Your guide to a luxury stopover in Dubai and Saudi Arabia

Discover what a stopover in Dubai and Saudi Arabia can look like with Hero Experiences.

Not all stopovers are created equal. Some keep you bored at the airport for hours. Others take you on an adventure just as exciting as your final destination, complete with golden dunes, towering canyons and desert fine-dining.

Thanks to frequent flights in and out, Dubai is the perfect stopover for Australians. It’s also home to sustainable-luxury adventures by Hero Experiences Group, the team that will curate your luxurious stopover trip. And with a hidden gem like AlUla in Saudi Arabia just a short flight away, why not experience everything they have to offer?

With this stopover itinerary, you’ll trade sallow airport lighting for shades of gold, endemic only to the Arabian Desert.

If you have two days:

Day 1

Learn about Bedouin culture.

The Heritage Desert Safari is the most culturally authentic desert trip in the UAE. The expertly crafted itinerary means that you only need a 48-hour gap in your schedule to not just see, but feel, taste and experience Emirati and Bedouin culture.

Your trip starts when a dedicated Conservation Guide transports you from Dubai’s modern skyline to the dunes of the Arabian Desert.  You’ll know you’ve arrived when the antenna-like horns of Arabian Oryx begin to pierce the Martian horizon. Welcome to the 225-square-kilometre expanse of the Dubai Desert Conservation Area, which you’ll explore in an open-top vintage Land Rover from the 1950s.

The flora and fauna of the Dubai Desert are passionately protected. By using the refurbished vintage Land Rovers, Hero Experiences tours are gentler on the environment and has saved roughly 362 tonnes of emissions to date. This protects the creatures and plants of the dunes and means you’ll have a much more comfortable ride.

Watch as an expert falconer shares the millennia-old art of falconry, one of the oldest art forms in history, done out of respect and not for show, with Hero Experiences Group. Witness the unique bond between man and falcon that’s been stitched together over centuries and hear the integral role falcons played in Bedouin survival.

On Dubai’s most awarded Heritage Desert Safari, as the sun begins its descent behind the dunes, you’ll arrive at a Bedouin-inspired camp. Here, Arabic coffee is poured, ragag bread is made by hand, and age-old traditions are passed down through song, storytelling and the language of hospitality. You’ll dine beneath the stars on Emirati cuisine, the best way to experience a culture.

If you opt for the Platinum Desert Safari instead, the evening will be an exclusive blend of private luxury and entertainment. After completing the nature drive and falcon exprience, arrive at a beautiful desert oasis at sunset where a four-course dinner will be prepared in collaboration with a Michelin-starred chef and served in a private cabana before you end the night with acrobatics and a fire show that flares to life against the dark desert horizon.

Day 2

Travel in a vintage Land Rover.

After a peaceful night’s sleep in the stone dwelling rooms, your second day starts bright and early with a sunrise hot air balloon over the endless sands of the Dubai Desert.

Watch as the sun slowly pierces the sky and drips gold across the landscape. From your perch in the sky, an in-flight storyteller will narrate the journey. And, yes, their falcon will be along for the ride.

Once the sand is beneath your feet again, it’s back to the Royal-owned desert oasis for your gourmet breakfast experience, inspired by four elements and curated in collaboration with a Michelin-starred chef.

From here, head back to Dubai to catch your flight onward, or stay a little longer and begin your journey into Saudi Arabia.

If you have four days:

Day 3

Enjoy exclusive access to Shaaran Nature Reserve for the night.

If you’re blessed with more time, make the journey into neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Here, you’ll visit the ancient walled city of AlUla – home to humanity since 5000 BCE. In a past life, a visit here would be soundtracked by languages now lost. Back then, it was an integral stop on the incense trade route that stitched together India, the Persian Gulf, the Levant and Europe.

As you walk in the shade of the towering canyon walls and tombs, the views feel like another time, world, or dimension. Rocks are engraved with epigraphs and petroglyphs from over 200,000 years ago. While rock formations – like Elephant Rock – have been moulded into alien shapes by the eternal beat of desert winds.

You’ll discover AlUla in its purest form on your trip with Platinum Heritage Saudi. As part of your trip, enjoy exclusive access to the highly protected Sharaan Nature Reserve. Wind through soaring rock formations carved by the passing of time in a key Saudi ecological enclave.

As the desert sun retreats, spend the evening among lantern-lit canyons for a unique dining experience. Hear stories of the constellations as you eat, and take a turn looking at the moon through a telescope.

Day 4:

Get a bird’s-eye view of AlUla.

The next day, rise before the sun warms the desert air and take to the sky to see AlUla from above in a hot air balloon. As the canyons are slowly brushed in warm light, watch as the ancient tombs of AlUla light up with daybreak.

You’ll glide above Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO site. Hegra is the sister city to Jordan’s Petra, and its scale will leave you awe-struck. More than 100 ancient Nabatean tombs jut out of the desert landscape. As you float above the ancient city – occupied by the Ancient Greeks, Romans and Ottomans, your Hero Balloon Flights Saudi Cultural Storyteller will weave the threads of history together to bring Hegra to life.

Then, it’s back to the airport to begin the rest of your trip.

Book activities from this unique stopover itinerary now at hero-experiences.com.