Family-Friendly Activities in Liwa: A Parents' Guide to the Empty Quarter

Yes, with three conditions. Your youngest child must be at least 3. You should travel between November and March, or accept a dawn start in the shoulder months. And you should treat it as the whole day's plan, with nothing booked for the evening. Families who meet those three conditions consistently rate Liwa above the city-edge safaris, because children get a private vehicle, a driver who adjusts to them, and dunes big enough to be memorable.

Arabiers does not take children under 3 on dune bashing or any other active desert activity, on any Liwa tour. This is a fixed policy rather than a recommendation, and the guide will not waive it on the day, so plan the trip around it. From age 3 upward, children are welcome on the full route.

• Pace: the guide drives the dunes at family intensity by default. Say at booking if you want it gentler still, or replaced with a nature drive on the flatter sand.
• Car seats: baby seats and boosters are fitted on request at booking for the road journey. Give the age and weight of each child.
• Recovery and first aid: every Land Cruiser carries first-aid equipment, sand ladders and extraction straps, and the driver holds the permit required for Empty Quarter driving.
• Who should sit it out: the dune drive is not recommended for pregnant guests or anyone with a back, neck or heart condition. On the Qasr Al Sarab lunch version, one adult can stay at the resort with a baby or a pregnant partner while the rest of the family does the dunes.
• Motion sickness: the most common problem on a family desert day, and easily managed if the guide knows in advance. See the FAQ below for the routine that works.

The dune drive

Roughly 60 to 65 km of guided driving inside the Empty Quarter in a private Land Cruiser. For children this is the headline, and the private vehicle is what makes it work: the driver can take a small child gently over the first few dunes, see how they react, and either build up or ease off. Most children from about 5 find it thrilling rather than frightening; under 5s tend to do best with a short, slow section and a long stop at the top.

Sandboarding on Moreeb Dune

Moreeb Dune rises around 300 metres above the Liwa Oasis. The tour stops near the summit for sandboarding on a soft slope that suits children from about 5 upward; younger children sit on the board with a parent. Sandboarding is included on request at booking, so ask for it. Bring a spare T-shirt, because sand goes everywhere.

The camel farm

A working camel farm stop with Arabic coffee and dates. This is the part of the day that suits every age, including 3 year olds, and the stop can be lengthened on request. Children can get close to the camels and, at some farms, feed them. It is a good place to time a snack and a nappy change.

Emirates National Auto Museum

On the way out of Abu Dhabi, the private collection of the late Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, known as the Rainbow Sheikh: rainbow-painted Mercedes cars, a globe-shaped motorhome and the world's largest pickup truck. Entry is AED 50 per adult and free for children under 10; it is not included in the tour price but the guide adds it on request. Allow 30 to 40 minutes. For most children under 12 this is the surprise favourite of the day.

Liwa Oasis and the date farms

The crescent of palm plantations along the edge of the sand, and the ancestral home of Abu Dhabi's ruling family. The oasis stop is a short, shaded walk that gives children a break from the vehicle. If you travel in July the Liwa Dates Festival, an agricultural fair in the oasis, is a separate event from the winter motorsport festival described below; the two are unrelated.

A fort, if time allows

One of Liwa's restored mud-brick forts, subject to timing on the day. Ten minutes of walls to climb and photographs to take. Do not plan the day around it.

Stargazing and sunrise (overnight tours only)

Liwa has some of the darkest skies in the UAE, and the overnight camp puts children under a sky with no light pollution at all, followed by sunrise on the dunes and breakfast. For children of 8 and over this is usually the memory that lasts. See the section on staying overnight below for what to expect.

Lunch or dinner at Qasr Al Sarab

The Qasr Al Sarab lunch tour swaps the takeaway lunch for a table at the resort, which gives families a proper sit-down meal, air conditioning and washrooms in the middle of the day. It also solves the infant problem: one adult can stay at the resort while the others do the dune section.

The Liwa Moreeb Dune Festival (winter)

Held each winter at Moreeb Dune, usually across late December and early January: hill-climb races up the 300 metre face, drag racing, drifting, motocross, camel and horse racing, and a heritage souq. Loud, busy and very popular with children of 8 and over. Ask Arabiers to combine a morning dune drive with an afternoon at the festival. Note again that this is not the Liwa Dates Festival, which is a summer agricultural event in the oasis.

Every Arabiers Liwa tour is a private Land Cruiser, priced per vehicle. The choice for a family is about the length of the day and the age of the youngest child, not about price per head.

Prices as listed on arabiers.com in September 2026. Day tours are quoted for up to 4 adults or a family combination per Land Cruiser; ask about seating for larger families. The Liwa Self Drive Adventure is not a family product: it is built around an adult driving under supervision.

This is the Liwa Day Tour as families actually experience it, with the points where children need feeding, moving or resting marked in.

Timings shift with traffic and sand conditions. If you would rather start earlier to beat the heat in the shoulder months, ask for a 7:00 a.m. pick-up.

Because every tour is priced per Land Cruiser, Liwa is one of the few desert products in the UAE where a family pays less per head than a couple. The figures below use the September 2026 list prices.

Add to that: Auto Museum entry at AED 50 per adult (under 10s free); lunch, which is not included on the standard Day Tour and can be arranged as a takeaway package or replaced by the Qasr Al Sarab lunch tour at AED 1,890 per vehicle; and, if you are travelling from Dubai, the longer transfer. Sandboarding, water, soft drinks, Arabic coffee and dates, the camel farm and the oasis visit are included. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before departure on every Liwa product, which matters with children, because plans change.

The month-by-month Liwa weather guide has the full detail. For a family the summary is short: December to February is the safest window, November and March are very good, October and April work with a dawn start, and May to September should be avoided with children unless you are staying at Qasr Al Sarab and doing a sunrise-only drive.

Weekdays are quieter than Thursday to Saturday, when Abu Dhabi families drive out to Liwa. If you can choose, book a Monday to Wednesday.

• Two litres of water per child on top of what the vehicle carries, and salty snacks; children forget to drink in dry heat
• Wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses and SPF 50 sun cream; reapply after sandboarding
• Closed shoes for the dunes (sand is hot underfoot by late morning) and sandals for the vehicle
• A spare T-shirt and a small towel for each child; sandboarding fills every pocket
• A fleece or jacket from November to February; the temperature drops fast after 4:00 p.m., and overnight campers need a warm layer for around 10 degrees
• Motion sickness tablets suitable for the child's age, taken before the dune section, plus a few plastic bags
• A pillow and a loaded tablet for the return leg; most children under 8 sleep the whole way back
• Nappies, wipes and a changing mat; the camel farm and the oasis are the practical stops
• A scarf or buff each: useful against wind-blown sand on the summit and for the camel farm

There are two ways to give children a night in Liwa. The private Empty Quarter camp at AED 2,490 per Land Cruiser is a tented camp on open dunes with a campfire, BBQ dinner, stargazing, sunrise and breakfast, and it suits children of 8 and over who have camped before. Child rates are available on request. Winter nights drop to around 10 degrees and there is no light, no signal and no shop, so this is a trip for families who like camping rather than a first attempt at it.

The second option is a resort night. Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara sits inside the dunes with pools, a kids' club and family rooms, and Arabiers can build a two-day itinerary around it: the Qasr Al Sarab lunch tour on day one, a night at the resort, and a sunrise drive or camel ride on day two. Tilal Liwa Hotel near Madinat Zayed is the mid-range alternative with an infinity pool and dune views. Either resort night is the right answer for a family with a child under 8 who still wants the full Liwa experience without a tent.
 

Be honest about the day. If your youngest is 3 or 4, has never done a long car journey, or gets carsick easily, a 9 to 10 hour day that includes five hours in a vehicle may not be the right first desert trip. The dunes of Al Khatim are 50 minutes from Abu Dhabi, the standard evening tour is about 6 hours door to door, and the private Land Cruiser tours there follow the same age 3 rule and the same adjustable dune driving. Compare the Abu Dhabi desert safari tours near the city before you decide, and save Liwa for the year the children are old enough to remember it. The full Liwa desert safari range, including trekking and the festival tour, is on one page for when that year arrives.