Going beyond the obvious in the stunning landscapes of Dubai and AlUla

From star-studded skies above lost cities to Michelin-star curated breakfast in the middle of the desert, be the first to experience the Middle East in a more meaningful way.

Ancient, windswept and carved by time. There’s something inexplicably magnetic about the landscapes of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

These extraordinary corners of the world were once considered remote. But now, travellers are welcomed to satisfy their curiosity when joining experience providers that offer more than just a check-box tour.

Imagine an evening stargazing beside a bonfire with your loved ones in a solar-powered remote oasis, or flying over an open-air museum as you float above Saudi Arabia’s UNESCO-listed Hegra in a hot air balloon. Embark on an adventure where you are confident that your hosts – Hero Experiences Group – are leading the way in sustainability while educating future generations about these uncharted destinations.

Here, it’s not about excess, but encounters. And it’s built into every dune-crossing, sky-drifting detail.

Adventure with purpose starts with Hero Experiences and their carefully restored Land Rovers.

Platinum Heritage Dubai: Cultural and Luxury Safaris for all traveller types

With Platinum Heritage Dubai, travellers get to choose from two distinct safari collections. Each offers a different portal into the Dubai desert. Travellers can tailor their experience by customising everything from the transport (camel, vintage Land Rover or modern Defender) to adding on an overnight desert stay or hot air balloon experience.

Heritage Collection

Slide into the passenger seat of a 1950s Land Rover. We’re talking restored, not replaced. While a novel and charming way to travel, the restoration has other benefits. By choosing to restore the vehicles, 362 tonnes of CO2 emissions have avoided being released.

You’re about to enter the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, the UAE’s first national park and the largest piece of land ever dedicated to conservation in the country. It’s also a place Hero Experiences Group has contributed over AED 6 million (around AUD 2.5 million) to protect.

Access here is incredibly limited, which means you’re sharing the dunes with Arabian oryx, sand gazelles, and migratory birds. Platinum Heritage Dubai only offers gentle drives, no dune bashing, in another effort to protect the delicate ecosystem and allow it to thrive, while giving guests a sense of safety and comfort.

Rolling on past dunes and hardy Ghaf trees, you’ll spend the day exploring and learning about Bedouin traditions, before shifting down a gear in the evening. As the light fades, it’s Arabic coffee by the fire, falconry practised not for show but for heritage, and stories passed down beneath the billions of stars of the Milky Way.

The Heritage Collection also comprises of safaris that focus on astronomy, complete with a telescope, or morning experiences truly immersed in Bedouin culture.

Sounds perfect. But you can dial it up even more.

Drift above dunes, then dive into the stars.

Platinum Collection

With the Platinum Collection, moments of exclusivity and luxury are guaranteed. Guests are chauffeured in the latest Land Rover Defenders through the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve by a dedicated Conservation Guide. After a sunset falcon show accompanied by canapés, they will discover an oasis like no other, complete with a fine dining meal curated by a Michelin-star chef served in linen-draped, private cabanas. Or opt for a morning experience with luxury transport and a 5-star breakfast at a world-renowned desert resort.

The Platinum Collection is designed for travellers who like their wilderness with a wine list (minus the wine, a dry choice in respect of local customs, as part of Hero Experiences Group’s social sustainability pillar). Even the smallest details nod to curated choices: lanterns flicker against the dunes, falcons wheel overhead, and silence feels like the rarest soundtrack.

And thanks to solar-powered camps among the dunes, that respectful treatment extends beyond you, to the land.

Cruise the desert in Defender style.

Platinum Heritage Saudi: Step foot where very few others have

For those looking to really go off-script, Platinum Heritage Saudi offers up another jewel: privileged, managed access to the Sharaan Nature Reserve, deep in the AlUla desert as you explore untouched landscapes and petroglyphs in modern Land Rover Defenders. This freedom to explore different areas of the reserve, from canyon dining to nights spent stargazing around the bonfire, is like a scene from a film – but you’re the main character.

Out here in the still, expect your ears to sharpen. Listen for the soft rustle of acacia leaves. The scrape of a lizard’s tail on rock. The delicate step of a Nubian ibex scaling a sandstone ledge. Just don’t forget to flick your eyes up from time to time. You might see an eagle curling a Wadi or the green-blue flash of a bee-eater.

And if you don’t spot them? Well, that’s what the eco-walks’ expert guides are for.

Discover a wilder kind of beauty.

Hero Balloon Flights Saudi: Soar over long-lost kingdoms

Ever dreamt of flying? Drifting above the expanse of AlUla, untethered, you’ll feel that almost-familiar swoop in the stomach. Hero Balloon Flights Saudi gives you that unmistakable sense of freedom. But this time, in real life.

Fly in the early golden light over sandstone cliffs and catch a unique view of Hegra from the sky. This is Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, built by the Nabataeans in the 1st century CE and once a thriving trading hub. Think Petra’s lesser-known sister, carved from the same kingdom’s past, with more than 100 tomb façades scattered below.

With Hero Balloon Flights being the only commercial operator of its kind in the country, you’ll get a view, once reserved for traders long gone, now yours to glimpse from above. The best part is the minimal-emission tech that makes the sky-high ride as gentle on the landscape as it looks.

Drift freely over AlUla.

Hero Balloon Flights Dubai: Extraordinary Hot Air Balloon Desert Retreats

Offering Dubai’s most sophisticated desert retreat, this is more than just a hot-air balloon flight. Only Hero Balloon Flights Dubai offers a luxurious hot-air balloon flight over this protected area, with spacious baskets and in-flight entertainment.

The land is home to native flora, rare wildlife and some seriously photogenic dunes. Picture Arabian oryxes, strings of camels, moving below like a living shadow play, and in-flight falconry shows, where trained birds sweep past the basket.

Then comes breakfast in a secluded cabana in a serene desert oasis. Inspired by the four elements and curated by a Michelin-starred chef. This is no post-flight buffet. Imagine freshly baked goods complemented with locally sourced honey and jams, fresh fruit platters, and dishes that speak to the elemental, ethereal experience you just had.

Rise with the sun.

The Dubai Balloon: 360° views – without leaving the city

From drifting over endless desert landscapes to soaring high above one of the most recognisable, record-breaking skylines on earth. The Dubai Balloon offers a different kind of lift-off among the skyscrapers.

Tethered to the Aquaventure Waterpark Beach, beside Atlantis The Palm Resort, The Dubai Balloon takes you up to 225 metres in the air. For those counting along at home, that’s roughly the height of a 75-storey building. Here, you’ll get uninterrupted views of the Palm Jumeirah archipelago, the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab, and the record-breaking Burj Khalifa in a metallic glint in the distance.

The scenery may be big. But the footprint? Not so much. Each balloon uses around 1,100 kilowatt-hours of power per flight. That’s about the same as running your microwave for two minutes. Even sky-high indulgence can stay grounded.

Glide above The Atlantis.

Absolute Adventure: From mangroves to mountains

Over on the UAE’s lesser-known east coast, Absolute Adventure leads low-impact expeditions into Kalba’s backcountry and mangrove-lined estuaries along the Gulf of Oman. It’s a tangle of wadis, trade routes, salt-crusted coastal forests, and the UAE as you’ve never seen it.

Kayak through glassy waterways, thick with gnarled roots, home to white-collared kingfishers – one of the rarest birds in the UAE. Inland, trails wind through ochre rock formations into the Wadi Helo. Here, prehistoric tombs and early Islamic ruins lie hidden. (That is until your Absolute Adventures guide reveals them to you.)

It’s all part of the group’s ethos: to tread lightly, observe deeply, and engage with nature without needing to conquer it.

Paddle peaceful waterways.

To learn more, visit Hero Experiences.