa and can help with booking.

• First time in the desert, or short on time: one riding day (two nights).
• Want to progress from medium to high level and see the big dunes: two riding days.
• Want the full Empty Quarter route and the longest distances: three riding days.
• Coming for the Liwa International Festival (11 December 2026 – 2 January 2027): the festival rides are separate two-hour convoy rides; see the festival rides guide.